Recap: Baylor Beats Kansas State, 35-34, at the Buzzer on Blocked Field Goal

WACO, Texas – Baylor football (4-2, 2-1) overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Kansas State (2-4, 1-1) at the buzzer, 35-34, on a blocked field goal on Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.

Quarterback Sawyer Robertson threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns and an interception on 25-of-39 passing. Tight end Michael Trigg (RSr.) hauled in eight passes for a career-high 155 yards.

Defensively, Jacob Redding (RSo.) led the Bears with six tackles and also came up clutch with a 66-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. Defensive lineman Cooper Lanz (RSr.) totaled three tackles and blocked the potential game-winning field goal.

Kansas State out-gained Baylor overall, 501-443, and were 8-of-16 on third down while the Bears struggled with self-inflicted wounds, going 3-of-9 on third and totaling seven penalties. The Wildcats also dominated time of possession, 37:47 to 22:13.

On the opening drive of the game, Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson (Jr.) found paydirt with a 31-yard touchdown run up the heart of the defense; it was Johnson’s third rushing touchdown of the season.

Baylor’s offense, meanwhile, couldn’t keep from shooting itself in the foot and scored just three points on its first three drives, despite three trips inside Kansas State’s 30-yard line. Two of those drives ended with turnovers — a Robertson interception and a Bryson Washington (RSo.) fumble. The Bears have lost the turnover battle, 6-1, through 12 quarters of conference play.

The Bears finally put together a clean drive in the middle of the second quarter, on the back of some up-tempo play-calling. On a first down near midfield, Robertson made a spectacular play by ducking under a sack and finding running back Caden Knighten (Fr.) out of the backfield for a 15-yard gain. On the next play, Robertson connected with wide receiver Kobe Prentice (Sr.) up the right seam for a 30-yard touchdown; Prentice leads the team with six receiving touchdowns.

Baylor’s defense limited the Wildcats to a field goal, and Baylor’s offense drove down the field again, highlighted by a 24-yard grab where Trigg mossed a Kansas State defender. Running back Michael Turner (Fr.), who got more run in place of a banged-up Washington, finished off the possession with a 17-yard rushing touchdown.

With just under two minutes remaining in the first half, Kansas State had no trouble marching down the field, and a personal foul penalty on linebacker Kyland Reed (So.) for shoving Johnson after the play gave the Wildcats the ball inside the 10-yard line. Johnson hit tight end Garrett Oakley (Jr.) to tie the game at 17 apiece going into halftime.

Baylor’s offense stalled in the third quarter, with drops and a holding killing the first drive, and a negative-11-yard drive rush by Knighten to start the second possession. Meanwhile, Kansas State’s offense made quick work of Baylor’s porous defense with two easy touchdown drives to take a 31-17 lead going into the final quarter.

The Bears had a chance to cut it to a one-score game, but Robertson didn’t run for an easy first down on third down, and then threw an incompletion targeting Kole Wilson (Sr.) on fourth down.

Baylor looked dead in the water, but came rushing back following a defensive stop, a scoring drive that featured multiple highlight catches from Trigg and a pick-six from safety Jacob Redding (RSo.), giving the Bears a 32-31 lead with 4:28 remaining.

Kansas State immediately drove back down the field and regained the lead on a chip-shot field goal with just under two minutes remaining. The Bears looked poised to set up an easy field goal, but a holding penalty stalled the drive. Kicker Connor Hawkins (RFr.) drilled a 53-yarder through the uprights, his second 50-plus-yarder of the season.

With 30 seconds left on the clock, the Wildcats were able to get to midfield relatively easily, but Lanz was able to block kicker Luis Rodriguez's (So.) potential game-winning 56-yard field goal