No. 14 Baylor clinches spot in Big 12 title game as Texas' disappointing season continues
No. 14 Baylor will get its chance to win the Big 12.
A week after blowing a 28-3 lead in a heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma, the Bears bounced back in a big way by trouncing Texas, 24-10, in a game that was not as close as the final score may indicate.
With the win, Baylor clinched a spot in the Big 12 title game, where it will likely get a rematch against the Sooners — this time with the conference crown on the line. BU also kept its remote College Football Playoff hopes alive with the victory.
Saturday’s game — Baylor’s first win over Texas since 2014 — was a defensive struggle early on, with Baylor notching the first half’s only touchdown via a John Lovett 28-yard run early in the second quarter. And with the way Baylor’s defense performed, that Lovett score was all the offense BU would need.
By the time Charlie Brewer hit Denzel Mims for a 12-yard score late in the third quarter, it was pretty apparent that Texas’ offense would not have the firepower to embark on any sort of comeback. Every time Texas was able to move the ball a bit, its drives would stall soon after. That included a turnover on downs from the Baylor 39 midway through the third and a Sam Ehlinger interception early in the fourth.
With the win, Baylor improved to 10-1 on the year — a record that will almost certainly improve to 11-1 next week after a game at Kansas. From there, Baylor has a chance to win the Big 12 outright for the first time since 2013.
Another Texas disappointment
With yet another loss, Texas, now 6-5, has cemented itself as one of the most disappointing teams in the country.
Coming off last year’s Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia, expectations were through the roof for this Longhorns team. However, as the season has progressed, it has become clear that Tom Herman’s group is now just another middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team. And that might be giving UT too much credit.
Texas began the season 4-1 with its only loss coming in a shootout to LSU, currently the No. 1 team in the nation. From there, Texas lost four of its next six and has gotten progressively worse offensively.
Against Baylor, Texas scored its only touchdown of the game with one second left in regulation. And the field goal the Longhorns got in the first half only came after Keaontay Ingram reeled off a long run. In all, Texas finished the 4-of-13 on third down, committed nine penalties for 104 yards and allowed five sacks.
Texas hosts Texas Tech next week in a game it needs just to clinch a winning record this year. For all of the Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff talk surrounding Texas when the season began, that kind of lackluster season was an unthinkable outcome for Texas fans.
Herman is going to have plenty of issues to answer for.
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