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2019 Baylor Bears football
Big 12 Championship, L 23–30 vs Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl, L 14–26 vs. Georgia
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 13
Record	11–3 (8–1 Big 12)
Head coach	Matt Rhule (3rd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Glenn Thomas (3rd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Jeff Nixon (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Phil Snow (3rd season)
Base defense	3–3 stack
Home stadium	McLane Stadium
Uniform
Seasons← 20182020 →

The 2019 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears played their home games at the McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by Matt Rhule in his third and final season as the program's head coach.

Baylor, only two years removed from a 1–11 season in 2017, began the year unranked and projected to finish in sixth in the Big 12 Conference. The Bears won their first nine games of the season and climbed to 13th in the College Football Playoff rankings, but did not play a ranked team in that span. The team then hosted then-No. 10 Oklahoma, but Baylor squandered a 25-point lead and lost 34–31. Baylor finished out the regular season with an 11–1 record, 8–1 in Big 12 play to finish tied atop the conference standings, earning them a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, the school's first appearance in the game, to play a rematch against Oklahoma. There, the Bears lost to the Sooners again, this time in overtime, 30–23. Baylor received an invitation to the Sugar Bowl to play SEC runner-up Georgia, where they lost 26–14, to end the season at 11–3 and ranked 13th in the final AP Poll.

Baylor's defense was led by defensive tackle James Lynch, who was a consensus All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the conference with 13.5 sacks on the season. He was joined on the first-team all-conference by defensive tackle Bravvion Roy. Offensively, the Bears were led by 3,000-yard passer Charlie Brewer, and 1,000-yard receiver Denzel Mims. Head coach Matt Rhule was named Big 12 Coach of the Year, and, after the completion of the season, he departed to take the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers.

Preseason

Recruiting class

References:

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40	Commit date
Blake Bedier Offensive Lineman	Lehi, UT	Lehi HS Snow College	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tyrone Brown Defensive Back	Beaumont, TX	Beaumont United HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Logan Compton Defensive Lineman	Cypress, TX	Tomball HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Davis DiVall Offensive Lineman	Scottsdale, AZ	Bridgton Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Elijah Ellis Offensive Lineman	Paris, TX	Paris HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	279 lb (127 kg)	-	Feb 6, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jaylen Ellis Wide Receiver	Round Rock, TX	Cedar Ridge HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
TJ Franklin Defensive Lineman	Temple, TX	Temple HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Gabriel "Gabe" Hall Defensive Line	Temple, TX	Temple HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	288 lb (131 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Matt Jones Defensive Lineman	Odessa, TX	Odessa Permian HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Qualan Jones Running Back	Grand Prairie, TX	Trinity Christian	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Paul Matavao–Poialli Offensive Lineman	Daly City, CA	Jefferson HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	330 lb (150 kg)	-	Feb 6, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Peyton Powell Quarterback	Odessa, TX	Odessa Permian HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Garmon Randolph Defensive End	Jefferson, GA	Jefferson HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	234 lb (106 kg)	-	Feb 6, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Noah Rauschenberg Kicker	Tulsa, OK	Union HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	-	Feb 6, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Sam Snyder Tight End	Fleming Island, FL	Fleming Island HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Yusuf Terry Wide Receiver	Philadelphia, PA	Imhotep Institute Charter HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	-	Feb 6, 2020
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Solomon Turner Defensive Back	Frisco, TX	Prestonwood Christian	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Hakeem Vance Defensive Back	Olive Branch, MS	Hattiesburg HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Brandon White Defensive Back	Amarillo, TX	Tascosa HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Harrison White Defensive Line	Houston, TX	Klein HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	263 lb (119 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jonah White Running Back	Merkel, TX	Merkel HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Will Williams Linebacker	El Paso, TX	Chapin HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jacob Zeno Quarterback	San Antonio, TX	John Jay HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Niadre Zouzoua Defensive Lineman	Brockton, MA	Brockton HS Monroe College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	-	Dec 20, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

References:

Big 12 media poll

The 2019 Big 12 media days were held July 15–16, 2019 in Frisco, Texas. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, Baylor was predicted to finish in sixth in the standings.

