I wish Saturday’s matchup between Baylor (6-4, 4-3) and No. 19 Kansas State (7-3, 5-2) were like the past three weeks’ victories (read about last week’s incredible Baylor win over Oklahoma here!) , but sadly, the Bears were trounced at home, 31-3, during a fan-incited Blackout game. The Bears were on a victory run after defeating Kansas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma in spectacular fashions with promise shown on both sides of the ball in each game. Let us not forget that only a few weeks ago, Baylor’s defense notched a season-high 6 sacks and 5 interceptions when they faced and dominated Texas Tech in Lubbock. Last week against the Sooners, the Bears also snagged 3 interceptions from OU star QB Dillon Gabriel to add to their takeaway stats. However, this 31-3 loss saw lots of struggle and almost no highlights (despite my sharing the “highlight reel” above) in a challenge where the Bears looked extraordinarily lethargic and defeated from the end of their first drive of the game. I won’t bother sharing a play-by-play as there wasn’t even one touchdown on the Baylor side to celebrate. As opposed to previous games, the Bears’ offense was almost solely reliant on sophomore QB Blake Shapen who threw a ton of passes and didn’t complete many of his attempts. Whereas the Bears previously focused on their “pound the rock” strategy of a rush-heavy game plan, freshman RB Richard Reese and junior RBs Sqwirl Williams and Qualan Jones were hardly seen. 19th-ranked Kansas State beat the Bears at their own game by stopping any type of rush and dominating Baylor’s defense on all sides. Many of their touchdowns in the 31-score victory saw athletes in the end zone without much aggression from the Bears. Although the team and fans alike would’ve loved to participate in the Big 12 Championship for the second consecutive year, I think throwing this game away and focusing on the next challenge at hand is what’s most important!
