It’s a beautiful day for football at McLane Stadium! We’ve got clear skies, 87 degrees, a slowly filling stadium, but most importantly, sailor bear! Today’s matchup brings us a Baylor (3-4), who is coming off an electric win @TTU, vs. a reeling Oklahoma State (3-4), who fell to BYU in a heartbreaker last Saturday. With both teams essentially eliminated from B12 Title contention and below, a far cry from 2021, the outcome of this game may very well determine the immediate direction of each program. With a win, Baylor will hold incredible momentum heading into a rivalry matchup vs. TCU at night, a possible catalyst for the rebranded Aranda era. A loss (especially a CU-style one) today would quench any hope surrounding this “new-feel” program and make the chances of attending a bowl game all the more unlikely. Stay Tuned!

BAYLOR OPENING DRIVE: (BU 0 - OSU 0):

Baylor ventured to the OSU 45 off of a 36 yard catch-and-run from Michael Trigg, but was eventually stopped on 4th & 4 due to a free rusher hurrying a Sawyer Robertson pass attempt that sailed out of bounds. On 3rd & 4, Bryson Washington took a weak side sweep into the edge defender and OLB, and missed the open B gap that would have gone for 6+ yards before contact.

OSU OPENING DRIVE (BU 0 - OSU 3):

The Bears forced a rushed Bowman to miss a wide-open Vailahi on a motion swing pass before stuffing Gordon on a screen for -2 yards. On the next play, Bowman hit K. Daniels for 56 yards on a Far Side post route due to a busted zone from the Baylor Secondary. The Cowboys have 3rd & 11 on the 12-yard line. Alan Bowman missed a wide-open zig-route on his left side before scrambling right and getting called for grounding. The Cowboys’ 45-yard field goal was GOOD, 3-0 Cowboys.

BAYLOR FG (3-3)

After another 13-yard return from Jamaal Bell (why??) and a few runs from Washington and Sawyer, Hal Presley hauled in a beautiful S. Rob throw for 53 yards. The Pokes came out in cover 1, and Robertson placed the ball perfectly down the sideline in between the corner and the crashing safety, while under pressure. A run by MOOSE, an incomplete pass, and a short draw set the Bears up for a 30-yard FG, which was GOOD, and we are knotted up at 3.

OSU Punt (3-3)

BAYLOR INT (3-3)

Sawyer Robertson rolled out right after OSU sent 7 men and threw it into traffic, the receiver slipped and Kobe Hylton picked it off and ran 25 yards on the return.

END of First Quarter

OSU FUMBLE (3-3)

After 2 huge chunk plays from Bowman, Ollie Gordon FUMBLES on the goaline!!! Matt Jones, who has been jarring with Gordon all game, forced the fumble to be picked up by Linton at the BAY 1 Yard line.

BAY TOUCHDOWN!!!! (10-3)

IS THIS 2014??? 4 plays, 99 yards, and 1:38 seconds off the clock for a score! Dawson Pendergrass took a 48-yard run to the 49 before cracking off another 39-yarder 2 plays later. After the MOOSE runs set the Bears up at the 12-yard line, Sawyer took the pigskin and completed a backside fade to Hal Presley for a BAYLOR TOUCHDOWN!

OSU Touchdown (10-10)

With a couple of short runs and a 21-yard pass were set up on the Baylor 38 with 1st & 10. The Pokes converted a 3rd & 5 by running a screen to Brennan Presley, who took it 33 yards to the house after a missed tackle from Chateau Reed and a bad angle by Devin Bobby opened up the sideline.

BAY TOUCHDOWN!!! (17-10)

This drive pretty much encapsulated what we all expected from a Jake Spavital offense when he was hired. Beautiful scheming, just beautiful. Richard Reese cracked a 24-yard run up the middle off the field on an inside zone, Monaray Baldwin caught a beautiful ball on a wheel route to dice open the base Cover 2 from OSU, and Matthew Klopfenstein hauled in a 1-yard catch for a TOUCHDOWN off of Play-Action. 17-10 good guys.

