Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            AUSTIN – Trying to get off the mat for the second time in as many weeks, Baylor football focused on starting fast and finishing strong in Friday's game against 23rd-ranked Texas.
            The Bears got the first part right, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first eight minutes. But, after a scoop and score by defensive end Gabe Hall gave the Bears a lead early in the fourth quarter, Texas (8-4, 6-3) rode the back of electrifying running back Bijan Robinson to 14 unanswered points and a 38-27 victory at DKR-Memorial Stadium.
            "I feel for the team in there, a lot of effort and a lot of emotion," said third-year Baylor coach Dave Aranda, whose team fell to 6-6 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12 with its third-straight loss. "Just disappointed and frustrated in our finish. . . . I think there is so much left to be desired with this team, and not giving up on it in any way."
            Held in check in the first half, when Baylor took a 19-17 lead, Robinson exploded for 115 yards in the fourth quarter and finished the day with 179 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries.
            After Quinn Ewers' sack fumble on a hit by safety Al Walcott produced Hall's 16-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a 27-24 Baylor lead, the Longhorns put it in the hands (or on the feet) of Robinson and Roschon Johnson the rest of the way.
            Robinson gained all but 10 yards on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, scoring the go-ahead touchdown from one yard out on a third-and-goal play after Baylor was flagged for a delay game for "disconcerting signals."
            "It's something that we struggle with, just stopping the run and playing our gaps and playing two gaps," senior linebacker Bryson Jackson said. "They were hitting on all cylinders and Bijan was making great reads and cuts. We didn't play two gaps and stop the run and push them back. That hurt us a little bit and made the outcome what it was today."
            With a chance to retake the lead, Baylor picked up one first down near midfield. But, Blake Shapen was sacked on first down and picked off by linebacker Jaylan Ford two plays later on a pass over the middle intended for receiver Josh Cameron.
            It took the Longhorns just six plays to extend the lead, Johnson hurdling cornerback Lorando Johnson on an 11-yard TD run that iced the game with 3:48 to play. Johnson added 77 yards on 13 carries, helping Texas roll up 259 yards rushing (minus 51 yards on five sacks) and 402 yards total offense.
            Aranda said finishing is a mindset. A year ago, the Bears were able to win the close ones and finish out games to win a school-record 12 games. This year, they've struggled to finish in four of the six losses.
            "You know it when you have it because there's an energy and a look in the eye when you've got that," Aranda said. "It comes from a confidence and a trust. It comes from a belief. I think we've had instances of that throughout this year where we've been able to finish (Iowa State and Oklahoma). But, we've got to be able to be consistent. We just have not. There are nine guys on it and two that aren't. Or, 10 that are on it and one that's not. That's the battle we have right now."
            This one could not have started out much better. Just over eight minutes in, the Bears had a 9-0 lead on the scoreboard and the Longhorns had minus-four yards total offense after running just three plays.
            Pinned inside the 10 after a 41-yard punt by Issac Power, the Longhorns found themselves down 2-0 on a safety when Ewers was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on a blitz by safety Christian Morgan. That was the first of five sacks by the Baylor defense.  
            Baylor wasted no time, extending the lead to 9-0 when Blake Shapen connected with Jaylen Ellis for a 47-yard touchdown to cap a five-play, 62-yard drive. That was Ellis' first catch since a 50-yarder versus UAlbany in the season opener.
            Texas answered with a seven-play, 75-yard drive, scoring on a three-yard option keeper by Ewers. And then, after a three-and-out and shanked punt by the Bears, the Longhorns took their first lead on a two-yard run by Robinson that made it 14-9 late in the first quarter.
            The Bears answered with an 18-play, 63-yard drive, twice converting on fourth down, and closed the gap to 14-12 on a John Mayers 30-yard field goal.
            Late in the half, with UT trying to limp to the half with a 17-12 lead, Ewers was sacked twice and gave the ball back to Bears with 1:12 left at the Longhorns' 45.
            Five plays later, Shapen connected with tight end Ben Sims for a 14-yard TD pass and 19-17 lead at the break. Shapen was 12-of-20 for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
            "I thought there was a lot of confidence, but it was measured confidence," Aranda said. "I thought it was a calculating feeling. Guys were talking the truth and speaking honestly about the thing to do or what to stay away from, what's working and what's not. I thought coming out of it, we were in a good space. But I have to believe that fighting through some of that adversity and then getting where it really mattered, we were clearly not at our best."
            After Mayers missed a 40-yard field goal, Texas regained the lead with a 10-play, 78-yard drive and went up 24-19 on Johnson's one-yard TD run.
            While the Baylor offense failed to get anything going in the second half – 56 yards on 30 plays – the defense came up with a big play early in the fourth quarter when Walcott forced an Ewers fumble that Hall scooped and scored from 16 yards out to put the Bears back on top, 27-24, after a two-point conversion pass to Hal Presley.
            "I don't think I've ever seen one of our guys get a sack fumble for a touchdown," said Sims, who caught his 12^th career touchdown pass, a school record for a tight end. "I'm really proud of Gabe Hall. All the stuff you saw today with the sacks and the sack fumble, all that stuff happens in practice. And it's finally coming to fruition. I'm proud of those guys."
            That's when Texas coach Steve Sarkasian put it in the hands of Robinson and Johnson, as they ran it every time on back-to-back scoring drives and gave the Longhorns an 11-point lead.
            Jackson, who had one of the team's five sacks, said the three-game losing streak is "just a kick in the face. It hurts."
            "I'm hurting for everybody in there just because of the work we've put in," Jackson said. "It's a tough loss. We came into this game all the way to the end thinking we were going to win. It hurts. But we've got to look at it like life sucks sometimes, and we've got to get back and get over that adversity and hurt."
            Texas stays alive for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game opposite No. 4 TCU, needing a Kansas win over 15^th-ranked Kansas State on Saturday in Manhattan.
            With the regular season over, Baylor now waits for its bowl destination when selections are announced on Sunday, Dec. 4. This will be the Bears' 11^th bowl game in the last 13 years.