CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Baylor

1–⁠11 (1–⁠8 Big 12), coached by Matt Rhule.

Schedule and results

Baylor in 2017, game by game: lost vs. Liberty 45–48; lost vs. UTSA 10–17; lost at Duke 20–34; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 41–49; lost at Kansas State 20–33; lost at No. 14 Oklahoma State 16–59; lost vs. No. 23 West Virginia 36–38; lost vs. Texas 7–38; won at Kansas 38–9; lost vs. Texas Tech 24–38; lost vs. Iowa State 13–23; lost at No. 10 TCU 22–45+29−43Lost 45–48 vs. Liberty-3LibertyLost 10–17 vs. UTSA-7UTSALost 20–34 at Duke-14DukeLost 41–49 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-8No. 3 OklahomaLost 20–33 at Kansas State-13Kansas StateLost 16–59 at No. 14 Oklahoma State-43No. 14 Oklahoma StateLost 36–38 vs. No. 23 West Virginia-2No. 23 West VirginiaLost 7–38 vs. Texas-31TexasWon 38–9 at Kansas+29KansasLost 24–38 vs. Texas Tech-14Texas TechLost 13–23 vs. Iowa State-10Iowa StateLost 22–45 at No. 10 TCU-23No. 10 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsLibertyL 45–⁠4881%
Sep 9vsUTSAL 10–⁠1765%
Sep 16atDukeL 20–⁠3438%
Sep 23vs3OklahomaL 41–⁠4922%
Sep 30atKansas StateL 20–⁠3325%
Oct 14at14Oklahoma StateL 16–⁠5916%
Oct 21vs23West VirginiaL 36–⁠3835%
Oct 28vsTexasL 7–⁠3846%
Nov 4atKansasW 38–⁠961%
Nov 11vsTexas TechL 24–⁠3844%
Nov 18vsIowa StateL 13–⁠2337%
Nov 24at10TCUL 22–⁠4511%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to TCU 45–⁠22; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 121 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠8 9th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
292–⁠431
Coach
Matt Rhule
Elo
1380 −165 this season
SP+ rating
-1.4 No. 75 of 128; offense No. 78, defense No. 77, special teams No. 44
SRS
−6.4 No. 90 of 130 in FBS
Returning
43% of last season’s EPA, No. 97 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 40 roster talent No. 35 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Glenn Thomas and Jeff Nixon
Defensive coordinator
Phil Snow
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3 stack

How good, play by play

  • Offense107th of 130
  • Defense95th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted88th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted89th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0037%1.45107th of 130
Defense0.1744%1.2195th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.13 def		40% off
43% def		—88th off
89th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.0own 2920% allowed
Defense3.6own 3516% caused

CORE rating -2.1, 75th of 130 (offense -0.6, defense 1.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsCharlie Brewer QB1,562 yds
Passing touchdownsCharlie Brewer QB11 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Lovett RB445 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohn Lovett RB5 TD
Receiving yardsDenzel Mims WR1,087 yds
Receiving touchdownsDenzel Mims WR8 TD
TacklesTaylor Young LB60 tkl
SacksIra Lewis DT5.5 sacks
InterceptionsGrayland Arnold CB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Xavier Newman OG★★★No. 357
Gavin Holmes WR★★★No. 414
R.J. Sneed WR★★★No. 436
Trestan Ebner ATH★★★No. 440
John Lovett ATH★★★No. 502

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs23.00.841
Receivers33.00.858
Offensive line62.80.838
Defensive line53.00.837
Linebackers33.00.855
Defensive backs53.00.853
Athletes and specialists33.00.868
Whole class283.00.848

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 117

The 2017 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠112–⁠23
TCU7–⁠211–⁠39
Oklahoma State6–⁠310–⁠314
Kansas State5–⁠48–⁠5
Iowa State5–⁠48–⁠5
Texas5–⁠47–⁠6
West Virginia5–⁠47–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠66–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠81–⁠11
Kansas0–⁠91–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.