Bears Fall Flat in Matchup against Texas Tech, Lose 39-14

WACO, Texas – For arguably eight of Baylor’s last nine games, the Dave Aranda-led Bears (2-4, 1-2) have come out flat. 

That proved true once again in a bitter 39-14 loss to Joey McGuire and Texas Tech (3-3, 2-1) Saturday night at McLane Stadium in which BU was 1-for-6 on fourth-down conversions and totaled only 17 rushing yards.

“Way disappointed with tonight,” Aranda said after the loss. “We have to play complementary football. We have to be able to start faster and execute when it matters most. I think that is a thing that we have to get fixed.”

Jack Mackenzie

Baylor has lost six straight home games against FBS opponents.

Quarterback Blake Shapen (RJr.) played valiantly in the defeat and had 314 yards through the air and a touchdown on 22-of-38 passing, but his performance wasn’t enough to power the Bears to another come-from-behind victory this weekend.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech was led by running back Tahj Brooks (Sr.) who accounted for 170 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Quarterback Behren Morton (So.) added four scores of his own, and the Red Raiders were 10-of-17 on third down in the victory.

Texas Tech opened the contest by driving the length of the field on the back of its ground game, and Morton finished off the possession with a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Coy Eakin (Fr.) to put the Red Raiders up 7-0 early.

Later in the first quarter, Brooks led the Texas Tech offense down the field once again, and Morton found tight end Baylor Kupp (Sr.) in the back corner of the end zone from 16 yards out to extend the TTU lead to 14-0.

After the Bears' defense recovered a fumble at midfield on the ensuing Tech drive, Shapen connected with wide receiver Hal Presley (Jr.) for 43 yards but Baylor was unable to capitalize off the turnover and had to settle for a 33-yard Isaiah Hankins (RSo.) field goal.

“Honestly, I don’t know [why we got off to such a slow start],” safety Devyn Bobby (So.) said postgame. “We had great energy. We had a great week of practice. When we got out there, it was a slow start.”

Jack Mackenzie

Meanwhile, Texas Tech was led by running back Tahj Brooks (Sr.) who accounted for 170 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries.

Baylor’s offense had limited success moving the ball throughout the first half and failed to convert on fourth and short twice. The BU ground game struggled to get going all night and totaled just three yards on 18 carries in the first half.

With a little over a minute remaining in the second quarter, the Bears' offensive line allowed a strip-sack of Shapen and Texas Tech recovered the ball at the BU 26-yard line. Baylor held the Red Raiders to a field goal, but TTU took a 17-3 lead going into the locker room.

The offensive woes continued well into the second half when Baylor ended back-to-back drives deep in Texas Tech’s territory with nothing to show after two more failed fourth-down conversions.

The Red Raiders extended their lead to 24-3 entering the fourth quarter with an 85-yard, six-minute drive that ended with Morton finding Kupp for his second touchdown reception of the contest.

Marshal Tompkins

Monaray Baldwin (Jr.) was Baylor’s leading receiver in the loss. He had five receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Shapen tried to manufacture a late comeback attempt and connected with wide receiver Monaray Baldwin (Jr.) for a 71-yard touchdown. Shapen then hit wide receiver Ketron Jackson (Jr.) for a successful two-point conversion to cut TTU’s lead 24-11 with 13:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t think [we quit] as a team,” Baldwin said. “Blake [Shapen] played his heart out. He was taking hits. I can lose with someone like that. When I see someone playing hard like that, it makes me want to play hard.”

The Red Raiders proceeded to run the ball down the Bears’ throat in the fourth quarter, and Brooks and Morton both added rushing touchdowns to extend Texas Tech’s lead to 39-14.

The Bears will have a bye week before hitting the road for a conference matchup against the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-3, 0-2) on Saturday, Oct. 21. The kickoff time is yet to be announced.

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