Baylor’s bowl hopes took a significant hit Saturday, falling to arizona 41-17 after a decisive fourth-quarter collapse at McLane Stadium. The loss drops the Bears to 3-6 on the season,leaving them with only one game remaining to achieve bowl eligibility.
The game began as a back-and-forth affair, but Arizona pulled away in the second half, capitalizing on Baylor miscues. While freshman running back Caden Knighten provided a spark for the Baylor offence with 17 carries for 100 yards, it wasn’t enough to overcome a strong performance from Arizona’s offense and costly turnovers.
Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan finished the game with a team-high nine catches for 133 yards.baylor quarterback Blake Robertson expressed frustration with his own performance,stating,”We knew coming into the game we were going to hit them with things and they were going to hit us with things. We just weren’t able to recover from my mistakes.”
The two defenses settled in during the second quarter, with baylor managing one of two field goals. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was intercepted by Baylor junior safety DJ Coleman, who helped finish the first half with Baylor leading 17-14.
“We were playing fast,” Coleman said.”We knew what they were going to do … and we came out with the lead at the end of the first half.”
Arizona’s Michael Mahdi led the team with 14 runs for 93 yards, and running back DJ Reescano found the end zone three times. Robertson threw for 162 yards, with 71 yards going to receiver Cole Cameron.
With their bowl aspirations dwindling, Baylor will face No. 23 Houston next Saturday at McLane Stadium. coleman emphasized the team’s continued motivation, saying, “We’re playing for the seniors that still got another game left. We don’t want to just give up on the season … Houston’s a good team, but we still feel like we can win.”
