50 years later, Baylor’s 1974 SWC championship team still resonates
For Baylor fans who were there, it may be hard to believe that 50 years have passed since a young head coach named Grant Teaff and a now-legendary group of players led the Bears to their first undisputed conference title in a half century, pulling off the “Miracle on the Brazos” along the way. For fans who weren’t around then, they’re a team every Baylor fan should know.
Rewind back to 1974… Very few experts harbored much hope for the Bears. Teaff was a third-year head coach, leading a team coming off a two-win season and a program that had won just 10 of their last 53 games over a five-year span. But the Bears and their staff expected something of themselves, and it showed on the field.
The Bears opened Southwest Conference (SWC) play with a 21-17 upset over No. 14 Arkansas. After a loss evened their conference record at 1-1, the Bears rolled off a five-game winning streak to end the regular season. The signature game was a 34-24 comeback win over No. 12 Texas, which became known as the “Miracle on the Brazos.” Down 24-7 at halftime, the Bears scored 27 unanswered points to win going away. Fans, thrilled by one of the biggest moments in program history, spent the night on the field as the school left the scoreboard on all night.
That game was the keystone contest for a team that went on to win its first undisputed conference title in 50 years. Fifty years after that, the squad remains one of the signature teams in school history, and will be honored at halftime of this Saturday’s game against Air Force.
If you’d like to hear more of the story from Coach Teaff and the players who authored it, Baylor Plus released an original film called The Miracle on the Brazos to take you further inside the 1974 SWC championship experience.
Every Bear should know the story of “The Miracle on the Brazos” — and there’s no one better to tell it than Grant Teaff.
The latest @BaylorPlus original film is now available, exclusively at https://t.co/qvoX9aNDng.pic.twitter.com/WFCLajIvDr
— Baylor University (@Baylor) August 28, 2024
Sic ’em (and happy 50th anniversary), 1974 SWC champs!