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The 25th ranked Texas Longhorns faced the 9th ranked Baylor Bears in a game for the Big 12 Championship, made possible when Oklahoma State was upset at home by Oklahoma. The final game at Floyd Casey Stadium saw harsh conditions, with a game time temperature around 24 degrees (14 degree wind chill). In what some felt was Mack Brown’s swan song, this was a game of who wanted to make a play.
The first half was awful football, as the teams combined for seven punts, three missed field goals, an interception, and just two field goals. The first Baylor drive was its most promising, as it took over after the Longhorns opened with a three and out and drove 68 yards in 11 plays, settling for a short field goal and a 3-0 lead which held up for most of the first half.
Texas second drive went 35 yards in six plays, but ended in a missed field goal. Texas would finally get on the board to tie the game at three with a 42 yard field goal by Groza Award Finalist Anthony Fera with 4:31 to go until the half.
Both teams made bonehead moves which may have cost them points, as Baylor inexplicably went for a fake punt on 4th and 7 from its own 43 yard line. Later in the second quarter, Dalton Santos had a Baylor fumble in his hands, but elected to try and run instead of falling on the football, fumbling it back to the Bears.
Case McCoy was just 7 of 19 for 38 yards with 1 INT and another which should have been caught. Baylor QB Bryce Petty was far better, going an efficient 13 of 23 for 170 yards, and adding 11 yards on the ground. The biggest star on either side was Texas RB Malcolm Brown, who carried 17 times for 118 yards in the first half, but was gotten away from when Texas needed to keep riding him toward points.
When Ahmad Dixon returned the game, he brought the Bears heart and soul with him, as Baylor exploded on offense and defense in the third quarter. The Longhorns gained just 26 yards in the frame as Baylor scored on three straight possessions to take a 20-3 lead. The Bears drove 77 yards in 14 plays on their opening third quarter drive, capped by a Bryce Petty touchdown pass of 11 yards to Antwan Godley. Texas lost four yards and punted, giving Baylor a short field. Seven plays and 47 quick yards later, the Bears scored on a seven yard touchdown pass from Petty to Levi Norwood. After another Texas punt, the Bears drove 29 yards for a field goal to finish the outburst.
With one second left in the quarter, Art Briles elected to call timeout and punt with the wind. Jaxon Shipley broke off a 50 yard punt return with an 11 yard bonus on a facemask, putting Texas in business at the Baylor 11. The Bears appeared to have held the Longhorns to field goal, but were called for the same jumping foul which caught the New England Patriots. With four fresh downs, McCoy scrambled on 4th down and hit Malcolm Brown for a short touchdown pass to close to within 20-10.
The Bears took the following drive 55 yards in 10 plays, getting another Aaron Jones field goal to push the lead back to 23-10. On the following drive, the Longhorns were oddly not in any kind of hurry up mode, and took almost two full minutes to go three and out, giving Baylor the football back with a 13 point lead and just 7:21 away from their first Big 12 Championship. To make matters worse, the Longhorns had a shot at getting a “muffed†punt inside the Baylor 10, but failed to just fall on it as it had earlier with the Santos miss.
The end of the game, and perhaps the era of Mack Brown Texas Football came as it has so many times with Case McCoy at the helm. McCoy was intercepted by Ahmad Dixon, which was returned for a touchdown. The refs took the points off the board on a cheap penalty, and one play later Glasco Martin went 18 yards for a touchdown to put the Bears into the Fiesta Bowl as Big 12 Champions with a 30-10 lead.
That’s the image you’ll remember folks. Baylor has won the Big 12 Championship by dominating the once mighty Texas Longhorns. May the future bring us change, and may we one day soon return to the heights at which we belong.
