If you’re looking for a quiet August in Waco, you’re in the wrong neighborhood. Baylor’s football program is already catching stray heat from Joel Klatt, who basically told Dave Aranda, “Playoffs or bust,” and now the school’s lawyers are suiting up for a fight with Boston University. Yep—one minute it’s Sawyer Robertson lighting up the scoreboard, the next it’s trademark infringement filings.And somehow, all of it feels connected to whether the Bears are about to have a monster 2025… or trip over themselves in Week One.

Joel Klatt’s not exactly a guy who sugarcoats things, so when he hopped on The Joel Klatt Show on August 13 and listed Baylor as a potential “Playoff Party Crasher” for 2025, it wasn’t empty hype—it was a dare. He flat-out said he loved Baylor’s offense, especially Robertson and running back Bryson Washington: “Let’s start with Baylor. I thought about picking Baylor here. A lot of people have them ranked in that back end of the top 25. And the reason is they won their last six games. This is a team that found momentum late in the year. I really like their quarterback Sawyer Robertson, I really do..They’ve got a really good running back, Bryson Washington. They may have the best quarterback-running back combo with Washington and Robertson in the Big 12.” Klatt declared, adding that last season’s six-game regular-season win streak wasn’t a fluke. But in the same breath, he called out the Bears’ defense, which is supposed to be Aranda’s bread and butter, for being straight-up suspect.

. But, Joel Klatt didn’t go easy on Dave Aranda: “Their defense, and this surprises me and most people in particular with Dave Aranda as their defensive coordinator, their defense wasn’t really up to par and needs to improve. I believe that this is a team that can and will improve with Aranda as their play caller on the defensive side. I expect them now, in the second year with him kind of calling it on the defensive side, to improve there. It’s a team that was carried by their offense a year ago.” Klatt’s got a point. The 2024 Baylor defense wasn’t just leaky; it was Swiss cheese in shoulder pads. They gave up 26.7 points per game (81st nationally) and allowed chunk plays like they were handing out Halloween candy.

The struggles were literally even more noticeable in tougher environments. On the road, Baylor’s defense gave up nearly 422 yards per game, and against ranked opponents that number ballooned to 454.5 yards. Dave Aranda’s squad flipped 2-4 record to 8-5. All thanks to Sawyer Robert and the offense. They finished 19th in scoring, dropped over 3,300 passing yards and 2,300 rushing yards, and averaged 440.1 yards per game. Crazy numbers. Robertson threw for 3,071 yards, 28 TDs, and only 8 picks. Bryson Washington—just a freshman—ran for over 1,000 yards. They could score from anywhere, anytime. Problem is, they often had to because the defense couldn’t keep anybody out of the end zone.

Klatt’s formula for Baylor’s playoff shot is simple: beat Auburn in Week One, win the one-score games, and get just slightly better on defense. If that happens, he thinks Baylor could win the Big 12 and crash the CFP. That Auburn opener? It’s basically their whole season in a single game. Oddsmakers have Auburn as a 2.5-point favorite, but one predictive model actually gives Baylor a 53% chance. It’s a coin flip with massive stakes.

Now, while all that’s brewing on the gridiron, Baylor’s got another fight—this time in federal court.

Baylor throws legal hands, suing Boston U over BU logo drama

When Baylor says “BU,” they mean their BU. And they’re ready to throw hands if anyone else tries to rock it the same way. On August 8, the university filed a lawsuit against Boston University, accusing them of trademark infringement over an interlocking “BU” logo. This isn’t some petty “you copied my homework” spat—Baylor’s saying Boston’s design is “identical or strikingly similar” to their federally registered mark.

The suit demands Boston University destroy all goods, signage, ads—basically anything with that interlocking BU—and even pay up for damages. Here’s the kicker: Boston University’s athletic department doesn’t even seem to use that logo on their main teams’ gear. It pops up mostly on club sports merch and in the campus store. But Baylor’s legal team isn’t playing favorites—if it’s interlocking, it’s in the crosshairs.

And believe it or not, this isn’t the first time these two schools have thrown down over two letters. Back in 1987, Baylor tried to register the logo, Boston objected, and they settled with a “we can both use BU” agreement. Now, decades later, here we are again, with Baylor saying Boston’s recent designs violate that truce.

You can’t help but feel like Baylor’s timing here is more than coincidence. They’re coming off a season where their brand—on and off the field—finally had some juice again. They’ve got a QB worth hyping, a legit shot at the Big 12 title with +700 odds (2nd or 3rd best odds), and the Joel Klatt seal of approval. The last thing they want is confusion over their logo when they’re trying to plaster it on playoff highlight reels. whether it’s Auburn in Houston or Boston in federal court, Baylor’s basically saying the same thing: we’re not here to blend in. We’re here to win—on the field, in the courtroom, and in the conversation.