Offensive Disaster: Baylor Loses to TCU 16-9

Baylor’s offensive was terrible almost all day, and the Bears fell to TCU 16-9. Baylor now must beat Texas Tech to go bowling.

Baylor took over with 2:09 left and down by seven. The Bears picked up two first down. But Blake Blackmar and Patrick Lawrence were called for holding, which made it 1st and 20 with 54 seconds remaining. Brewer left the pocket and ended up running out of bounds twice. On 3rd and 20, Brewer should have been picked. And on 4th and 20, Brewer fired it to Mims and he had a chance. But he couldn’t quite bring it in while double covered.

It didn’t take long to figure out Baylor was in for a long day. On the second play from scrimmage, John Lovett fumbled, and TCU recovered. The Horned Frogs added a field goal on that drive.

Baylor had two good offensive drives in the first half. On the first one, Brewer did a nice job hitting Denzel Mims for a big grab. Brewer made it into the end zone for a touchdown:

On another drive, Baylor neared the end zone. Unfortunately Sam Tecklenburg botched the snap, and the Horned Frogs recovered.

TCU led 9-6 at halftime. The Horned Frogs’ starting quarterback went out on the second drive. He never returned. Instead, TCU played Grayson Muehlstein the rest of the game. He wasn’t much of a passer, but he made a few nice throws when TCU needed them.

Baylor’s defense was okay, but not good enough when it mattered. They had Jalen Reagor down for a loss on 3rd down. But “they had him” is the lesson of Baylor’s 2018 defense. Reagor avoided a few tackles and then ran a short pass in for a touchdown. On another drive, Baylor had TCU ready to punt. But Greg Roberts jumped offsides. Given life, Reagor ran a reverse in for a touchdown.

TCU gave Baylor plenty of chances. The Horned Frogs decided to punt on 4th and an inch at the Baylor 45. Brewer took the opportunity and picked up a big first down. Trestan Ebner made big gains too. But once again, Baylor couldn’t get out of their own way. Marquis Jones lined up past the line of scrimmage. That made it 1st and 15. The Bears couldn’t get much going. And for as good as Ebner was running the ball, he was as bad blocking. He whiffed on a block, and Brewer went down for a sack. Baylor punted.

When it mattered, Baylor struggled to stop TCU. Everyone in the stadium knew TCU was going to run. But knowing something doesn’t mean you can do something about it. The Horned Frogs were finally stopped with 2:15 left. That led to the final Baylor drive where they once again failed to score.

Drew Galitz and B.J. Thompson were Baylor’s best players. The Bears can’t win when that statement is true. Galitz pinned the Horned Frogs all day. Thompson blocked a punt and an extra point.

This was a dispiriting loss. TCU played their 3rd string quarterback. The Horned Frogs lost to Kansas, and they had to kick their best offensive player off the team. A good team doesn’t lose to this TCU squad. But Baylor isn’t a good team yet. And if they lose next week, the 2018 Bears won’t be a team again.

Things can change quickly in college football. They sure need to for this team.