Stock up, stock down after Baylor football's loss to TCU
Baylor lost their third game of the season, 42-36, against TCU this past Saturday. The Bears had not played this poorly since the season opener against the Auburn Tigers. The Baylor defense was able to force TCU to punt their first two possessions, but then the dam broke. TCU would score touchdowns on four of their next five possessions. With the defense struggling - the Bears offense was unable to shoulder the load, and allowed TCU to build a 28-10 lead. The closest the score would become was 28-21, before TCU pulled away for good. Baylor would score a couple more touchdowns, but never really threatened a comeback.
Stock Up - Connor Hawkins
The Bears' kicker, Connor Hawkins, has been reliable all season; and his kicking reliability continued against TCU. Hawkins was 2 for 2 on field goals, from 41 yards and 42 yards. I know it is not normal to spotlight a kicker, especially after a game that he did not kick the game-winning field goal, but Hawkins has gone 9 of 10 on the season and proved to be very reliable.
Stock Down - The Baylor Bears (as a whole)
This season started with the hope of a Big 12 Conference Championship for the Baylor Bears. Sadly, with this recent loss to TCU, that dream is now on life support. The Bears' defense has been especially disappointing, as documented in this weekly article. The defense was not expected to be great, but they were painfully bad at times this season. Sawyer Robertson and the Bears' offense had opportunities to cover the defense’s shortcomings, but have not been able to capitalize on those opportunities. Robertson has struggled with accuracy and turnovers throughout this season.
The Bears will have their hands full this week, as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats. Cincinnati is 6-1, and has not lost since the first game of the season. QB Brendan Sorsby is one of the hottest QBs in the Big 12, and with how Baylor has struggled against good QBs, this will be another massive challenge for the Bears' defense.
More From Baylor On SI:
- Top players from Baylor's disappointing loss to TCU
- With 3 defeats, is a once promising season for Baylor lost under Dave Aranda?
- Baylor football PFF grades, snap counts following loss to TCU
- Baylor football fans react to loss to TCU, ready for leadership change in Waco
- 5 Takeaways from Baylor’s struggling loss to TCU
Dan is a contributor for Baylor Bears On SI. He is a doting husband, and fun-loving father of 6. Dan created a sports podcast and blog with a friend in 2012, where we toured MLB ballparks and talked about our experiences at the games. Dan has a deep love for sports and storytelling; and is getting back into the Sports Media world.