No. 6 nickelback Ahmad Dixon celebrates on Sat., Sept. 15, 2012, at Floyd Casey Stadium. The Baylor Bears defeated the Sam Houston State Bearkats 48-23.
Meagan Downing | Lariat Photographer

When he was coming out of Midway High School in nearby Hewitt, Baylor junior nickel back Ahmad Dixon could have chosen to go to pretty much any school in the nation. He was ranked as the No. 15 national recruit by ESPNU 150 and had scholarship offers from Alabama, Texas, USC and pretty much everywhere else in between. Instead of bolting for a glamorous, prestigious program, Dixon decided to stay home and head to Baylor, who was just coming off of a 4-8 season.

Even back in high school, his former Midway High School and current Baylor teammate sophomore wide receiver Levi Norwood recognized the heart that Dixon pours into football.

“Yeah, the year I played with him in high school, I definitely saw that emotion out of him and it’s been like that ever since,” Norwood said. “He always leaves everything out there on the field and gives it his all.”

“Coach Briles, he brought his staff here believing in each other and putting it into each player’s head that we are going to be a good team,” Dixon said. “Everybody, even when I was coming on my visits, would tell me, ‘Hey man, we are about to turn this program around. You need to come here. You need to stay home and help us do this. It’ll mean a lot to the community to see us do that.’ I just felt like ‘Why not do this?’ I mean why not bring this city and these fans everything that they’ve been wanting.”

Last season with Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III at quarterback, Baylor enjoyed an exceptional 10-win season. This year, with senior quarterback Nick Florence at the helm, the offense hasn’t skipped a beat. Florence is quick to acknowledge the team aspect of the game and he is thrilled to have Ahmad Dixon on his team.

“You want a guy on your defense who is loud and rowdy and rallies guys up,” Florence said. “He’s a real friendly guy who talks to everybody in the locker room and makes conversation. He brings a voice to the team and is a skilled athlete. He loves the game and has a passion for it.”

When Dixon arrived at Baylor’s campus in the summer of 2010, the main goal for the football game was just to make it to a bowl game. That season, the Bears went 7-6 and lost to Illinois in the Texas Bowl. It was Baylor’s first bowl game appearance since 1994.

“When I first got here, the key point was getting to a bowl game,” Dixon said. We got into a bowl game. Then the next thing we wanted to do was win the Big 12. We didn’t win the Big 12 my sophomore year, so we wanted to get the best bowl game we could possibly get. So you know, this season we were saying that we would be the Big 12 champs because we made a bowl game, we made a good bowl game the year before, and now we were aiming for the Big 12 championship. Each and every game that we lost, that we took an ‘L’ with, were each within seven points. I mean we might have had maybe one or two that wasn’t, but you know that we were just that close with that. With that, it shows us that we actually can do it. We can actually play with these teams that are in the Big 12. That they’re just not that much better than we are like it was a few years ago.”

In just the three seasons that Dixon has been here, it’s evident that the Baylor football program has taken a giant leap forward with three consecutive bowl game appearances. That’s something that had never happened before at Baylor.

“It’s taken a big, great rise,” Dixon said. “Because when I signed here, I was the highest recruit to ever come to Baylor in 16 years. After my class, we started getting two or three top recruits and next thing you know we have the number five or six players in the nation coming to Baylor just to visit and to come check us out. I know that’s something that’s changed since I’ve been here. Even with me living in Waco, I don’t even remember having a top recruit visit Waco. I’ve seen this program grow very quickly. I mean, it’s grown in the right direction. What coach Briles has done here is tremendous. He’s been patient.”

While Baylor has been enjoying unprecedented success on the gridiron, Dixon believes the program can reach even further heights, such as a Big 12 championship and eventually a national championship.

“We are putting together the pieces,” Dixon said. “Yes, we want to win a national championship. Yes, we want to make an appearance in that but the main thing first that we have to get is the Big 12 championship. We know that if we get the Big 12 championship, then us being a national contender will come into effect- because we would end up getting guys to come here. We would get the recognition that we need and all of that kind of stuff and it will help us out.”

