The moments that made Baylor football's 2019 season

The big plays were all over the place during Baylor’s 11-win 2019 season. There were close games, big comebacks, huge runs, thrilling wins, and heartbreaking losses. The 2019 season was filled of tons of emotions as Baylor made an epic run to the Big 12 Championship game and the Sugar Bowl.

Let’s take a look at these plays that will make everyone remember the season that was.

@Raymond Carlin III

The Bears needed to get into field goal range to beat Texas Tech, not only did they do that but they also gave themselves a chance to win in regulation.

Best Drive: Down by 3 with just 1:37 left in the 4th quarter, Baylor got the ball at it’s own 9-yard line. A couple 20+ yard catches by a banged up Tristan Ebner and a 19-yards tip toe grab by Denzel Mims allowed the Bears to tie the game up. To make it even more impressive, Brewer got sacked at the one to start the drive so really the Bears went 97 yards in 1:21. (should have gotten the win in regulation but Mims dropped an easy touchdown).

Worst Drive: Early in the 3rd quarter of the Sugar Bowl the Bears were stopped on 4th down trailing 19-7. The defense needed a stop to keep the Bears squarely in the game. Instead Georgia ran for 39 yards and converted a fake field goal on its way to a touchdown that pushed the lead to 19.

Best Pass: Charlie Brewer stood in the pocket to throw an absolute dime right by three Iowa State defenders to Tyquan Thornton in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. This gave Baylor a 20-0 lead in the 3rd quarter.

Worst Pass: The Bears were in good position to send the Oklahoma game to OT as they had the ball at the OU 40 with 34 seconds left. Charlie Brewer stared down RJ Sneed on a pass and it was broken up by Nik Bonnito, it really should have been picked off. On the very next play Brewer was late on a throw that went right to Bonitto to give the Sooners the win. 

Best Run: Up by 11 on the road against Oklahoma State with 5:13 left in the 4th quarter, Baylor had a chance to put the game away. Well Ja’Mycal Hasty did that as he broke a tackle and got to the left sideline where he showed off his speed on his way to a 73-yard touchdown.

Worst Run Allowed: Baylor had completely stifled Texas all first half but the Longhorns got the ball at its own two with 18 seconds left, down by just 7. Keaontay Ingram got the carry and raced down field for 68 yards, Texas ended up getting a field goal before half.

Jim Black

Junior defensive end James Lynch broke Baylor’s career sack record against Texas while also adding numeruous other accolades during his junior season.

Best Individual Moment: Against Texas, defensive end James Lynch went out and got two sacks to establish himself as Baylor’s all time career sack leader. More awards would soon come as he became a unanimous All American and earned the single-season sack record for Baylor with 13.5.

Best Freshman Moment: In the Big 12 Championship game, true freshman Jacob Zeno came in and almost made himself a Baylor legend already. Zeno was not given the ball till the final 10 minutes of the game. Charlie Brewer had gone out with injury and Gerry Bohannon had struggled mightily in the second half. Zeno threw an 81-yard touchdown to Trestan Ebner on his second play of the game and then threw a 78-yard pass to Chris Platt on his fourth play. Unfortunately the Bears fell in overtime but he gave fans a glimpse into the future of the Baylor program.

Best Play Call: Baylor is up by 3 against West Virginia with just 1:50 left in the game. It’s 3rd down and 17 from the Bears own 24-yard line. The Bears decide to throw for it instead of running the ball and forcing WVU to use a timeout. Charlie Brewer throws one down the sideline and Tyquan Thornton comes up with the grab. Because of that play call West Virginia got the ball back at its own 5 with just 30 seconds left.

Worst Play Call: Hindsight is always 20/20 but going for it on 4th down with 10 minutes left in the Sugar Bowl ended up being costly. Georgia got a strip sack and then drove down the field for a touchdown that put them back up by 19 and basically sealed the deal.

Best Win: This is the toughest one on the list. The Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas games were all big but none of those set the course for two teams seasons like the 23-21 Baylor win over Iowa State. If Baylor doesn’t find a way to pull this one out then I don’t think they get to the point they were at this season. To come back and find a way to win a close one set the tone for the rest of the season which was filled with close games. Iowa State on the other hand collapsed after the loss.

Worst Loss: Everyone will take the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma for this one and it deserves this honor. A win puts Baylor in the College Football Playoff.

SicEm365

Baylor walk-on kicker John Mayers burried a 51-yard field goal as time expired to send the game into overtime and eventually led to a Baylor victory over TCU.

Play of the Year: The 12th-ranked Bears got the ball down by 3 points on the road against TCU with an undefeated season on the line. Baylor was able to drive from its own 12-yard line to get into field goal range. Unfortunately an illegal formation penalty and a false start moved the kick to a 51-yard try. True freshman kicker Noah Rauchenberg was sent out to kick it but Coach Matt Rhule decided to call a timeout and bring in walk-on kicker John Mayers instead. Mayers lined it up a drilled the DEEP field goal shocking the entire stadium, even Baylor fans. As gutsy of a kick as you will ever see.

Change Result of One Play: With just 5:46 left in the 4th-quarter of the Conference Championship Game Baylor got the ball back down by 3 points. True freshman Jacob Zeno threw a rocket to Chris Platt down the seam. Platt was racing towards the end zone before he was caught from behind, Baylor had to settle for a field goal. If that goes for a touchdown Baylor has a great chance to win that game and make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.