55 Days till Kickoff: Abram Smith’s 55-yard Touchdown

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On a night where the Baylor offense was completely stifled, the only glimmer of hope came on an Abram Smith 55-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter. It was fourth and two on their own 45-yard line, and Jeff Grimes called a halfback toss to the left side. Connor Galvin, Dillon Doyle, and Tyquan Thorton all picked up key blocks, and Smith shot through the hole and sprinted to the endzone to put the Bears on the board, 14-7. It was the longest play of the night, as well as the longest rushing touchdown on the season for BU.

No. 21 Baylor went on to add another touchdown to make things interesting, but a costly penalty late allowed No. 19 Oklahoma State to continue their drive, in which they would eventually convert a fourth and two to score and go up 24-14. 

The Baylor offense was held in check all night. Excluding a 44-yard pass to Thorton, Gerry Bohannon ended with 129 yards on 12-26 passing. Tresten Ebner totaled 0 yards on eight carries, and Abram Smith was held under 100-yards with a season-low ten carries. 

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Smith in the Big 12 Championship Game against No. 5 Oklahoma State.

Fortunately, the Bears left Stillwater knowing they played at their absolute worst and still had a chance to win that game. Ultimately, that proved true when the Bears won the rematch against No. 5 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, this time only by a matter of mere inches, however. 

And as for the rest of the year for Abram Smith, he set the single-season rushing record at Baylor with 1,621 yards and set the BU record with nine 100-yard rushing games on the year. His 1,621 yards were good for first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally. He earned All-Big 12 Second Team and Honorable Mention Offensive Player of the Year in the conference.