Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III could not have played better football through three quarters of action. The junior was 17-of-20 for 327 yards and threw five touchdowns, and the BU receivers were torching TCU’s inexperienced secondary in man coverage.
On Twitter, #RG3 and #Heisman were actually trending faster than Baylor’s ability to put up points -- and for a while, they were doing so at a head-spinning rate.
Then BU, up 16 in the fourth quarter, got complacent on offense. No. 14 TCU got a couple breaks, managed to get some great field position and scored a few touchdowns. After a Griffin fumble that led to a TCU field goal, the Horned Frogs were up by one with under five minutes to play.
A 24-point deficit erased. Just like that.
Suddenly, Baylor was being Baylor.
But the Bears’ offense got it together for one final field goal-winning drive to hang on 50-48 victory in a game that featured just about everything from amazing offensive production to atrocious defense and special teams. In all, there were nine lead changes and 17 penalties -- most of which were committed by Baylor.
And while this is a statement win for Art Briles’ team -- TCU was the highest ranked team BU has defeated since 1991 -- it was a bigger statement that the Bears have plenty to work on before they can even think about contending for a Big 12 title.
Assuming, of course, there’s a Big 12 title to be had.
Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has a chore with that secondary, which looked utterly lost at times. Even more painful were Baylor’s kickoff and punt coverages; TCU started three drives within three yards of midfield.
And if TCU had made a final stop, Baylor would have been victim of a blown lead of epic proportions.
Look, Baylor deserves credit for the win, just as TCU deserves credit for not giving up, but if the Bears want to be a winning program, they need to learn how to close out games and pronto.