Sports Take: Baylor unleashes Cerberus-esque offense to overwhelm Oklahoma State

By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer

Seven hundred and thirty-six days ago, on Oct. 22, 2022, Baylor earned their first conference home win of the season against a hobbled Kansas Jayhawks team that was missing star quarterback Jalon Daniels.

More than two full calendar years later, on a warm homecoming afternoon, the Bears snapped an eight-game Big 12 home losing streak, overwhelming Oklahoma State, 38-28, at McLane Stadium.

“Proud of the fight with the team, I thought that it was a big step for us,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “The fight of the team, the belief in each other, is really cool. And I think, it’s inspiring to me to see it, and I think it bodes well for the future. I think we’ve got some things to build on after the step that we took.”

The Bears (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) launched an all-out assault on the Cowboys’ (3-5, 0-5 Big 12) defense, with contributions coming from all angles. It started with Sawyer Robertson: the redshirt junior signal-caller completed 11 of 19 passes for 222 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, plus 73 yards and another score on the ground. He’s the first Baylor quarterback with three touchdowns passing and a 40-yard touchdown run in a game since Robert Griffin III’s Heisman campaign in 2011.

“It’s pretty cool hearing [that],” Robertson said. “I’m just so happy we won, honestly. You get in a mode where you kind of block out everything else that that goes on, like the stats, the numbers, and you’re just like trying to win. I’m just so happy we won.”

After struggling to gain footing early on, the running game carried the offense the rest of the way. The Bears’ first 11 carries went for 29 yards; their next 27 went for 314. Baylor’s final mark of 343 was the team’s highest rushing total since 2021.

Sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass’ homecoming heroics led the way for a tidal wave of Baylor rushers. The sophomore halfback rushed six times for a career-high 142 yards and a touchdown, including explosive runs of 55, 48 and 39 yards. Redshirt-freshman running back Bryson Washington (78 yards) averaged 4.6 yards on a career-high 17 carries. Junior running back Richard Reese turned six touches into 52 yards, and Robertson rounded out the ground attack with 73 yards and a touchdown of his own.

The Bears’ suddenly Cerberus-esque offensive attack also prominently featured fifth-year senior wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins (four catches, 74 yards, one touchdown). The Texas State transfer snagged a wild catch of the year candidate in his best performance of the season.

Senior wide receiver Hal Presley hauled in a career-long 53-yard reception; sophomore tight end Matthew Klopfenstein caught his first career touchdown pass. Redshirt junior tight end Michael Trigg, senior wide receiver Monaray Baldwin and redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron all converted big-time first downs. When it rains, it pours, and Oklahoma State got hit with a downpour on Saturday.

“I think you’re seeing [what the offense is capable of],” Aranda said. “The big plays are for sure there, but then the tempo and the run game. … When all those guys are out there, and you have those defenders, you have to put numbers to that. And once you do that, it lessens the numbers in the box, so the run game is explosive. It’s not just a four-yard gain — like we saw with Dawson, it can be much more than that.

“I think they fully recognize that now. I think they see that that’s just one move away, that’s one arm tackle away. Our blockers know that that’s one extra effort away. That’s one correct ID away from something breaking, and all that’s contagious, and it’s that way. We’re in that space right now.”

The defense showed out, too. Oklahoma State entered the game having allowed just four sacks in seven games; Baylor wrecked that pristine pass-blocking reputation, sacking Alan Bowman three times and forcing several rushed throws. Matt Jones was characteristically excellent, leading the team with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.

“It puts a huge confidence boost in our hearts, in our minds, around the whole team,” Jones said of winning back-to-back games. “We come out to practice every day and you can feel the intensity. You can feel everyone’s desire to win. It’s just been at an all-time high since we’ve been losing, and I don’t think this team wants to see another loss.”

That tired stat — “It’s been two years since the Bears won a Big 12 game at home” — can finally be put to rest. The Bears are .500, should be favored in at least three of their final four games and look to be on a collision course for a bowl game. With Jake Spavital’s full offensive arsenal finally unleashed, and a winnable schedule remaining, hope is bubbling up again in Waco.

“Everybody understands the situation here,” said Aranda, who came into the season on the hot seat. “And so you win a game, there’s a chance of exhaling, and … you really can’t do that, because we got another game coming up, and it’s a really good opponent, and we got to put in effort and [there’s] work to do and all that. And I thought the guys were able to do that.”

The Bears will be back in action against TCU (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium. The “blackout” game will be broadcast on ESPN2.