Air Force beats Baylor 30-15 in chilly Armed Forces Bowl

Associated PressDec 23, 2022, 12:09 AM EST

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

FORT WORTH, Texas – Haaziq Daniels had a short scoring run and threw a touchdown pass in Air Force’s 30-15 victory over Baylor on Thursday night in cold conditions in the Armed Forces Bowl.

The game kicked off with a temperature of 13 degrees and a wind chill of minus 4 at Amon G. Carter Stadium, the home of TCU, Baylor’s Big 12 rival. Baylor officials announced it was the coldest kickoff temperature in the history of the program based about 100 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth in Waco.

Daniels had a 2-yard touchdown run and a 15-yard scored pass out of Air Force’s run-oriented triple-option offense.

Brad Roberts rushed for two touchdowns, and Matthew Dapore had a 37-yard field goal for the Falcons (10-3). Roberts, a senior, ran for 116 yards, his school-record 20th career game with triple-digit rushing yardage.

Blake Shapen threw touchdown passes of 8 yards to Hal Presley in the second quarter and 14 yards to Gavin Holmes in the closing minutes for Baylor (6-7).

With Air Force last in the FBS averaging 67.8 passing yards and 6.7 passes per game, Daniels was 4 for 7 for 103 yards and his fourth touchdown pass of the season to Caleb Rillos. He set up his touchdown run with a 68-yard first-down pass to Amari Terry thrown deep down the left sideline.

Air Force, best in the FBS averaging 330.9 rushing yards during the season, ran 67 times for 276 yards.

Baylor, averaging 429.2 total yards during the season, gained a season-low 230 yards. The Bears were 0 for 11 on third down, 3 for 6 on fourth down.

THE TAKEAWAY

Air Force: The Falcons were predictable with their triple-option ground attack but difficult to stop.

Baylor: The Bears lost their last four games ending a season in which they were picked to repeat as Big 12 champions.

No. 24 Texas beats Baylor, keeps Big 12 title hopes alive

Associated PressNov 25, 2022, 11:18 PM EST

Syndication: Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN, Texas – Bijan Robinson wouldn’t say if he played his last college game on Friday. But if he did, the Texas junior made it a memorable one.

Robinson rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, Jaylan Ford made his fourth interception of the season, and No. 24 Texas defeated Baylor 38-27 on Friday.

The Longhorns (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) kept alive their chances of making the conference title game. If Kansas can beat No. 15 Kansas State on Saturday, Texas will face No. 4 TCU for the Big 12 championship.

Robinson carried 29 times, including 22 in the second half, when he gained 150 yards.

Texas ran on 22 straight plays after Baylor returned a fumble by quarterback Quinn Ewers for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

“We understood that we had to run it down their throats, because the pass game wasn’t working so well in the first half,” Robinson said.

The Longhorns outgained Baylor 266 yards to 56 in the second half.

Robinson gained 65 of Texas’ 75 yards on its go-ahead drive, scoring from the 1 to give the Longhorns a 31-27 lead with 8:25 remaining.

On Baylor’s next possession, Ford intercepted a pass by Blake Shapen, tying a Texas record for picks in a season by a linebacker. The Longhorns converted the turnover into a 42-yard touchdown drive, the final 11 on a run by Robinson’s backup, Roschon Johnson, who hurdled a defender to reach the end zone. Johnson finished with 13 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Baylor trailed by five early in the fourth quarter when Ewers dropped back from his 33. A blitzing Al Walcott forced a fumble. Lineman Gabe Hall scooped up the ball and ran 16 yards for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion put Baylor ahead 27-24.

Baylor (6-6, 4-5) sacked Ewers five times. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 194 yards.

Baylor made a quick move toward ruining the Longhorns’ senior day celebration. First the Bears pressured Ewers into a safety when he was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. Then Shapen connected with Jaylen Ellis for a 47-yard touchdown and a 9-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Ellis caught only one other pass this season before that one, a 50-yarder.

But Texas responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive that Ewers, not much of a runner, finished with a 3-yard burst up the middle. Baylor punter Issac Power contributed to the Texas cause with an 11-yard shank, and the Longhorns needed to only travel 29 yards for a second score.

There was an exchange of field goals, and a 45-yard Baylor touchdown drive that required just five plays and 32 seconds. Shapen finished with a 14-yard pass to tight end Ben Sims for a 19-17 halftime lead.

Texas put itself in danger with three false starts and a lost fumble by Jordan Whittington early in the third quarter. But a determined Whittington turned a short pass into a 19-yard gain, setting up a 1-yard score by Johnson late in the period.

“In the end, the story of this game is about resiliency,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Continuing to fight, and fight the right way.”

Shapen went 18 of 36 for 179 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for Baylor, which lost its last three games after winning three in a row. The Bears produced a season-low 280 yards.

