Baylor at Texas Notebook: Late Interception Seals Deal for Longhorns
For a Baylor Bears, football team projected to vie for the Big 12 Championship, a .500 record to conclude the regular season is far below the expectations of many.
For fans, players and coaches alike, this loss stung.
The Bears were in it all game long and even had a halftime lead before a defensive forced fumble gave Baylor the lead once again late in the second half.
But offensive miscues all game long, including way too many three-and-outs, led to a big loss for Baylor on the road in Austin.
Let’s take a quick look at a few keys that eventually led to the Bears’ 11-point loss to the Longhorns.
Defense kept the Bears in the game.
If not for Baylor’s defense, this would have likely been a blowout loss for the Bears in Austin.
However, Baylor’s stout defense kept the Bears in the game until the bitter end, with the green and gold back on offense and down just four while driving down the field with under six minutes remaining in regulation.
Late turnover by Blake Shapen proved to be costly.
Shapen’s interception throw with the Bears in the driver's seat late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the game.
The Longhorns went on to score on the ensuing drive, pushing the Texas lead to 11 points with under three minutes remaining.
A late stop on fourth and long sealed the deal for the Horns as they ran out the clock and won the ball game.
Baylor’s inconsistency on offense led to way too many punts.
Another pivotal reason the Bears lost in Austin was due to offensive inconsistency all game long.
Issac Power spent more time on the field in this game than he has all season long, punting the ball five times in Baylor’s final game of the regular season.
With a .500 record at 6-6 overall, Baylor now waits to see which bowl game it will be playing in after a see-saw season.
Texas, meanwhile, will have to wait until the conclusion of the Kansas at Kansas State game to see if it will be battling undefeated TCU in the Big 12 Championship or if it will be the Wildcats heading to Arlington
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Denton Ramsey has been a journalist for over 20 years with a decade of experience as a sports writer and editor for a plethora of newspapers throughout Texas and Alabama. Growing up in Houston and attending Baylor University, Ramsey is a die-hard sports fan with a true passion for writing. He may be reached via email at denton.itb@gmail.com