Saturday, November 15
Waco, Texas
6 p.m.
Baylor
vs
Utah
FB Hosts No. 13 Utah in Conference Clash at McLane
11/10/2025 1:54:00 AM | Football
WACO, Texas -- Seeking to stretch its home winning streak to three games, Baylor football will play host to No. 13/17/19 Utah in a crucial conference clash on Saturday at McLane Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPN2 and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
Baylor (5-4, 3-3 Big 12 Conference) will face off with Utah (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) on Saturday, with both teams coming off idle weeks. The Bears have won two straight home games, including a 30-3 beatdown of UCF on Nov. 1, and a 35-34 comeback win over Kansas State on Oct. 4.
The Bears will be facing Utah for the first time in a Big 12 game. Meetings in 2022 and 2023 came as non-conference games, both a pair of Utes wins.
Baylor has won nine of its last 12 Big 12 Conference games, dating back to a 2024 six-game win streak to conclude the year. The Bears have won 11 of their last 16 games, with lone losses to Auburn, LSU, TCU, No. 21 Cincinnati and defending league champion Arizona State on a walk-off field goal.
SCOUTING THE UTES
• Utah comes into the game also off an idle week, sporting a 7-2 record and a 4-2 mark in Big 12 play. The Utes are ranked No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings, No. 17 in the AP and No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Utah went 3-0 in non-conference play with wins over UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming, but lost their Big 12 opener vs. No. 17 Texas Tech, 34-10 in Salt Lake. Utah has wins over West Virginia, No. 21 Arizona State, Colorado and No. 17 Cincinnati, falling at No. 15 BYU.
• The Utes have won two straight games entering the clash in Waco, putting up a 98-21 aggregate score in beatdowns vs. Colorado and Cincinnati. UU has games vs. Kansas State and at Kansas left to conclude the regular-season.
• Utah averages 39.6 points, 477.2 yards, 267.1 rushing yards and 210.1 passing yards per game. Defensively, UU allows only 14.2 points per game, including 301.1 yards, with 156.8 passing and 144.3 rushing yards per game. Nationally, UU ranks No. 4 in first-down offense, No. 8 in passing defense, No. 3 in rushing offense, No. 8 in scoring defense, No. 10 in scoring offense, No. 16 in sacks, No. 17 in defense and No. 11 in offense.
• QB Devon Dampier has starred for Utah in his first season as the starter, after transferring in, totaling 520 rushing yards with five TDs, and throwing for 1,588 yards with 15 TDs and five interceptions. Wayshawn Parker has rushed for 607 yards with five TDs, while NaQuari Rogers has eight rushing TDs with 345 yards. Ryan Davis leads the team with 56 catches for 650 yards and four TDs. Dallen Bentley, JJ Buchanan and Larry Simmons each have three receiving TDs. Jonathan Hall and Jackson Bennee each have 43 tackles to lead the team. John Henry Daley has 9.5 sacks and 14 TFLs. Bennee has three interceptions and Smith Snowden has nine PBUs.
• Utah is led by the all-time winningest coach in Utes history, Kyle Whittingham, who is in his 22nd year at the helm with a 174-88 record, including an 11-6 mark in bowl games. He previously spent 11 years as an assistant coach and has led Utah to a winning record in 17 of his years, including a stretch of 10 straight seasons. He is a graduate of BYU and owns two degrees from the school as a native of Provo. Whittingham has four children, including a pair of sons who played for him.
• Morgan Scalley is the defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Jason Beck is the offensive coordinator and Jim Harding is the assistant head coach and offensive line coach. Scalley is in his 19th year as a coach at Utah and his eighth as the DC. He is a former All-America safety who was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2019 when Utah ranked second in the nation in total defense. He leads a defense with the moniker RSNB - Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawks. Beck led one of the nation's best offenses at New Mexico in 2024 and joined the Lobos after time at Syracuse (2022-23). Harding is in his 11th season as the offensive line coach and has been the assistant head coach since 2017. Sharrief Shah is the corners coach and the special teams coordinator.
LAST MEETING
• The Bears fell for the first time in 2024 in a 23-12 loss at No. 11/11 Utah on Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City.
• Baylor got behind 23-0 in the first half as Utah used a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on the three yard line to take an early, nearly untestable lead. The Bears fought back however on the strength of the Dave Aranda defense, outscoring Utah 12-0 over the remainder of the game and holding the Utes offensive attack to little success.
• Baylor couldn't sustain offensive success against the stout Utah defense, but saw Dawson Pendergrass rush nine times for 69 yards and Josh Cameron haul in his first career TD pass with a 47-yard strike in the third quarter.
• Defensively, Baylor's elite inside linebacker group of Keaton Thomas and Matt Jones each had double-digit tackle efforts, with Thomas going for a career-high 12.
BEARS ROUT UCF WITH STIFLING DEFENSE
• Baylor posted its most complete win of the year with a 30-3 Homecoming rout of UCF on Nov. 1 at McLane Stadium. The Bears jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and used that start to fuel a 20-0 lead just before halftime, with a late fumble allowing UCF to jump on the board at the break. Baylor added to its lead and used the stiff defensive effort to post the win, marking the fewest points allowed to a Big 12 foe since 2006.
• Baylor opened the scoring with consecutive TD drives that saw Michael Trigg and Josh Cameron each connect with Sawyer Robertson on scoring plays. Connor Hawkins added a pair of field goals to complete lengthy drives and the Bears added another Hawkins FG and a Kole Wilson TD grab for the final margin.
• BU thwarted UCF on third and fourth down throughout the game, holding the Knights to 1-of-11 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down, while adding stops on 10 of 11 drives and forcing a pair of interceptions. BU held UCF to just 225 yards of total offense, including 74 yards rushing and 151 yards passing. Offensively, BU had 417 yards, including 267 passing. Freshman Caden Knighten had the best game of his career, rushing 21 times for 104 yards. Ashtyn Hawkins hauled in eight balls and Trigg had five catches for 82 yards.
SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Utah have met just twice in series history, including a 2023 meeting in Waco and a 2024 meeting in Salt Lake, both Utah wins. Both meetings came as non-conference games, as the series was determined before Utah was invited into the Big 12 Conference after the demise of the Pac 12 Conference during the summer of 2024. Utah posted a 20-13 win in 2023 in Waco, with the Bears relying on then-backup QB Sawyer Robertson to fill in for an injured Blake Shapen. Robertson's pass into the end zone as time expired fell to the ground and kept the Bears from a miraculous game-tying drive. In 2024, Baylor was relying in then starting QB Dequan Finn but Finn couldn't find his footing as Utah scored the first 23 points of the game, all in the second half. Dave Aranda's defense pitched a shutout in the second half and used a pair of field goals and the first career TD from Josh Cameron to pull within nine points, but Finn went 9-for-21 through the air and was sacked three times as the offense stalled under his control.
BAYLOR AFTER IDLE WEEKS UNDER DAVE
• Baylor owns a 4-2 record under Coach Dave Aranda following an idle week. This includes 2021-24 and does not include the COVID-impacted 2020 season.
BAYLOR LEADS NCAA IN FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL WINS
• Baylor athletics is in the midst of a historic run of success, including recent national titles in men's and women's basketball, and football coming off a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2021 and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• Since 2011, and as of the end of the 2024-25 athletics season, no other school can compete with Baylor's run, as the Bears lead the nation in wins combined among football, and men's and women's basketball. Baylor has 32 more wins than the next closest school, UConn. The next closest in the Big 12 is BYU, who has 732 wins, 150 shy of Baylor despite playing as an independent until the 2023 season.
BAYLOR VS. TOP-25 FOES
• Under Coach Dave Aranda, Baylor is 6-15 vs. top-25 ranked foes, and are 1-1 in 2025. The Bears posted a 48-45 win in double OT at No. 17/16 SMU on Sept. 4, before falling at No. 21/21 Cincinnati on Oct. 25.
• BU is 60-200-6 against ranked foes all-time. In 2021, Baylor went 5-1 against ranked teams, including wins in four-straight chances, and three straight against top-eight foes.
• By comparison, former coach Art Briles lost 14 straight games against ranked foes to open his career, going 11-22 against ranked opponents in his career. Jim Grobe went 0-2 in his season in Waco, and Matt Rhule went 0-11 against ranked opponents at Baylor.
Baylor (5-4, 3-3 Big 12 Conference) will face off with Utah (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) on Saturday, with both teams coming off idle weeks. The Bears have won two straight home games, including a 30-3 beatdown of UCF on Nov. 1, and a 35-34 comeback win over Kansas State on Oct. 4.
The Bears will be facing Utah for the first time in a Big 12 game. Meetings in 2022 and 2023 came as non-conference games, both a pair of Utes wins.
Baylor has won nine of its last 12 Big 12 Conference games, dating back to a 2024 six-game win streak to conclude the year. The Bears have won 11 of their last 16 games, with lone losses to Auburn, LSU, TCU, No. 21 Cincinnati and defending league champion Arizona State on a walk-off field goal.
SCOUTING THE UTES
• Utah comes into the game also off an idle week, sporting a 7-2 record and a 4-2 mark in Big 12 play. The Utes are ranked No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings, No. 17 in the AP and No. 19 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Utah went 3-0 in non-conference play with wins over UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming, but lost their Big 12 opener vs. No. 17 Texas Tech, 34-10 in Salt Lake. Utah has wins over West Virginia, No. 21 Arizona State, Colorado and No. 17 Cincinnati, falling at No. 15 BYU.
• The Utes have won two straight games entering the clash in Waco, putting up a 98-21 aggregate score in beatdowns vs. Colorado and Cincinnati. UU has games vs. Kansas State and at Kansas left to conclude the regular-season.
• Utah averages 39.6 points, 477.2 yards, 267.1 rushing yards and 210.1 passing yards per game. Defensively, UU allows only 14.2 points per game, including 301.1 yards, with 156.8 passing and 144.3 rushing yards per game. Nationally, UU ranks No. 4 in first-down offense, No. 8 in passing defense, No. 3 in rushing offense, No. 8 in scoring defense, No. 10 in scoring offense, No. 16 in sacks, No. 17 in defense and No. 11 in offense.
• QB Devon Dampier has starred for Utah in his first season as the starter, after transferring in, totaling 520 rushing yards with five TDs, and throwing for 1,588 yards with 15 TDs and five interceptions. Wayshawn Parker has rushed for 607 yards with five TDs, while NaQuari Rogers has eight rushing TDs with 345 yards. Ryan Davis leads the team with 56 catches for 650 yards and four TDs. Dallen Bentley, JJ Buchanan and Larry Simmons each have three receiving TDs. Jonathan Hall and Jackson Bennee each have 43 tackles to lead the team. John Henry Daley has 9.5 sacks and 14 TFLs. Bennee has three interceptions and Smith Snowden has nine PBUs.
• Utah is led by the all-time winningest coach in Utes history, Kyle Whittingham, who is in his 22nd year at the helm with a 174-88 record, including an 11-6 mark in bowl games. He previously spent 11 years as an assistant coach and has led Utah to a winning record in 17 of his years, including a stretch of 10 straight seasons. He is a graduate of BYU and owns two degrees from the school as a native of Provo. Whittingham has four children, including a pair of sons who played for him.
• Morgan Scalley is the defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Jason Beck is the offensive coordinator and Jim Harding is the assistant head coach and offensive line coach. Scalley is in his 19th year as a coach at Utah and his eighth as the DC. He is a former All-America safety who was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2019 when Utah ranked second in the nation in total defense. He leads a defense with the moniker RSNB - Relentless, Smart, Nasty, Ballhawks. Beck led one of the nation's best offenses at New Mexico in 2024 and joined the Lobos after time at Syracuse (2022-23). Harding is in his 11th season as the offensive line coach and has been the assistant head coach since 2017. Sharrief Shah is the corners coach and the special teams coordinator.
LAST MEETING
• The Bears fell for the first time in 2024 in a 23-12 loss at No. 11/11 Utah on Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City.
• Baylor got behind 23-0 in the first half as Utah used a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on the three yard line to take an early, nearly untestable lead. The Bears fought back however on the strength of the Dave Aranda defense, outscoring Utah 12-0 over the remainder of the game and holding the Utes offensive attack to little success.
• Baylor couldn't sustain offensive success against the stout Utah defense, but saw Dawson Pendergrass rush nine times for 69 yards and Josh Cameron haul in his first career TD pass with a 47-yard strike in the third quarter.
• Defensively, Baylor's elite inside linebacker group of Keaton Thomas and Matt Jones each had double-digit tackle efforts, with Thomas going for a career-high 12.
BEARS ROUT UCF WITH STIFLING DEFENSE
• Baylor posted its most complete win of the year with a 30-3 Homecoming rout of UCF on Nov. 1 at McLane Stadium. The Bears jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and used that start to fuel a 20-0 lead just before halftime, with a late fumble allowing UCF to jump on the board at the break. Baylor added to its lead and used the stiff defensive effort to post the win, marking the fewest points allowed to a Big 12 foe since 2006.
• Baylor opened the scoring with consecutive TD drives that saw Michael Trigg and Josh Cameron each connect with Sawyer Robertson on scoring plays. Connor Hawkins added a pair of field goals to complete lengthy drives and the Bears added another Hawkins FG and a Kole Wilson TD grab for the final margin.
• BU thwarted UCF on third and fourth down throughout the game, holding the Knights to 1-of-11 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down, while adding stops on 10 of 11 drives and forcing a pair of interceptions. BU held UCF to just 225 yards of total offense, including 74 yards rushing and 151 yards passing. Offensively, BU had 417 yards, including 267 passing. Freshman Caden Knighten had the best game of his career, rushing 21 times for 104 yards. Ashtyn Hawkins hauled in eight balls and Trigg had five catches for 82 yards.
SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Utah have met just twice in series history, including a 2023 meeting in Waco and a 2024 meeting in Salt Lake, both Utah wins. Both meetings came as non-conference games, as the series was determined before Utah was invited into the Big 12 Conference after the demise of the Pac 12 Conference during the summer of 2024. Utah posted a 20-13 win in 2023 in Waco, with the Bears relying on then-backup QB Sawyer Robertson to fill in for an injured Blake Shapen. Robertson's pass into the end zone as time expired fell to the ground and kept the Bears from a miraculous game-tying drive. In 2024, Baylor was relying in then starting QB Dequan Finn but Finn couldn't find his footing as Utah scored the first 23 points of the game, all in the second half. Dave Aranda's defense pitched a shutout in the second half and used a pair of field goals and the first career TD from Josh Cameron to pull within nine points, but Finn went 9-for-21 through the air and was sacked three times as the offense stalled under his control.
BAYLOR AFTER IDLE WEEKS UNDER DAVE
• Baylor owns a 4-2 record under Coach Dave Aranda following an idle week. This includes 2021-24 and does not include the COVID-impacted 2020 season.
BAYLOR LEADS NCAA IN FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL WINS
• Baylor athletics is in the midst of a historic run of success, including recent national titles in men's and women's basketball, and football coming off a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2021 and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• Since 2011, and as of the end of the 2024-25 athletics season, no other school can compete with Baylor's run, as the Bears lead the nation in wins combined among football, and men's and women's basketball. Baylor has 32 more wins than the next closest school, UConn. The next closest in the Big 12 is BYU, who has 732 wins, 150 shy of Baylor despite playing as an independent until the 2023 season.
BAYLOR VS. TOP-25 FOES
• Under Coach Dave Aranda, Baylor is 6-15 vs. top-25 ranked foes, and are 1-1 in 2025. The Bears posted a 48-45 win in double OT at No. 17/16 SMU on Sept. 4, before falling at No. 21/21 Cincinnati on Oct. 25.
• BU is 60-200-6 against ranked foes all-time. In 2021, Baylor went 5-1 against ranked teams, including wins in four-straight chances, and three straight against top-eight foes.
• By comparison, former coach Art Briles lost 14 straight games against ranked foes to open his career, going 11-22 against ranked opponents in his career. Jim Grobe went 0-2 in his season in Waco, and Matt Rhule went 0-11 against ranked opponents at Baylor.
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