Dixon has been a central figure in the rebirth of Baylor football. Along with Briles’ recruiting and the positive attitude and attention Baylor football has received, Baylor should be competing for a Big 12 title soon enough.

Despite losing 42-34 to the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners in Norman on Saturday, the Baylor football team is certainly showing signs of improvement.

The offense is displaying multiple facets within the passing and rushing attack.

The evolution of the offense has led to a multi-dimensional scoring attack with the added production from the rushing game.

In the past two games, the defense has also started to force turnovers.

All of this lines up for an enormous opportunity on Saturday.

The Bears host the best team in the nation, the BCS ranked No. 1 team, the Kansas State Wildcats.

Baylor wants nothing more than to upset the best team in the nation and become one game closer to earning a bowl berth. The Bears are currently 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 Conference.

With three games remaining, the Bears must win at least two in order to qualify for a bowl game for the third straight season.

“It’s a lot of motivation,” junior safety Ahmad Dixon said.

“To get a chance to play against a team that is ranked number one first of all and a great team like that, it’s very motivational.”

With the former No. 1 Alabama just getting upset by Texas A&M, Baylor knows that No. 1 teams can lose just like any other team.

“That’s something that coach told us after the game,” Dixon said. “That he felt that Alabama was about to lose to Texas A&M and that it could be the same case with us next week. We looked at it, I mean once the game was won, the first thing that was in our head was that Kansas State is the number one team in the nation. This is the biggest opportunity that a football team can ask for, going up against the number one team in the nation. We are trying to become bowl eligible and this is just like the story that you would want to have as your comeback season or something like that. We know it and we just have to stay focused.”

Baylor is still looking for its defining moment of the season.

“We talk about each year that Coach Briles has been here, there has been some kind of defining moment,” sophomore inside receiver Levi Norwood said. “Last year, the whole season was defining. We really haven’t had anything like that this year. We need something and we’ve been wanting something to happen, but we feel like this week we have a chance.”

While the Bears do have a 1-5 conference record, several games have been lost even though the Bears are one possession short of tying or winning the contest.

Eventually, the Bears are due for a win.

“I think we’ve been due for a while, but the other team feels like they’re due also and that’s what makes it so great,” head coach Art Briles said.

“We have to perform at a high level every snap. That’s the difference between winning and losing. We have to play the whole game and then we’ll have a good result.”

Collin Klein is the quarterback of Kansas State and the current favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Klein has passed for 2,020 yards and 12 touchdowns and has also rushed for 748 yards and 19 points. Klein is the heart and soul of the Wildcats.

The Wildcats are also incredibly balanced. They boast top nationally ranked units on both offense (8th) and defense (14th). Even with the balance of Kansas State, Baylor’s high-octane offense can give them a chance to win every time they take the field.

“It’s motivation to play whoever comes to Waco,” senior quarterback Nick Florence said.

“They are a good team. They have a lot going for them, they play great football, and they play disciplined football. And yeah, they are number one, it is what it is. Our goal is for them to not be number one when they leave Waco, so we are going for it and that’s the way we have to approach the game.”

There has been a lot of grumbling as of late.

Grumbling from a lot of people about Baylor football. From fans and commentators, from students and alumni even, nobody seems too pleased with the performance of our football team.

And why should they be?

One conference win against Kansas and the remains of the season made up of Kansas State, Texas Tech and OSU.

To say the outlook is bleak would be an understatement.

This makes the grumblers and naysayers even more discontented. They see the likely prospect of a four-win season looming like a spectre of the past.

“It’s back to the ’90s,” they say.

Well, it’s not quite back to the ’90s.

As someone who can remember the dark years of Baylor football, let me say that we are nowhere near those times.

I can remember the three-win seasons, the no-conference-win seasons, the seasons that were over at halftime of the first game.

That is not what I feel at the games now. No longer are we content to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

We expect to win.

It hurts all the more when we do not, but we have come to expect it. That is why some are so mad, why some call for a change of leadership. They are bitter and they know not what they do.

