Halftime thoughts for Baylor's Revivalry game against TCU
The 121st matchup between TCU and Baylor got off to a surprisingly tepid start for a game with the country's top two statistical passers, with both teams combining for just one first down, three drops and three punts on the first three drives of the game before Ashtyn Hawkins' 41-yard catch halfway through the first quarter. Some early morning rain both before and during the first half contributed to a sloppy start, with players on both sides slipping and falling early in the first quarter. Jordan Dwyer scored with eleven seconds left to make it a two-possession game for TCU, and once again, Baylor has gotten themselves in a double-digit hole they'll be looking to climb out of. With all that, Baylor was down 21-10 at the halftime buzzer, so we've put together some quick conclusions we came to through the first 30 minutes.
Aranda's aggression continues
With the aforementioned slow start to the game, with the first score not coming until the last minute of the first quarter, Dave Aranda decided to press the issue. Baylor fans have been witnesses, and sometimes frustrated by, Aranda's uber-aggressiveness on fourth down. Baylor's 21 fourth-down attempts ranked fourth in the nation going into the game, and after the team traded punts, Aranda made the bold call to go for it not once, but twice on Baylor's third drive, despite being 0/4 on third downs to that point.
Josh Cameron's whip route converted the first one, and an Ashtyn Hawkins pass interference call moved the chains on the second one to set up a Bryson Washington touchdown on Baylor's longest drive of the season. However, Aranda rolled the dice a third time and came up snake eyes. A Sawyer Robertson missed throw to a wide-open Kobe Prentice led to a 4th & 5 that Baylor couldn't convert, giving the Horned Frogs the ball back in their own territory. With a tight game going into half, expect Aranda to continue to push the envelope late in the game if it comes to it.
RISE 🆙 ASHTYN HAWKINS‼️#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/VlnlVKECv5
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) October 18, 2025
Troubling trend for Trigg
Sawyer Robertson and Michael Trigg have been money in the bank for Baylor early in the season, placing both in the running for postseason awards. However, the dynamic duo hasn't been able to establish that same rhythm so far that they've had this season. Trigg has dropped two of his five targets so far, and it's been Josh Cameron and Ashtyn Hawkins who have moved the chains and gotten a good share of the targets thus far. The rain has prevented either team from establishing any consistency through the air, but with some inaccuracies for Robertson (three missed throws and a sub-50% completion percentage), and the sloppy conditions causing most skill players to ditch their gloves, they have to get on the same page if Baylor wants to have a chance at securing another comeback win. Trigg has to have better body language out there after a tough first half, and Robertson started to look for him more on Baylor's last drive in the second half, but both need to be better if Baylor wants to have any chance of coming back in this game
Bryson's blunders costing Baylor so far
Simply put, Baylor's run game hasn't been good enough, especially with the conditions limiting the run game. Washington was stuffed twice on the goal line before eventually punching in Baylor's first score of the game, and his second fumble in as many games set up TCU's second touchdown after a big stop by the Baylor defense. With Washington barely cracking two yards a carry, it was freshman Michael Turner, recently returned from injury, who delivered Baylor's longest run of 13 yards in the first half. Washington also dropped a pass in the first quarter and ended up ditching the gloves, but the Bears need Washington to help the Bears stay ahead of the chains and not force this offense into must-throw situations on third and fourth downs. If Baylor can come and establish early in this second half, they won't be forced to abandon the run game as it gets later in the game
More From Baylor On SI:
Josh began covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Before this, he previously wrote for Syracuse men's basketball and football at SI from 2022-24. As a former Division I defensive lineman at Prairie View, Josh is passionate about storytelling from a former athlete's perspective. When he's not covering Baylor, he enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts and music, and loves cooking a good meal.