3 Takeaways from Baylor’s loss to No. 21 Cincinnati
In this story:
The Big 12 matchup between the Baylor Bears and the Cincinnati Bearcats did not go as planned for the visitors on Saturday as the Bears put another black mark in the loss column. Here are some takeaways from Baylor’s 41-20 loss to the No. 21 Bearcats.
Robertson struggled at times
Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson did not throw his first pass of the game until the Bears’ second possession of the first quarter.
- There were no explosive plays in the passing game (25+yards or more) in the first half, just a lot of dinking and dunking to move the ball downfield.
- · Robertson missed on deep balls to open receivers and to the endzone for scoring opportunities.
- · Two, 2-point conversion attempts failed. One on a QB draw, the other was a miss to a wide-open receiver in the endzone that Robertson shot-putted over the receiver’s head incomplete.
Robertson threw for a touchdown and just 98 yards in the first half.
Robertson reaching out 🗣️🗣️
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 25, 2025
📺: ESPN2 #SicEm pic.twitter.com/F9MUs8KD0e
On their first possession of the second half, Sawyer found Josh Cameron in the endzone for another score to cut the lead to 24-12. In addition, Robertson scored a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 24-18. A 2-point conversion attempt was good and the score was 24-20 in favor of the home team.
The Bearcats offense is legit
Coming into the game, Cincinnati was one of five teams in the FBS that were a perfect 100 percent (28 of 28) in redzone opportunities. The Bearcats promptly scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and gained 10 first downs, in the first quarter, to take a 14-0 lead. They scored a field goal and another touchdown to take an 18-point lead at halftime.
After being held to a field goal in the third quarter, Sorsby broke through the Baylor defensive line and scored on a designed quarterback run to take a 34-20 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Baylor fumbled away the ball and Cincinnati recovered deep inside Baylor territory. Sorsby increased the lead with his second TD pass of the game (third TD accounted for) and a 41-20 lead
A DAGGER from @Brendan_Sorsby2
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) October 25, 2025
📺 ESPN2 https://t.co/3xylHaZ5ny pic.twitter.com/HOrH9Wh4Wv
3rd down inefficiency
Baylor posted its second consecutive game of 35 percent or worse on third down, converting just 4-of-12. By contrast, Cincinnati was 64 percent on third down, going 9-of-14. It was the Bearcats' second consecutive game of 60 percent or better on third down.
Robertson was tied for the lead in the FBS in touchdown passes with 21 coming into the game. Sorsby was No. 1 in total touchdowns with 24. Against the Bears, Sorsby threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another and finished with 111 yards passing and 85 yards rushing.
Robertson finished with 137 yards passing and accounted for three TDs.
Baylor (4-4) suffered its fourth loss of the season, while Cincinnati (7-1) won its seventh consecutive game. The Bearcats move to 5-0 in the Big 12. Baylor falls to 2-3 in the conference.
More From Baylor On SI:
Tony comes to On SI with six years of experience writing about sports online. His work has been published on such sites as The Gridiron News, Mike Farrell Sports, YardBarker, Athlon Sports and College Football Backers. Tony is a U.S. Air Force veteran and is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
Follow tonythomasCFB