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On December 4, 2021, all Baylor fans were reminded exactly why we call football “a game of inches”. Dezmon Jackson came up inches short of the pylon in AT&T Stadium in Arlington thanks to the heroic tackle of Jairon McVea. The Bears won a third Big 12 championship, and the first under Dave Aranda. But let’s not forget the 89-yard drive that McVea and the Bears stonewalled at the one-yard line.
Spencer Sanders was under duress all night, and he barely escaped pressure yet again on the first play of the drive. A dump off to the running back as he was hit got the Pokes a first down. 80 yards to go.
Sanders was hit again. Incomplete. The next play he was hit again and a lame duck of a throw popped up for grabs. John Paul Richardson miraculously came down with the 10-yard catch to keep the game alive. 70 yards to go.
Dezmon Jackson got another 10 on the ground. 60 yards to go.
Another couple of completed passes to Richardson and another QB knockdown from Baylor netted the Cowboys 16 yards. 44 yards to go.
With a little over 2 minutes left, Sanders hit Blaine Green for 9 yards, ran another 5 for the first down, then hit Green again for 6. 2nd and 4 Oklahoma State, 1:51 and 24 yards to go.
With 3rd and 1 on the Baylor 21, Sanders hit Tay Martin on a quick slant for 8 yards. 13 yards to go.
Another Dezmon Jackson run got the ball to the 10. Baylor used its second timeout with 1:37 left.
Another Jackson carry to the six-yard line. Another Baylor timeout with 1:31 left in the game.
On 3rd down and 3 from the Baylor six, Sanders threw a Fade to Martin. It was short and Mark Milton played excellent coverage, but a flag was thrown for pass interference. The drama had to go on.
Now first and goal from the two-yard line for the Pokes, Jackson ran to the right and was corralled by Dillon Doyle and JT Woods at the one-yard line.
Under 1 minute to go now, Jackson tried again to the right, and again Dillon, Woods, and Pitre stopped him short.
Instead of waiting for a review, the Cowboys tried to catch the Baylor defense unprepared by going fast. The defense was ready, but they still needed a heroic play from star Jalen Pitre to break up Spencer Sander’s roll-out pass attempt to the tight end in the middle of the back of the end zone.
Now it was 4th and goal, ball on the Baylor 1 yard line with 30 seconds left in the game.
Oklahoma State had fought 89 yards down the field and needed just one more yard to claim its second ever Big 12 title.
You all know what happened next.
