# 2016 Baylor Bears football team

The 2016 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were coached by first-year head coach Jim Grobe in their 118th football season. This was the team's third season in McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. The Bears were members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. They were invited to Cactus Bowl where they defeated Boise State.

## Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016. |||||||
National Signing Day was on February 3, 2016.

## Scandal

In September 2015, following the conviction of former players Sam Ukwuachu and Tevin Elliott of sexual assault, along with allegations against other players, the school commissioned law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP to conduct an independent external investigation regarding the university's handling of sexual violence. In April 2016, former player Shawn Oakman was arrested on sexual assault charges as well. Head coach Art Briles was terminated on May 26, 2016 following the presentation of Pepper Hamilton's report. University President Ken Starr and Athletic Director Ian McCaw also resigned. Former Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe was hired on an interim basis.
Following the threat of a lawsuit by Briles for wrongful termination, Baylor provided an out of court settlement. Briles and Baylor are co-defendants in a lawsuit filed by a woman allegedly sexually assaulted by a football player. After Briles' departure, many players announced their intention to transfer including Jarrett Stidham. Seven members of the 2016 recruiting class requested to be released from their National Letter of Intent, and six of the then-seven commits in the 2017 recruiting class decommitted.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:30 p.m. | Northwestern State* | No. 23 | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas | FSN | W 55–7 | 44,849 |
| September 10 | 2:30 p.m. | SMU* | No. 23 | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas | FS1 | W 40–13 | 45,499 |
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | at Rice* | No. 21 | Rice StadiumHouston, Texas | ESPN | W 38–10 | 27,047 |
| September 24 | 6:30 p.m. | Oklahoma State | No. 16 | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas | FOX | W 35–24 | 45,373 |
| October 1 | 11:00 a.m. | at Iowa State | No. 13 | Jack Trice StadiumAmes, Iowa | FS1 | W 45–42 | 50,842 |
| October 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Kansas | No. 11 | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas | FS1 | W 49–7 | 47,598 |
| October 29 | 2:30 p.m. | at Texas | No. 8 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, Texas (rivalry) | ABC | L 34–35 | 97,822 |
| November 5 | 2:30 p.m. | TCU | No. 17 | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas (rivalry) | FOX | L 22–62 | 48,129 |
| November 12 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 11 Oklahoma | | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, Oklahoma | ABC/ESPN2 | L 24–45 | 86,249 |
| November 19 | 11:00 a.m. | Kansas State | | McLane StadiumWaco, Texas | ESPN2 | L 21–42 | 43,581 |
| November 25 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | | AT&T StadiumArlington, Texas (rivalry) | ESPN | L 35–54 | 41,656 |
| December 3 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 16 West Virginia | | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, West Virginia | FS1 | L 21–24 | 49,229 |
| December 27 | 9:15 p.m. | vs. Boise State* | | Chase FieldPhoenix, Arizona (Cactus Bowl) | ESPN | W 31–12 | 33,328 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 23 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | 21 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 6–T | 13 | 25 | RV | — | — | — | — |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Northwestern State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Demons | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| #23 Bears | 24 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 55 |

### SMU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| #23 Bears | 0 | 6 | 20 | 14 | 40 |

### At Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #21 Bears | 0 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Owls | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| #16 Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### At Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #13 Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 |
| Cyclones | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 42 |

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| #11 Bears | 21 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 49 |

### At Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #8 Bears | 14 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
| Longhorns | 14 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 35 |

### TCU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Horned Frogs | 10 | 28 | 10 | 14 | 62 |
| #13 Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 22 |

### At Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #25 Bears | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| #9 Sooners | 14 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 45 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 21 | 14 | 42 |
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### Vs. Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Red Raiders | 20 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 54 |

### At West Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| #14 Mountaineers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Boise State–Cactus Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |