Grant Morrison | Sports Writer
Baylor football appears to have two main problems: It can’t start games, and it can’t finish games.
In the time between, the Bears (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) tend to play some solid football. In their 34-28 loss to No. 22 BYU (5-0, 2-0), redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson completed 27 of 48 pass attempts for 324 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. On fourth-and-1 with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, he tucked the ball and rushed for a 20 yard touchdown.
Between that play and the end of the game, Baylor outscored BYU 28-13. You’d think that would be enough for the win—unfortunately, the Bears had given up 21 points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
It was a nightmare start to the game. Much like the Bears’ 23-12 week two loss to then-no. 11 Utah, the team gave up an early touchdown, responded with a turnover, and allowed another score right away.
Baylor’s first play of the game was a tipped pass that bounced into the arms of BYU senior defensive end Blake Mangelson. Against Utah, it was a fumble from sixth-year senior quarterback Dequan Finn that started the carnage.
For essentially the full first half, the Cougars were able to move the ball at will, tallying 180 yards through the air and 106 on the ground.
It took almost the full first quarter for Baylor’s offense to string together positive plays. The slow start gave them such a large deficit that it took near-perfect play from Robertson and the Bears’ receiving corps to get back in the game.
And for the middle of the game, that group showed up. Robertson put the offense on his back and spread the ball out to senior wide receiver Hal Presley and fifth-year senior wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins, who each snagged a number of impressive catches. Redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron tallied a career-high 125 yards and two touchdowns.
The frustrating thing is that Baylor has playmakers. It has very real talent. Just when you’re frustrated and appalled by the state of play, the Bears pull you back in with a spectacular fingertip catch.
They also have questionable play-calling and an inability to finish plays as well as games. How many Bears should it take to bring down a Cougar? For most of the game, it felt like all 11.
When the defense finally got a stop to bring up fourth-and-10, the green and gold allowed BYU punter Sam Van Der Haar to tuck the ball and run for 22 yards. And despite the terrible start, the Bears only allowed three points in the second half. An exhausted Baylor offense brought the game within one score at 34-28. The whole team felt hungry, almost desperate to turn it around.
Just like this year’s game against then-No. 11 Utah on Sept. 7, Baylor had a real chance to win a game despite the odds. Just like last year’s game against Utah on Sept. 9, 2023, last year’s season finale against West Virginia on Nov. 25, 2023, and last week’s last minute loss to Colorado, the game was within striking distance.
But the Bears couldn’t finish the job. They had a chance to score at the two-minute timeout, but failed on fourth-and-6 on the opposing 24-yard line. Baylor’s defense got the stop, and with 61 yards to go in 1:19 with one timeout, Sawyer Robertson’s deep pass to Presley was picked off to end the game.
It felt like the same tired refrain for Baylor football in recent memory. The crowd was barely there. With a second conference loss and a 2-3 start, the odds of a bowl game plummet, and there doesn’t seem to be much reason for fan morale to bounce back any time soon.
“We know how to win, and we’ve shown that we know how to win this season, in late games,” senior tight end Gavin Yates said.
But that doesn’t seem to be true. Since last year’s record-breaking 36-35 comeback win against UCF on Sept. 30, 2023, the Bears have not had a come-from-behind victory to hang their hats on. Baylor’s two victories came via blowouts of Tarleton State and Air Force, and when given the opportunity to shut the door the Bears swung and missed two weeks in a row.
