WACO, Texas — While wins by Colorado and Arizona State eliminated Baylor from the Big 12 Championship Game, the Bears scored on each of their first four drives of the second half and ended Kansas’ bowl hopes with a convincing 45-17 victory Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.
Sawyer Robertson threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns and Bryson Washington rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns to top the 1,000-yard mark and set the freshman record for the Bears (8-4, 6-3), who ended the regular season with six-consecutive wins, the longest streak to conclude a regular season in program annals.
Already leading 21-10 at the half, Baylor scored touchdowns on its first three possessions in the second half to get up 42-17 on a Kansas team (5-7, 4-5) that had knocked off three-straight ranked teams coming into Saturday’s game.
Rolling up a season-high 603 yards total offense, the Bears had a pair of 100-yard rushers with Washington and sophomore Dawson Pendergrass (11-104) and two 100-yard receivers as well in Monaray Baldwin (7-119-2TD) and Josh Cameron (8-102-1TD).
Washington carried the load in the second half, scoring on touchdown runs of 10 and 1 yards, while Pendergrass hauled in a 20-yard TD catch and run. Isaiah Hankins, who hit the left upright on a 53-yard field goal try at the end of the first half, capped the scoring with a 40-yard field goal with 9:31 left in the game.
Connecting on his first 10 passes, Robertson threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, throwing TD tosses of 36 and 39 yards to Baldwin and a 14-yarder to Cameron that gave the Bears a two-score lead at the half, 21-10.
The Jayhawks got on the board first, with Devin Neal scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run when a holding penalty was waved off. But it took Baylor a little over two minutes to answer with the first of back-to-back TD passes from Robertson to Baldwin over safety Marvin Grant.
BU’s second touchdown was set up by a Devyn Bobby interception and a 31-yard run by Pendergrass, with Baldwin hauling in a 39-yard strike from Robertson to up the lead to 14-7.
After Kansas was held to a 26-yard field goal by Tabor Allen, the Bears answered with an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive capped by Robertson’s 14-yard TD pass to Cameron to make it 21-10.
Baylor had another chance late in the half after Tevin Williams forced a fumble that linebacker Matt Jones recovered at the Bears’ 29-yard line after a 40-yard catch by tight end Tevita Ahoafi-Noa.
With a couple mid-range passes and an 11-yard run by Pendergrass, Baylor was in position to end the half with a field goal for the second-straight week. But Robertson was sacked on third down, and Hankins’s 53-yard field goal attempt hit off the left upright.
Neal led the Jayhawks with 133 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, while quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 12-of-23 passes for 280 yards but was picked off twice.
Bowl selections will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 8, with the Bears going bowling for the 13th time in the last 16 years and the third time in five years under head coach Dave Aranda.
Sawyer Robertson threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns and Bryson Washington rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns to top the 1,000-yard mark and set the freshman record for the Bears (8-4, 6-3), who ended the regular season with six-consecutive wins, the longest streak to conclude a regular season in program annals.
Already leading 21-10 at the half, Baylor scored touchdowns on its first three possessions in the second half to get up 42-17 on a Kansas team (5-7, 4-5) that had knocked off three-straight ranked teams coming into Saturday’s game.
Rolling up a season-high 603 yards total offense, the Bears had a pair of 100-yard rushers with Washington and sophomore Dawson Pendergrass (11-104) and two 100-yard receivers as well in Monaray Baldwin (7-119-2TD) and Josh Cameron (8-102-1TD).
Washington carried the load in the second half, scoring on touchdown runs of 10 and 1 yards, while Pendergrass hauled in a 20-yard TD catch and run. Isaiah Hankins, who hit the left upright on a 53-yard field goal try at the end of the first half, capped the scoring with a 40-yard field goal with 9:31 left in the game.
Connecting on his first 10 passes, Robertson threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, throwing TD tosses of 36 and 39 yards to Baldwin and a 14-yarder to Cameron that gave the Bears a two-score lead at the half, 21-10.
The Jayhawks got on the board first, with Devin Neal scoring on a 19-yard touchdown run when a holding penalty was waved off. But it took Baylor a little over two minutes to answer with the first of back-to-back TD passes from Robertson to Baldwin over safety Marvin Grant.
BU’s second touchdown was set up by a Devyn Bobby interception and a 31-yard run by Pendergrass, with Baldwin hauling in a 39-yard strike from Robertson to up the lead to 14-7.
After Kansas was held to a 26-yard field goal by Tabor Allen, the Bears answered with an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive capped by Robertson’s 14-yard TD pass to Cameron to make it 21-10.
Baylor had another chance late in the half after Tevin Williams forced a fumble that linebacker Matt Jones recovered at the Bears’ 29-yard line after a 40-yard catch by tight end Tevita Ahoafi-Noa.
With a couple mid-range passes and an 11-yard run by Pendergrass, Baylor was in position to end the half with a field goal for the second-straight week. But Robertson was sacked on third down, and Hankins’s 53-yard field goal attempt hit off the left upright.
Neal led the Jayhawks with 133 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, while quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 12-of-23 passes for 280 yards but was picked off twice.
Bowl selections will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 8, with the Bears going bowling for the 13th time in the last 16 years and the third time in five years under head coach Dave Aranda.