Preseason All-Big 12 teams

References:

Roster

2019 Baylor Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 5 Denzel Mims Sr RB 6 JaMycal Hasty Sr RB 7 John Lovett Jr QB 11 Gerry Bohanon  Fr QB 12 Charlie Brewer Jr WR 13 R. J. Sneed So WR 14 Chris Platt Sr QB 14 Jacob Zeno Fr WR 15 Tripp Mitchell Fr WR 16 Jared Atkinson Jr QB 16 Bo Brewer Fr QB 17 Garret McGuire So QB 18 Brandon Bass  Fr WR 18 Gavin Holmes So WR 19 Yusuf Terry Fr RB 20 Craig Williams  Fr WR 21 Josh Fleeks So RB 25 Trestan Ebner Jr RB 27 Qualan Jones Fr RB, LB 28 Abram Smith So WR 29 Davis Baucum  Fr RB 31 Jacoby Clarke Fr RB 32 Skyler Wetzel Jr RB 33 Jonah White Fr WR 34 Blake Perdue Jr TE 37 Cody George Sr FB 38 Koby Bullard Jr WR 40 Kolby White Fr RB 44 Dru Dixon So OL 50 Paul Matavao–Poialii Fr OL 52 Sam Tecklenburg Sr OL 55 Xavier Newman-Johnson Jr OL 56 Blake Bedier Jr OL 57 Johncarlo Valentin Sr OL 58 Ty Smith So OL 61 Khalil Keith So OL 63 Jake Fruhmorgen Sr OL 65 Blake George Fr OL 66 Colby Johnston Fr OL 70 Jackson Kimble  Fr OL 71 Jim Threet  Jr OL 73 Davis DiVall Fr OL 74 Prince Pines  Fr OL 75 Elijah Ellis Fr OL 76 Connor Galvin So OL 77 Jason Moore So OL 78 Henry Klinge III So OL 79 Casey Phillips  Fr WR 80 Jackson Gleeson  Fr WR 81 Tyquan Thornton So TE 82 Tyler Henderson So WR 82 Kyle Peterson Jr WR 83 Russell Morrison Jr WR 84 Jaylen Ellis Fr WR 84 Marques Jones Sr TE 85 Sam Snyder Fr TE 86 Ben Sims  Fr TE 87 Christoph Henle So TE, DT 91 Rob Saulin So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 1 Grayland Arnold Jr LB 2 Blake Lynch Sr S 3 Chris Miller Sr LB 4 Clay Johnston Sr S 8 Henry Black Sr DE 9 James Lockhart Sr CB 11 Jameson Houston Sr CB 12 Kalon Barnes So CB 13 Raleigh Texada Jr S 15 Christian Morgan So CB 20 Brandon White Fr S 22 JT Woods So S 23 Zeke Brown Jr LB 24 Jalen Pitre Jr CB 25 Byron Hanspard Jr.  Fr LB 26 Terrel Bernard So S 30 Will Baxter  Fr S 30 Hakeem Vance Fr S 31 Griffin Speaks Fr LB 32 Tyrone Brown Fr S 33 Will Williams Fr LB 34 Owen Rogers Sr LB 35 Tyrstan Slinker Jr CB 35 Shevin Smith Fr CB 36 Ricardo Benitez  Fr LB 36 Solo Turner Fr CB 37 Mark Milton  Fr LB 38 Jordan Williams Sr S 39 Colby Delashaw  Fr LB 41 Jake Copeland Jr S 42 Jairon McVea Jr LB 45 Bryson Jackson So CB 47 Alex Lanham Fr S 48 Collin Losack Fr LB 50 Ashton Logan So DE 51 Jackson Shupp  Fr LB 52 Matt Jones Fr DT 54 Brayden Utley  Fr DE 55 Garmon Randolph Fr LB 58 Michael McNair Jr DT 64 Ryan Miller Jr DE 88 Bralen Taylor  Fr DT 90 TJ Franklin Fr DT 92 Josh Landry  Fr DT 93 James Lynch Jr DT 94 Harrison White Fr DT 95 Gabe Hall Fr DT 96 Cole Maxwell So DE 97 Niadré Zouzoua Jr DT 98 Chidi Ogbonnaya So DT 99 Bravvion Roy Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 43 Issac Power  Fr LS 46 Ross Matiscik Sr LS 67 Thor Rodoni Jr K 89 Jay Sedwick So K 95 John Mayers  Fr K 98 Josh Grant So K 99 Noah Rauschenberg Fr	Head coach Matt Rhule (Buffalo) Joey McGuire (Texas–Arlington) Interim Head Coach (offseason only) Coordinators/assistant coaches Phil Snow (Cal State Hayward) Defensive coordinator/s Jeff Nixon (Shippensburg) Co-offensive coordinator/rb Glenn Thomas (Texas Tech) Co-offensive coordinator/qb Mike Siravo (Boston College) Special teams coordinator/lb Shawn Bell (Baylor) Offensive line Evan Cooper (Temple) Recruiting coordinator/cb Frisman Jackson (Western Illinois) Passing game coordinator/wr Frank Okam (Rice) Defensive line Marcus Satterfield (East Tennessee State) Assistant head coach/te George DeLeone (Southern Connecticut) Assistant head coach/ol Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 29 May 2019

