By Michael Haag
Special to SicEmSports
WACO — Baylor was mere seconds away from upsetting No. 4 TCU at home, but the Horned Frogs walked off with a win thanks to a 40-yard field goal as time expired, saving their undefeated season and College Football Playoff hopes.
Griffin Kell drilled it, and it was not one of those set kicks where you have time to think about it. TCU had run the ball the previous play with no timeouts, so Kell hurried out with the kicking unit and had about five seconds of a running clock to work with.
But the senior drilled it and silenced the McLane Stadium crowd and halted a student section ready to rush the field on a miss. Baylor (6-5, 4-4) was officially eliminated from the Big 12 Title Game race.
“It's a tough locker room,” head coach Dave Aranda said following the game. “I told them that I wish that I could take the pain away. I wish you could say that you put together a great week and you bounced back from a hardship and put the pieces back together to fight for another day. And to do it all in the right manner. You wish that it would all work out in the end. We all know that's not the case.”
It was utter chaos as the Horned Frogs took down the Bears 29-28 in a classic Revivalry thriller that saw Baylor almost do what TCU did to them last season. The Frogs (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) were powered by quarterback Max Duggan, who had a shaky 24-35 day, but threw for 327 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Duggan also rushed eight times for 50 yards and one score. Aranda said the senior “did a great job of keeping plays alive” and that he made it tough on the Bears’ defense.
“I thought he was able to make some throws that were just bang-bang throws,” Aranda said. “We haven't seen that a ton from him, so I was impressed with him that way, too. To have someone in there where you kind of have to have it all together in terms of your rush lanes and your coverage, it makes it difficult.”
After missing a PAT earlier in the game, TCU was trailing 28-20 with 9:47 to go, but after consecutive punts, the Frogs dug in and saw Emari Demercado score from three yards out. Duggan and the offense stayed on the field and went for two, but Demercado dropped a would-be conversion.
There was 2:07 left on the clock for the Bears to kill after taking over possession, but TCU had all of its timeouts. Baylor failed to get a first down and the Horned Frogs took over with 1:34 on their own 31 following a punt.
Duggan drove the team down the field following a couple completions and scrambles and set up the game-winning field goal from 40 yards out.
The Bears opened the game with an impressive 11-play, 76-yard drive that took nearly six minutes of time off the clock to take a 7-0 lead. The Frogs were three-and-out and gave it back to Baylor, but John Mayers couldn’t connect on a 46-yard field goal into the wind.
TCU only needed seven plays to march 72 yards and tied things before the two programs traded scores again in the second quarter, making it 14-14. Baylor had another promising drive that also went 76 yards on 11 plays, but quarterback Blake Shapen threw a pick in the end zone with four seconds left before the half.
The third was mostly uneventful, but Duggan found Gunnar Henderson for a 26-yard score. The Frogs missed the PAT, ultimately resulting in the madness that ensued in the fourth.
The Bears will wrap their season up next week in a contest against Texas in Austin. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN or ABC at Darrell K Royal Stadium.
Special to SicEmSports
WACO — Baylor was mere seconds away from upsetting No. 4 TCU at home, but the Horned Frogs walked off with a win thanks to a 40-yard field goal as time expired, saving their undefeated season and College Football Playoff hopes.
Griffin Kell drilled it, and it was not one of those set kicks where you have time to think about it. TCU had run the ball the previous play with no timeouts, so Kell hurried out with the kicking unit and had about five seconds of a running clock to work with.
But the senior drilled it and silenced the McLane Stadium crowd and halted a student section ready to rush the field on a miss. Baylor (6-5, 4-4) was officially eliminated from the Big 12 Title Game race.
“It's a tough locker room,” head coach Dave Aranda said following the game. “I told them that I wish that I could take the pain away. I wish you could say that you put together a great week and you bounced back from a hardship and put the pieces back together to fight for another day. And to do it all in the right manner. You wish that it would all work out in the end. We all know that's not the case.”
It was utter chaos as the Horned Frogs took down the Bears 29-28 in a classic Revivalry thriller that saw Baylor almost do what TCU did to them last season. The Frogs (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) were powered by quarterback Max Duggan, who had a shaky 24-35 day, but threw for 327 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Duggan also rushed eight times for 50 yards and one score. Aranda said the senior “did a great job of keeping plays alive” and that he made it tough on the Bears’ defense.
“I thought he was able to make some throws that were just bang-bang throws,” Aranda said. “We haven't seen that a ton from him, so I was impressed with him that way, too. To have someone in there where you kind of have to have it all together in terms of your rush lanes and your coverage, it makes it difficult.”
After missing a PAT earlier in the game, TCU was trailing 28-20 with 9:47 to go, but after consecutive punts, the Frogs dug in and saw Emari Demercado score from three yards out. Duggan and the offense stayed on the field and went for two, but Demercado dropped a would-be conversion.
There was 2:07 left on the clock for the Bears to kill after taking over possession, but TCU had all of its timeouts. Baylor failed to get a first down and the Horned Frogs took over with 1:34 on their own 31 following a punt.
Duggan drove the team down the field following a couple completions and scrambles and set up the game-winning field goal from 40 yards out.
The Bears opened the game with an impressive 11-play, 76-yard drive that took nearly six minutes of time off the clock to take a 7-0 lead. The Frogs were three-and-out and gave it back to Baylor, but John Mayers couldn’t connect on a 46-yard field goal into the wind.
TCU only needed seven plays to march 72 yards and tied things before the two programs traded scores again in the second quarter, making it 14-14. Baylor had another promising drive that also went 76 yards on 11 plays, but quarterback Blake Shapen threw a pick in the end zone with four seconds left before the half.
The third was mostly uneventful, but Duggan found Gunnar Henderson for a 26-yard score. The Frogs missed the PAT, ultimately resulting in the madness that ensued in the fourth.
The Bears will wrap their season up next week in a contest against Texas in Austin. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN or ABC at Darrell K Royal Stadium.
