FROM THE ASHES
11/30/2024 9:16:00 PM | Football
Bears win sixth-straight, improve to 8-4 with 45-17 victory over Kansas
By Jerry Hill
BaylorBears.com
WACO, Texas – From the ashes of a 2-4 start that included a three-game conference losing streak, the Baylor Bears completed their incredible turnaround by winning their sixth in a row, routing a red-hot Kansas Jayhawk team, 45-17, Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.
Sawyer Robertson threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns, Bryson Washington rushed for 192 yards and two TDs and safety Devyn Bobby had two interceptions for the Bears (8-4, 6-3), who eliminated Kansas (5-7, 4-5) while snapping the Jayhawks' three-game winning streak against ranked teams.
"Everybody knew we had a good team," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. "I know we can point to 2-4, it's easy to do. I think everybody felt like we were being buried, but we're still alive. It's hard to breathe when they're putting dirt on you. So, to get some oxygen and to breathe a little bit . . . that's just the power of belief and the power of being positive."
After scoring on three-consecutive series to take a 21-10 halftime lead, Baylor added touchdowns on its only three third-quarter series and went up 42-17 on a one-yard run by Washington with seven seconds left in the period.
"It was a blessing, honestly," said Washington, who recorded his sixth 100-yard game and set Baylor's freshman rushing record with 1,009 yards and 12 touchdowns. "I'm so grateful for the O-line, the coaching staff and the guys around me. These guys push me to be the best I can be. I think it was God's plan, it was already written."
Rolling up a season-high 603 yards total offense, the Bears had a pair of 100-yard rushers with Washington and sophomore Dawson Pendergrass (11-104) and two 100-yard receivers as well in Monaray Baldwin (7-119-2TD) and Josh Cameron (8-102-1TD).
After connecting on his first 10 passes of the game, Robertson was 8-for-8 for 87 yards in the third quarter, including a 20-yard TD catch and run by Pendergrass.
"When Sawyer is at his best, he has a great ability to be patient and to put such great touch on the ball, whether it's tight coverage, there's pressure," Aranda said. "Fall camp, you could see just a huge increase in his productivity and confidence. . . . And then, once he had his chance, and people were believing in him, there's no stopping him."
Washington carried the load in the second half, rushing for 129 yards on 17 carries and scoring on touchdown runs of 10 and 1 yards.
Comparing offensive coordinator Jake Spavital's system to the downhill running of the Chicago Bears in the '80s, with fullback Matt Suhey as a lead blocker for Walter Payton, Aranda said it forces the defense to "get people out of the box to come in."
"And once you do that, you saw all the quick passes today to Monaray and all the other things," Aranda said. "Then, you've got really elite speed. I think our speed and our athleticism at receiver is as good as any anywhere."
Isaiah Hankins, who had a 53-yard field goal hit off the left upright at the end of the first half, capped the scoring with a 40-yard field goal with 9:31 left in the game.
Connecting on his first 10passes, Robertson threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, throwing TD tosses of 36 and 39 yards to Baldwin and a 14-yarder to Cameron that gave the Bears a two-score lead at the half, 21-10.
"So happy for Monaray," Robertson said. "He's such a good teammate, a good athlete. He's fun to throw to, just because he can run by everybody, basically. But it was the same route, just two different formations. One of them, we (had max protection), and I just threw a fly. And then, the next one, we tempo-ed into the play, saw the coverage that I liked, and then gave him another chance."
The Jayhawks actually got on the board first, Devin Neal scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run when a holding penalty was waved off. But it took Baylor less than three minutes to answer with the first of back-to-back TD passes from Robertson to Baldwin over safety Marvin Grant.
BU's second touchdown was set up by a Devyn Bobby interception and a 31-yard run by Pendergrass, with Baldwin hauling in a 39-yard strike from Robertson to up the lead to 14-7.
Earlier in the year, Bobby had opportunities to "make picks, and he drops them," Aranda said. "And now, all of a sudden, he's grabbing picks out of the air, all over the place."
After Kansas was held to a 26-yard field goal by Tabor Allen, the Bears answered with an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive capped by Robertson's 14-yard TD pass to Cameron to make it 21-10.
Baylor had another chance late in the half after Tevin Williams forced a fumble that linebacker Matt Jones recovered at the Bears' 29-yard line after a 40-yard catch by tight end Tevita Ahoafi-Noa.
With a couple mid-range passes and an 11-yard run by Pendergrass, Baylor was in position to end the half with a field goal for the second-straight week. But Robertson was sacked on third down, and Hankins's 53-yard field goal attempt hit off the left upright.
Neal led the Jayhawks with 133 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, while quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 12-of-23 passes for 280 yards and was picked off twice.
On six red-zone chances, KU scored two touchdowns and one field goal, missed another field goal try, threw a pick in the end zone and got stopped short on a fourth-and-one from the Bears' 20-yard line. Throwing just one pass, the Bears picked up four first downs on an 11-play drive and ate up the last 6:45 off the clock.
"I think it's just a will," linebacker Kyler Jordan said of the red-zone stops. "It's our end zone, and they're not getting in. . . . I think fourth-down stops are like the coolest thing in football. I was always taught, football should be played from the one-yard line in. So, plays like that, just fourth-and-inches, there's just nothing like it."
With wins by 25th-ranked Colorado (9-3, 7-2) on Friday and 16th-ranked Arizona State (10-2, 7-2) on Saturday, Baylor was officially eliminated from next Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game.
Bowl selections will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 8, with the Bears going bowling for the 13th time in the last 16 years and the third time in five years under head coach Dave Aranda.
"I'd like to go somewhere tropical," said defensive end Treven Ma'ae. "And they say, the more wins you have, the warmer the (bowl locations are). So, I'd like that. But just blessed and grateful to be a part of this."
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