By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
On Texas Tech’s Homecoming weekend, Baylor football redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson returned to his hometown and became the first Bear to throw five touchdown passes in a game since Seth Russell in 2015. Behind Robertson’s big day, the green and gold snapped a nine-game losing streak against Big 12 schools dating back to 2023 as they took down the Red Raiders, 59-35, on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
“It was just another game because if I sit here and say that this game was more important than the other ones, that implies that the other ones aren’t as important. And I know that’s not the case,” Robertson said. “But it was cool having everybody in the stands today and to have that kind of game and to get out of here with the win.”
Head coach Dave Aranda’s Bears (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) stormed out of the bye week and scored the most points in a conference game under the fifth-year head coach. The win also marked the largest margin of victory in a Big 12 game since Baylor rode into Lubbock and knocked off the Red Raiders (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) 45-17 in 2022.
“[The] locker room is excited. A lot of frustration has been let out. It’s just such a trying [time] and not meeting expectations,” Aranda said. “To have a taste of success gives you confidence. You could kind of see that double over, especially on offense. That was really good to see.”
The Robertson-led Baylor offense scored the most points in a Big 12 game since the green and gold scored 61 against Kansas on Nov. 30, 2019. Robertson completed 21 of 32 passes for 274 yards and a career-high five touchdowns.
“Obviously, our backs are against the wall, the record is not where it wants to be, but our mentality, we’re going 1-0 every week. We came in here and did that,” Robertson said. “It was very satisfying, because it was very fun game to play in.”
Redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron led the Bears with six receptions for 75 yards and three touchdowns. Cameron, the Big 12 leader in receiving touchdowns (7), became the first Baylor player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Sept. 7, 2019, when Denzel Mims scored three against UTSA.
“I didn’t even know that, to be honest. But, that’s real cool,” Cameron said on being the Big 12 leader in receiving touchdowns. “We still have a whole lot of season left. I just want to keep on stacking that. Just keep on going and never just feel satisfied.”
The Bears found the scoreboard first as redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington ripped off a 44-yard rush to put the ball inside the 1-yard line. One play later, Washington punched in the score and gave Baylor a 7-0 lead.
Texas Tech responded with an 8-play, 65-yard drive ending in a touchdown reception for sophomore wide receiver Caleb Douglas, who led the Red Raiders with nine catches for 99 yards and three touchdowns.
Baylor failed to convert on its next drive, but sixth-year senior linebacker Steve Linton halted further progress for the Red Raiders. Linton, a Texas Tech transfer, led the Bears with three tackles for a loss and a sack against his former team. Looking to punt on fourth-and-12, Cameron hauled in the line drive kick and flew 73 yards down the far sideline before being pushed out of bounds inside the 1-yard line.
Josh Cameron was thiiiiiiis close to the house call 🤏
The @BUFootball 73-yard punt return was marked just one yard shy of the touchdown before the Bears proceeded to cross the goal line on the following play.#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/f2C2ZYKr9i
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 19, 2024
The very next play, Robertson handed the ball to Washington, who punched in his second touchdown of the day. The redshirt freshman led Baylor with 10 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
With Washington and Cameron each recording signature performances, Saturday marked the first time Baylor has had a running back with multiple rushing touchdowns and a wide receiver with multiple receiving touchdowns in the same game since Nov. 25, 2016, against Texas Tech.
“I think the thing would be momentum… I think there was a lot of that today,” Aranda said. “I think there’s confidence there. I think there’s a belief that we can score points and a belief that we can stop people, and we can win games.”
The special teams’ magic didn’t stop there, as junior kicker Jack Stone perfectly placed a squib kick down the middle of the field. The football bounced off the hands of a Red Raider and was scooped up by the Bears at the 19-yard line. Baylor was unable to find a first down and settled for a 31-yard field goal from redshirt junior kicker Isaiah Hankins to extend the lead to 17-7.
Texas Tech drained the clock with a four-minute touchdown drive right before the two-minute warning. With 1:54 on the clock, Robertson led a 9-play, 75-yard drive that concluded in a 6-yard pass rocketed into the back of the end zone to Cameron with just four seconds on the clock.
“I just had a feeling that he was gonna do his thing,” Cameron said of Robertson. “That’s always the expectation going into it, that he’s going to play his best. I’m going play my best. And so, I knew he was going to do that.”
https://twitter.com/BUFootball/status/1847761324299649327
With a 24-14 lead out of the halftime break, Texas Tech forced the only three-and-out of the second half. The next five Baylor drives resulted in touchdowns. Red Raider super senior running back Tahj Brooks, who finished with 25 carries for 125 yards, scored his lone touchdown of the game on the following drive to cut the lead to 24-21.
The three-point gap was the closest the home team came to chasing down the Bears.
Two trips to pay dirt today for @Josh_Cameron34 💰#SicEm pic.twitter.com/uaXifB6JwY
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 19, 2024
Robertson connected with Cameron for an 11-yard touchdown off of a screen pass with 6:15 in the third quarter, which sparked Baylor’s defense. Sophomore cornerback Caden Jenkins hid in zone coverage and intercepted Texas Tech junior quarterback Behren Morton and set up a 35-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Hal Presley just three plays later.
Sawyer Robertson is on another level 📈@BUFootball QB1 tosses his third TD pass of the afternoon to Hal Presley as the Bears extend their lead.#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/tbxwrHmVTk
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 19, 2024
The Bears took a 38-21 lead into the fourth quarter and were hungry for more. With 13:10 left in the game, Robertson fired an outlet pass to senior wide receiver Monaray Baldwin. Baldwin sprinted down the sideline and broke two tackles before flipping into the end zone, earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
zoom zoom 🏎️ @monaray2x #SicEm pic.twitter.com/aQconT4QvU
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 19, 2024
After a fourth down stop by junior safety Devyn Bobby, Robertson led one more drive for the green and gold. With the ball on the Texas Tech 30-yard line, sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass racked up 18 rushing yards on three plays before Robertson fired his fifth touchdown pass of the day to the far corner of the end zone, where Cameron tiptoed the sideline and gave the Bears a 52-21 lead.
“I’m happy that everybody’s happy. I think that’s kind of my mentality,” Aranda said. “I told the locker room that this is really the start.”
Make that FIVE passing TD's for @SawRobertson12 ⚡️#SicEm pic.twitter.com/1o9eJhNVsI
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 19, 2024
Baylor added one final score with 5:42 in the fourth quarter when sixth-year senior backup quarterback Dequan Finn swirled out of the pocket on fourth-and-1 and scored a 34-yard rushing touchdown. The Bears accumulated 255 rushing yards on 7.7 yards per carry, marking the first time since 2016 that the green and gold averaged more than seven yards per carry in a Big 12 game.
“We’ve been scoring points. We’ve been kind of consistent on offense, just with, like, explosive passes, runs here and there. The run game popped today,” Robertson said. “That was the missing puzzle piece, and that’s why it clicked today. We left a lot of plays out there. We can get better. That’s encouraging to play like that when you know you can still get better.”
The Bears will be back in action for a Homecoming brawl against Oklahoma State (3-4, 0-4 Big 12) at 2:30 p.m. at McLane Stadium. The game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+.