Yes, we have one of the worst defenses in college football. Yes, we cannot stop on third downs, or control the pace of the game enough to stop the other team scoring. Those are things we will have to deal with, but they would not seem as bad if we had not come to expect victory.

We have hope now, and Coach Art Briles made that possible.

Granted, nothing in football is accomplished by individuals. Even Robert Griffin III needed a team around him. However, Coach Art Briles does deserve a fair bit of the credit for giving Baylor fans hope.

Before he came, we changed coaches about as fast as the trees change leaves. A new one would come on every spring, and by the beginning of winter he would be fading or gone.

Now as soon as the tides of fortune turn against us, there are some that would call it a failure.

Even the great coach Grant Teaff had off seasons. In the heyday of Baylor football — not including the last season’s Heisman Trophy, which is unprecedented — 10- and nine-win seasons were interspersed with five- and four- win seasons.

More dangerous than acting like success is expected is acting like it will never come.

More important than grumbling or despairing is to hold onto that hope. If we can do that, then we will not return to the ’90s. We will not see a three-win season. We will triumph.

We have shown our hubris this year — between the stadium and the talk of Big 12 conference titles — and we have paid for it. Let us not now pay for our timidness, our lack of faith again.

Go to the games, cheer on our team and celebrate when we win.

Don’t expect to be handed it, though. Assume that it will have to be taken from our opponents at every step.

If we can do that, then Art Briles and Robert Griffin III will have given us something much more lasting than a Heisman.

It will last longer than Griffin’s professional career and will remain when Baylor Stadium is torn down.

It will be an enuring hope.

Rob Bradfield is a senior journalism major from Waco. He is the editor-in-chief of the Lariat.

Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, right, scores on Kansas linebacker Ben Heeney (31), left, in the first half against the Jayhawks on Saturday in Waco. Baylor won 41-14
Rod Aydelotte | Associated Press

By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer

The Baylor Bears are 0-26 all time on the road against top 25 opponents in the Big 12. This does not bode well for them in their trip to Norman to take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners. The Bears, 4-4 (1-4), won a conference game last week over the Kansas Jayhawks 41-14. This week presents a much tougher task because the Bears will be on the road to face the 6-2 (4-1) Sooners.

Senior quarterback Landry Jones leads the Oklahoma offense. Jones holds several career records for the Sooners. He is the team’s all-time career leader in passing yards with 12,218 and counting. To put that into perspective, Sam Bradford, the former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and No. 1 overall draft pick, only threw for 8,403 yards in his Oklahoma career.

“Landry is tall, has a great arm, and works under a great system,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. He is a three-year starter and has won more games then anyone else in OU history. They are a rhythm team and they allow him to get the ball out of his hand very quickly. He is an exceptional quarterback, and it is kind of surprising that he stayed for this season.”

Not only does Oklahoma have a passing offense, but they have an established rushing attack as well. Junior running back Brennan Clay made his first start of the season last week against Iowa State and rushed for 157 yards on 24 carries. Clay is prepared to face the 117th overall Baylor defense.

“Their defense does give up a little bit of points,” Clay said. “It’s probably because they’re on the field so much. It’s going to be a good game; it’s probably going to be a shootout.”

Defensively, Oklahoma boasts the 17th best scoring defense in the nation and only gives up 17.8 points per game.

“They are good,” Briles said. “They didn’t wake up and just get good today; they have been good for a long time. They are very physical, very talented, and they are schemed up very well.”

After losing to Baylor last season in dramatic fashion, the Sooners are ready for a rematch on their home field.

The returning members of the Baylor football team know what it’s like to beat Oklahoma from last year and they hope they can do it again this season.

“We absolutely have confidence from last year,” senior quarterback Nick Florence said. “We beat them last year and it’s a good deal and we will feed off of that, but at the same time, it’s a totally different year and we are a totally different team and they are a totally different team. So yeah, we beat them last year, that’s great, but it’s a new year. It’s a new time and let’s write a new chapter this year.”

Oklahoma is nearly a 20-point favorite over Baylor. It’ll be a tough task for the Bears to go into Norman and leave with a victory.

