The Baylor Bearswere potentially on the verge of dropping to 0-2 on the season, until they won on the road against the SMU Mustangs 48-45 in overtime last week. This weekend, Baylor will face the Samford Bulldogs before BIG12 Conference play begins.
There are many questions about head coach Dave Aranda for this football program. Had Baylor started 0-2 instead of being 1-1, there is no doubt that Aranda could have been potentially on the hot seat this early in the season. He has been the Bears head coach since the 2020 season and has a 32-31 overall record. With the latest win, he is officially off the hot seat or is he still on it?
ESPN College Football Analyst Believes That Baylor Bears Head Coach Dave Aranda's Hot Seat Has Cooled Off for Now
Many different ESPN.com college football analysts were debating which current head coaches are currently on the hot seat and which ones aren't. Aranda is one of the more polarizing candidates on this list. Well, Adam Rittenberg of espn.com believes that for now, Aranda is not on the hot seat. Rittenberg said,
"When Baylor fell behind by 14 points at SMU in the fourth quarter Saturday, I started to wonder whether coach Dave Aranda would face job pressure for the second straight season. Last fall, Aranda's Bears started 2-4 before rallying to win their final six regular-season games. He faced an 0-2 start to this season, but an incredible rally led by quarterback Sawyer Robertson and others helped force overtime, and Baylor came away with a 48-45 win. Robertson has 859 passing yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions through the first two games. Although Baylor's defense remains a concern, the team split a difficult two-game start and will get most of its toughest remaining opponents in Waco."
They should be 2-1 after Saturday. After this weekend, the Bears will begin conference play against the Arizona State Sun Devils at home. Arizona State is one of the favorites to win the BIG12 Conference.
Losing to the Sun Devils won't be the alarm bell for the Bears program. If the Bears were to lose to the Oklahoma State Cowboys the following week on the road, then Aranda could get himself back onto the hot seat again. Mike Gundy is on the hot seat with Oklahoma State. Baylor needs to go at least 8-4 or 9-3 in order to keep Aranda around for another season.
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