By Jackson Posey | Sports Editor, Braden Murray | LTVN Executive Producer
Connor Hawkins walked into Gerald J. Ford Stadium as a virtually unknown kicker, whose battle for the starting job stretched past fall camp.
He left a hero.
The redshirt freshman split the uprights on a 27-yarder in double-overtime Saturday to seal the Bears’ 48-45 upset victory over No. 17 SMU in a wild shootout. Baylor racked up over 600 yards of total offense and extended its win streak over its longtime Southwest Conference rival to 14 games.
The game marked head coach Dave Aranda’s first ranked win since 2021, and the program’s first ranked win on the road since Nov. 21, 2015 over Oklahoma State.
“I AM DALLAS,” Baylor associate head coach and running backs coach Khenon Hall posted on X after the game. (Hall is a Dallas native and former SMU assistant coach.) “I AM MR. 214.”
I AM DALLAS‼️ I AM MR. 214 #EarnedNotGiven #SicEm #WeAreBaylor https://t.co/Xkh2Fqxhuy
— Coach Khenon Hall (BAYLOR) (@CoachK_Hall) September 6, 2025
The chaos started immediately.
On the game’s opening play, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings launched a bomb from way behind the line of scrimmage, lofting the ball short of wide receiver Romello Brinson. Redshirt sophomore cornerback LeVar Thornton Jr. rose up to secure the ball with two hands — but it ricocheted upfield to Brinson, who bobbled it to himself and ran the rest of the way to the end zone.
In a blink, a game-changing turnover became points for the Mustangs.
“The mistakes early on are frustrating,” Aranda said. “[There’s] a lot to clean up. This film is gonna be ugly, but it’s always good to deal with ugly stuff when you have a win.”
What if I told you this was an SMU touchdown? pic.twitter.com/FsB7fqh2zW
— Jackson Posey ✞ (@ByJacksonPosey) September 6, 2025
A week after sending the offense out seven times on fourth down, Aranda was aggressive on fourth downs again. The Bears maneuvered inside the SMU 30-yard line on their first two drives — and ultimately turned over both possessions on downs, on fourth-and-9 and fourth-and-2.
A third turnovers on downs nearly developed minutes later. Facing third-and-1 on the SMU 28-yard line, the Bears eschewed conventional wisdom (a run up the middle) to take a deep shot. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital’s four-down philosophy inspired a potentially dangerous deep shot — and it paid off.
Senior wideout Kobe Prentice beat the Mustangs off the line and hauled in a back-shoulder go-ball in the end zone. Prentice’s second touchdown in as many games put the Bears on the board, cutting the deficit to 10-7.
SMU scored again, this time on the back of UCLA transfer halfback TJ Harden, who drove the pile four yards up the middle to push the lead to 10. Two minutes later, redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson answered for the Bears, hitting redshirt senior Josh Cameron up the right sideline to evade two would-be tacklers and high-step into the end zone.
Cameron led the team in receiving in 2024 but only caught two passes in Week 1 against Auburn. Robertson got him involved early and often Saturday, sending him 14 targets for nine catches, 151 yards and two touchdowns.
“My job’s easy when I’m throwing to guys like Josh [Cameron], Ashtyn [Hawkins], those receivers, [Michael] Trigg, the line is protecting well,” Robertson said.
The mid-2010s Big 12 vibe was in full effect. Jennings opened the next drive with a 75-yard touchdown launch to true freshman Jalen Cooper, who shot upfield to stretch the lead to 24-14 — but the Bears kept playing catch-up.
Redshirt sophomore Bryson Washington, another returning star who recorded a quiet performance in the season opener, spun off a blocker at the 7-yard line and sped into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season. Washington carried the ball more in the first half against SMU (15 times) than the entire game against Auburn (14 times).
With 45 points and 566 yards of total offense between the teams, SMU let the final minute of the first half slide off the clock, heading into the break with a 24-21 lead.
Baylor pushed deep into SMU territory near the end of the third quarter, but two holding calls in five plays dropped the Bears to a fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line. Aranda called in the field goal unit to tie the game at 24 with a 26-yard chip shot — just the second time Baylor field goal attempt this season.
Ultimately, SMU’s offense blinked first. The Mustangs totaled just 33 yards and committed multiple crucial penalties in the third quarter, including a massive kick catch interference on a punt return — almost.
An overturned call on a punt return flipped a major SMU penalty into a Baylor block in the back penalty. A Mustang punt gunner ran into Cameron while the ball was still in the air; when the ball landed, it bounced off Cameron’s feet and was recovered by the kicking team. A second consecutive replay review ruled that SMU would gain possession.
In a five-minute dead period consistent of multiple reviews, result of the play shifted from Baylor ball at the 38-yard line to Baylor ball at the 13-yard line to SMU ball at the 22-yard line.
