Baylor vs. Oklahoma State Notebook: Cowboys Avenge Big 12 Title Loss with Win in Waco
The Baylor Bears football team came out strong in the second half to pull within a score on two occasions but couldn't pull off the comeback, falling 36-25 to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium.
With the loss, coach Dave Aranda and the Bears drop to 3-2 overall on the year while the Cowboys improve to a perfect 4-0 for the second straight season.
A few takeaways from Baylor's home loss to the Cowboys:
BAYLOR DEFENSE WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE COWBOYS RUN GAME
One of the biggest priorities coming into Saturday's showdown between the Bears and Cowboys was Baylor being able to hold Oklahoma State's offense to under 100 rushing yards in the game.
Unfortunately, that didn’t even happen by halftime as the Cowboys garnered 112 rush yards at the break and ended the contest with 166 rushing yards with two touchdowns on the ground.
If Baylor wants to contend in this suddenly up-for-grabs Big 12, the Bears defense has got to begin stopping the run better than they did in Saturday's loss to the Cowboys.
DROPPED PASSES BY BEARS RECEIVERS A MAJOR ISSUE
With the Bears driving down the field on the team's opening drive, a dropped Blake Shapen pass by a wide-open Galvin Holmes led to Baylor having to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Granted, it didn’t make a difference in the long run but dropped passes happened on at least two more occasions in the game -- with one should-have-been catch leading to a Cowboys interception.
Once again, if Baylor hopes to contend in this deep Big 12 Conference, dropped passes by the Bears' receivers cannot continue happening.
SPECIAL TEAMS ALLOWING KICKOFF RETURNS MUST END NOW
Baylor needed to come out strong in the second half after going into the break down 16-3. Instead, the Bears gave up an opening kickoff 98 yards for a Cowboys score to push the Oklahoma State lead to 23-3.
Yes, in the long run, there are numerous other holes in Baylor's game that eventually led to the loss. But special teams must not continue to allow deep kicks for long returns, especially in such a momentum-turning moment like an opening kickoff to begin a half.
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