SAN MARCOS, Texas — A rugged night of football on the San Marcos River comes to a close with Baylor (1-0) taking a sloppy victory over Texas State (0-1) by a final of 29-20.
Let’s get this out of the way — ESPN+ should have paid ME to watch whatever that was. I’m still too young for adult beverages, but I can now imagine the motion sickness that comes with extreme inebriation through tonight’s quivery camera feed. And the damn Applebee’s commercial made it all the more insufferable.
As for the ballgame, a monstrous Baylor win behind the legs of Gerry Bohanon and Trestan Ebner that many expected did not find its way to San Marcos. The Bears struggled immensely on offense in the first half, and the second half wasn’t much more exciting.
On the other side of the ball, though, the defensive unit led by Jalen Pitre was gritty. With stagnation on offense, the Bear defense stepped up with seven points of their own while forcing three turnovers and holding Texas State to a 4-14 mark on third-down.
Recapping the first half, a JT Woods interception was the only major highlight for Baylor — although I wish I would’ve been able to see it. I’m genuinely hoping the camera person enjoyed their first football game, but I digress. The Woods score and an Abram Smith touchdown were the two plays that gave Baylor a 14-10 lead at the break.
The second half was a bit better on offense, but the defense was the anchor via picks from Pitre and Jairon McVea. Ebner and Smtih certainly looked smoother, but there was no consistent explosiveness. With the two-headed backfield climbing above 100 yards apiece and the defense holding just enough, Baylor closed out the 29-20 win.
The score was 29-20. The larger of those two numbers belongs to Baylor, and that puts the good guys in the win column. On a weekend where just about every favorite in the nation struggled, the Bears held on to steal a game on the road. And next week will even get slightly easier on the Brazos.
