Recap: Baylor Offense Sputters in Disappointing 17-6 Loss to TCU

WACO —  Just two weeks removed from scoring 55 points, the Baylor offense was a shell of itself in a 17-6 loss to TCU on Saturday at McLane Stadium.

The last time Baylor went without scoring a touchdown was Sept. 23, 2023, when it lost 38-6 to Texas.

Baylor has now won just five of its last 19 matchups against TCU since 2006, and head coach Dave Aranda falls to 1-6 against the Horned Frogs, with Saturday’s game being the third double-digit loss.

TCU quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 286 yards, and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer was the go-to target, hauling in six passes for 150 yards. He had a pair of 14-yard catches, to go with 42- and 67-yard grabs.

Quarterback DJ Lagway (Jr.) was wildly inaccurate and seldom set his feet to throw. He had a career-worst 35% for 255 yards on 53 attempts with no touchdowns to one interception.

After running for 244 yards against Arizona State, the Baylor running game was held to 1.6 yards per carry and 54 yards.

The defense has made a trademark of bending, but broke on third down of TCU’s second drive.

They conceded a 3rd and 10, then a 3rd and 13, with the latter being a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jaden Craig to Ed Small to make it 7-0 with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

Baylor converted a pair of third downs on their next drive, including a fourth and three. However, a sack and a holding call killed the drive. Then kicker Rhett Armstrong’s 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left.

The Bears went 14 plays on their following drive, including a pair of third-down conversions. However, Lagway’s throw for Jadon Porter (Jr.) was incomplete and Armstrong connected on a 39-yarder to make it 7-3 with 9:02 left in the second quarter.

After a TCU three-and-out, the offense had another sustained drive, going 12 plays and over three and a half minutes, but stalled in the red zone. 

Armstrong converted his second field goal in three attempts to make it 7-6 with 3:18 until halftime.

TCU got a chunk play on the first play of their next drive, but they attempted a double reverse pass, where Craig was drilled by linebacker Kedrick Walker (Sr.) and was picked off by senior Micah Gifford (Sr.), his second of the year.

Baylor was put into a third-down situation 12 times in the first half, converting five. The defense held TCU to just one rushing yard as Baylor got to Craig three times.

TCU came out of the half firing as Craig hit Dwyer for a 67-yard catch-and-run. On the following play, he found tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton for an eight-yard touchdown catch.

Lagway found Freeman for a 21-yard gain, but a 1-yard gain, sack and incompletion forced a punt on the next drive.

The Horned Frogs went on a -play drive. While Baylor dominated time of possession in the second quarter, it just got six points. In the third, TCU had much more time and ended up with 10 points.

Lagway threw his first interception into double coverage while rolling to his right on third down. 

The defense kept Baylor in it by forcing punts, but the Bear offense never found any momentum. The run game vanished, and Lagway was too inaccurate to build consistency.

Baylor will hit the road for its second true away game of the year, facing Kansas on Oct. 24. A time and channel is to be determined as it is a part of the Big 12’s “six-day selection.”

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Defense