NOT JUST A GRINDER
10/27/2024 8:37:00 AM | Football
Pendergrass rushes for 142 yards, clinching TD in 38-28 win over OSU
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – In a Baylor running back room filled with breakaway threats and sprinters, sophomore Dawson Pendergrass is more of a between-the-tackles grinder. Think Big Ten football, Woody Hayes, "three yards and a cloud of dust."
But in a Homecoming game to remember, the 6-2, 218-pound Pendergrass turned what looked like short gainers into explosive runs of 39, 48 and 55 yards, the last one capping the scoring in the Bears' 38-28 win over the struggling Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday before a crowd of 44,87 at McLane Stadium.
"It makes all the difference in the world," said quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who passed for three touchdowns and ran for another for the Bears (4-4, 2-3). "I think he sparked the entire game on that 99-yard drive. Everybody just feeds off that. It's not just me, opening up the passing game. The linemen see that, so they block harder. . . . A lot of credit goes to Dawson. I think he sparked the whole thing."
Backed up to the 1-yard line after an OSU fumble forced by Matt Jones and recovered by Steve Linton, Pendergrass broke through the line and was in the clear for a 48-yard run, tackled by cornerback Kain Smith near midfield.
Two plays later, he went for another 39 yards, setting up Robertson's 12-yard TD pass to Hal Presley that gave the Bears a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Led by Pendergrass, who rushed for a career-high 142 yards on just six carries (23.7-yard average), Baylor rushed for 343 yards on 38 attempts (9.0-yard average) – the most in a conference game in eight years. Last week, the Bears rushed for a then-season-high 255 yards in a 59-35 road win at Texas Tech.
"I feel like it was after the Iowa State game," Pendergrass said of the development of the running game. "We didn't want to go through what we did last year (3-9 finish). It was kind of embarrassing walking around on campus, hearing people saying stuff about us. We want to make a change about it. We want to change this program, too. We got a bunch of people locked in."
Changing offensive coordinators after last season and switching from the wide zone running game to more of an Air Raid approach under Jake Spavital, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said "it's going to look gross" when you're first learning it.
"But to stay at it and to keep the outside on the outside, and to focus on the details, and to really focus on the weaknesses," Aranda said. "To look yourself in the mirror – guys like Ryan Lengyel come to mind. Omar (Aigbedion) comes to mind. Guys that have really taken ownership, who are like, 'Dude, I'm tired of this stuff.' I think it starts with that.
"The running game is also aided by the fact that our running backs are just looking to be the first to contact. All the ugliness has gotten us to a point where now it's a weapon. I wish we had started off earlier with this, but I'm glad we're here now."
Tied 17-17 at the half, Baylor had a three-play scoring drive to take the lead for good. After Robertson and Bryson Washington each ran for 12 yards on back-to-back plays, Ashtyn Hawkins went up over cornerback Korie Black to haul in a 33-yard TD pass from Robertson.
"It was just an incredible . . . one-on-one, I threw it up. I didn't do anything special on that play. That was all Ashtyn," said Robertson, who was 11-of-19 for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Clinging to a 24-20 lead going into the fourth quarter, Baylor was backed up again, this time at its own 5-yard line. But Washington quickly got the Bears out of the hole with a 16-yard burst up the middle. Hawkins had a pair of 17-yard catches before Pendergrass had a 34-yard touchdown run wiped out by a holding penalty.
But two plays later, Robertson went 41 yards on a quarterback keeper to give Baylor its first double-digit lead of the game, 31-20, with 8:55 left in the game.
"I think it helps the team, just because when things break down, I try my hardest just to make a play, make something out of nothing," said Robertson, who added 73 yards on eight carries. "In high school, I just threw it every play. I think that's why I never really had to run. But then, when I'm put in situations where I can run, I'm just kind of doing what I've always done."
OSU made things interesting with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, with running back Ollie Gordon II scoring on a three-yard run and then passing to Brennan Presley for the two-point conversion to make it 31-28 with just under five minutes to play.
On arguably one of the biggest plays of the game, Josh Cameron hauled in a 13-yard pass from Robertson on third-and-three from the Bears' own 32-yard line. The very next play, Pendergrass appeared to be stopped for about a five-yard gain, but he was pushed forward by left tackle Sidney Fugar and went 55 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with 3:06 left.
"Man, I just trust in my O-line," Pendergrass said. "I hit the hole, and the person who deserves the credit I would say is Sidney. He kind of dragged me through there. He k did all the hard stuff for me. He's just playing for me. We play for each other. And that's how we end up winning."
On the last scoring drive, Pendergrass said his mentality was to "just run through somebody's face."
"That was the mentality we needed to go out there with," he said. "Our O-line, we knew what was up. We were talking to each other like, this game is on us right here. We can put them away right here."
The Baylor defense had three sacks against an Oklahoma State offensive line that had allowed just four all season and then sealed the deal with redshirt freshman cornerback LeVar Thornton's first-career interception.
Richard Reese picked up two first downs to ice the game and finished with 52 yards on six carries, giving the Bears four players with more than 50 yards rushing. Just three weeks ago, the team rushed for 79 yards in a 43-21 loss at Iowa State.
"To have frustrations and to get them out with good play and victories, I think you recycle that energy," Aranda said. "Whereas before, when you're not winning, it evaporates. Then, you've got to find ways to fill up guys with juice and energy for the next game or the next opportunity. Right now, we're just tripling and doubling our money. I think winning does that.
"I think there's guys who thought they could and know they can now. They're a team that was hoping to do something that knows it can do something. That's a big difference."
