Football Falls to TCU, 16-9

Saturday, November 17

Waco, Texas

11:00 A.M. CT

Baylor

TCU

Football Falls to TCU, 16-9

11/17/2018 3:25:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Baylor Coach Rhule Quotes Baylor Player Quotes TCU Coach Patterson Quotes TCU Player Quotes

Jalen Hurd had four catches for 68 yards.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

A Baylor senior class that was here when the first games were played at McLane Stadium back in 2014 had a chance for a "storybook ending" Saturday afternoon.

But, with a chance to become bowl-eligible and win the seniors' final home game, the Bears (5-6, 3-5) had too many self-inflicted wounds with three turnovers and nine penalties in a frustrating 16-9 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs.

TCU (5-6, 3-5), which avoided bowl elimination, scored on a 65-yard touchdown catch and run by Jalen Reagor from third-string quarterback Grant Muehlstein and then went ahead to stay when Reagor went 37 yards on an end-around reverse on fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter.

"I'm sad for the seniors," Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said, "because as I told them, not many people have been through what they've been through and done what they've done. They've stayed when they could have run. They've taken a lot of flak. They were loyal, and they were strong. They showed courage. They were just men.

"I'm deeply sad we couldn't win the football game the way we wanted them to. That is not their legacy, and we'll try one more week to get them the win they need."

That's the silver lining. The Bears still have another shot at becoming bowl-eligible for the eighth time in nine years when they play Texas Tech at 11 a.m. next Saturday, Nov. 24, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Offensive lineman Patrick Lawrence, one of 20 seniors recognized before the game, said "being able to go play in one of the best atmospheres in the world at AT&T Stadium, finish up against Texas Tech and then one more game we have the opportunity to get bowl-eligible means a lot to us. We are going to do everything we can this week to make sure that happens."

The Bears had a golden opportunity on Saturday, even down to the final series of the game, but the three turnovers proved too much to overcome.

Baylor's turnover issues started early, on the second play of the game, when sophomore running back John Lovett burst into the open for what appeared to be a big-gainer. Instead, defensive end Ben Banogu stripped the ball loose and safety Markell Simmons pounced on it at the Bears' 34.

As it did most of the day, the Baylor defense held, forcing the Horned Frogs to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Jonathan Song and 3-0 lead.

"The one on the first drive hurt," Rhule said, "but our defense responded and held them to a field goal. They hung in there. Our defense just wanted to keep playing. And all the way to the last drive, they got the ball back for our offense with a chance to go win the game."

In its best sustained drive of the game, the offense went 80 yards in nine plays and took the lead when quarterback Charlie Brewer went airborne for a seven-yard TD run that put the Bears on top, 6-3. Connor Martin's extra point was blocked by safety Riddwon Issahaku.

Brewer was 3-for-3 for 50 yards on the touchdown-scoring drive, but he finished just 14-of-29 for 163 yards and was sacked five times.

Although Rhule said Brewer's pass protection wasn't good enough, the sophomore quarterback wouldn't blame his offensive line. "If you want to point fingers, point them at me. I can make more plays."

On the offense producing just 303 yards and a season-low nine points, Brewer said, "It's extremely disappointing. We played terrible on offense. Really, that was it. We just shot ourselves in the foot."

Baylor's special teams came up with a potential game-changing play when sophomore defensive end B.J. Thompson blocked a punt and handed it over to the offense at TCU's 31-yard line late in the first quarter.

"Mike Siravo and Fran Brown put him in a position, and went and got it," Rhule said of Thompson, who also blocked an extra point, giving Baylor the most blocked kicks in a season (7) since blocking nine in 1989. "It was just him running through and getting his hand up, which was a big deal for us. We thought maybe we had a chance to get one in there. Unfortunately, it went out of bounds."

Brewer converted on a fourth-and-15 with a 17-yard scramble, then got it down to the 6 with an 11-yard run. But, with a first-and-goal, Brewer fumbled the snap under center from Sam Tecklenburg and defensive tackle Corey Bethley scooped it up.

"It was a miscue, obviously something that can't happen," Brewer said. "Turnovers and penalties just kill you."

Instead of Baylor taking a double-digit lead on a TCU team that has struggled to score, the Horned Frogs scored four plays later when Reagor took a tunnel screen from Muehlstein, broke at least five tackles and scored from 65 yards.

"He's pretty smoking," said junior linebacker Clay Johnston, who had a game-high 15 tackles. "I saw him take off on that screen, just chasing him, diving over people, and was like, 'This guy can move.' He's a good athlete."

The Frogs had a chance to extend the lead in the third quarter, when safety Trevon Moehrig picked off a Brewer pass and returned it 20 yards back to the Baylor 37. But, the defense forced a three-and-out, with Henry Black sacking Muehlstein on third-and-7 from the 34.

With TCU hit for a pair of 15-yard penalties, Baylor marched down the field on its next series and had a first down at the 13. But, the Bears' red-zone issues resurfaced with a penalty, and they had to settle for a game-tying 37-yard field goal by Martin.

Baylor's defense had a chance to get off the field on TCU's next drive, but defensive end Greg Roberts was flagged for being offsides on a third-down play where Reagor was stopped five yards short on the same screen pass where he had earlier scored.

Keeping the drive alive, the Frogs made the Bears pay when Reagor went 37 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:02 left in the third quarter.

"I'd have to look at the tape, maybe we didn't have someone set the perimeter," Johnston said. "Maybe the linebackers didn't key, including myself. But, we've got to fix that."

Baylor had a couple chances late in the game, but Brewer was sacked on a third-down play from TCU's 33 and then he couldn't hook up with Denzel Mims on a deep ball on the final series.

"I'm proud to death of these guys," Rhule said. "We got laughed off the field last year in this game against TCU. So, they made a major step. We just need to make one kore next week. We'd like to find a way to finish it the right way."