By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Even after suffering a third-straight loss and first at home this season, Baylor coach Dave Aranda is convinced that "we've got ourselves a great team."
The Bears (1-3) just have to figure out how to "start faster and not wait for this or for that for us to get that pedal all the way down."
Falling behind 27-0 in the first 17 minutes, Baylor clawed back within 10 of the TCU Horned Frogs (2-3) and had a chance late to make things even tighter.
Starting to sweat, TCU was able to run out the clock at the end and hold on for a 33-23 victory Saturday afternoon in Baylor's first home game at McLane Stadium in 35 days.
"We have to build a mindset to start the game that we're in attack mode from the beginning," Aranda said. "That starts with me."
The Bears could not have started much slower, going down 20-0 in the first quarter and then giving up a 30-yard touchdown by Zach Evans. TCU also scored on a 67-yard punt return by Derius Davis, sandwiched between a three-yard TD run by Darwin Barlow and Max Duggan's 13-yard scoring strike to Taye Barer.
"Defensively . . . we had 10 guys in the right spot and we had one guy late or one guy this, one guy that," Aranda said. "I'm going to look at, just for me personally, how much are we doing, can we simplify there? When we simplified it in the second half, I thought we did much better."
After struggling on both sides for most of the first two quarters, Baylor was able to take some momentum into the locker room at halftime when the defense forced a turnover and the offense capitalized with a one-yard TD pass from Charlie Brewer to tight end Ben Sims, cutting the deficit to 30-7.
"There was disappointment, sure, but there was an energy in there, and uou could feel it," Aranda said. "I thought we were going to win the game. I really felt going in there, and looking in the eyes of the guys, they wanted to go out on the field right now."
When the Bears failed to capitalize on a 47-yard kickoff return by Trestan Ebner, the Horned Frogs tacked on a 34-yard field goal by Griffin Kell early in the third quarter after Darwin Barlow broke off a 74-yard run.
The Bears' comeback started with a big fourth-down stop by Terrel Bernard and Brayden Utley. Sims, who had a career-high four receptions for 40 yards, grabbed a three-yard TD pass from Brewer that made it a 33-14 game.
"It was huge," safety JT Woods said of the fourth-down stop. "Defensively, that boosted our morale completely. We play for one another, so just the fact that we made that big stop so the offense can go back down and put some points on the board was a great feeling."
Aranda said the defense was "trying to get run-pass recognition off some of the O-linemen stances . . . but when it gets to 4th-and-1, it's really man versus man and you're trying to win just inches of grass. And the push we got made the difference."
With an evident shift in momentum, Baylor appeared to score another touchdown when Brewer found Ebner down the right sideline. But, Ebner actually stepped out at the 8-yard line, and the Bears had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by John Mayer.
The defense, which also seemed to find its rhythm, forced another three-and-out that gave the ball back to the offense for another shot. Baylor had a quick strike, going 71 yards in five plays and scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run by Craig "Sqwirl" Williams, his third career TD.
Brewer's two-point conversion pass to Gavin Holmes was deflected by a TCU defender, keeping the Horned Frogs two scores ahead, 33-23.
Driving from their own 9-yard line, the Bears marched into TCU territory again on their next series. But, safety Trevon Moehring broke up a pass to Sims on 4th-and-3, and TCU was able to run out the last 6 ½ minutes to escape with the win.
"I think that's us," Aranda said of the fight the Bears showed in the second half. "There are so many fighters here in our locker room, guys with a ton of heart and a really, really strong care factor. I take it upon myself that they don't need to be put in that situation. And they've been in that situation too much."
After a slow start, Brewer was 17-of-37 for 203 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Williams had a career-high 82 yards on nine carries, while Ebner had a game-high 204 all-purpose yards.
Baylor is on the road for its next two games, facing No. 23 Iowa State (4-2, 4-1) at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 6, in Ames. The Cyclones defeated Kansas, 52-22, in Lawrence, bouncing back from a 24-21 loss on the road at Oklahoma State.
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Football Comes Up Short Against TCU, 33-23 - BaylorBears.com
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