1974 Baylor Bears football team

The 1974 Baylor Bears football team represented the Baylor University in the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. Baylor won eight games and captured the Southwest Conference (SWC) championship for the first time since 1924, and in the process defeated the Texas by a score of 34–24 after rallying from a 24–7 halftime deficit.^[1] It was Baylor's first victory over the Longhorns in 17 years. The 1974 season and the win over Texas are commonly referred to as the "Miracle on the Brazos" (after the Brazos River, which runs near the Baylor campus) and it remains part of Baylor lore.

1974 Baylor Bears football
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 21–40 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 14
Record	8–4 (6–1 SWC)
Head coach	Grant Teaff (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Yung (1st season)
Home stadium	Baylor Stadium
Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Baylor $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 17 Texas	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 16 Texas A&M	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
SMU	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Texas Tech	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	2
Rice	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
TCU	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	at No. 1 Oklahoma*		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 11–28	62,375	[2]
September 21	at Missouri*		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 21–28	43,752	[3]
September 28	No. 12 Oklahoma State*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 31–14	30,000	[4]
October 5	at Florida State*		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 21–17	25,262	[5]
October 12	at No. 14 Arkansas		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 21–17	43,300	[6]
October 26	No. 8 Texas A&M		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	L 0–20	48,500–51,200	[7]
November 2	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 21–7	18,792	[8]
November 9	No. 12 Texas		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	W 34–24	43,100	[9]
November 16	No. 20 Texas Tech		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	W 17–10	32,000	[10]
November 23	at SMU	No. 16	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 31–14	40,168	[11]
November 30	Rice	No. 16	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 24–3	40,500	[12]
January 1	vs. No. 7 Penn State*	No. 12	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	L 20–41	67,500–68,500	[13][14][15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Team players drafted into the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Neal Jeffrey	quarterback	17	423	San Diego Chargers

Awards and honors

• Grant Teaff, AFCA Coach of the Year