The bottom line is that when Baylor wins the turnover battle, then it tends to win the game. The Bears turnover differential in wins is plus eight and in losses it’s minus 11. Against Kansas last week, the Bears defense had two interceptions and the offense did not turn the ball over. The Baylor rushing attack found its stride last week as junior Glasco Martin and sophomore Lache Seastrunk combined to rush for 260 yards.

The Bears defeated Oklahoma last year. It’ll be a tough test in order to come away with a victory this season.

Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams (2) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against TCU in the second half of the game against TCU Oct 13, in Waco. The Bears lost 49-21.

By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer

Seven games into the season, the Baylor Bears (3-4, 0-4) are still looking for their first Big 12 Conference win.

Luckily, the football schedule brings the Kansas Jayhawks (1-7, 0-5) to Waco for homecoming. The Jayhawks, like Baylor, are also looking for their first Big 12 Conference win.

The Bears are in a rut, but with five games left to play, there’s still plenty of time for the Bears to find their identity and play their best football down the stretch.

Sure, Baylor has had a tough time in conference to date, but there’s still plenty of football to be played this season.

“It means getting a win,” head coach Art Briles said. “You can go from laying down flat to up straight in a hurry. The great thing is we have another opportunity this weekend. I am forever grateful and thankful that we still have opportunities. That is what keeps you going.”

Baylor has struggled in conference play, mainly with turnovers. The defense has forced a mere two takeaways in four games.

Meanwhile, the Bears have been on the wrong end of turnovers by giving the ball away 11 times in four Big 12 contests.

Quarterback Nick Florence has thrown 22 touchdowns this season to go along with 11 interceptions. Florence understands the team has to do a better job of protecting the football.

“We focus on it at practice every day,” Florence said. “We work on protecting the ball and me making good decisions throwing the ball. We just have to do better protecting the ball. It seemed like things didn’t go our way the other night. We just have to put a complete game together. That’s our biggest thing; we still haven’t put a complete game together.”

Aside from having problems taking care of the football, Baylor’s offense has been the highlight of the season so far.

Baylor is seventh in the nation in scoring and first in the nation in passing yards, averaging 395.7 passing yards per game.

Florence leads the nation in total offense per game by averaging 414.1 yards per game.

The high-octane Baylor offense also possesses quick-strike scoring ability.

The Bears have had five touchdown drives this year that consisted of only one play.

In nine of the last 11 games, Baylor has scored at least 45 points.

When it comes to this 2012 Bears team, offense is not the problem.

The Baylor defense has had a particularly tough time this season by allowing an average of 42.7 points per game. That ranks 122nd in the nation. In four Big 12 games so far, Baylor is allowing 52.5 points per game.

“The Big 12, I think, is the strongest top to bottom conference in the nation,” Florence said. “There is not a lot that separates the top from the bottom. It just goes to show the type of caliber of players that are playing and the type of coaches that are coaching. You have one bad week and it will cost you. You make one mistake and it will cost you.”

The Kansas Jayhawks are arguably one of the worst teams in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Kansas’ only win this season came against South Dakota State, which is in the Football Championship Subdivision and plays in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Despite their struggles, the Jayhawks are showing signs of improvement under first-year head coach Charlie Weis.

Kansas’ junior running back James Sims is one of the bright spots on the team and has plenty of talent.

Sims has rushed for 622 yards this season on only 129 carries. Kansas also has a varied rushing attack as they have six players who average more than five yards per carry.

“He [James Sims] is a really good back,” Briles said. “He didn’t play the first two or three games this year, but he has been a huge part of their offense ever since. He is a tough runner and has great balance. He is a good runner and has a lot of experience.”

While Kansas does have talent at the running back position, it has struggled to produce much offense this season. Much of this is due to the quarterback shuffle that Kansas has endured. Dayne Crist started the season as the Jayhawks starter and now Michael Cummings has earned the role as starting quarterback. Still, the Kansas offense averages a mere 17.3 points per game, which is 121st nationally.

Kansas starting quarterback, Michael Cummings of Killeen, has been seeing action for four consecutive games. Last week against Texas he started and played the entire game for the first time in his young Kansas career. He almost led Kansas to victory over the Longhorns, but Texas made a clutch fourth-quarter comeback to snatch the victory from Kansas.

