By Foster Nicholas | Editor-in-Chief
With superstar quarterbacks Sam Leavitt and Sawyer Robertson sharing McLane Stadium, Saturday’s contest had all the pieces needed for a shootout. Instead, Baylor’s secondary held Arizona State to three red-zone field goals before a fourth-quarter breakdown led to a walk-off score.
Redshirt sophomore safeties Jacob Redding and Tyler Turner shined as Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) held the Sun Devils (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) to a mere 58 yards passing in the first half. But even with bright spots on defense, head coach Dave Aranda couldn’t see past being on the losing end of a 27-24 grind.
“It just sucks to lose. I think when we get to the film, we’re going to see some positive stuff. There’s probably more positive stuff than there’s maybe been on that side of the ball, but we need to win,” Aranda said. “We have to close that game out.”
The Bears held Arizona State without a play of 20 yards or more until the final seconds of the third quarter, when Leavitt broke free for a 27-yard carry after surveying airtight coverage in the pocket for more than four seconds. On the next drive, a missed assignment led to a 61-yard completion, fractured the unit’s otherwise positive night.
The free safeties defined drives in the first half. Jordyn Tyson, the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2026 NFL Draft class, was a non-factor until the fourth quarter. The Sun Devil star finished with seven catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, snapping his 11-game streak of games with 50 or more receiving yards.
“I’m proud of [the secondary], they’ve taken a huge leap this year,” redshirt junior linebacker Keaton Thomas said. “We need to do better up front. We need to make sure that we’re taking care of business and holding the standard as they are.”
Redding made his impact on the game from the jump, leaping and nearly intercepting a pass in the end zone on the Sun Devils’ first drive of the game. After holding the Sun Devils to one of three red zone field goals, Turner followed up the great play on the ensuing drive by swatting away a deep ball intended for Tyson.
Junior cornerback Caden Jenkins, who has struggled with pass interference penalties since a breakout freshman campaign, joined the textbook-caliber coverage. Tasked with playing one-on-one against Tyson at the Baylor 5-yard line, he played flawless defense on a back-shoulder pass, forcing an incompletion without getting too handsy.
Once again, the Sun Devils settled for three points rather than seven.
Redshirt senior cornerback Tevin Williams III made up for a pass interference call with an end-zone deflection to force the fourth Arizona State field goal of the game. A unit struggling to find an identity played its best all-around game in years against the reigning conference champs.
“I thought [the defense] played excellent,” redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson said. “That’s why this one probably stings so much for me, personally. They were fighting. They were battling. Honestly, they kept us in the game while we were just sputtering.”
Then, after three quarters of excellence, the defense promptly collapsed. Arizona State wide receiver Derek Eusebio snuck behind the defense on third-and-13, slicing through Baylor’s Cover 2 for 61 yards with eight minutes left in the game.
“We were in cover two. We have a guy that’s right in the middle that’s responsible for that route and didn’t play [it],” Aranda said. “I have to coach him better in that spot. It’s very unfortunate, very frustrating.”
When the Bears answered Arizona State’s lone second-half touchdown with 1:52 to play in a tie game, the same unit that kept them in the game threw it away. After a 3-yard completion on third-and-4 with 1:23 to play, junior safety DJ Coleman delivered a late hit, resulting in a 15-yard penalty that turned fourth-and-1 in Arizona State territory to first-and-10 in field goal range.
“[I’m] disappointed in the execution, whether it’s turnovers on offense or the penalties on defense,” Aranda said. “It’s just in inopportune times you kind of shoot yourself in the foot, and you just can’t do that versus a really good team.”
Baylor’s secondary played well enough to beat any team in the Big 12 for three quarters, tallying five pass breakups against the best receiver corps on the schedule. But without four complementary quarters of football, the Bears will still be left searching for answers.
