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Baylor Football

Bears Blow Late Lead, Lose to No. 12 Utah, 20-13

September 9, 2023
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WACO, Texas – Dating back to last season, Baylor’s losing streak has officially reached six games – the latest defeat came against the No. 12 Utah Utes (2-0) on Saturday at McLane Stadium, 20-13.

In place of an injured Blake Shapen (RJr.), Sawyer Robertson (RSo.) threw for 218 yards in his first collegiate start but hurled a crucial interception deep in Baylor’s territory with 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.

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Utah dominated in second-half time of possession, 21:39-to-8:20

Utah swiftly took advantage and running back Jaylon Glover (So.) crossed the goal line for the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. 

“Disappointed with the outcome,” head coach Dave Aranda said postgame. “In the second half, the lack of execution was exposed. It’s hard to win. I think our team is learning how to.”

Robertson made things interesting and connected with wide receiver Hal Presley for a 42-yard reception but couldn’t hit Ketron Jackson, who appeared to be held by the Utah corner, for a 22-yard touchdown to send the game to overtime.

Prior to the last drive, Baylor’s conservative offensive approach in the second half mustered just 70 total yards on 20 plays. Utah dominated in second-half time of possession, 21:39-to-8:20

“It’s brutal,” linebacker Kyler Jordan (RFr.) said after the loss. “I felt like we came out and played a pretty good game. There’s definitely things that we can fix from an execution standpoint, but it’s brutal.”

After both teams punted twice to start the game, Jordan injected life into McLane Stadium with an interception at Utah’s 38-yard line with eight seconds remaining in the first quarter.

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Baylor held a 13-6 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Some costly penalties kept the Bears from finding the endzone, but Isaiah Hankins (RSo.) nailed a 34-yard field goal to give Baylor a 3-0 lead with 13:03 remaining in the second quarter.

The Utes responded with a 62-yard drive to tie the game at three apiece, highlighted by a Ja’Quinden Jackson 44-yard rush through the teeth of the Bears defense.

On the following possession, Robertson connected with Jackson on a 30-yard pass to put Baylor deep into the Utes’ territory. Robertson later capped off the drive with back-to-back powerful runs to give the Bears a 10-3 lead going into halftime.

Passing

Name CMP ATT YDS CMP% AVG LNG TD INT RTG
Sawyer Robertson 12 28 218 43% 7.8 42 0 2 N/A

Rushing

Name CAR YDS AVG LNG TD
Dominic Richardson 14 77 5.5 16 0
Richard Reese 7 21 3.0 6 0
Dawson Pendergrass 1 2 2.0 2 0

Receiving

Name REC YDS AVG LNG TD
Hal Presley 4 72 5.5 16 0
Ketron Jackson 2 69 34.5 39 0
Drake Dabney 1 35 35.0 35 0
Richard Reese 2 15 7.5 10 0

Defense

Name TKL SKS TFL INT FR
Matt Jones 9 0 0 0 0
Mike Smith 8 0 0 0 0
DJ Coleman 6 0 0 0 0
Corey Gordon 6 0 0 0 0

Kicking/Punting

Name XPM XPA FGM FGA FG% P AVG I20 LNG
Isaiah Hankins 1 1 2 3 67% N/A N/A N/A N/A
Palmer Williams N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 4 46.5 1 50
Discussion from...

Bears Blow Late Lead, Lose to No. 12 Utah, 20-13

6,985 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by CorsicanaBear
MrGolfguy
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3:15p, 9/9/23
Christmas in Sept for the Utes
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IowaBear
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3:16p, 9/9/23
Glad we kept it close vs Utahs JV squad that'll buy Dave another few years to continue burying the program
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SicemBearz
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4:54p, 9/9/23
Conservative is most likely best for folks on walkers, not offensive play calling. The offensive line needs more work. Did anyone there last year get any work or snaps last year in a 6 and 6 year? If not why not? The defense played well.
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BearConvert
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6:04p, 9/9/23
Period after "blow" would have been more accurate.
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Killing Floor
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6:29p, 9/9/23
At least the linebackers and secondary were into it. That alone is a massive improvement over last week. Texas State is by far the weakest team we have on the schedule so give props to the half dozen guys who put in the work to keep the Bears while today.
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BU-ME-08
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7:40p, 9/9/23
Defense did a lot better. Sawyer had some alligator arms on some throws. I think with Shapen we win that one. Good progress going into conference play
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Killing Floor
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In reply to BU-ME-08 • 7:49p, 9/9/23
Nope. Not hearing it. Blake's won 3 of his last 10 starts. And Blake's last 2 games were curb stomping losses against Air Force and Texas State.

So really, Shapin ain't the winning difference against #12 Utah. Come on.
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BU-ME-08
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8:22p, 9/9/23
What was his QBR last week… it ain't Shapin. That's not why we are losing.

I'm saying he completes some of those throws that were way off for Sawyer and maybe that's the difference maker. I don't know who Sawyer was throwing to sometimes.
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ImwithBU
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In reply to BU-ME-08 • 8:32p, 9/9/23
BU-ME-08 said:
What was his QBR last week… it ain't Shapin. That's not why we are losing.

I'm saying he completes some of those throws that were way off for Sawyer and maybe that's the difference maker. I don't know who Sawyer was throwing to sometimes.


You hope Shapen completes them. He also fails to see wide open guys. I'm not going to get excited about his play against Texas State. I want to see what he does against conference teams
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Cove Dawg
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In reply to BU-ME-08 • 9:24p, 9/9/23
BU-ME-08 said:
Defense did a lot better. Sawyer had some alligator arms on some throws. I think with Shapen we win that one. Good progress going into conference play


And if Risen was plaiting for the Utes we would most likely have lost even is Shapen was in the lineup. So you point is………
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Killing Floor
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10:55a, 9/10/23
I appreciate that
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HuttoBear
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6:48a, 9/11/23
Brice Cherry best summarized where this team is at in his Sunday morning column in the Waco paper:

"Two games in, Bears look locked in a losing culture"

He does not mince words about the Bears performance and is not a "softee" like the previous sports writer JW for the Waco paper.



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HuttoBear
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In reply to BU-ME-08 • 7:34a, 9/11/23
D wins games not O...plain and simple. If the other team, whoever that is, does not score, we win because there are no ties except for OT situations which are not that often
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contrario
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In reply to HuttoBear • 8:53a, 9/11/23
HuttoBear said:
D wins games not O...plain and simple. If the other team, whoever that is, does not score, we win because there are no ties except for OT situations which are not that often
I understand what you are saying, but even the best defenses in the modern day rarely achieve shutouts. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's not as common as it used to be. I agree with you that defense is important, but even Nick Saban has accepted that a good and more dynamic offense is needed to win in the current environment.
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CorsicanaBear
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12:24p, 9/11/23
Headline could have stopped at "Baylor Blows".

By definition Defense does not win. To win you must score. The more you score, the more likely you are to win. Offense should not have to worry about defense, except not putting them in untenable positions by turning over the ball in plus territory etc. Defense does not have to stay on the field for extended periods no matter how fast the offense scores. Defense is only obligated to stay on the field for 4 plays per possession. Getting off the field in 3 or 4 downs is the job of the Defense.

The offense could have won the Utah game by being able to make a couple of first downs in the 4th quarter. Our inability to generate offense when we need it (that would be a definition reliable) is a big problem.
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