By the Baylor Lariat Sports Desk
Baylor football was picked to finish 12th in the preseason Big 12 Media Poll. Following a disastrous 3-9 finish and sans an FBS win at McLane Stadium in over a calendar year, the Bears’ prospects looked bleak.
Five months later, Baylor fans sat on the edge of their seats as the Bears entered the final weekend of the season with a chance at a Big 12 championship game berth. And though they didn’t make it, the season certainly represented a leap of faith, punctuated by a dominant, vindicating six-game winning streak, swooping head coach Dave Aranda off the hot seat and ensuring the program’s highest-ranked recruiting class in his tenure made it to campus.