By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor dropped its third straight road game, falling to Arizona 41–17 behind a fourth-quarter collapse Saturday at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
The Bears (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) turned the ball over in their first two drives of the fourth quarter, eventually leading to a 20-point surge for the Wildcats (8-3, 5-3 Big 12).
Baylor was knocking on the door on a fourth-and-3 play at the Arizona 12-yard line to begin the fourth quarter. Trailing 21-17, redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw to senior receiver Kole Wilson in the end zone, but Arizona defensive back Treydon Stukes jumped in front of the toss to intercept the pass.
“You just can’t turn the ball over like that, put the defense in terrible positions,” Robertson said.
The Wildcats drove down the field but failed to score as kicker Michael Medina missed a 38-yard field goal wide right.
It seemed like the Bears had new life, until redshirt sophomore running back Bryson Washington lost control of the football at the tail end of an 8-yard run, marking the second straight giveaway for Baylor’s offense.
Arizona’s Ismail Madhi broke free for a 28-yard touchdown, sealing the game for the Wildcats.
As a section of brazen, shirtless Wildcat fans started to form, Arizona continued to lay it on. The Bears failed to convert on fourth down twice, and Robertson threw a 34-yard pick-six to linebacker Jabari Mann.
“We were having just real simple execution errors,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “There wasn’t anything new on defense that they were showing. … We were just misreading things.”
Arizona finished the game with 27 unanswered points on three Baylor turnovers to win its fourth straight, 41-17.
The loss marks the third straight road defeat for Baylor, following losses to then-No. 21 Cincinnati and TCU.
The second half was a stark contrast to the first, when both offenses dominated with two touchdowns each.
Both squads traded touchdowns on each of their first two drives of the game.
Baylor scored on a 9-yard receiving touchdown from senior receiver Josh Cameron and a 2-yard run from Robertson.
Arizona punched back with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from running back Kedrick Reescano and a 2-yard catch from receiver Kris Hutson, who finished the game with a team-high nine catches for 133 yards.
“We knew coming into the game we were going to hit them with things and they were going to hit us with things,” Robertson said. “We just weren’t able to recover from my mistakes.”
The two defenses started to settle down in the second quarter. The Bears made one of two field goals, while Noah Fifita threw an interception that junior safety DJ Coleman caught to finish the first half. Baylor led Arizona 17-14 after the first 30 minutes.
“We were playing fast,” Coleman said. “We knew what they were going to do … and we came out with the lead at the end of the first half.”
Arizona’s Mahdi led the team with 14 runs for 93 yards, and Reescano found the end zone three times.
While Robertson threw for 162 yards with 71 going to Cameron, freshman running back Caden Knighten was the bright spot of the Baylor offense. Knighten ran 17 times for 100 yards.
The Bears are down to their last chance to become bowl eligible, playing the final game in front of a home crowd. Coleman said they still have plenty to play for next week.
“We’re playing for the seniors that still got another game left,” Coleman said. “We don’t want to just give up on the season … Houston’s a good team, but we still feel like we can win.”
Baylor faces No. 23 Houston at a time yet to be announced Saturday at McLane Stadium.