“He played really well the other day against Texas,” Briles said. “He protected the ball well and ran the offense well. He made some critical plays at critical times. They were one play away from winning that football game. He is a good football player.”

Baylor is only a couple of plays away from having a vastly improved record this season.

Of Baylor’s four losses, two of them have come by less than one touchdown. A single play can be the difference between winning and losing.

“We are just one or two plays away it feels like, and it’s been the same thing the past couple weeks,” junior tight end Jordan Najvar said. “If we can make the play it’s a totally different game. In this conference, in order to be a good team you have to make those plays. We are going to work hard to fix that, and we will fix that for the upcoming weeks.”

For Baylor, it will also be homecoming in Waco. Four of Baylor’s last five games have all been on the road. The Bears have not enjoyed a home game since Oct. 13, against TCU.

“It will be real good with homecoming and everything going on,” Florence said. “There will be a lot of hype, and it’s a must-win situation. We have to get this bad taste out of our mouth and get the win. We are at home, so we have a great chance to do it.”

No. 42 post Brittney Griner blocks a shot by Oklahoma City No. 14 guard Kayla MacKenzie during the game on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the Ferrell Center.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Krista Pirtle
Sports Editor

While the football team is busy trying to scrape a win out of the goose egg in the conference win column, the women’s basketball team is protecting its 40-game win streak.

What’s the difference between the two besides the obvious?

Football head coach Art Briles focuses on offense while women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey is centered on defense.

Let’s look at the facts.

The women’s basketball team has not allowed a team to shoot over 50 percent since March 25, 2006.

On average, the women’s defense allowed the opposition to shoot 31 percent from the floor.

Conversely, the football team allows its opponents to convert on third downs 62 percent of the time.

People of America, football’s defensive allowance doubles the women’s numbers.

The argument that both teams caught lightning in a bottle last year is completely invalid, football did, with the likes of Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III to never be matched or topped again.

The football team has been to a bowl game the past two years with Griffin in the pocket.

Losing a quarterback for such an offensive-minded squad is more devastating than you think.

With Griffin on the field, it was a challenge not to score.

The defense still did not stop anyone last season, but it didn’t matter.

Go back to last year’s upset over Oklahoma, Baylor’s first victory over the Sooners in their 20-game history.

The defense gave up a touchdown, and Oklahoma was up with under a minute to play.

Baylor got the ball deep in its territory but found the end zone due to a rocket from Griffin to now senior wide receiver Terrance Williams.

People knew how bad the defense was last year but no one really cared with the scoring threat Griffin brought.

And now the football team is chilling at the bottom with Kansas and no conference wins to its name.

As far as the Lady Bears are concerned, winning is the way of the program.

Since their national championship in 2005, the Lady Bears advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2006, the second round of the Big Dance in 2007 and 2008, Sweet Sixteen in 2009, Final Four in 2010, Elite Eight in 2011 and were the untouchable National Champions last season.

With senior phenom Brittney Griner, the women’s basketball team has never been fully dependent on her.

Women’s basketball is a lot more consistent.

Why? Because it plays defense.

Defense allows a team to control the game because shots will miss or fall, and passes will either be caught or fall incomplete, but a strong defense will always make a stop.

Saturday is do or die for the Baylor Bears as they travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on the Iowa State Cyclones at 6 p.m. for their homecoming in 40-degree weather.

“We’ve had our first half of the season, and now we’re going into our second half,” head coach Art Briles said. “I don’t know if it’s a good analogy or not, but I use why divorces happen – there’s a variety of reasons, but sometimes it’s because you hear things, you see things, you do things, and sometimes it amounts over time. Then it goes to a point to where you think you can get away from it. What we’re trying to do is start cleaning. We have six games left, and those six games will determine our football season.”

Senior quarterback Nick Florence is a semi-finalist for the Davey O’Brien award and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, and he leads the nation in total offense with 407.2 yards per game.