Gifted a spot in the red zone by a special-teams debacle, SMU pressed. Jennings underthrew tight end Matthew Hibner on an end-zone fade, giving Baylor safety Jacob Redding just enough room to snag his first career interception.
“I dreamed of doing this when I was at Baylor games when I was about 12 years old,” Redding, a redshirt sophomore, said. “That was pretty special.”
Baylor failed to capitalize again, turning to punter Palmer Williams for the first time on fourth-and-2 after a three-and-out. The Bears scored just three points in three third-quarter drives after scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter alone.
Jennings opened the game on a heater, going 10-for-10 through the air for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. But a hapless third-quarter performance — he went 4-for-8 passing for 14 yards and an interception in the scoreless frame — slowed the Mustangs’ momentum to a crawl.
Two plays later, Harden ran 40 yards up the gut to retake the lead, 31-24. That single play outgained the Mustangs’ entire third quarter.
Washington fumbled on second-and-8 to put the Mustangs firmly in the driver’s seat. Baylor’s run defense, second-worst in the Big 12 in Week 1, couldn’t set the edge on Harden, who scored his third touchdown of the day. The Bears allowed 94 fourth-quarter yards rushing on 16 attempts after allowing 69 yards the rest of the game combined.
Robertson trebucheted a projectile 48 yards to Cameron, who got tangled up with a defensive back on the goal line. Junior tight end Matthew Klopfenstein rumbled in from behind and shoved both players into the end zone for a score. With 5:23 to play, and the lead down to 38-31, the Bears were suddenly one defensive stop from a game-ending drive.
Redshirt junior Emar’rion Winston made the play.
The Oregon transfer slung down Jennings behind the line on third-and-4 to force a punt, which sailed 50 yards to Baylor territory. Cameron called for a fair catch at the Bears’ 18-yard line with 2:23 to play, setting up a dramatic two-minute drill.
Robertson converted on fourth-and-3 to a wide-open Hawkins, who found a soft spot in the defense and jitterbugged 23 yards to the sideline. The conversion put the Bears at 3-for-6 on fourth down for the second consecutive week.
Washington hit a hole for 15 yards with a minute remaining. Cameron caught a slant short of the sticks, forcing the Bears to use their second timeout with 46 seconds left.
Baylor went back to true freshman halfback Caden Knighten out of the timeout; he took the inside handoff eight yards for a first down. Then, sliding up the seam like he’d sewn it himself, Kobe Prentice appeared.
The Alabama transfer slipped through a crack in the defense for his second touchdown of the night, knotting the game at 38 and bringing Robertson over 400 yards for the third consecutive game.
“You can’t take Sawyer for granted,” Aranda said. “For Baylor to have Sawyer Robertson, you can’t take it for granted.”
Jennings scrambled with 15 seconds left, sliding short of the sticks — and several yards shy of field goal range. Senior safety Devyn Bobby lowered his head on Jennings’ slide, narrowly avoiding a targeting penalty upon replay review. With 10 seconds to play, SMU stood at the 44-yard line.
A quick run up the middle gained four yards and set up Mustang kicker Collin Rogers for a 57-yard field goal. Baylor called its final timeout in an attempt to ice the kick.
The wind died.
The stadium held its breath.
The kick sailed wide right.
Overtime.
“We looked at each other,” said redshirt junior linebacker Keaton Thomas, who led the team with 10 tackles. “Sometimes conversations are needed and other times it’s more about … you know who the guys you’re playing with are, deep down. And deep down we’re some dogs. We’re hunting. We want everything that comes with it: good, bad or indifferent.
“We give each other that look [and] we don’t have to say anything — it’s time to go. Let’s make it happen.”
SMU won the coin toss and elected to defend. Cameron caught a tough 15-yarder and Washington plowed into the end zone for his second score of the game, putting the Bears up 45-38 and the ball back in SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee’s court.
But Brinson, who caught a tipped pass for a touchdown on the game’s opening play, streaked past Thornton again. The Miami transfer laid out for a highlight-reel touchdown catch, bookending his performance with a pair of replay-worthy touchdowns.
Rogers missed another field goal wide right in double overtime, handing the ball back to Baylor with the game on the line. At 45-45, the Bears just needed to score.
Six handoffs later, redshirt freshman Connor Hawkins jogged out for his fourth career field-goal attempt, a 27-yarder. SMU called a timeout to ice.
The stadium held its breath.
Hawkins split the uprights.
Ballgame.
“I was just screaming ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’ [and] lifting him up,” Cameron said. “I was proud of him.”
The win moves the Bears to 1-1 following a brutal one-two punch to open the season. They’ll play a tune-up game against FCS Samford next week before hosting defending Big 12 champion No. 12 Arizona State Sept. 20.
