Baylor freshman quarterback Quinn Murphy is out for Saturday’s game against No. 10 BYU, removing another option from the Bears’ quarterback room on the eve of a matchup that could reshape the Big 12 race. Murphy is the only player added to Baylor’s injury report since last week’s 42-31 win over Iowa State.
The timing matters because Baylor enters at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big 12 play, already bowl eligible and still within reach of moving ahead of BYU in the conference standings with a win in Provo. BYU is 7-2 overall and also 4-2 in league play, so the loser will give up ground in a tight race between teams with the same conference record.
Murphy’s absence leaves Baylor with one fewer option behind DJ Lagway, and the loss comes after the Bears have already leaned on other quarterbacks this season. Baylor has already turned to Nate Bennett, who accounted for four touchdowns in Baylor’s 36-19 win over Louisiana Tech in September, underscoring how much the position has already been tested before this weekend.
That strain sits alongside a team that has still found ways to win. Lagway threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State, ran for 119 yards and scored on a 54-yard touchdown, and accounted for 348 of the Bears’ 423 yards of offense in a game Baylor won 42-31. A week earlier, Baylor held UCF to 66 rushing yards and only two third-down conversions on 15 attempts, a reminder that the Bears have been able to produce and defend well enough to stay in the race.
But the injury list has not stopped growing in other places. Redding and Jones have been out all season, Tezino was lost on the opening drive against Prairie View A&M on Sept. 12, and Richardson and Tone were already listed out for the Big 12 opener against Colorado on Sept. 26. Murphy’s status adds another layer of uncertainty at the one spot Baylor can least afford it, just as a ranked opponent arrives with the standings still compressed.
The result is a simpler question than it looked a week ago: Baylor no longer just needs to keep winning, it needs to do it while running short on quarterbacks. Saturday will show whether the Bears can keep pace with BYU anyway, but the bigger unknown is whether Murphy’s absence is a one-game issue or the start of a longer stretch without him.