Helping his numbers on the outside is senior wide receiver Terrance Williams who was recently named a mid-season All-American by Sports Illustrated who leads the nation with 168.8 receiving yards per game and 21.6 yards per catch.

The Baylor offense has challenged opposing defenses, but Iowa State prides itself in its defense behind senior linebackers Jack Knott and A.J. Klein.

“They’re just good,” Briles said. They’ve got a really good defense, and they’ve got a lot of good people. They’ve had good people for a long time. The two linebackers, [A.J.] Klein and [Jake] Knott, both started 33 straight games. Really, really good football players. Up front, they’re big, strong and physical. They’ve always had skilled people on the back end.”

However, when Iowa State allows its opponent to score 24 or more points, its record is 3-22.

“They are a really good defensive team, and have always been a really good defensive team,” senior wide receiver Lanear Sampson said. “They play hard, and they hit hard. They are physical, and that’s what they are known for.”

The Iowa State offense is led by a pair of quarterbacks, senior Steele Jantz and sophomore Jared Barnett. The Cyclone’s top receiver, senior Josh Lenz, sat out the team’s game last Saturday against Oklahoma State due to a quadriceps injury. He has been given the okay to play against Baylor.

The defensive side of the ball offers a chance to prove itself for Baylor. After three straight losses giving up 70, 49 and 56 points without forcing a turnover, improvements are anticipated after a week of practice.

“The scheme is controllable from a standpoint of making the calls, and the other is having the confidence and having the ability to make plays while the ball is in the air,” Briles said. “We’re always working on being aggressive. That’s the name of the game on both sides of the ball.”

Last week against Texas, juniors cornerback K.J. Morton and safety Sam Holl went down with injuries, watching the end of the game at Texas in their sweat suits from the sidelines.

Both are listed on the depth chart, but there is some uncertainty with Morton.

So far this season, sophomore linebacker Bryce Hager is No. 4 in the nation and No. 1 in the Big 12, averaging 11.7 tackles per game.

Junior nickelback Ahmad Dixon is No. 2 in the conference with 9.8 tackles.

No matter the statistics, at this point, Baylor football is focusing on finishing well.

“We have six ball games left,” Florence said. “There is still a ton of football left. We were in kind of the same situation last year, and we were able to come out of it and overcome it. People remember how you finish a season, and that’s we are going for.”

Step one: beat Iowa State.

There is no doubt that Baylor’s defense is the Achilles heel of the team. But why is the defense so awful? It sounds strange, but Baylor’s offense might be one reason the Bears have never had a vaunted defense. Is head coach Art Briles’ offensive philosophy hurtful to his defense? Baylor possesses a high-octane prolific scoring offense that any team in college football would be jealous of. But the quick-strike ability of the offense might be crippling the defense.

For example, the Baylor offense has scored 13 touchdowns in one minute or less and 22 touchdowns in less than two minutes. It sounds insane to say this, but the offense is scoring at such a rapid pace that it is actually hurting the defense. Plus, Baylor lacks quality defensive depth at nearly every position. A heavy burden is being placed on the defensive starters because they have to spend so much time on the field. Last season, the offense was so spectacular with RG3 at the helm that the defense was hardly talked about. Last year the Baylor defense conceded 56 points to Washington in an Alamo Bowl victory. Why hasn’t the Baylor defense made improvements this season? This is year two under new defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, and it’s still the same old story: the Baylor offense has to win in spite of the defense.

Is Briles so offensively minded that he does not care about defensive statistics? In order to build a winning program and enjoy sustainable success, a college football team must have a defense. That’s the bottom line. In the BCS rankings, 11 of the top 15 teams also possess a top 15 defense. The formula for winning in college football is not a glamorous offense but rather a punishing defense. Let’s be real, most opposing offenses probably lick their chops when they see Baylor on the schedule.

Ultimately, Briles is responsible for winning football games at Baylor. As it stands, Baylor is 0-3 in the Big 12 Conference and has the worst scoring defense (124th) in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Changes must be made with Baylor football. Briles needs to sacrifice the sky-rocketing offensive statistics in order to keep the defense on the sidelines. When Baylor gets the lead in a game, Briles has to milk the clock and slow down the offense to conserve the lead.

