PROVO, Utah — Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda had spent the last few weeks warning his players about avoiding complacency. As he put it, the Bears had yet to face the storm, and he did not know how they would handle adversity when it reared its head.
The Bears finally ran into that storm late Saturday night, as Baylor came up short in double overtime, falling to BYU 26-20.
Baylor tied the game at 20 in the fourth quarter when quarterback Blake Shapen connected with tight end Ben Sims for a touchdown.
Then, things got crazy.
BYU would fight its way into field goal range with less than a minute remaining. After a few unsuccessful plays, the Cougars lined up for a game-winning field goal, but kicker Jake Oldroyd missed the kick and the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, Baylor struggled with penalties, and as a result, they had to settle for a field goal. Kicker Isaiah Hankins pushed the kick wide right, and once again, BYU had the opportunity to end the game with one score.
However, Oldroyd would miss again, pushing the game past midnight MT and into Sunday morning.
The Cougars would strike on their following possession. After a 20 yard pass from quarterback Jaren Hall, Lopini Katoa carried the ball in for a three-yard touchdown. BYU would fail its two-point conversion attempt.
In its attempt to answer the Cougar score, Baylor relied almost exclusively on its running game. The Bears ran the ball on eight of the first nine plays of the drive, pushing them as close to the end zone as the BYU four yard line.
But penalties would doom the Bears.
In total, Baylor racked up 11 penalties totaling 117 yards. Two of the most consequential came near the end of the second overtime. Once they arrived inside the BYU five, Baylor linemen jumped the snap count twice, resulting in a pair of false start penalties and one final play from the BYU 11.
On the final play of the game, Baylor QB Blake Shapen threw the ball out of the back of the end zone, and the Bears hopes for a win were dashed.
The win marks Baylor's first defeat of the 2022 season and the program's first loss since Fallon to TCU in Fort Worth last season.
BYU fans stormed the field at Lavell Edwards Stadium to celebrate the 26-20 victory.
With the loss, Baylor falls to 1-1 this season. They will look to rebound against Texas State next weekend.
