Colorado heads to Waco for its Big 12 opener still trying to figure out who plays quarterback. Baylor thinks it already solved that problem by importing one.
Bush’s Picks
COLOBAY
COLOBAY
OverUnder
Best BetBaylor
Baylor's price here reflects a team replacing nearly two-thirds of its rotation but adding a clear talent upgrade at quarterback in Lagway, at home in a conference opener. Colorado is coming off a 3-9 season and still hasn't settled its own quarterback race, which makes backing the Buffs on the moneyline a leap of faith right now. Lay the price and side with Baylor here.
Colorado
+Beat Baylor on a Hail Mary walk-off in 2024
+66 new players, fresh coordinators on both sides
+Scudero arrives after leading nation in receiving yards
−Finished 3-9 last season, Sanders called it ugly
−Run defense ranked 133rd of 134 teams in 2025
−Quarterback job still unsettled entering fall camp
Baylor
+DJ Lagway brings former five-star arm talent
+Experienced offensive line, healthy Dawson Pendergrass in backfield
+Big 12 opener at home in Waco
−Lost 18 returning starters, including top rusher and tackler
−Lagway ranked near SEC's worst in QB rating in 2025
−Defense rebuilding through portal, struggled vs run in 2025
Friday, September 25 is circled for a reason: DJ Lagway makes his first Big 12 start for Baylor, while Colorado still isn't sure who's taking snaps behind center. Julian Lewis enters fall camp as the favorite after a rocky freshman season, but Utah transfer Isaac Wilson pushed him hard all spring, and Coach Prime hasn't closed the book on that competition. Whoever wins the job walks into a Baylor defense that's been overhauled through the portal — good news for a first-time starter, or a trap if the rebuild hasn't gelled yet.
Lagway's the bigger story either way. He arrived at Florida as a five-star, started as a true freshman, then stumbled through a sophomore year that left him near the bottom of the SEC in quarterback rating. Aranda's already selling a reset, saying his new QB is playing loose instead of boxed in, and Lagway backed that up at Big 12 media days, calling himself in the best mental and physical shape of his career. Baylor's banking on that turnaround holding up against Big 12 defenses that will be gunning for him from day one.
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COLO Colorado
BAY Baylor
Colorado's calling card the last two meetings has been chaos — the Buffs beat Baylor in Boulder in 2024 on a Hail Mary and a walk-off fumble recovery, part of a series CU leads 10-7 overall. That kind of finish doesn't walk through the door on command, and a 3-9 season that ended with Sanders admitting his team "got its butts kicked" suggests this year's group has real work to do before it's stealing games in Waco again.
Colorado Buffaloes
Sep 19?@ Northwestern—
Sep 12?vs Weber State—
Sep 3?@ Georgia Tech—
Baylor Bears
Sep 19?vs Louisiana Tech—
Sep 12?vs Prairie View A&M—
Sep 5?@ Auburn—
Recent form.
Baylor's issue is depth, not talent. The Bears lost 18 players who started at least six games last season — 12 to graduation, six more to the portal, including leading rusher Bryson Washington and leading tackler Keaton Thomas. Dawson Pendergrass gives them a physical complement to Lagway if he's healthy, and an experienced offensive line should buy the new quarterback time early. But eight of Baylor's games this fall project within one score, and this program hasn't strung together consecutive winning seasons since its 12-2 peak in 2021.
Colorado Buffaloes
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Baylor Bears
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
For Colorado, the story is roster reconstruction more than reload — 66 new players is close to turning over half the two-deep. Danny Scudero arrives after leading the nation in receiving yards last season, giving whichever quarterback wins the job an immediate weapon. Whether that's enough to cover for a defense that ranked 133rd of 134 FBS teams against the run in 2025 is the whole Colorado season in miniature, and it gets tested early in Waco.
