Baylor football clinched a historic third consecutive bowl bid this season by defeating Texas Tech in overtime 52-45 on Saturday.

The Bears are on a hot streak with three wins in the past four games. When it counts the most, Baylor is playing its best football late in the season.

In November and December of the past two seasons, Baylor is nearly perfect with a 9-1 record.

A sea of burgundy and gold overwhelmed Cowboys Stadium and waves of “RG3” chants poured out of the hole in the roof.

Thursday was a homecoming for former Baylor and Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III as he returned to the Lone Star State as a member of the Washington Redskins.

“It was good to be back in Texas, where I have that feeling of being home and where I spent so many years,” Griffin said.

Arlington was Redskin country, if only for a few hours.

Baylor’s dramatic 52-45 win on Saturday over Texas Tech wasn’t easy.

After three missed field goal attempts going into overtime, the Bears’ chances at a bowl game appearance looked grim.

“Baylor’s kind of like the Israelites that wandered in the desert for 40 years,” Houston senior Matthew Morgan said. “So based on history, I wouldn’t [have been] surprised if we didn’t make it because our defense is more lame than Congress right now and doesn’t usually get anything done. So I really thought we were done. Doneskis. Put a fork in us.”

The Baylor Bears are writing history, becoming the first team in program history to advance to three consecutive bowl games, after becoming eligible with a 52-45 overtime victory over Texas Tech.

A series of firsts were recorded for Baylor: junior linebacker Eddie Lackey’s first game with a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery.

Usually athletes don’t cry after a win, but they do occasionally shed tears after a loss.

Baylor sophomore running back Lache Seastrunk was so overcome with emotion in the waning moments of Baylor’s 52-24 victory over No. 1 Kansas State that he shed a few tears of joy.

“I broke into tears,” Seastrunk said. “Thirty seconds left, I don’t even know. It just came out. So magical to see your dream unfold right before your eyes, what you wanted for two years.”

Seastrunk’s emotion is understandable. After leaving the University of Oregon, where he redshirted as a freshman and did not play, he transferred to Baylor in August of 2011 and had to sit out the entire season due to NCAA transfer rules.

In effect, Seastrunk hasn’t actually played in a football game in nearly two years.

With Baylor’s stunning 52-24 display of dominance over No. 1 Kansas State, one position group stands out from among the rest: the offensive line.

Every game of football is won at the line of scrimmage.

To put it lightly, Baylor dominated the trenches against Kansas State.

The story of the day, aside from David defeating Goliath, was Baylor’s defense playing relatively flawless, something Baylor fans are not used to.

“We had faith in our defense,” junior running back Glasco Martin said, “We knew as an offense that we could potentially score every time we got the ball in our hands. We just jumped on the backs of our defense and they came up with a stop and we took advantage of it.”

With Baylor’s win against Kansas State, the Bears have totaled five wins so far. Baylor has to win at least one of the two remaining games to be bowl eligible.

The difference between five wins and six wins in college football is a lot bigger than just one win. The sixth win, and the opportunity to play in a bowl game, gives a university a lot of exposure and a lot of money.

Beating either Texas Tech or Oklahoma State would give Baylor a lot more than just bragging rights.