Sawyer Robertson injury

On a 2nd & 9, Sawyer was drilled on an all-out blitz by OSU, which should have been flagged, and he stayed on the ground for 2 minutes. He walked off the field on his own after the incident and it is unclear whether or not he will return. Nate Bennett is in at QB.

OSU Touchdown (17-17)

What was that? Miracles, voodoo magic? Your best guess is as good as mine. OSU converts a 4th & 4 with a side-snapped fake punt, finds Presley open in the zone holes 2 times for a total of 28 yards, and Ollie Gordon caps it off with a 2-yard score. We’re all Knotted up after one half.

HALFTIME

That was a very interesting half of football, Baylor seemed very dominant on the Offensive side of the ball: they put up 303 total yards (169 rush and 134 passes), but only managed to score on 3 of those 5 drives. OSU always seemed to be backed into 2nd/3rd & long situations, but Brennan Presley absolutely torched the Bears defense out wide and in the middle of the field, racking up 135 yards and a TD. There’s a lot to unpack here: the Bears dominated the ground game and pretty much ran whenever we pleased for the first time all year, but struggled on 3rd downs when Gundy dialed up pressure from the edge and corners. From first looks, that first half looked to be decided from a few nice calls on D from OSU, and 2 missed tackles by the Baylor D. We probably should be up by a touchdown, but walk into the second half tied against a veteran team that usually thrives in close games. I would bet that Aranda leans in and tries to get more aggressive on D to force Bowman to find his 2nd and 3rd reads; he has looked horrible outside of the pocket or throwing into tight windows. Offensively, look for more wide zone runs and screen passes early to open up the middle of the field for Trigg/Hawkins. The edges were the main point of attack in the 1H, expect OSU to adjust accordingly.

Start of the Second Half

OSU 3 and Out (17-17)

An incomplete pass, a botched snap, and a Matt Jones sack give the Bears possession on the OSU 47-yard line.

TOUCHDOWN BEARS (24-17)

WHAT A CATCH ASHTYN HAWKINS. WHO CARES ABOUT THE OTHER PLAYS!!! Sawyer found Ashtyn Hawkins 1-on-1 down the right sideline and Ashtyn HEAD TOPPED his defender while turning his body to the side. That could have been the best catch I have seen in a Baylor Uniform since R.J. Sneed’s one-hander @TTU in 2020, what a SNAG. Good guys up 24-17.

End of Third Quarter

TOUCHDOWN BEARS (31-20)

SAWYERRRRRR!!!!!!! The best dual-threat QB in the country just scrambled up the middle for a 41-yard touchdown two plays after a 55-yard TD by MOOSE was called back due to a hold on Barrington. Spavital had an excellent play design that got Hawkins an easy 17-yards on an interior screen pass. 31-20 good guys. NEED a stop here.

Touchdown Pokes (31-28)

Awful call, some might even say the worst call of all time. Caden Jenkins gets a wonderful PBU, but is called for DPI in the endzone, which then sets up for a 3-yard touchdown run by Ollie Gordon and a subsequent 2-point conversion, pass? By Ollie Gordon, yes, you read that right, Ollie Gordon passed the ball. Bears are still up 31-28.

TOUCHDOWN BEARS TOUCHDOWN BEARS (3:06 4th Q)

DAWSON PENDERGRASS GETS AN ASSIST AND STOMPS 55 YARDS FOR A TOUCHDOWN TO TAKE THE LEAD!!! It looked like the Bears might play conservative after 2 runs and a screen pass, they did, and it paid off. The MOOSE absorbed contact after 25 yards, was pushed by Fugar and Omar, and did the rest himself. 38-28 good guys, OSU ball, 4th & 2. HERE WE GO.

GAME SEALED: Interception by LeVar Thornton Jr. (38-28)

End of Game:

THAT’S THE BALLGAME!!! BEARS WIN, BEARS WIN! B-U chants rain down from the bleachers as Sawyer Robertson takes one final knee to snap a 2-year conference home win drought that began October 22, 2022. Ashtyn Hawkins and Richard Reese leap into the stands in celebration, we’ve got a Football Team folks!

Baylor will play TCU next, on November 1st at 7 pm in a Blackout game. A win would give Baylor a winning record after 4 games played for the first time since week 13 of the 2022 season.

SIC’EM.