Baylor football clinches bowl eligibility, first win in Morgantown over West Virginia, 49-35

By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor

Even the bye week can’t stop redshirt freshman running back Bryson Washington from rewriting the Baylor record books. Washington scored four touchdowns for the second game in a row as the green and gold won their first-ever game in Morgantown, 49-35, and clinched bowl eligibility against West Virginia on Saturday night at Milan Puskar Stadium.

Redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson racked up a career-high 329 passing yards, going 26 for 36 passing with three touchdowns. Robertson found Washington for his first career receiving touchdown in addition to his 18 rushes for 123 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

“He’s just doing his thing,” redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron said. “He kind of set the tone at the beginning of the game with the high-point catch. I mean, he’s making catches now over people… I’m just super happy and just really proud of him with his journey and how far he’s come.”

With their fourth straight win, head coach Dave Aranda and the Bears (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) are on their longest single-season winning streak since 2021, when they won their last five games of the season, including the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl.

“We’ve got ourselves a tough and gritty team,” Aranda said. “Early in the year, we were finding ways to lose. We’re now finding ways to win. There’s a belief that we can win, and there’s a belief that we’re going to win, and I think that’s what’s showing up.”

In addition to the win, a Baylor spokesperson confirmed that Aranda would return for a sixth season in Waco in 2025.

The Bears and Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) combined for 1,011 total yards, racking up 512 and 499 yards, respectively. Baylor’s 329 passing yards was the most in a game this season, as were the team’s nine penalties compared to only three against West Virginia.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Robertson said of the win. “There’s a lot of gelling going on. It really happened a long time ago, but I think everybody’s starting to see it now.”

West Virginia senior quarterback Garrett Greene methodically charged the Mountaineers downfield in 12 plays after the opening kickoff. Greene capped the 79-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:34 in the first quarter. The senior led WVU with 22 rushes for 129 yards and two touchdowns while adding 237 yards passing and two passing touchdowns on 19 of 39 passes.

Robertson wasted no time pulling Baylor back even as he completed three passes before a 22-yard pass over the middle to Washington. With a defender draped over him, Washington threw out his hands and made the contested catch before stumbling into the end zone.

After one of West Virginia’s two three-and-outs, Robertson threw a short pass to Cameron. Catching it near the far sideline, Cameron juked past a cornerback and turned on the burners to give Baylor the lead on a 43-yard catch and run.

“It was clicking to the tee,” Cameron said. “Whenever you have a run game that opens up your pass game. I mean, we’re unsolvable, honestly.”

Cameron caught five passes for a team-leading 101 yards, and fifth-year wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins led the team with seven catches for 52 yards. Each of the first two Baylor touchdown drives for the Bears took just over two minutes.

After another 12-play touchdown drive for the Mountaineers, Baylor punted and forced a turnover on downs. Five plays later, Robertson launched a 40-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Monaray Baldwin, who was sprinting down the middle of the field uncontested. The green and gold led 21-14 with 4:22 left in the first half. But in the final 2 ½ minutes of the second quarter, each team scored twice.

The scoring frenzy opened with Washington landing a few stiff arms and taking a career-long 51-yard rush to the end zone. Trying to catch West Virginia off-guard, Aranda lined up an onside kick by redshirt sophomore cornerback Reggie Bush, but it bounced out of bounds despite a friendly jump for the kicking team.

Three plays later, junior running back CJ Donaldson Jr. pulled West Virginia back within one score, 28-21, with a 23-yard rushing touchdown. With 1:47 on the clock after the score, Baylor wasted no time and punched back precisely one minute later. Robertson completed four of five passes to start the drive, and then Washington was pushed by his offensive line into the end zone from 8 yards out.

Robertson completed his first 12 passes and 16 of 18 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns before halftime. Redshirt junior linebacker Keaton Thomas set up a sack for redshirt junior defensive end Jackie Marshall with good coverage across the middle of the field. In his return to Morgantown, Thomas led the Bears with 12 tackles and one sack. Marshall added five tackles and a sack.

“We knew we were going to win this game. We just had to make sure to execute and stay level-headed,” Thomas said.

Five plays later, with only two seconds on the clock and the Mountaineers set at the 1-yard line, Greene barely crossed the goal line on a quarterback keeper. After the play, Greene was pushed backward, and the referees opted to review the touchdown, but without a goal line camera, the play stood, so Baylor took a 35-28 lead into halftime.

“The belief factor has just been at an all-time high. Guys are truly bought in,” Cameron said. “The cohesion is at an all-time high. That’s what we get whenever that happens, and you just get a four-game win streak, and we’re going to go out there and make it five, six, and just keep on going.”

Neither team found the scoreboard in the third quarter. Baylor redshirt junior kicker Isaiah Hankins missed a 55-yard field goal and the Bears punted, while West Virginia punted and turned the ball over on downs after a negative play on fourth-and-2 at the Baylor 9-yard line. The Bears only allowed one more score, which came on the last possession of the game on an 11-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal.

In the second half, Baylor forced two turnovers on downs and redshirt sophomore safety Corey Gordon Jr. snagged an interception while toe-tapping the sideline before allowing one final touchdown.

“I wish we wouldn’t have given up that touchdown at the very end, I’d probably celebrate the bowling eligibility a little bit more than that, more than I am right now,” Aranda said. “I think there’s a bunch of things we can do to get better, and we’re going to have to get better to get these wins at the end of the season that we’re capable of getting.”

On offense, the Bears kept the ball on the ground as Washington rushed for a 9-yard touchdown with 8:07 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass took the bulk of the carries after that point, and landed the finishing blow with a 15-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 with 3:24 remaining.

After one final score from West Virginia, Baylor celebrated clenching bowl eligibility with their 49-35 win on the field. When the team returned to the locker room, they partied to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

“I think these last couple of years in November hasn’t really been our best football. I very much want to change that this year,” Aranda said. “Any win feels good. We’ve been absent of that for probably too long. And, you know, I’m at the center of all that. And to get a win and to have that on top of a couple other wins, and to get guys to continue to fight hard for more wins, we’ll take that.”

The Bears will be back in action on Saturday against Houston (4-6, 3-4 Big 12) at TDECU Stadium in Houston. The Big 12 Conference will announce broadcast options and kickoff times on Sunday at noon.