By Shehan Jeyarajah
Sports Writer
Baylor leads Texas Tech 35-27 at halftime at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Junior inside receiver Levi Norwood has been the top player for Baylor. He has 141 yards receiving and two touchdowns to go along with a 58-yard punt return for touchdown. Quarterback Bryce Petty has 227 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield has 217 yards and three touchdowns for Texas Tech. Receiver Eric Ward has six receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.
On Texas Tech’s first drive, Baylor seemed to have the Red Raiders locked up, but could not complete stops. Tech faced deficits of fourth-and-one and fourth-and-seven, but converted on both attempts behind a Mayfield pass to Jordan Davis and a defensive holding on freshman wide receiver Robbie Rhodes.
A 28-yard run by Sadale Foster led to a six-yard touchdown pass from running back Kenny Williams to tight end Jace Amaro to give Tech a 7-0 lead.
Baylor could not get anything going on offense to start their first drive of the game. Other than a 27-yard reception by Levi Norwood, Baylor did not run a play that resulted in positive yardage.
On their second drive, the Red Raiders started at their own 11. Tech faced a third-and-six at their own 28, but forced their way out with a 28-yard pass to Brad Marquez. By the time the play went to review, the referees ruled the play too late to go to review.
Baker Mayfield then had a carry for 20 yards and a touchdown pass of 20 yards to Jace Amaro on back-to-back plays. Amaro’s touchdown gave Texas Tech a 14-0 lead over Baylor.
Clay Fuller opened up the next drive with a 43-yard kickoff return to bring the ball up to the Baylor 43. After an 18-yard Shock Linwood run, Levi Norwood broke away for a 40-yard touchdown for Baylor’s first score of the game. The drive lasted only 52 seconds.
Tech started their next drive at the 25-yard line with 6:05 left in the first quarter. The defense forced Tech into a third-and-11 but subsequently wasted the opportunity by allowing 29-yard pass to Eric Ward.
Jordan Davis had a big-time catch for 25-yards to bring Tech within the the Baylor 7. The Davis reception led to a six yard receiving touchdown by Eric Ward three plays later, but Ryan Bustin missed the extra point.
Baylor’s next drive went awry as Bryce Petty missed on three straight passes to force a three-and-out with 2:57 left in the first quarter.
Levi Norwood turned things around on Tech’s first punt of the game with a 58-yard punt return to cut the lead to 20-14 with 1:33 left in the first quarter, his second touchdown of the half.
Tech began to find momentum, but K.J Morton turned the tide with a huge interception on the Texas Tech 31.
Baylor’s offense found new life with the turnover. Bryce Petty threw a 31-yard touchdown to Antwan Goodley on the subsequent play, and Aaron Jones kicked in the extra point. With the extra point, Aaron Jones set the all-time record for points in a career.
Texas Tech punted on their first drive of the second quarter, but Baylor’s offense struggled to take advantage. Petty compiled fifty yards on the play, but his effort was wasted as Aaron Jones missed the 49-yard field goal.
On Tech’s next drive, Baker Mayfield fumbled the ball and Ahmad Dixon recovered. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed Baylor back to the 43-yard line, but that wouldn’t stop Baylor’s offense. The running game would take over on this drive. Five consecutive runs by Shock Linwood and Devin Chafin would lead a 47-yard touchdown drive to give Baylor a 28-20 lead.
Baylor would get a stop, but Petty fumbled the ball on the next possession to give Tech possession on the Baylor 23. Tech would drive down the field and Jakeem Grant would score on a fade to the end zone from Baker Mayfield.
Antwan Goodley had an eight-yard completion to save Baylor’s next drive on third-and-eight. On the next play, Levi Norwood took off and finished with a 58-yard touchdown reception through the Texas Tech defense to give Baylor a 35-27 lead.
