#12

Nate Bennett

554 team passing yards leader isn't a headline at Baylor anymore — it's just what Nate Bennett reliably is.

QB · Baylor · Jr. · #12

6′1″ · 192 lb · Westlake Village, CA · Oaks Christian HS

via baylorbears.com ↗

How he plays

Completion %: 94th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

554

passing yards · 2026 · through week 3

2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 253 pass yds, 3 TD, 2 rush yds, vs Louisiana Tech

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Junior quarterback for Baylor. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Baylor in 2024.

The full story, with sources

Next upSat Sep 26 · 12 pm ETvs ColoradoMcLane StadiumBaylor by 10

Nate Bennett

QB · Baylor · Jr · #12

Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22

Nate Bennett is a cornerstone for Baylor — measured against the line he joined.

554PASS YDS5PASS TD15RUSH YDS

TEAM PASSING YARDS LEADER

554

Team leader in passing yards (554).

Read the story so far

Nate Bennett arrived as a 3-star prospect. He lines up at QB for Baylor.

On the field, the headline is 554 pass yds, with 5 pass td.

He inherited the QB job from Sawyer Robertson (4-star).

The number to watch: 554 — team passing yards leader.

QB successionlow bar

Inherited fromSawyer Robertson 4★

Why nowThe 2026 outlook is the live story — the offseason looks forward.

season totals
Team leader in passing yards (554).
throne-line + Filling-the-Shoes

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22

Career stats

Season	Team
2026	Baylor	44	59	74.6%	554	9.4	5	2	174.6	58	--	--
2025	Baylor	5	7	71.4%	34	4.9	0	0	112.2	--	--	--
2024	Baylor	1	2	50.0%	19	9.5	0	0	129.8	--	--	--
Career		50	68	73.5%	607	8.9	5	2	166.9	58	--	--

Season	Team
2026	Baylor	6	15	2.5	2	--
2025	Baylor	--	--	--	--	--
2024	Baylor	--	--	--	--	--
Career		6	15	2.5	2	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 2 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	Note
Wk 2	W 44-3vs Prairie View A&M	23/35	301	2	2	8.6	29.6	Season-high 301 yds
Wk 3	W 36-19vs Louisiana Tech	21/24	253	3	0	10.5	84.9	3 TD passes
Total		44/59	554	5	2	9.6	57.2

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026

W 44–3

vs Prairie View A&M

301 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 29.6 · 13 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD

Dominant 41-point win at home against Prairie View A&M.

With C. Knighten — 66 rush yds (12 car) · 1 TD · J. McGowan — 13 rush yds (1 car) · 1 TD

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 2 · Prairie View A&M · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA -5.31(10:01) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass intercepted by #16 J.Davis at BAYLOR47 #16 J.Davis return 1 yard to the BAYLOR46 (#6 G.Freeman)
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 4&3 · Q2 · EPA -4.89(07:26) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett sacked for loss of 12 yards to the BAYLOR41 (#10 K.Fields) PENALTY BAYLOR Holding declined, TURNOVER ON DOWNS
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.92(10:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete deep left to #4 L.Brown IV caught at LATECH12, for 51 yards to the LATECH00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:38, 1ST DOWN #98 R.Armstrong kick attempt failed ( blocked by #27 G.Hardy) (H: #94 P.Williams, LS: #93 D.Schaub), out of bounds at LATECH00
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 2&17 · Q1 · EPA +3.65(10:45) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett rush middle for 25 yards gain to the LATECH00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:37, 1ST DOWN #98 R.Armstrong kick attempt good (H: #94 P.Williams, LS: #93 D.Schaub)
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 2&9 · Q4 · EPA +3.62(04:18) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete short left to #15 J.McGowan caught at LATECH18, for 36 yards to the LATECH00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 04:10, 1ST DOWN #98 R.Armstrong kick attempt good (H: #94 P.Williams, LS: #93 D.Schaub)
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 3&6 · Q1 · EPA +3.49(02:36) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete deep right to #4 L.Brown IV caught at LATECH45, for 28 yards to the LATECH43, out of bounds at LATECH43, 1ST DOWN
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +3.35(10:21) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete deep right to #15 J.McGowan caught at LATECH05, for 43 yards to the LATECH00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 10:14, 1ST DOWN #11 C.Knighten pass attempt failed #12 N.Bennett rush attempt failed PENALTY LATECH Holding (#7 J.Lockhardt) 2 yards from LATECH03 to LATECH01. NO PLAY
Week 2 · Prairie View A&M · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +3.24(01:06) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete deep right to #15 J.McGowan caught at PVAMU00, for 33 yards to the PVAMU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:59, 1ST DOWN #98 R.Armstrong kick attempt good (H: #94 P.Williams, LS: #93 D.Schaub)
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -2.93(07:44) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett sacked for loss of 10 yards to the BAYLOR41 (#22 J.Mayfield)
Week 2 · Prairie View A&M · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.65(13:51) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 N.Bennett pass complete short right to #1 D.Miller caught at PVAMU10, for 22 yards to the PVAMU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 13:51, 1ST DOWN #98 R.Armstrong kick attempt good (H: #94 P.Williams, LS: #93 D.Schaub)

2026 snapshot

Since week 2: +253 passing yards, +3 passing TD.

Season context · Team result + system

3 seasons under Dave Aranda — 15-13 over that span.

2024Baylor8-5HC: Dave Aranda · Run-leaning

2025Baylor5-7HC: Dave Aranda · Pass-leaning, fast tempo

2026Baylor2-1HC: Dave Aranda · Balanced, fast tempo

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score percentiles

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: completion % (94th percentile). Strength: yards / att (86th percentile). Concern: pass yards (2nd percentile).

Box-score rates (8)

Completion %#5 / 64 · 94th pct

74.6%

Yards / att#9 / 64 · 86th pct

9.4

Rush TDs#6 / 64 · 84th pct

Fumbles lost#9 / 39 · 49th pct

Pass TDs#33 / 64 · 41st pct

Interceptions#30 / 64 · 41st pct

Rush yards#45 / 64 · 31st pct

Pass yards#64 / 64 · 2nd pct

554

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

43/59 (72.9%) · 5 TD · 2 INT

59 of 59 attempts matched to play-by-play

58 of 59 attempts charted for true throw depth

Adjusted ANY/A

8.5246 of 126 QBs

Sack rate

6.3%93 of 126 QBs

Sacked on 6.3% of dropbacks (93 of 126) — and still 46 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.

Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.

Behind LOS · Negative air yds

34% of attempts (20)

95%comp

Air -3.5 · YAC 9.3 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

24% of attempts (14)

71%comp1 INT

Air 4.9 · YAC 4.2 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

24% of attempts (14)

71%comp1 INT

Air 13.1 · YAC 4.9 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

17% of attempts (10)

40%comp

Air 35.3 · YAC 3.5 avg

Overall 72.9% completion on 59 attempts · 40% completion on 10 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Passer rating

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

Thin sample: 40 dropbacks

58Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks

--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet

Positive-play rate weight 24%

48.3%71th pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · -4.2% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

9.2699th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · -1.2 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

7.8%15th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +0.3% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (22 of 62 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.

Splits & context

Splits

Per-game splits

Through 2 games: 277 YDS/g, 2.5 TD/g, 9.6 YPA, 1.0 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Dave Aranda

Pass share

48.2%

119 pass / 128 run

Plays / game

82.3

3 games

Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Backup

On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Nate Bennett

Rivals warmer than fans

2024

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

2026 snapshot

Passing profile

Passer rating

Splits & context

Awards

Backup

Starter

Heisman trajectory

Peak #84

Background