Baylor Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

Baylor football comes into this season as reigning Big 12 runner-up. Can the Bears continue building with new head coach Dave Aranda from LSU?

The 2019 season was a banner year for Baylor. It was the Big 12 runner-up and played Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

The Bears had erased the demons of the Art Briles scandal. And then-head coach Matt Rhule took over the program in 2017 as they won one game.

Before the scandal, the Bears were a program on the rise in the Big 12. Briles took the program over in 2008, and by 2015 the Bears had won 10 games three seasons in a row and were out-recruiting Oklahoma and Texas in certain areas — Robert Griffin III chose Baylor over both Texas and Oklahoma.

When Rhule took over in 2017, he tore the program down to the studs. He recalibrated how the program recruited, trained, coached and developed players. Last season was the culmination of all the hard work.

This season, the Bears have turned over the coaching staff. Rhule left Baylor to seek fortunes in the NFL, taking over the Carolina Panthers.

In steps LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.

How will the coaching turnover affect the Bears in this truncated season? The Bears plan to play their Big 12 conference schedule in addition to one non-conference game. How will they fare?