No. 17 Baylor ends road woes, beats Iowa State 31-24

AMES, Iowa –  The No. 17 Baylor Bears (3-1) picked up a 31-24 hard-fought win against the Iowa State Cyclones (3-1) in the Big 12 opener at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Blake Shapen reminded people why he won the starting job on Saturday, throwing for 238 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing in the Bears’ first victory in Ames since 2016. Richard Reese and Craig “Sqwirl” Williams combined for 86 yards on the ground against a stout Iowa State defense.

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Baylor picked up their first win in Ames since 2016.

Entering Saturday, there were concerns expressed about the lack of explosiveness from the BU offense. That was quickly put to bed as Shapen led the Bears 77-yards down the field on the first drive of the game. The offense converted two fourth downs, and Shapen finished the drive with a 12-yard TD to Ben Sims to put BU up 7-0.

The Bears' offense continued to impress, capping off the following drive with a 24-yard field goal by John Mayers to start the second quarter and regain the lead, 10-7. 

After stopping the Cyclones on defense, Shapen hit Gavin Holmes over the middle for a 36-yard gain to keep the momentum going. On third and goal at the one-yard line, Shapen rolled out of the pocket and connected with Iowa native Dillon Doyle for the touchdown. 

Iowa State responded with a quick touchdown but still trailed Baylor 17-14 going into the half.

Midway through the third, Shapen led the Bears 93-yards down the field, and Reese finished the drive with a tough 19-yard TD run to put BU up 24-14 with 6:05 remaining.

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Baylor picked off Hunter Dekkers twice on Saturday.

Baylor’s defense stepped up in the second half, picking off Hunter Dekkers twice, while Bryson Jackson sacked Dekkers twice as well. 

Iowa State cut the lead to 31-21 with 7:16 in the fourth and made things interesting late, but the Bears were able to prevail.