By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Baylor football lost to Texas State 42-31 on Saturday in one of the biggest upsets for either program’s history. But reaching beyond the win-loss column, the season opener marked an unfortunate start to the class of 2027’s fandom.
“At first it was really exciting, because it was like, ‘I’m in the Baylor Line!’” Spring Branch freshman Abby Gorman said. “I’d only ever watched it, so I was like, ‘Oh, I get to be a part of it.’ And then, about halfway through, me and my friends just kind of realized like, ‘It’s not ever going to get better, is it?’ It wasn’t working at all. And then, about halfway through the fourth quarter, we just left, because … we didn’t want to be there.”
Gorman said she grew up watching Baylor football games with her family but wasn’t thrilled with the team’s performance last week. Despite the fun of the Baylor Line, the product on the field didn’t live up to her expectations.
“It did not at all,” Gorman said. “Apparently that’s how Baylor used to play in the ‘90s, so I hope we don’t have to repeat that because that would be rough.”
Others had a more optimistic outlook. San Antonio freshman Zach Fagala said he was frustrated by the outcome but still enjoyed his first game as a student at McLane Stadium.
“I’m really disappointed we lost,” Fagala said. “But I had a really good time. I got to run the Line, [and] I got to hang out with my friend … We might not be very good this year, but it was a lot of fun even though we lost.”
In his eyes, Fagala made a big mistake by getting his hopes up late in the game. With under two minutes left and a two-score deficit, Baylor began driving down the field — but it wasn’t enough.
“Probably [my lowest moment was] at the end when I thought we were getting back into it, and then Sawyer [Robertson] fumbled,” Fagala said. “That was not enjoyable … I gave myself too much hope toward the end and was let down.”
Murphy sophomore Jack Dugger, a snare drummer in the Golden Wave Band, also saw that moment as the game’s low point. But his disappointment was best encapsulated in the final score.
“Definitely was not expecting a loss for the Bears,” Dugger said. “[I] thought Texas State would be a good blowout game and we’d get to play the fight song a lot for scoring touchdowns … Definitely did not think it’d be a close game.”
On the bright side, Dugger said it can’t get much worse — that is, assuming the Bears take care of business in a couple weeks.
“I’ve lost confidence in the team a little bit, but I also know that we lost to Texas State, so the only game that we could go lower than this is Long Island University [in week three],” Dugger said. “So, you could only go up from here if you win anything.”
