Texas walked off the field 15 minutes later with a 23-17 upset victory over No. 12 Baylor, ending a 5-7 2015 campaign.
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Baylor’s Johnny Jefferson struck first in the second half, scampering into the Texas end zone with 10:27 left in the 3 quarter. Baylor had its chances, but it fumbled away one late drive and stalled on another, and its Sugar Bowl dreams went bye-bye. Baylor plays Texas on Saturday. Texas’ defense held the Baylor offense to just 84 passing yards, but the Bears found second half success with the running game, rushing for 395 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries. “I think everybody was exhausted of losing, so we stepped up and did what we had to do”.
With his stellar season, the All-American receiver said he will head for the NFL Draft after the bowl game. It was the first time this season Baylor did not score on its opening possession.
NOTES: Texas won 12 consecutive games in its series against Baylor from 1998 until the Longhorns’ last victory in Waco in 2009.
Texas, which had lost four of the previous five matchups in this series, took just three plays to take the lead. Despite the big wins over Baylor and Oklahoma, Texas finishes the regular season with a 5-7 record.
Hawthorne was coming up off his knees when he got shoved back to the ground by Longhorns safety P.J. Locke III.
With a struggling Texas offense that hadn’t put points on the board in the second half, and a defense that was gouged all day by the Baylor rushing offense, Baylor had momentum in the 4 quarter. But Rose increased Texas’ lead when he booted a 53-yard field goal with 2:01 left in the second quarter.
“The insane part, this is probably the best Baylor team that’s been here, and the record doesn’t say it”, said junior Corey Coleman, the FBS leader with 20 TD catches who was recognized with the seniors before the game and confirmed afterward that he plans to forgo his senior season for early entry in the National Football League draft. Down 20-0 and with the emergency QB in the game, Baylor basically ditched the offense that has brought us out of the Dark Ages and is as synonymous with our program as the colors green and gold, and went to a throwback single-wing attack. There was also that 24-0 loss at Iowa State.
The Bears were within 20-17 when Hawthorne scored on an 8-yard keeper with 9:40 left. Although the Bears started off rocky against the rush, they gradually improved.
Swoopes was 12-of-19 passing for 151 yards, including the touchdown strike to Bluiett.
Texas incurred the only unsportsmanlike penalty from the fracas, as reserve safety Kevin Vacarro was flagged for leaving the Longhorns’ bench.
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Doughty threw for 410 yards with three touchdown passes and Western Kentucky came from behind to defeat Southern Mississippi 45-28 in the Conference USA Championship Game on Saturday.
