Baylor 37-34 TCU (November 2, 2024) Game Recap

WACO, Texas – Bryson Washington rushed for a career-high 196 yards and four touchdowns and Isaiah Hankins hit a 33-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give Baylor a 37-34 victory over TCU on Saturday night.

The Bears faced fourth-and-9 at the TCU 44 with 16 seconds left when Sawyer Robertson threw a 15-yard pass to Michael Trigg. Washington then ran 13 yards with five seconds left to set up Hankins' kick.

“We’re going to try,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “These things are always difficult. I think I've been up here before when they weren't doing well and there was a whole crowd coming from the other direction. I think when you attack, the guys feel like they’re attacking.”

Baylor (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) won the same way TCU did in Waco two years ago, and fans rushed the field to celebrate. The Horned Frogs went for the final field goal with a 29-28 win, setting up for a 12-0 regular season finish in 2022 and a trip to the national championship game.

TCU (5-4, 3-3) offset Josh Hoover's 24-yard touchdown pass to Jack Bech with 1:55 left. Hoover threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns while running for a score. Bech had two TDs.

The Bears won a game for the third straight season after completing two eight-game Big 12 losses over the last two weeks – one overall and the other in conference home games.

The Horned Frogs were also looking for their third straight win and trying to stay on the edge of the Big 12 Championship Game race.

Washington scored on runs of 8, 40 and 35 yards before a 1-yarder to secure the lead after 13 plays and 81 yards. Once TCU got back to even par, Robertson led the way to 11-game victories.

Savion Williams had 92 yards receiving and 57 yards rushing while throwing a touchdown pass for the Horned Frogs.

TCU called a timeout when Baylor lined up out of field goal range. Had the Bears turned the ball over on downs, the Horned Frogs might have had time to score on the same end as Griffin Kell's 40-yarder two years ago.

“We weren’t quite sure what they were going to do,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said. “I thought they might try to get us offside to get a shorter field goal for the kicker. You have to give them credit. They played a nice game.”

Celebrate titles

Baylor honored its back-to-back Big 12 championship teams from 2013-14 with a notable absence, at least in public. Art Briles, the creator of these titles, was fired as coach in 2016 because the football program mishandled sexual assault allegations. The 68-year-old has not coached at the college since then.

A few dozen players from those teams briefly took the field at halftime as some of the highlights were announced. There was no mention of Briles, whose son Kendal Briles was on his coaching staff and is now TCU's offensive coordinator.

The takeaway food

TCU: Williams staggered and dropped a somewhat difficult over-the-shoulder catch early in the second quarter that would have amounted to an 81-yard touchdown. A punt followed and four plays later, Washington's 40-yard TD gave the Bears a 13-7 lead. Hankins missed the extra point.

Baylor: Robertson's four-game streak of at least three touchdown passes came to an end, but he had three completions for first downs on the drive for a 34-27 lead. He also converted a fourth-and-2 with a 3-yard run and set up a 5-yarder to set up Washington's go-ahead touchdown.

Next

TCU: Oklahoma State is at home next Saturday.

Baylor: November 16th at West Virginia.

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