IT TAKES A VILLAGE
10/4/2025 11:11:00 PM | Football
Bears use all three phases in 35-34 come-from-behind win
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – According to the old proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child."
On Saturday, it took the whole Baylor football team and every phase of the game to help the Bears overcome a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and pull out a thrilling 35-34 victory over the visiting Kansas State Wildcats at McLane Stadium.
"There's just a resiliency with those guys of, 'Hey, I'm not going to be defined by somebody else. I'm not going to be defined by what they say or write or any of that,''' said Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, whose team improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference going into a bye week.
"They fight, man, and I'm just proud to be a part of it. I'm blessed, really. And you saw that today. I wish all of it would be much cleaner and much more pretty to look at. But we needed a win, and we'll take it."
This was Baylor's third down-to-the-wire game and the second time the Bears have rallied from a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit. They defeated then-No. 17/16 SMU, 48-45, in double overtime on a 27-yard field goal by Connor Hawkins.
"It's a roller coaster, for sure, an emotional roller coaster," said quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who was 25-of-39 for 345 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. "We're going to fight till the very end. And because of that, we put ourselves in a position to win. That's what happens with people and teams that fight."
With a chance to cut into K-State's lead, Baylor had a red-zone turnover on downs, when Robertson overthrew receiver Kole Wilson in the end zone on a fourth-and-7 from the 15. But the defense bowed up and got a stop, with Cooper Lanz's pressure forcing a rushed third-down throw by K-State quarterback Avery Johnson.
"Coop has done whatever we've asked him to do," Aranda said, "and he's done it in a selfless way and always thinks team first. We were not the same team when we didn't have Coop, because there's just a toughness that comes with him."
Getting the ball back with just under 10 minutes to play, it took the Bears just three plays to make it a one-score game. Robertson hooked up with tight end Michael Trigg for 42 yards, and then Trigg pulled in an eye-popping one-handed catch down the left sideline to the K-State 11-yard line.
"I have seen stuff like that in practice," Sawyer said of Trigg, who set program records for a tight end with eight catches for 165 yards, "so none of us are probably as surprised as maybe people in the stands, because we've seen him do that before. But what an incredible play."
Since the Baylor defense gets "exposed to that every time versus our offense," Aranda said, "it's good to see him do that to somebody else"
"He's a mismatch, you have to put two people on him," Aranda said. "If it's a linebacker, he's not going to be able to run fast enough. And if it's a safety, he's not going to be physical enough. When you don't put two guys on him, this is what you get."
After sophomore running back Bryson Washington broke two tackles to score from 11 yards out on a screen pass, the Bears pulled within 31-25 when Robertson scored on a two-point conversion run.
"We're going to have to do that at some point," Aranda said, "so you do it early enough, and you have an idea of how to play the later one. We felt like we really had some good momentum, and we had a good play lined up for that, too. We felt they were on their heels."
"The analytics said to go for it," Robertson said.
"(Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital) called a great play. We have been working that play for a while. We executed it, and it ended up being the difference."
The defense came up big again, when sophomore safety Jacob Redding stepped in front of a Johnson pass to Jaron Tibbs and returned the interception 66 yards for a touchdown. Hawkins' extra point gave Baylor the lead, 32-31, with 4:28 left.
"As I was running, I was like, 'I can't believe this is happening,''' said Redding, who had six tackles and his second-career pick. "Then, I scored, and I was like, 'No flags? Thank you, Lord!' This is a blessing; this is a dream come true."
The Wildcats had a chance to answer with a touchdown of their own, getting to the 2-yard line after a 48-yard pass play and personal-foul penalty. But linebacker Keaton Thomas dropped running back Joe Jackson for a two-yard loss, and K-State had to settle for a 22-yard, go-ahead field goal by Luis Rodriguez after Baylor dialed up a couple blitzes that forced incompletions.
"We had a couple guys open," K-State coach Chris Klieman said, "but they did a good job blitzing us. . . . In football, it comes down to playmakers. Both sides had a lot of plays being made. Obviously, we wish we would've made one more."
Finding themselves trailing again, Baylor got a 35-yard kickoff return by Wilson, kickstarting a drive that got them in range for Hawkins' career-long-tying 53-yard field goal with 31 seconds left to put the Bears back on top, 35-34.
Calling a timeout before Hawkins' kick, Aranda said, "we were taking too long to snap the ball. Our operation has to be faster. In a really critical moment, it was good we had those timeouts to use."
K-State had just enough time to get in range for a 56-yard field goal try by Rodriguez – who was 8-for-8 for the year. But Lanz came through the middle and blocked it with his left hand, sealing the deal for another heart-stopping ending.
"I'm definitely the type where I need to see what's going on," senior receiver Josh Cameron said. "I can't just look away and hope. I like to see what happens. . . . I just had this confidence. The momentum was all in our favor."
"There wasn't a whole lot (of conversation after the blocked field goal)," Robertson said, "just a lot of screaming, jumping up and down. But super pumped for Coop getting his hand up and making that play.
"It may not be pretty, we've got a lot of stuff to clean up, but we have a chance to be really, really good."
After a bye week, Baylor will go on the road for back-to-back games, facing TCU (4-1, 1-1) on Oct. 18 in Fort Worth and Cincinnati (4-1, 2-0) on Oct. 25. The Horned Frogs scored 21 fourth-quarter points in a 35-21 win over Colorado, while the Bearkats upset 14th-ranked Iowa State, 38-30.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – According to the old proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child."
