No. 18 Football Powers Past OSU in Stillwater

Saturday, October 19

Stillwater, Okla.

3 PM CT

Baylor

7-0 , 4-0

Oklahoma State

4-3 , 1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Baylor

Oklahoma State

No. 18 Football Powers Past OSU in Stillwater

10/19/2019 7:23:00 PM | Football

Box Score Game Book Baylor Postgame Notes

JaMycal Hasty rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
  STILLWATER, Okla. – Facing a double-digit lead for the first time this year after giving up a fake punt in the third quarter, Baylor football's reaction said it all.
            "It was almost like our guys just laughed and said, 'Let's go keep playing,''' coach Matt Rhule said.
            Another fourth-quarter deficit? Ho-hum.
            Scoring 21 unanswered points in the last 9 ½ minutes, the 18^th-ranked Bears (7-0, 4-0) won at Boone Pickens Stadium for just the second time in the Big 12 era and remained unbeaten with a 45-27 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday.
            Charlie Brewer threw for 312 yards, JaMycal Hasty had a combined 205 yards rushing and receiving and the defense even got in the act with a fumble return for a touchdown by linebacker Terrel Bernard as Baylor overcame a fourth-quarter deficit for the third time in the last four weeks and nation-leading sixth time since the start of the 2018 season.
            "I'm never going to let a loud stadium affect how I finish the game," Brewer said of an orange clad-dominated crowd of 55,060. "I like to think I'm pretty composed, as long as the other guys are, too. The offensive line was composed, our receivers were. I think we've got a veteran team that's able to perform in a tough environment."
            There's no greater statement about the process that Rhule and the Bears have made than coming on the road and winning in the same stadium where they were dominated, 59-16, just two years ago.
            "This was a process game for us," Rhule said. "We came here two years ago and got beat up pretty badly. Those guys are now juniors, and they have a great team, and we were able to find a way to win it in the fourth."
            The fourth quarter was definitely where this game was won.
            Oklahoma State (4-3, 1-3), which was ranked two weeks ago before a 45-35 road loss at Texas Tech, had a 13-10 lead at halftime and took a two-score lead early in the third quarter after a successful fake punt.
            Coach Mike Gundy's gamble paid off when punter Tom Hutton hit tight end Dayton Metcalf for a 20-yard pass on fourth-and-six from the Cowboys' own 43. Aided by a pass interference penalty on cornerback Kalon Barnes, OSU scored six plays later on a three-yard TD run by Chuba Hubbard that made it 20-10.
            It took the Bears just two plays to answer that score, though, when Brewer hooked up with Tyquan Thornton for a career-long 78-yard pass and Hasty scored the first of his two touchdowns on a five-yard run.
            With Trestan Ebner and John Lovett both banged-up, Hasty rushed for a career-high 139 yards and added three receptions for 66 yards.
            "He's just got the ball in his hands a lot more, so he's able to make more things happen," Brewer said of Hasty, who had a 73-yard TD catch and run in the first half taken off the board by a holding penalty. "Usually, it's kind of a three-man rotation where whoever is hot stays in. But, with (Lovett) banged-up, too, he's kind of the guy. So, I thought he took advantage of it."
            Baylor had another quick-strike touchdown when Brewer hit Josh Fleeks with a pass over the middle, and the speedy sophomore receiver turned it into a 64-yard touchdown that pushed the Bears back on top, 24-20.
            With OSU's defense geared to stop senior receiver Denzel Mims, who had just one catch for 16 yards, "it opens up a lot for the other receivers," said Fleeks, who had his first 100-yard receiving day with 126 yards on just three receptions. "When you get your chances, you've got to take it."
            Returning the favor, the Cowboys answered with a 68-yard TD run by LD Brown, who was in just to give Hubbard a quick breather. The only 1,000-yard rusher in NCAA Division I football, Hubbard padded that with 171 yards and two touchdowns on 32 totes in helping OSU pile up 281 yards on the ground and 469 yards total offense.
            After late fourth-quarter rallies against both Iowa State and Texas Tech, Baylor didn't wait nearly as long this time.
            "It wasn't perfect, but we didn't panic," Rhule said. "I just think our team was a team today that was going to compete. We just felt like if we just hang in there, eventually we'll make enough plays to go win."
            Brewer and Fleeks hooked up again, this time for 44 yards. On a seven-play, 75-yard drive, the OSU defense was flagged twice for pass interference on Mims.
            On third-and-goal from the 2, Brewer rolled out to his right, turned it up and then barreled his way into the end zone to give the Bears the lead back, 31-27.
            "It didn't feel great," said Brewer, who scored his 13^th rushing touchdown. "We had a sprint-out concept, and it wasn't there, so I've just got to go make a play, just like everyone else. Get in the end zone for six (points)."
            That was the fourth lead change in a game that seemed to be on pace for a heart-stopping, down-to-the-wire finish, with both teams just holding serve on offense.
            But, the Baylor defense made arguably the play of the game when defensive lineman Chidi Ogbonnaya forced a fumble by OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders that Bernard scooped and scored from 20 yards out. Down by as many as 10, the Bears were suddenly up by two scores, 38-27, with exactly eight minutes to play.
            "Coach (Joey) McGuire preaches it," said Bernard, who tallied a career-high nine tackles in replacing injured middle linebacker Clay Johnston. "He's made it a big thing, through practice, through camp, through spring. I think we've really taken hold of it, and it's showing up in the games now."
            The Cowboys made one final push, driving from their own 25 to the Baylor 27, but Sanders overthrew Tylan Wallace on fourth-and-six. On the very next play, Hasty sprinted 73 yards for the game-clinching score to make it 45-27 with 5:13 remaining.
            Brewer was 13-of-17 for 312 yards, his 11^th 300-yard game, and moved up to third all-time with 6,447 yards.
            "Over the years, we've battled through a lot of adversity," Brewer said. "I think when the pressure is on, we're at our best. I thought we responeed really well today."
            Baylor, off next week, returns home to host West Virginia for a 7 p.m. Halloween matchup at McLane Stadium. The Mountaineers (3-4, 1-3) were blown out by fifth-ranked Oklahoma, 52-14, in Norman.