The lack of attention that Briles pays to his failing defense is troublesome. Briles isn’t just some offensive guru; he’s the head football coach. All aspects of the team fall under his jurisdiction and responsibility. The bottom line is Briles needs to deliver a better Baylor defense by any means necessary.

Sports Writer

Baylor and Texas came into Saturday night’s game in a minor state of panic. Both teams started the year strong, but each has lost its last two games. The Bears fell to the Longhorns 50-56, 106 points and 1,132 yards later.

Senior quarterback Nick Florence finished the game 30-of-41 with 352 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“I was really proud of the team and how they fought,” head coach Art Briles said. “We challenged them this week to be tough physically and mentally, to have a tough man’s mentality.”

Baylor’s defense continued its season-long struggle on the first play from scrimmage. The Longhorns’ freshman wide receiver Daje Johnson carried the ball around the end for 84 yards and the touchdown to give Texas the early 7-0 lead.

The Bears’ offense failed to respond and punted on their fourth play, but the defense responded well. The Bears forced a fumble to set the Texas offense back. On fourth down, the snap went over the Texas punter’s head.

On the ensuing play, Baylor faked the handoff to the right, and senior quarterback Nick Florence took it to the house himself around the left side to tie the game at 7.

Texas marched the ball down the field on its next possession. Texas’ sophomore running back Joe Bergeron leaped his way into the end zone to cap off a 15-yard run.

Bergeron finished the game with 117 yards on 19 carries and five touchdowns.

Baylor responded on their next opportunity, however. Junior running back Glasco Martin finished Baylor’s drive with a two-yard touchdown run. With just over four minutes to go in the first quarter, this game began to look like the West Virginia game; there was a lot of offense, but defensive stops were few and far between.

Senior wide receiver Terrence Williams picked up right where he left off last week. On first and ten on Baylor’s own 20-yard line, Williams got behind Texas’ secondary, caught the pass from Florence and won the sprint to the end zone.

To respond, Texas stuck with their game plan: run the ball. Every now and then, Texas sophomore quarterback David Ash would mix in a pass to catch Baylor’s defense off guard, but after the first quarter Texas had recorded 84 rushing yards that included the 35 yards lost on the snap that went over the punter’s head.

With 11:45 to go in the second quarter, Florence took the snap and rolled out left for what looked like a quarterback keeper. Texas’ defense filled the holes, so Florence pulled back and found senior wide receiver Lanear Sampson all by himself in the end zone. This put the Bears ahead 28-21.

Bad tackling reared its ugly head for the Bears again on the ensuing kickoff. The Longhorns returned the kick all the way to Baylor’s 30-yard line. The Longhorns then gained a first down after Longhorn junior wide receiver Mike Davis danced through arm tackles.

Bergeron scored his third touchdown of the day after Baylor failed to bring him down in the backfield. This tied the game at 28 with 9:38 left in the first half.

The Longhorns forced Florence to throw an interception on the next possession and then marched the ball down the field and into the end zone. Texas freshman running back Jonathan Gray ran right past junior safety Sam Holl to give Texas the 35-28 edge with 6:18 left in the first half.

On Texas’ next drive, Ash repeatedly tried to take the ball deep over the secondary. Baylor defended these passes well, but the plays opened up everything underneath the secondary for the Longhorns. Texas used these plays and their typical running plays to get into the end zone for the sixth time in the first half.

Towards the end of the first half, Florence threw a fade to Williams, but the referees called the pass incomplete because Williams landed out of bounds. The replay, however, indicated that Williams may have landed in bounds, but the replay official did not decide to review the play and Briles opted to not challenge the play.

“I had tried to tell [Briles] that I saved room,” Williams said. “I kind of figured they were going to look at it up top just because, but they didn’t.”

Baylor and Texas returned to their respective locker rooms with the Bears down 42-31. Florence finished the first half 11-15 with 164 yards, one passing and one rushing touchdown. The Baylor defense gave up 352 total yards and 7.5 yards per play.