“We came into this game, all the way to the end, thinking we were gonna win,” Baylor linebacker Bryson Jackson said. “So just a kick in the face. It hurts.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Baylor: The Bears were 5-1 against AP Top 25 teams last season, when they finished 12-2 and beat Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game. But this season Baylor is 0-5 against the Top 25, losing to No. 4 TCU last week on a game-ending field goal. “Last week, we had TCU on the ropes, and this week, we had an opportunity to close out a game and we couldn’t do it,” Sims said.

Texas: The Longhorns, after two seasons of trying to sustain momentum under Sarkisian, now have some with their third victory in four games. They’ve already won three more games than they did in Sarkisian’s first year. “It’s easy to quantify the season with victories,” Sarkisian said. “But I think the style of play is really starting to come to fruition. We’re playing a physical brand of football.”

ROBINSON’S PLACE

Robinson has rushed for 3,410 yards in his three seasons at Texas, including 1,580 this year. He ranks fourth on the school’s career list behind Ricky Williams (6,279), Cedric Benson (5,540) and Earl Campbell (4,443).

UP NEXT

Baylor awaits its bowl game assignment.

Texas either awaits a bowl assignment or, if Kansas manages to beat its rival, prepares to face TCU in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 3.

No. 4 TCU still undefeated after game-ending FG at Baylor

Associated PressNov 19, 2022, 9:12 PM EST

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

WACO, Texas – Fourth-ranked TCU had players shuffling on and off the field as the final seconds were ticking off the clock. Kicker Griffin Kell was the last one to get into place.

“That looked like chaos, but we practice it every Thursday exactly like that,” Frogs coach Sonny Dykes said.

And the Horned Frogs executed it perfectly to stay undefeated in what was no practice situation.

Kell kicked a 40-yard field goal on the game’s final play, and TCU beat Baylor 29-28 on Saturday, scoring nine points in the final 2:07 to avoid another potential playoff-busting loss on the banks of the Brazos River.

Emari Demercardo scored on a 3-yard TD run to cap a 90-yard drive with 2:07 left to get the Frogs (11-0, 8-0 Big 12, No. 4 CFP) within 28-26, but he was unable to pull in a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt.

After kicking deep, TCU used all three of its timeouts while forcing a three-and-out, and it got the ball back at its 31 with 1:34 left. Max Duggan had two completions before converting one third down with a 12-yard run on a quarterback draw.

Demercardo was short of a clock-stopping first down on a run to the Baylor 23, going down in the center of the field with about 16 seconds left before the offensive and special teams units ran by each other. The ball was snapped at 3 seconds, and the kick by Kell, who earlier had an extra-point attempt clank off the upright, went through as time ran out.

“The great thing about that last drive, we were throwing all of our day one concepts,” Duggan said. “We were throwing easy stuff that we practice and we can do with our eyes closed, and stuff that you believe in. … So just going out there, being confident, believing it was going to happen, and Griff makes a huge kick for us.”

TCU, which already had clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game, hasn’t been undefeated this deep in a season since 2010, when it finished 13-0 with a Rose Bowl victory and No. 2 national ranking.

When the Frogs played at McLane Stadium for the first time in 2014, after it first opened, they lost 61-58. That was their only loss that season, and they went on to share the Big 12 title with Baylor. They were the first two teams left out of the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.

Baylor (6-5, 4-4) was coming off a 31-3 home loss to Kansas State a week earlier, but last year’s Big 12 champions took a 28-20 lead after a pair of true freshmen scored TDs early in the fourth quarter: tight end Kelsey Johnson‘s 12-yard catch and Richard Reese‘s 1-yard run.

“It’s a tough locker room,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “I told them that I wish that we, that I, could take the pain away.”

Duggan was 24-of-35 passing for 327 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for a score while leading the Frogs with 50 yards rushing on eight carries. Kendre Miller had a rushing TD in his 12th consecutive game, a 2-yarder early in the second quarter that tied it at 14 before he got hurt early in the second half.

TCU didn’t lead until Duggan hit a wide-open Gunnar Henderson for a 26-yard touchdown with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, one play after the two had connected for 20 yards. It was 20-14 after Kell’s missed PAT.

Baylor’s Blake Shapen was 21-of-30 passing for 269 yards and a score, while Craig “Sqwirl” Williams ran for 112 yards. Monaray Baldwin had six catches for 123 yards, including a 74-yard gain on third-and-11 that set up Reese’s TD with 9:47 left.

“For it to end that way really hurt,” Williams said.

THE TAKEAWAY

TCU: Another comeback for the Frogs, who last month overcame double-digit deficits in the second half against Oklahoma State and Kansas State. They never faltered after several players dealt with flu-like symptoms during the week, and they finished the game without leading receiver Quentin Johnston and Miller.

Baylor: The Bears never really had much trouble moving the ball, piling up 501 total yards, 232 on the ground. On their opening drive, they had 56 yards rushing – twice as much Texas had the whole game against TCU a week earlier. But they missed a chance to take a halftime lead when Shapen’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Bud Clark with 4 seconds left.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

TCU will stay in the top four of the AP poll on Sunday, and should still be in the all-important top four of the new CFP rankings on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

TCU ends the regular season at home against Iowa State next Saturday.

Baylor is at Texas on Friday.