Riding a two-game winning streak, Baylor will return to McLane Stadium to host TCU (5-3, 3-2) at 7 p.m. next Saturday in a "Black Out" game that will be televised by ESPN2. The Frogs came back from a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat Texas Tech, 35-34.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – In a Baylor running back room filled with breakaway threats and sprinters, sophomore Dawson Pendergrass is more of a between-the-tackles grinder. Think Big Ten football, Woody Hayes, "three yards and a cloud of dust."
But in a Homecoming game to remember, the 6-2, 218-pound Pendergrass turned what looked like short gainers into explosive runs of 39, 48 and 55 yards, the last one capping the scoring in the Bears' 38-28 win over the struggling Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday before a crowd of 44,87 at McLane Stadium.
"It makes all the difference in the world," said quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who passed for three touchdowns and ran for another for the Bears (4-4, 2-3). "I think he sparked the entire game on that 99-yard drive. Everybody just feeds off that. It's not just me, opening up the passing game. The linemen see that, so they block harder. . . . A lot of credit goes to Dawson. I think he sparked the whole thing."
Backed up to the 1-yard line after an OSU fumble forced by Matt Jones and recovered by Steve Linton, Pendergrass broke through the line and was in the clear for a 48-yard run, tackled by cornerback Kain Smith near midfield.
Two plays later, he went for another 39 yards, setting up Robertson's 12-yard TD pass to Hal Presley that gave the Bears a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter.
Led by Pendergrass, who rushed for a career-high 142 yards on just six carries (23.7-yard average), Baylor rushed for 343 yards on 38 attempts (9.0-yard average) – the most in a conference game in eight years. Last week, the Bears rushed for a then-season-high 255 yards in a 59-35 road win at Texas Tech.
"I feel like it was after the Iowa State game," Pendergrass said of the development of the running game. "We didn't want to go through what we did last year (3-9 finish). It was kind of embarrassing walking around on campus, hearing people saying stuff about us. We want to make a change about it. We want to change this program, too. We got a bunch of people locked in."
Changing offensive coordinators after last season and switching from the wide zone running game to more of an Air Raid approach under Jake Spavital, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said "it's going to look gross" when you're first learning it.
"But to stay at it and to keep the outside on the outside, and to focus on the details, and to really focus on the weaknesses," Aranda said. "To look yourself in the mirror – guys like Ryan Lengyel come to mind. Omar (Aigbedion) comes to mind. Guys that have really taken ownership, who are like, 'Dude, I'm tired of this stuff.' I think it starts with that.
"The running game is also aided by the fact that our running backs are just looking to be the first to contact. All the ugliness has gotten us to a point where now it's a weapon. I wish we had started off earlier with this, but I'm glad we're here now."
Tied 17-17 at the half, Baylor had a three-play scoring drive to take the lead for good. After Robertson and Bryson Washington each ran for 12 yards on back-to-back plays, Ashtyn Hawkins went up over cornerback Korie Black to haul in a 33-yard TD pass from Robertson.
"It was just an incredible . . . one-on-one, I threw it up. I didn't do anything special on that play. That was all Ashtyn," said Robertson, who was 11-of-19 for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Clinging to a 24-20 lead going into the fourth quarter, Baylor was backed up again, this time at its own 5-yard line. But Washington quickly got the Bears out of the hole with a 16-yard burst up the middle. Hawkins had a pair of 17-yard catches before Pendergrass had a 34-yard touchdown run wiped out by a holding penalty.
But two plays later, Robertson went 41 yards on a quarterback keeper to give Baylor its first double-digit lead of the game, 31-20, with 8:55 left in the game.
"I think it helps the team, just because when things break down, I try my hardest just to make a play, make something out of nothing," said Robertson, who added 73 yards on eight carries. "In high school, I just threw it every play. I think that's why I never really had to run. But then, when I'm put in situations where I can run, I'm just kind of doing what I've always done."
OSU made things interesting with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, with running back Ollie Gordon II scoring on a three-yard run and then passing to Brennan Presley for the two-point conversion to make it 31-28 with just under five minutes to play.
On arguably one of the biggest plays of the game, Josh Cameron hauled in a 13-yard pass from Robertson on third-and-three from the Bears' own 32-yard line. The very next play, Pendergrass appeared to be stopped for about a five-yard gain, but he was pushed forward by left tackle Sidney Fugar and went 55 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with 3:06 left.
"Man, I just trust in my O-line," Pendergrass said. "I hit the hole, and the person who deserves the credit I would say is Sidney. He kind of dragged me through there. He k did all the hard stuff for me. He's just playing for me. We play for each other. And that's how we end up winning."
On the last scoring drive, Pendergrass said his mentality was to "just run through somebody's face."
"That was the mentality we needed to go out there with," he said. "Our O-line, we knew what was up. We were talking to each other like, this game is on us right here. We can put them away right here."
The Baylor defense had three sacks against an Oklahoma State offensive line that had allowed just four all season and then sealed the deal with redshirt freshman cornerback LeVar Thornton's first-career interception.
Richard Reese picked up two first downs to ice the game and finished with 52 yards on six carries, giving the Bears four players with more than 50 yards rushing. Just three weeks ago, the team rushed for 79 yards in a 43-21 loss at Iowa State.
"To have frustrations and to get them out with good play and victories, I think you recycle that energy," Aranda said. "Whereas before, when you're not winning, it evaporates. Then, you've got to find ways to fill up guys with juice and energy for the next game or the next opportunity. Right now, we're just tripling and doubling our money. I think winning does that.
"I think there's guys who thought they could and know they can now. They're a team that was hoping to do something that knows it can do something. That's a big difference."
Riding a two-game winning streak, Baylor will return to McLane Stadium to host TCU (5-3, 3-2) at 7 p.m. next Saturday in a "Black Out" game that will be televised by ESPN2. The Frogs came back from a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat Texas Tech, 35-34.
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