The Bears' days of Big 12 dominance are long gone, but 2018 could be a step in the right direction.

Here are the best-case and worst-case scenario for Baylor this season.

Best-case scenario

Quarterback Charlie Brewer follows up his impressive freshman season by leading Baylor to a 4-0 start. Oklahoma ends the Bears' four-game win streak on its home field on Sept. 29. Baylor will then pull off an upset over either Kansas State and Texas to put itself just one win away from bowl eligibility.

The Bears will drop two straight in the following weeks to West Virginia and Oklahoma State before beating Iowa State on the road to become bowl eligible for the first time under second-year head coach Matt Rhule. Baylor will fall to TCU in its final home game of the season and will finish the year with a close win over Texas Tech in Arlington to close the Bears' best season since 2016. Brewer will have established himself as the best quarterback in the Big 12 by season's end.

Worst-case scenario

Brewer hits the sophomore slump and turns into a turnover machine while trying to launch deep balls to wideouts Denzel Mims and Chris Platt. Baylor starts the year with a win against Abilene Christian University before losing the next two against UTSA and Duke.

Baylor will get back on track with a win against Kansas before the toughest stretch of its Big 12 schedule. The Bears go on a seven-game losing skid before finishing the season with a win against Texas Tech in Arlington. At 3-9, Baylor improves its record by two games but falls short of bowl eligibility for the second straight season.

Prediction

Opening the season 4-0 is possible, but 3-1 is more likely. Baylor will significantly improve from last season, but still isn't one of the elite teams in the conference. The Bears will fall against Oklahoma, Texas, TCU, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, but will pull off a close win against either Iowa State or Kansas State. Baylor will end the season on a high note with a win against Texas Tech in

but will fall one game short of bowl eligibility at 5-7.