Schedule

Baylor announced its 2019 football schedule on October 18, 2018. The 2019 schedule consists of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season.

Schedule Source:

Game summaries

Stephen F. Austin

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: August 31
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 91 °F (33 °C); fair
• Game attendance: 43,013
• Referee: Cal McNeill
• TV: ESPN+

Baylor opened up the 2019 season by beating FCS Stephen F. Austin 56-17 in Waco. Trestan Ebner had three first half touchdowns for the Bears

UTSA

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 99 °F (37 °C); fair
• Game attendance: 40,274
• Referee: David Alvarez
• TV: FOX Sports

At Rice

at Rice Stadium, Houston, TX

• Date: September 21
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C); partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 20,198
• Referee: Billy Williams
• TV: CBS Sports Network

Iowa State

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: September 28
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 93 °F (34 °C); mostly cloudy
• Game attendance: 42,359
• Referee: Mike Defee
• TV: ESPN

At Kansas State

at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, Manhattan, KS

• Date: October 5
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); mostly clear
• Game attendance: 50,448
• Referee: Eddy Shelton
• TV: ESPN2

Baylor's defense proved formidable and produced two turnovers, while their offense completed a balanced run game. Baylor remained undefeated with the 31-12 win over Kansas State.

Texas Tech

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: October 12
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); fair
• Game attendance: 47,264
• Referee: Brad Van Vark
• TV: FoxSports1

For the team's homecoming game, Baylor replaced their traditional interlocking 'BU' on their green helmet with the 'Sailor Bear' logo originally created by Arthur Evans for the second straight year.

Texas Tech traveled to Waco to play Baylor, the two teams had played one another at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX nearly every year from 2009-2018. The 2010 game was played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX, the only game in this stretch that was not played at AT&T Stadium.

The first half of the game was a defensive battle between the two teams. Texas Tech scored only 6 points in the half with two field goals from Trey Wolff while Baylor only scored 3 with a 37-yard field goal from John Mayers. The Red Raiders had 182 yards of offense in the first half while the Bears had 117. Baylor scored the first touchdown of the game for either team on its first drive of the half with a 4-yard run from Charlie Brewer. After trailing for most of the half, the Red Raiders scored a touchdown with 1:37 left in regulation to take a 20–17 lead. The Bears marched down field with Mayers making a 19-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game. Baylor started overtime on offense with Texas Tech on defense. During the drive, center Jake Fruhmorgen appeared to have fumbled the ball on a snap with the ball being recovered by Jaylon Hutchings for the Red Raiders and the play was blown dead quickly. The fumble was overturned as Baylor was penalized for an illegal snap penalty. The call was heavily criticized and the following day Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt announced that the Big 12 had told him that the penalty was the wrong call and that Texas Tech should have gained possession. Hocutt was later fined by the conference for making the announcement in violation of league policy.

