Big 12 team preview: Slumping Baylor needs a big turnaround to save coach Dave Aranda’s job

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Editor’s note: Eighth in a series previewing each team in the Big 12 in 2026.

Word out of Waco, Texas, this offseason is that Baylor coach Dave Aranda is clearly on the hot seat.

Another losing season on the banks of the Brazos River will put the seven-year coach in the unemployment line, according to almost every national outlet that compiles such lists.

For instance, CBS Sports has Aranda — a former Utah State defensive coordinator — as one of three coaches on its “America’s Hottest Seats” list, a list that also includes Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell.

“We’ve got to close the deal. Hey man, you’ve gone through all the things and have done all the things, and now you’re in a position to close this game. This is what we’re here for. This is what you do. This is who we are. That’s been a huge emphasis throughout the offseason.”

Baylor coach Dave Aranda on the need to close out tight games

So there’s work to do in Waco to avoid Baylor’s fifth losing season in Aranda’s seventh year. The Bears went 5-7 last year, and are 36-37 in Aranda’s tenure, 24-30 in Big 12 play.

“Last year was not up to our standard. I take accountability for that,” Aranda said at Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas, earlier this month. “There’s been strong change. There’s been me moving out of defense and bringing in Joe Klanderman and a brand-new scheme and new excitement and new methods.”

Athlon Sports noted that “this is a do-or-die season for Aranda” in its 2026 College Football Preview and posited that the school brought him back for a seventh season “just to keep things stable when former athletic director Mack Rhoades left in a lurch” at the end of last year.

“There’s no magic number that will save his job, but Aranda knows that the pressure is on to win, and win now.”

That was evident in Frisco, as the coach awkwardly laid out his plan to reporters for reviving Baylor football. Although bringing in quarterback DJ Lagway from Florida comes with a hefty price tag — media reports and industry observers estimated it to be in the $3 million range — Aranda admitted it was a “mistake” last year to spend too much money on skill position players and not enough on linemen.

“The line of scrimmage is where our attention and our money has gone this year,” he said.

Most notably, Baylor is replacing four of five starters on its offensive line in an attempt to protect Lagway and open holes for Dawson Pendergrass, a promising junior who missed all of last year with a foot injury.

“In bringing in DJ Lagway and his energy and his passion to play football and achieve at a really high level, there’s building the team inside-out as opposed to outside-in,” Aranda said.

After calling defensive plays the past two seasons, Aranda gave those duties to the aforementioned Klanderman. He spent the past six seasons at Kansas State.

Another big emphasis is to play better in the fourth quarter, after the Bears lost one-score games to Houston, TCU and Arizona State.

“We’ve got to close the deal,” Aranda acknowledged. “Hey man, you’ve gone through all the things and have done all the things, and now you’re in a position to close this game. This is what we’re here for. This is what you do. This is who we are. That’s been a huge emphasis throughout the offseason.”

Asked if the revamped roster has established an identity yet, Aranda praised the leadership and communication skills that Lagway has brought to the program.

“He felt like he wanted to be free, and I feel like he felt Baylor is a place that he could play free and really kind of be free,” Aranda said. “I am all about that, man. … He has a huge chip on his shoulder. I will say that’s pretty true of our whole team. Our team is hungry and believes that we can win.”

Baylor does not face Utah this year, but will travel to BYU on Nov. 14 to take on the Cougars for the first time since BYU edged it 34-28 on Sept. 28, 2024.

“What a test for us, especially in a real tough environment. It is going to take our best, but we’re excited for that challenge,” Aranda said. “I have a lot of respect for BYU.”

Aranda said he has known BYU head coach Kalani Sitake since well before his USU days and considers him a close friend.

“Kalani is the type where I imagine he’s got a lot of friends, but he’s someone that I’ve known for awhile,” Aranda said. “Whether I’ve been up or down or all around, he’s treated me with total respect. So I have a lot of respect for him. I know his team is a team that’s going to fight tough, and you talk about four-quarter games. They’re going to play a four-quarter game.”

2026 Baylor Bears at a glance

• 2025 record: 5-7 (3-6 Big 12)

Utah ties

• Freshman tight end Kai Wesley prepped at Orem High

2026 schedule

• Sept. 5: vs. Auburn at Atlanta
• Sept. 12: vs. Prairie View A&M
• Sept. 19: vs. Louisiana Tech
• Sept. 26: vs. Colorado
• Oct. 3: at Arizona State
• Oct. 17: vs. TCU
• Oct. 24: at Kansas
• Oct. 30: at UCF
• Nov. 7: vs. Iowa State
• Nov. 14: at BYU
• Nov. 21: vs. Texas Tech
• Nov. 28: at Houston

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos