No. 5-ranked Baylor football earns its highest final ranking in program history

It’s been more than three weeks since Baylor football wrapped up its 2021 season with a commanding 21-7 Sugar Bowl victory over No. 8 Ole Miss — but the honors continue to pour in.

Most notably, head coach Dave Aranda’s Bears finished No. 5 in the country in the final AP poll — the program’s best-ever finish. It marked the third top-10 finish in program history, joining squads from 1951 (No. 9) and 2014 (No. 7), and left Baylor as the top-ranked program in both the Big 12 and the state of Texas.

Just as important, Baylor football set a program record for fall semester GPA last fall, only a short while after having set the program record for best spring semester GPA. Last year’s roster featured 37 student-athletes who had already earned their degrees, two who had already finished their master’s degrees, and one — senior cornerback Zeke Brown — who was working on his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering.

Such success led to Aranda being named national coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club, as he became the first Baylor coach to receive its George Munger Coach of the Year honor. After being picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 preseason media poll, Aranda tied with Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh for the best turnaround in college football, boasting a 10-win improvement from 2020.

What will 2022 hold for the Bears? Find out for yourself, in-person — season tickets are on sale now!

Sic ’em, Baylor football!