On Saturday, it took the whole Baylor football team and every phase of the game to help the Bears overcome a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and pull out a thrilling 35-34 victory over the visiting Kansas State Wildcats at McLane Stadium.
"There's just a resiliency with those guys of, 'Hey, I'm not going to be defined by somebody else. I'm not going to be defined by what they say or write or any of that,''' said Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, whose team improved to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in conference going into a bye week.
"They fight, man, and I'm just proud to be a part of it. I'm blessed, really. And you saw that today. I wish all of it would be much cleaner and much more pretty to look at. But we needed a win, and we'll take it."
This was Baylor's third down-to-the-wire game and the second time the Bears have rallied from a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit. They defeated then-No. 17/16 SMU, 48-45, in double overtime on a 27-yard field goal by Connor Hawkins.
"It's a roller coaster, for sure, an emotional roller coaster," said quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who was 25-of-39 for 345 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. "We're going to fight till the very end. And because of that, we put ourselves in a position to win. That's what happens with people and teams that fight."
With a chance to cut into K-State's lead, Baylor had a red-zone turnover on downs, when Robertson overthrew receiver Kole Wilson in the end zone on a fourth-and-7 from the 15. But the defense bowed up and got a stop, with Cooper Lanz's pressure forcing a rushed third-down throw by K-State quarterback Avery Johnson.
"Coop has done whatever we've asked him to do," Aranda said, "and he's done it in a selfless way and always thinks team first. We were not the same team when we didn't have Coop, because there's just a toughness that comes with him."
Getting the ball back with just under 10 minutes to play, it took the Bears just three plays to make it a one-score game. Robertson hooked up with tight end Michael Trigg for 42 yards, and then Trigg pulled in an eye-popping one-handed catch down the left sideline to the K-State 11-yard line.
"I have seen stuff like that in practice," Sawyer said of Trigg, who set program records for a tight end with eight catches for 165 yards, "so none of us are probably as surprised as maybe people in the stands, because we've seen him do that before. But what an incredible play."
Since the Baylor defense gets "exposed to that every time versus our offense," Aranda said, "it's good to see him do that to somebody else"
"He's a mismatch, you have to put two people on him," Aranda said. "If it's a linebacker, he's not going to be able to run fast enough. And if it's a safety, he's not going to be physical enough. When you don't put two guys on him, this is what you get."
After sophomore running back Bryson Washington broke two tackles to score from 11 yards out on a screen pass, the Bears pulled within 31-25 when Robertson scored on a two-point conversion run.
"We're going to have to do that at some point," Aranda said, "so you do it early enough, and you have an idea of how to play the later one. We felt like we really had some good momentum, and we had a good play lined up for that, too. We felt they were on their heels."
"The analytics said to go for it," Robertson said.
"(Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital) called a great play. We have been working that play for a while. We executed it, and it ended up being the difference."
The defense came up big again, when sophomore safety Jacob Redding stepped in front of a Johnson pass to Jaron Tibbs and returned the interception 66 yards for a touchdown. Hawkins' extra point gave Baylor the lead, 32-31, with 4:28 left.
"As I was running, I was like, 'I can't believe this is happening,''' said Redding, who had six tackles and his second-career pick. "Then, I scored, and I was like, 'No flags? Thank you, Lord!' This is a blessing; this is a dream come true."
The Wildcats had a chance to answer with a touchdown of their own, getting to the 2-yard line after a 48-yard pass play and personal-foul penalty. But linebacker Keaton Thomas dropped running back Joe Jackson for a two-yard loss, and K-State had to settle for a 22-yard, go-ahead field goal by Luis Rodriguez after Baylor dialed up a couple blitzes that forced incompletions.
"We had a couple guys open," K-State coach Chris Klieman said, "but they did a good job blitzing us. . . . In football, it comes down to playmakers. Both sides had a lot of plays being made. Obviously, we wish we would've made one more."
Finding themselves trailing again, Baylor got a 35-yard kickoff return by Wilson, kickstarting a drive that got them in range for Hawkins' career-long-tying 53-yard field goal with 31 seconds left to put the Bears back on top, 35-34.
Calling a timeout before Hawkins' kick, Aranda said, "we were taking too long to snap the ball. Our operation has to be faster. In a really critical moment, it was good we had those timeouts to use."
K-State had just enough time to get in range for a 56-yard field goal try by Rodriguez – who was 8-for-8 for the year. But Lanz came through the middle and blocked it with his left hand, sealing the deal for another heart-stopping ending.
"I'm definitely the type where I need to see what's going on," senior receiver Josh Cameron said. "I can't just look away and hope. I like to see what happens. . . . I just had this confidence. The momentum was all in our favor."
"There wasn't a whole lot (of conversation after the blocked field goal)," Robertson said, "just a lot of screaming, jumping up and down. But super pumped for Coop getting his hand up and making that play.
"It may not be pretty, we've got a lot of stuff to clean up, but we have a chance to be really, really good."
After a bye week, Baylor will go on the road for back-to-back games, facing TCU (4-1, 1-1) on Oct. 18 in Fort Worth and Cincinnati (4-1, 2-0) on Oct. 25. The Horned Frogs scored 21 fourth-quarter points in a 35-21 win over Colorado, while the Bearkats upset 14th-ranked Iowa State, 38-30.
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