Field Level Media
Oct 24, 2020
Sam Ehlinger passed for 270 yards and a touchdown and added two scores on the ground as Texas rebounded for a 27-16 win over Baylor on Saturday afternoon in Big 12 Conference play in Austin, Texas.
Ehlinger came alive through the middle 30 minutes of the game when Texas opened up its offense more. He ended up hitting on 15 of his 23 passes and ran 15 times for 51 yards.
The Longhorns (3-2, 2-2 in Big 12 play) got back on the winning track after two straight conference losses, to TCU at home and Oklahoma in Dallas, respectively.
Baylor (1-2, 1-2 in Big 12 play) was led by quarterback Charlie Brewer's 256 yards passing. Brewer directed two fourth-quarter scoring drives for the Bears, but it was too little, too late.
Baylor got on the board first on a 22-yard field goal by John Mayers with just 49 seconds to play in the first quarter. Texas answered with a 41-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker at the 12:10 mark of the second quarter.
The Longhorns then grabbed the lead for good on Dicker's 23 yarder with 6:15 to play in the second quarter.
Ehlinger connected with Joshua Moore on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 to play before halftime to push the Longhorns' lead to 13-3. The scoring toss came two snaps after a leaping, 42-yard circus catch by Moore.
The Longhorns took control of the game on the first possession of the third quarter, driving 75 yards in 12 plays to Ehlinger's 1-yard TD plunge. Ehlinger added to the lead with a 9-yard touchdown sprint around the right side with 20 seconds to play in the third quarter to put Texas ahead 27-3.
The Bears cut their deficit to 27-9 with a 3-yard TD pass from Charlie Brewer to John Lovett early in the fourth quarter. After an Ehlinger interception and a 32-yard return by J.T. Woods, Brewer hit Gavin Holmes for a 7-yard touchdown to draw the Bears to within 27-16 with 7:37 to play. But they would get no closer.
This was Baylor's first game since losing at West Virginia on Oct. 3; the Bears postponed their Oct. 17 game against Oklahoma State and employed a 10-day program-wide shutdown of football activities due to a COVID spike on the team.
--Field Level Media