Bears Fall Flat in Ames, Lose 43-21 to No. 16 Iowa State

Ames, Iowa – Baylor (2-4, 0-3) remains winless in conference play, dropping Saturday’s contest, 43-21, to No. 16 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0) at Jack Trice Stadium.

In the loss, the Bears defense allowed 542 yards and were outscored 40-7 after jumping out to a quick 14-3 lead. Iowa State’s running backs, Jaylon Jackson (Sr.) and Carsen Hansen (So.), combined for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per attempt.

The Cyclones were a combined 8-for-14 on third and fourth downs.

Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson (RJr.) put together another strong performance, throwing for three touchdowns, an interception and 258 yards through the air on 25-of-44 passing.

The Bears took an early lead and found pay dirt on their first offensive possession. Robertson led them down the field and hit wide receiver Josh Cameron (RJr.) for a four-yard score on third and goal; Cameron has a team-high four receiving touchdowns this season.

Iowa State nailed a 45-yard field goal, but Baylor extended its lead to 14-3 with another methodical offensive drive that was capped off with Robertson tossing a back-shoulder fade to tight end Michael Trigg (RJr.) for an eight-yard touchdown with 13:50 remaining in the second quarter.

After the score, Trigg received an unsportsmanlike penalty on his touchdown celebration; the flag was enforced on the ensuing kickoff. Jack Stone (Jr.) then kicked the ball out of bounds, allowing the Cyclones to start their possession at midfield.

Iowa State made another field goal to cut Baylor’s lead to 14-6. 

After a stop on defense, Jackson went up the middle of the defense and cut outside for a 51-yard gain. Later in the drive, on third and goal, quarterback Rocco Becht (RSo.) hit tight end Benjamin Brahmer (So.) over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown, but the extra point was no good.

Becht threw for a season-high 277 yards and two scores on 16-of-25 passing.

The Bears' first-half momentum completely dissipated midway through the second quarter when Palmer Williams’ (So.) punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown to give Iowa State its first lead of the day, 19-14.

On Baylor’s final offensive possession before the end of the first half, Robertson connected with wide receiver Hal Presley (Sr.) on a screen pass, but Presley bumped into center Coleton Price (RSo.) and couldn’t pick up the first down.

On the following play, the Bears were stuffed on fourth and short and handed the ball back to Becht and the Cyclones around midfield. Becht found wide receiver Jaylin Noel (Sr.) over the middle for a 41-yard grab, putting Iowa State deep in Baylor’s territory.

The Bears brought pressure on second and goal, and Becht made an errant pass that was picked off by outside linebacker Garmon Randolph (6Sr.) to close out the half; Iowa State led 19-14 going into the half-time locker room. The interception was the second of Randolph’s career and first of the season.

To open the third quarter, Robertson found Trigg for a pair of big completions. On fourth and short, Robertson scrambled and found a wide-open Ketron Jackson (Sr.) in the back corner of the end zone to give Baylor back the lead, 21-19. Jackson finished the contest with a season-high 66 receiving yards and six receptions.

Iowa State regained the lead on the next drive; Becht found Noel for another big play, this time for 43 yards. Jackson capped off the drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown. The Cyclones put the game out of reach with 17 more unanswered points.

The Bears had their opportunities to get back into the game, but Robertson threw an interception into the end zone on fourth down; later in the second half, running back Dawson Pendergrass (So.) was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on third and short deep in Baylor’s territory.