 "Photo: Karl Anderson")
ARLINGTON — When Texas Tech coach Mike Leach looks at Baylor’s overall record for the past two seasons, it probably doesn’t translate to a team that has gone 8-15.
Maybe that’s because the Bears had a 14-point lead against the Red Raiders in 2008 before giving up 21 unanswered and letting an upset victory slip away. And in the most recent matchup between the old Southwest Conference foes, coach Art Briles and the Bears nearly did it again.
But a strong defensive stand and a more inspired effort from the offense in the second half led the Red Raiders to the second comeback win in as many years against Baylor, holding off the Bears 20-13 Saturday in front of 71,964 fans at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
“Baylor deserves a lot of credit for stopping us,” Leach said. “Baylor was fired up to play. Baylor was more ready to play than we were. Baylor came in and they gave us their best shot. It’s the best game I’ve seen them play all year and we took it.”
Trailing 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, Baylor (4-7, 1-6 in Big 12 Conference play) had a first and goal and a chance to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining.
But the Red Raiders (7-4, 4-3 in Big 12 play) stiffened up and were saved once again by the defense – an odd recurring theme considering how Leach has built an offensive reputation since his arrival at Tech in 2000.
On fourth and goal from the 6-yard line, Baylor quarterback Blake Szymanski was flushed out of the pocket and pressured. He tried to hit receiver Earnest Smith with a pass near the 3-yard line as he rolled out, but the ball hit the turf and Tech’s offense ended the game with two kneel-downs.
It was the final stand in a five-possession span that Tech’s defense did not allow any points. The Bears’ final five offensive series in the game consisted of an interception, punt, fumble, punt and the game-clinching turnover on downs.
“I thought our D-line did a good job getting pressure and then just our defense as a whole, rallying really the last third,” he said. “We got turnovers. We stopped drives and of course we knew we had to stop them for four downs on that last one and they did.”
Baylor took advantage of a sluggish Red Raider offense in the first half, and had it not been for Tech’s defense, the Bears’ would’ve had a larger lead than 10-3 by the third quarter.
After Szymanski led the Bears to a field goal on their first possession, Tech turned the ball over when quarterback Taylor Potts threw an interception to Antonio Johnson at the Bears’ 8-yard-line. Johnson ran it back 54 yards, however, Baylor couldn’t add to its lead, turning the ball over on downs at the 36-yard line.
After the Red Raiders went four-and-out on their next drive, the Bears went up 10-0 on a one-yard rush by Szymanski early in the second quarter.
Tech could only add a field goal by halftime, an 18-yard chip shot by kicker Matt Williams that sailed through the uprights with four seconds left.
The field goal came after the Bears did not allow Tech to punch in a touchdown despite having a first and goal from the 2-yard line. Tech’s three points was the lowest total the Bears have allowed in a first half this season.
It was all part of an opening two quarters that receiver Alex Torres said wasn’t the best outing of the season, by far.
“They came out firing on all pistons and we just didn’t step up to the challenge in the first half,” he said. “It showed out there. We got dominated. There’s no other way around it. When we came back the second half I think we had to get our mentality right.”
But that didn’t happen right away, as true freshman running back Eric Stephens fumbled after gaining nine yards on Tech’s first play of the third quarter.
Baylor recovered and kicker Dary Stone nailed a career-long 40-yard field goal to put the Red Raiders down 13-3.
But then Stephens, who had already broken the record for most kickoff return yards in a season at Tech, took back the ensuing kick 65 yards to Baylor’s 36-yard line.
“I just felt like I had to bounce back after that fumble,” Stephens said. “I felt like I let my team down so I had to make up for it.”
The momentum had shifted and Tech capitalized, scoring two touchdowns under two minutes to take the lead.
Six plays after Stephens’ return, Potts hit receiver Lyle Leong for a 6-yard touchdown and Tech whittled the deficit to 13-10.
Then it was the defense’s turn to nab a key turnover. Tech cornerback Brent Nickerson, who played only two defensive snaps all game, snatched his first-career interception on Baylor’s second play of the ensuing possession.
Szymanski lobbed a pass to receiver David Gettis on the left sideline and Nickerson looked it into his hands the whole way despite momentarily losing it in the lights.
“I was just ready,” said the senior. “They hiked the ball. I jammed him up at the line. The ball kind of got hung up in the lights, so I really couldn’t see it, but then at the last second I seen it coming down and I put my hands out and caught it.”
Three plays later Potts connected with Leong again, this time on a stop-and-go route. Potts threw to Leong’s outside shoulder and the receiver wheeled around to haul in a 12-yard touchdown, giving Tech a 17-13 lead midway through the third quarter.
Potts finished the game with 268 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 31-of-49 passing and hit Leong — a high school teammate with Potts at Abilene High — with six catches for 57 yards and the two touchdowns.
Tech had a chance to put the game away after recovering a Szymanski fumble, but Leach called a fake field goal on fourth and five from the 17-yard line and holder Austin Zouzalik tripped over a teammate and came up short.
Other than that play it was a solid night for Zouzalik, who had a career-high 92 yards and seven receptions as well as a big save on a botched snap during Williams’ 18-yard field goal early in the game.
But Williams eventually gave Tech a 20-13 lead with a career-long 43-yard field goal he made with 6:24 left.
Tech’s defense took care of the rest, and the Bears, despite numerous chances, watched yet another potential win against the Red Raiders fade away.
“Texas Tech is a good football team defensively,” Briles said. “That’s the main thing everybody overlooks. They’ve done a good job for a long time. When you get chances to score, you’ve got to score points.”
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