At long last, Baylor has done it. The Bears have given in to the screaming masses and scheduled a Power Five non-conference opponent.
Baylor announced a home-and-home with Utah for the 2023-24 seasons. Utah will visit Waco on Sept. 16, 2023, and the Bears will return the visit on Sept. 14, 2024.
“We are excited to begin a football series with Utah,” Baylor AD Ian McCaw said in a statement. “The Utes have enjoyed considerable success on the national level including five 10-win seasons since 2003.”
Baylor and Utah have never met previously. The Bears last faced a Pac-12 foe in 2008, a 45-17 win over Washington State in Waco. Utah hasn’t played a Big 12 opponent since opening its undefeated 2004 season with a 41-21 drubbing of Texas A&M.
Baylor has come under considerable fire the last two seasons for its non-conference schedule, seasons where the Bears (22-4 in that span) did not help themselves with weak out-of-conference slates. They have not played a Power Five foe in non-conference since opening the 2009 campaign with a 24-21 win at Wake Forest. Baylor also has a home-and-home with Duke lined up for 2017-18. Utah opens the 2015 season at home versus Michigan.
Now, who wants to place odds that Art Briles and Kyle Whittingham are still in their respective posts eight and nine years from now?
