FORT WORTH, Texas – For the fourth time this season, Baylor found itself trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter. But unlike the dramatic comebacks against No. 17 SMU and Kansas State earlier this fall, the Bears couldn't recreate the magic on Saturday.
After multiple lightning delays in the fourth quarter, quarterback Sawyer Robertson’s third interception sealed Baylor’s (4-3, 2-2) 42–36 loss to rival TCU (5-2, 2-2) in the 121st meeting between the two bitter foes — the longest-standing rivalry in Texas — at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Despite having two weeks to prepare, Baylor looked flat from the start and got battered in every facet of the game, plagued by turnovers, drops, blown assignments and a porous defense. A couple of touchdowns in the last few minutes made the final score a bit more digestible and not look as bad as it truly was.
There was hope that the bye week would be an opportunity to clean up all of the early-season mistakes and mark a turning point, much like last year when Baylor rebounded from a 2–4 start to win six straight. Instead, many of the same issues were on display that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from head coach Dave Aranda’s squad.
“I’m disappointed with the outcome,” Aranda said post-game. “I’m disappointed with the execution, coming off the bye week. I’m appreciative of our effort, how hard we played, the care-factor of the guys and the togetherness of the team. There’s still a lot to play for. The guys have a love for each other; they’re not going to turn away from any type of adversity.”
When asked about the feeling inside the locker room, Aranda added, “They’re hurt right now. They wanted to win this game. They know they’re a good team. They know we have playmakers. They know we have the ability to win games like this, so they’re probably frustrated is the best way to say it.”
While Baylor had the last two weeks to get reorganized and healthy, the rival Horned Frogs came into Saturday’s contest beat up and unsure of themselves, having played five straight weeks and coming off a 13-point loss to Kansas State.
TCU slept-walked its way through the first quarter, and the game looked there for the taking for the Bears. Instead, Baylor managed to match TCU’s sluggishness instead of taking charge, and a lost fumble from running back Bryson Washington — his third of the season — deep in BU’s own territory, instantly gave the Horned Frogs life.
The second quarter quickly snowballed as the Horned Frogs outscored the Bears, 21-3, and took a 21-10 lead going into halftime.
After opening the game with consecutive stops, Baylor’s defense allowed TCU to find the endzone on six of its next nine drives, including a 65-yard rushing touchdown up the heart of the defense from running back Kevorian Barnes right after the Bears pulled within seven points, early in the fourth quarter.
“We have to play better, honestly, plain and simple,” outside linebacker Kyler Jordan said post-game. “We have to play better and have better execution. We have to make the plays that are there to make.”
Entering Saturday, Robertson led the nation in passing yards and passing touchdowns, while TCU’s Josh Hoover wasn’t far behind him, second in the country in both categories.
Hoover, however, completely out-dueled Robertson and was the better of the star signal-callers, finishing with 231 yards and three touchdowns on an efficient 22-of-31 passing compared to Robertson’s 318 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 25-of-52 passing; it also seemed like Robertson was a tick off on his timing with his wide receivers in the loss, and had arguably his worst game in two seasons as the starter.
When asked about Robertson’s struggles, Aranda said, “I think we have to run the ball better. If we do that, then I think there’s a complement to him, and he doesn’t have to do it all by himself.”
He later added, “We have to block better, and we have to be able to run the ball better. When we don’t run the ball, we become one-dimensional, and we try too hard in that, being one-dimensional. Then, we create mistakes. Some are caused and some are created by us, but it’s because we’re one-dimensional.”
Baylor was beaten in the ground battle, 196-to-121. Washington dealt with injuries and carried the rock just 11 times for 23 yards. Freshmen Michael Turner (12 carries, 68 yards) and Caden Knighten (10 carries, 42 yards) stepped up in Washington’s absence, but it wasn’t close to enough.
“He’s banged up,” Aranda said of Washington. “He’s day to day. He’s had a tough season of day-to-days. When he plays for us, there’s an emotional jolt that comes from his style of play — so physical and reckless at times. It gives the team a bunch of energy, but there’s a negative side to that, and we’re battling through that right now. I was really impressed with Michael Turner. I thought he played well. He was one of the bright spots for our team.”
In the defeat, the Bears also lost the turnover battle, four-to-one, just as they had in the previous three Big 12 matchups. Against Power Four opponents, Baylor has forced just three turnovers and has given the ball away 12 times.
Defensively, Aranda’s group showed why they are one of the worst defenses in the Power Four with countless busted coverages and missed tackles in the defeat. The Horned Frogs scored touchdowns on all five red zone attempts, and Baylor mustered just one quarterback hurry, despite it being well-known that Hoover struggles with pressure.
“It’s frustrating,” Aranda said of the defensive performance. “A lot of it was at the point of attack and not playing the style that we need to play. I give credit to them, too, for some of their players in space. They have really good playmakers, and they made it hard on us, but it shouldn’t have been as easy as some of those seemed.”
Respectfully, there comes a point where those answers are no longer satisfactory. These issues, on both sides of the ball, continue to rear their ugly heads week after week. Regardless of whether you’ve spent three and a half seasons questioning whether Aranda is the person to lead this program forward, or just the past couple of weeks, Saturday’s showing in Fort Worth gave ample evidence to prove that a change is needed.
This was supposed to be the season where everything came together for Aranda and the Bears, and it’s been anything but that. If the sixth-year head coach has been unable to field a team that plays solid and clean football with an elite quarterback, a boat-load of skill position talent, veterans in both trenches and the best linebacker group he’s had at Baylor, then it’s unlikely it’ll ever change.
Now, this team, despite having one of the higher-end rosters in the Big 12, is going to have to scratch and claw the rest of the way to make a bowl game.
“I would say so,” wide receiver Josh Cameron said when asked if Baylor’s better than the record shows. “But that’s the thing, you can say one thing, but you have to do it at the end of the day. We’re a lot better than our record, but we have to go out there each week and show what we’re about. We didn’t execute today, and that’ll be the main focus going into next week.”
Baylor (4-3, 2-2) will travel to Cincinnati next week to face the No. 24 Bearcats (6-1, 4-0) at 3 p.m. at Nippert Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
