Texas Longhorns vs Baylor Bears Match Player Stats On Dec 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Dec 5, 2015

WACO, Texas -- Texas took advantage of 12th-ranked Baylor's tailspin at quarterback and the Longhorns finished their season with a victory.

The Longhorns built a 20-0 first-half lead then held off a Baylor charge in the second half for a 23-17 victory on Saturday at McLane Stadium.

Baylor, which rushed for 359 yards, scored 17 straight points in the second half to get back into the game.

However, Texas defensive tackle Poona Ford forced and recovered a fumble by Baylor running back Johnny Jefferson late in the game.

That was Baylor's fourth turnover, and the Bears didn't manage any takeaways.

The Bears had one final possession beginning from their own 4-yard-line with 1:34 left. But Jefferson's Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Texas safety DeShon Elliott as time expired.

Texas held Baylor, playing the final three quarters with a combination of wide receivers and running backs to fill in at quarterback, to 84 passing yards.

Baylor quarterback Chris Johnson left the game with concussion-like symptoms late in the first quarter and did not return.

Texas took control early, when quarterback Tyrone Swoopes hit tight end Caleb Bluiett for a 57-yard touchdown to put the Longhorns ahead, 7-0, less than four minutes into the game.

The Longhorns added kicker Nick Rose's 23-yard field goal on its second offensive series before Texas made the play that shaped the rest of the game.

Johnson ran on a second-and-10 play from his own 22 and Longhorns nickel back P.J. Locke came up to hit the Bears quarterback and forced a fumble. Linebacker Anthony Wheeler recovered for Texas at the Baylor 18.

Making matters worse for the Bears, Johnson, Baylor's third option at quarterback this season, left the field with help from the training staff.

Swoopes made the fumble recovery count for Texas when he cruised in for a nine-yard touchdown run that put the Longhorns ahead, 17-0, with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter.

Baylor, which didn't have a backup quarterback listed on its two-deep roster, inserted wide receiver Lynx Hawthorne in the shotgun formation to direct the offense.

Although Baylor hadn't scored in four possessions with Johnson at quarterback, the Bears struggled even more with Hawthorne throwing passes.

Hawthorne threw two interceptions in his first three passes.

Texas' first pick of Hawthorne resulted in a benches-clearing melee.

Texas defensive back Duke Thomas intercepted Hawthorne's pass and Hawthorne brought him down near the Longhorns sideline at the Texas 40.

Some shoving ensued and many members of the Baylor team left the bench and crossed the field to come to the rescue of their fill-in quarterback.

However, Texas incurred the only unsportsmanlike penalty from the fracas, as reserve safety Kevin Vacarro was flagged for leaving the Longhorns' bench.

The Longhorns failed to score off their two interceptions of Hawthorne. But Rose increased Texas' lead when he booted a 53-yard field goal with 2:01 left in the second quarter.

Roses kick upped the Longhorns lead to 20-0 at halftime.

NOTES: Texas won 12 consecutive games in its series against Baylor from 1998 until the Longhorns' last victory in Waco in 2009. The Bears had won four of five in the series before Saturday. ... Texas entered the game already assured of having back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1988-89 under former coach David McWilliams. ... Baylor had two streaks broken in the last three games, including a 20-game home winning streak with a loss to Oklahoma, and a 12-game winning streak against opponents from Texas with the loss to TCU. The Bears have lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2012.