After winning in 2 overtime periods by a score of 33-30, Baylor moved up 4 spots in the AP poll from #22 to #18.

At Oklahoma State

at Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK

• Date: October 19
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C); sunny; N 14 MPH
• Game attendance: 55,060
• Referee: Reggie Smith
• TV announcers (FOX): Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (analyst) & Coley Harvey (sideline)

West Virginia

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: October 31
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C); fair and chilly
• Game attendance: 46,379
• Referee: David Alvarez
• TV: ESPN

At TCU

at Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX

• Date: November 9
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); sunny
• Game attendance: 45,870
• Referee: Brandon Cruse
• TV: FoxSports1

Heading into Week 11 of the college football season, Baylor is on top of the Big 12 conference standings with an undefeated 8-0 record. Recent victories over West Virginia and Texas Tech were close and TCU is looking to win a few more games to become eligible for a bowl game. Both teams have been able to score and the game is listed as one of the most "compelling matchups" for the week by MSN Sports.

Oklahoma

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: November 16
• Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); fair
• Game attendance: 50,223
• Referee: Cooper Castleberry
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) & Maria Taylor (sideline)

Texas

at McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

• Date: November 23
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); fair skies
• Game attendance: 49,109
• Referee: Mike Defee
• TV: FoxSports1

At Kansas

at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS

• Date: November 30
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C); sunny
• Game attendance: 22,531
• Referee: Brandon Cruse
• TV: ESPN

Vs. Oklahoma (Big 12 Championship game)

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX

• Date: December 7
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
• Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C); indoors
• Game attendance: 61,191
• Referee: Mike Defee
• TV: ABC

Vs. Georgia (2020 Sugar Bowl)

at Mercedes–Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA

• Date: January 1
• Game time: 7:45 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: N/A (indoors)
• Game attendance: 55,211
• Referee: Jerry McGinn
• TV: ESPN

Rankings

Postseason

All-Big 12 Conference Football Team

References:

Postseason Conference Accolades

Players drafted into the NFL

References

1. Newton, David (September 29, 2021). "Carolina Panthers' top-ranked defense reflects 'old-man' strength of Phil Snow". ESPN. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
2. "Rhule Signs 19 On 1st Day Of Early Period". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
3. "Bears Ink Five To Complete 2019 Class". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
4. "Brewer, Lynch Named to Preseason Watch Lists". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
5. "Brewer Named to Watch List for Davey O'Brien Award". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
6. "Mims Named to the Preseason Watch List for 2019 Biletnikoff Award". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
7. "Johnston Named to Butkus Award Watch List". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
8. "Johnston, Lynch Added to Preseason Watch Lists". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
9. "Lovett Named to Watch List for 2019 Paul Hornung Award". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
10. "Brewer Named to Watch List for Manning Award". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
11. "Sooners Picked First in Media Preseason Poll". big12sports.com. Big 12 Conference. July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
12. "2019 Preseason All-Big 12 football team: Texas QB Sam Ehlinger, Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray headline". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
13. "Football 2019 Schedule Announced". Baylor University Department of Athletics. October 18, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
14. "2019 Baylor Bears Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
15. Lopez, Selby (October 5, 2019). "5 takeaways from Baylor's win over Kansas State: Charlie Brewer's exit causes scare; will undefeated Bears crack top 25?". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
16. "Baylor vs. Kansas State - Game Summary". ESPN. October 5, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
17. Williams, Don (October 18, 2018). "Tech-Baylor game returns to campus as 2019 schedule revealed". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
18. Williams, Don (October 12, 2019). "Tech-Baylor notebook: Wells contests pivotal call in Red Raiders' double-OT setback". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
19. Khan, Jr., Sam (October 13, 2019). "Texas Tech AD - Big 12 admits blown call in loss". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
20. Rittenberg, Adam (October 16, 2019). "Big 12 fines Texas Tech AD for officiating talk". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
21. Reed, Jesse (November 7, 2019). "Most compelling matchups in college football Week 11". MSN Sports. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
22. "2019 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced". big12sports.com. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

• 2019 Big 12 Conference football season
• Baylor Bears football seasons
• 2019 in sports in Texas