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WACO, Texas – Baylor football (0-1) opened its season with a 38-24 loss to Auburn (1-0) in a prime-time matchup under the lights at McLane Stadium on Friday night.
Baylor’s offense totaled 483 yards with quarterback Sawyer Robertson (RSr.) throwing for 419 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-48 passing. Tight end Michael Trigg (RSr.) totaled 99 yards on seven catches, while wide receiver Kole Wilson (Sr.) led the Bears with 134 yards on eight receptions.
The defense, however, was dominated all evening, allowing Auburn to rush for 308 yards on 52 carries. Quarterback Jackson Arnold (So.) barely had to let it loose, rushing for 137 yards and two scores on 16 touches.
Baylor opened the contest with the ball and drove down the field, highlighted by running back Caden Knighten’s (Fr.) first touch, which was a 17-yard rush. The Bears couldn’t find pay dirt but settled for a 36-yard field goal from Connor Hawkins (RFr.).
On Baylor’s following drive, Robertson connected with Wilson up the right sideline for an electric 57-yard grab. The Bears, however, couldn’t capitalize in the red zone, and Robertson failed to find Trigg on fourth and goal.
Facing a third and medium deep in their own territory, Arnold looked dead in the water with Baylor’s star defensive lineman Jackie Marshall (RSr.) about to engulf him for a big sack. Instead, Baylor nose tackle DK Kalu (RSo.) rolled into Marshall’s leg, allowing Arnold to escape and pick up the first down; Marshall missed the rest of the contest with a lower leg injury.
Auburn took advantage of Baylor’s inability to get a stop and eventually found pay dirt on an Arnold 24-yard rushing touchdown. The Bears couldn’t contain Arnold at all in the first half, allowing 69 yards on 10 carries. His scrambling abilities gifted the Tigers another trip to the red zone that was finished with a nine-yard rushing touchdown from running back Damari Alston (Sr.).
When the game appeared to be slipping away, the Bears got a glimmer of hope and got the crowd back into the game with a 33-yard touchdown on fourth and long to wide receiver Kobe Prentice (Sr.), who ran up the left hash wide open.
Baylor trailed 17-10 going into the halftime locker room.
Auburn continued its domination in the trenches with a six-minute, 90-yard drive midway through the third quarter that consisted of five rushes for 49 yards, capped off by a seven-yard Jeremiah Cobb (Jr.) touchdown.
The Bears overcame two holding penalties on their following possession and Robertson found Knighten out of the backfield for a four-yard score — the first of Knighten’s career. On the drive, wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins (6Sr.) had two big catches for 49 yards.
When it looked like Baylor had recaptured the momentum, Auburn kick returner Rayshawn Pleasant crib-called a 98-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a two-score lead, 31-17.
Robertson put the Bears on his back and brought them down the field to cut the lead to a touchdown again, finishing off the drive with a four-yard touchdown to Trigg with 11:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Baylor couldn’t get off the field to give its offense another chance, however, allowing Auburn to march down the field for a 75-yard drive that took roughly eight minutes.
The Bears were called for a questionable defensive holding on a third-down stop, and later had fourth and short on their own 27-yard line, but Arnold ran up the middle untouched to put the game out of reach.
