By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Colorado started the fourth quarter with a bang. Quarterback Isaac Wilson hit junior wide receiver Joseph Williams in stride as he scampered into the end zone to tie the game at 13. The score capped off a 12-play, 95-yard drive for the Buffs.
That touchdown lit a fire under the Bears.
Junior quarterback DJ Lagway unloaded on a deep ball to junior wide receiver Jadon Porter in his return, burning his defender for a 33-yard touchdown to put Baylor back up 20-13.
“I wasn’t supposed to be back for another three weeks,” Porter said. “It was a plantar fasciitis tear. I was just scared of tearing it fully during the week, but the closer we got to the game, I was building confidence … All of the stress about it just went away.”
The Bears’ defense forced a three-and-out on the following drive. The offense drove 43 yards down the field in nine plays to set up a 54-yard field goal attempt for sophomore kicker Rhett Armstrong. He nailed the kick, tying the record for the longest made kick by a Baylor player in McLane Stadium history and giving the Bears a 10-point lead.
“That was a huge, huge kick,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “That was a pivotal deal to create some separation.”
The momentum continued to carry on for Baylor. Fifth-year linebacker Garrick Ponder punched the ball free on the Buffs’ second play of the drive. Junior linebacker Kyland Reed picked it up to give the offense the ball back with a two-score lead.
Baylor (3-1) rode out the final minutes to hold on for a 23-13 win over Colorado (2-2).
“The ability to close the deal is a goal for us every week, and we were not able to do that last week,” Aranda said. “The defense was on the field quite a bit, and to close the deal … It’s really cool to see.”
Lagway and the offense looked off throughout the first quarter. He completed four of his first eight passing attempts for 51 yards. The longest was a 28-yard completion to senior tight end Hawkins Polley as the quarter wound down.
“Practice got better as it went through from the beginning [of the week],” Aranda said. “There’d be misses, and then as the week went on, some of those got better … There was going to be some kind of getting back into the groove of things.”
Colorado relied heavily on the ground game with multiple read options, running the ball 11 times for 44 yards. The Buffs had to settle for a 24-yard field goal when they stalled out inside the Baylor red zone to take a 3-0 lead into the first break.
Lagway found his footing halfway through the second quarter. After senior safety Micah Gifford stopped Colorado on fourth-and-1 at midfield, allowing the offense to take over with strong field position.
Lagway escaped the pocket on the second play of the drive, hitting Freeman on a cross-body throw to move the Bears into the red zone. Those two connected one more time on the drive. Lagway found Freeman on the sideline for a toe-tap touchdown to jump ahead 10-3.
Both offenses were forced to punt following the Baylor touchdown. Lagway ended the first half with an interception on a pass he tried to throw away while under pressure. The Bears went into the locker room with a seven-point advantage.
The wide receivers contributed four of Baylor’s six penalties in the first half with three false starts and a pass interference.
“We’re going to have extracurriculars for those,” Aranda said. “We’re at that stage of it now to try to eliminate that … With the level that we’re playing at offensively, we can’t play two people, and that’s pretty apparent.”
Colorado made a change at quarterback during halftime, bringing Wilson in for sophomore Julian Lewis, but the defenses continued to reign in the third quarter. Colorado totaled 125 yards with three punts and a field goal while Baylor only gained 67 with the same results as the Buffs.
“It gives you confidence,” fifth-year defensive end Kyler Jordan said. “It at least shows you that they’re looking for something else. They’re looking for a spark somewhere.”
Lagway tried to sling the ball downfield in the Bears’ final drive of the quarter and looked for a long-distance connection with Brown IV. He got hit before the pass got to him, but no flag was thrown, sending the Baylor faithful into collective boos at the officials.
Baylor surged in all three phases in the fourth quarter to end Colorado’s hopes of a comeback. The Bears improved to 3-1 on the season with a 23-13 victory.
Freeman added to his highlight reel in the fourth, hurdling an upright defender to set up the 33-yard touchdown to Porter. He finished the game with six catches for 59 yards and a score.
“We call him Freaky,” Porter said. “I’m seeing this as I’m on the field running towards him and he’s doing all this. I’m like, ‘There is no way he’s just doing all this.'”
Lagway did not look sharp in his return, going 19-for-39 with 221 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He was able to keep Baylor afloat in the fourth quarter with multiple key passes despite the lackluster start.
Junior wide receiver Dre’lon Miller finished with three catches for 31 yards against his former team.
Baylor’s defense shined again, sacking the Buffs’ quarterbacks five times, surpassing last year’s total of 12. The Bears also held Colorado to 3-for-15 on third downs, stalling multiple promising drives.
“There’s guys that have been through a bunch of adversity,” Aranda said. “That type of person, you’ve got a more edgy player saying, ‘All I’m looking for is a shot, dude. Give me a shot, and I’m going to take my shot.'”
Baylor ends its three-game home stand undefeated as it travels west to take on Arizona State at 9:30 p.m. at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
