‘KEPT PUSHING FOR HIM’
9/21/2025 5:49:00 PM | Football
Defense plays its most inspired game of the season after ‘losing your brother’
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Carted off the field after a potential season-ending leg injury, through the agonizing pain, Baylor linebacker Travion Barnes hit his chest and encouraged his teammates to go get this one.
"That was painful," fellow linebacker Keaton Thomas said. "Losing your brother on the field is the worst feeling ever. But we knew that we had to do it for him. He kept us encouraged, kept his head up, he was in good spirits. And we kept pushing for him."
Playing arguably its most inspired game of the season, the defense held defending Big 12 champion Arizona State to field goals after each of the offense's three turnovers, got a red-zone stop on a fourth-and-short play and limited preseason All-America receiver Jordyn Tyson to just 43 yards on his seven catches.
But it wasn't enough, as the Bears (2-2, 0-1) lost to the Sun Devils, 27-24, in Saturday night's conference opener at McLane Stadium on a walk-off, 43-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez.
"That's why this one probably stings so much for me personally, and probably everyone on (offense), is they played so well," said redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns but also had one of the turnovers with his third interception of the season.
"They were fighting, battling. Honestly, they kept us in the game while we were sputtering for whatever reason, whether we weren't moving the sticks or it was a turnover. Whatever it was, the defense was fighting. It was inspiring what they did. So, I'm proud of them, but I also feel bad, because we couldn't get the job done."
While he was encouraged by the defensive performance overall, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said the Bears have to learn how to "close that game out."
"When you get in spots like that, it doesn't need to be, 'Uh-oh, here goes the defense out,''' Aranda said. "It needs to be, 'Oh, here we go! Watch them, they're going to win this game right here.' We're not there yet. We need to be able to do that. We have the guys that can do that, we have the coaches that can coach that. There were just self-inflicted wounds that kept us from doing that. The focus is on that right there."
A prime example of that was when the Bears took their first lead of the game, 17-16, on Robertson's one-yard TD pass to tight end Michael Trigg with 9:02 left. A blitz by Matthew Fobbs-White led to a sack by Jackie Marshall that put the Sun Devils in a third-and-13 situation back at their own 13-yard line.
But on a coverage bust, ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt found wide receiver Derek Eusebio wide open for a 61-yard gainer all the way to Baylor's 26. Four plays later, Leavitt hit Tyson for a 19-yard TD and the duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion play to make it 24-17.
"We're in Cover 2, and we have a guy that's right in the middle that's responsible for that route (down the middle), and just didn't play it," Aranda said. "It's just hard. I have to coach him better in that spot. It's very unfortunate and very frustrating."
Marshall said in "big-time moments" like that, "we've got to step up and make those types of plays. I think the biggest thing is we understand that it's hard to win in this league, and it's going to take everything we have to win."
As Robertson said, though, the defense did its part, holding the Sun Devils to field goals on a pair of turnovers on Baylor's end of the field at the 32- and 37-yard line. And while ASU did net 179 yards on the ground, the Sun Devils averaged just 3.7 per carry, and Raleek Brown (21-80) had his streak of 100-yard games snapped.
And maybe the biggest improvement was in pass coverage, with the secondary combining for five pass breakups and holding Tyson to just over six yards per catch.
"I'm proud of those guys," said Thomas, who had a team-high eight tackles. "(The secondary has) taken a huge leap this year. We need to do better up front, making sure that we're taking care of business and holding the standard as they re. We just need to meet those guys in the middle and work on it."
Barnes' injury on the defense's second play of the game was another blow for a defense that was already playing without three potential starters in defensive lineman Cooper Lanz, linebacker Phoenix Jackson and nickel safety Carl Williams IV.
"He's going to be out, he's going to end up having surgery," Aranda said of Barnes, who was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year last season at FIU. "It's just a way sad deal. That boy right there was becoming a leader for us. But he's been a blessing to us; Baylor's been a blessing to him. He's a natural leader, just taking the reins.
"We talked about, bro, there's a leader when you're playing, there's a leader when you're not playing. We've got to help him with that, but I'm very proud of him."
Another tough moment for the defense came on the Sun Devils' game-winning drive, when safety DJ Coleman was called for a late hit on a sliding Tyson near midfield. Instead of a potential third-down stop, it was a costly 15-yard penalty that got ASU into Baylor territory at the 38, helping set up Gomez's field goal.
"I didn't really see it. I think it was kind of a bang-bang play, and that's something I do want to take a look at," Aranda said. "DJ was one of our captains today. He's been playing really well and has been a stalwart for us, kind of an emerging guy. I talked to him after the game, 'keep your head up,' and he's going to be better because of all of this."
Baylor (2-2, 0-1) goes back on the road to face a reeling Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0) team at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The Cowboys are coming off a 19-12 loss at home to Tulsa after getting trounced on the road at Oregon, 69-3.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Carted off the field after a potential season-ending leg injury, through the agonizing pain, Baylor linebacker Travion Barnes hit his chest and encouraged his teammates to go get this one.
"That was painful," fellow linebacker Keaton Thomas said. "Losing your brother on the field is the worst feeling ever. But we knew that we had to do it for him. He kept us encouraged, kept his head up, he was in good spirits. And we kept pushing for him."
Playing arguably its most inspired game of the season, the defense held defending Big 12 champion Arizona State to field goals after each of the offense's three turnovers, got a red-zone stop on a fourth-and-short play and limited preseason All-America receiver Jordyn Tyson to just 43 yards on his seven catches.
But it wasn't enough, as the Bears (2-2, 0-1) lost to the Sun Devils, 27-24, in Saturday night's conference opener at McLane Stadium on a walk-off, 43-yard field goal by Jesus Gomez.
"That's why this one probably stings so much for me personally, and probably everyone on (offense), is they played so well," said redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns but also had one of the turnovers with his third interception of the season.
"They were fighting, battling. Honestly, they kept us in the game while we were sputtering for whatever reason, whether we weren't moving the sticks or it was a turnover. Whatever it was, the defense was fighting. It was inspiring what they did. So, I'm proud of them, but I also feel bad, because we couldn't get the job done."
While he was encouraged by the defensive performance overall, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said the Bears have to learn how to "close that game out."
"When you get in spots like that, it doesn't need to be, 'Uh-oh, here goes the defense out,''' Aranda said. "It needs to be, 'Oh, here we go! Watch them, they're going to win this game right here.' We're not there yet. We need to be able to do that. We have the guys that can do that, we have the coaches that can coach that. There were just self-inflicted wounds that kept us from doing that. The focus is on that right there."
A prime example of that was when the Bears took their first lead of the game, 17-16, on Robertson's one-yard TD pass to tight end Michael Trigg with 9:02 left. A blitz by Matthew Fobbs-White led to a sack by Jackie Marshall that put the Sun Devils in a third-and-13 situation back at their own 13-yard line.
But on a coverage bust, ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt found wide receiver Derek Eusebio wide open for a 61-yard gainer all the way to Baylor's 26. Four plays later, Leavitt hit Tyson for a 19-yard TD and the duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion play to make it 24-17.
"We're in Cover 2, and we have a guy that's right in the middle that's responsible for that route (down the middle), and just didn't play it," Aranda said. "It's just hard. I have to coach him better in that spot. It's very unfortunate and very frustrating."
Marshall said in "big-time moments" like that, "we've got to step up and make those types of plays. I think the biggest thing is we understand that it's hard to win in this league, and it's going to take everything we have to win."
As Robertson said, though, the defense did its part, holding the Sun Devils to field goals on a pair of turnovers on Baylor's end of the field at the 32- and 37-yard line. And while ASU did net 179 yards on the ground, the Sun Devils averaged just 3.7 per carry, and Raleek Brown (21-80) had his streak of 100-yard games snapped.
And maybe the biggest improvement was in pass coverage, with the secondary combining for five pass breakups and holding Tyson to just over six yards per catch.
"I'm proud of those guys," said Thomas, who had a team-high eight tackles. "(The secondary has) taken a huge leap this year. We need to do better up front, making sure that we're taking care of business and holding the standard as they re. We just need to meet those guys in the middle and work on it."
Barnes' injury on the defense's second play of the game was another blow for a defense that was already playing without three potential starters in defensive lineman Cooper Lanz, linebacker Phoenix Jackson and nickel safety Carl Williams IV.
"He's going to be out, he's going to end up having surgery," Aranda said of Barnes, who was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year last season at FIU. "It's just a way sad deal. That boy right there was becoming a leader for us. But he's been a blessing to us; Baylor's been a blessing to him. He's a natural leader, just taking the reins.
"We talked about, bro, there's a leader when you're playing, there's a leader when you're not playing. We've got to help him with that, but I'm very proud of him."
Another tough moment for the defense came on the Sun Devils' game-winning drive, when safety DJ Coleman was called for a late hit on a sliding Tyson near midfield. Instead of a potential third-down stop, it was a costly 15-yard penalty that got ASU into Baylor territory at the 38, helping set up Gomez's field goal.
"I didn't really see it. I think it was kind of a bang-bang play, and that's something I do want to take a look at," Aranda said. "DJ was one of our captains today. He's been playing really well and has been a stalwart for us, kind of an emerging guy. I talked to him after the game, 'keep your head up,' and he's going to be better because of all of this."
Baylor (2-2, 0-1) goes back on the road to face a reeling Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0) team at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The Cowboys are coming off a 19-12 loss at home to Tulsa after getting trounced on the road at Oregon, 69-3.
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