The Bears received the ball to start the second half. Baylor, aided by some Texas penalties, marched down the field and into the end zone. Florence fumbled the ball near the goal line, but junior tight end Jordan Najvar was there to dive on the ball in the end zone.

Baylor tried the two-point conversion, but Florence’s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Texas led 42-37.

As the close of the third quarter approached, Martin fumbled the ball on Baylor’s 41-yard line. Texas started the first quarter in Baylor territory with a 49-43 lead.

The Longhorns extended their lead to 56-43 when Ash connected with Davis for his first touchdown pass of the day.

Baylor added another touchdown towards the end of the game. The Bears tried an onside kick, but Texas was able to recover the ball and run out the clock.

Sports Writer

Before Baylor enters the tunnel to run out onto the field at Floyd Casey Stadium, the team hits a sign above the doorway that says “Finish Strong.”

“We aren’t going to put our heads down and throw in the towel,” senior quarterback Nick Florence said. “We still have seven more games left. There is still a lot of football to be played. When it comes to bowls, you are defined by how you finish. We’re going to keep fighting until the end.”

Baylor’s first home game in a month ended up breaking the Bears’ nine-game win streak at Floyd Casey Stadium with a 42-21 loss to TCU last Friday night.

“I just feel like tonight we came out too excited because we had had a bye week last week,” senior wide receiver Terrance Williams said. “I just feel like we came out trying to make too many plays instead of playing our game.”

Florence had an uncharacteristic night, completing 12-of-19 passes for 289 yards, a pair of touchdowns and four interceptions.

“I’ve got to make better throws and better decisions,” Florence said. “We put our defense in a bind and that’s what happens. As an offense we did not play well and we can’t have that if we want to win a Big 12 Championship.”

Baylor head coach

TCU freshman defensive end Devonte Fields recovers a fumble last Friday night Friday as he helps the Horned Frogs beat Baylor by a score of 42-21.
Sarah George | Lariat Photographer

“It is very frustrating. It is very humiliating, not just to us, as coaches, but to our players also and to our university. We did not do a good job of showing up for Baylor tonight.”

TCU freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns, all of which came on third-down plays.

The Horned Frog offense had the ball for 41:52, while Baylor held a mere 18:08.

“We did not feel like we had any rhythm offensively in the first half,” Briles said. “We never really got in any type of flow and turnovers have something to do with that because it takes away your tempo and it sometimes takes away your aggression.”

The Bears got off to a quick start 26 seconds into the game with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Williams.

“It was something we’ve been practicing all week,” Williams said. “Knowing the safety would be guarding me, they threw the ball to a spot where I could run under it.”

But after that first touchdown came two interceptions.

Baylor’s second touchdown came on its first possession of the second half off a five-yard run by Florence.

“They hadn’t played against a lot of four-man rushes,” TCU head coach Gary Patterson said. “Only Sam Houston State had rushed them with four guys, so we had to change up our coverages. The one long pass to Terrance Williams in the second half was my fault. I went to a blitz instead of keeping with the game plan of staying over the top of him, and it hurt us.”

That touchdown was a 77-yard touchdown pass off a quick decision by Williams, the longest Baylor play this season.

“That is part of our high routes. If they blitz I have the choice to do what I want, but I have to make the decision quick. I saw that the defender was flat-footed so I decided to run by him and Nick put the ball up.”

Williams would only record three catches on the night.

The next two offensive possessions ended in interceptions as well.

TCU would go on to score three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to solidify a win.

“We missed a lot of tackles,” junior safety Sam Holl said. “We’ve got to tackle better. We had them wrapped up a couple of times. They got off and made some yards.”

Sophomore linebacker Bryce Hager and junior nickelback Ahmad Dixon both recorded their first career sack in the ball game.

Dixon and senior safety Chance Casey both recorded a career-high 13 tackles.

“I’m not worried about the way we’re going to respond because I know we’ll be all right,” Holl said. “We’re trained to respond well and clear games. We can’t fix what just happened tonight. We can’t go back and replay it, so we just don’t think about it. We will go into practice this week, work hard and just get better.”