Written by Mike Abelson at Bloguin
As rain poured down on Fort Worth Friday night, Baylor’s playoff chances dried up and shriveled. The Bears laid strewn across the field at Amon G. Carter Stadium, covered in chewed-up grass and shredded dreams.
It was a nightmarish game to behold, the aesthetic antithesis of last year’s 61-58 thriller played in calm conditions on a fast synthetic surface in Waco. Baylor turned the ball over five times. TCU gave it away twice. Both teams somehow managed to break 300 offensive yards, and the Bears did it despite mustering only 62 yards passing. In the end, the Frogs stopped Baylor on a fourth down in double overtime to seal the win, 28-21.
For Baylor though, it’s a season which could end in a lower-case “b” bowl, not a bowl one proclaims in capital letters, such as the Fiesta (2013 season) or Cotton (2014). The Bears — now needing Oklahoma to win Bedlam if they’re going to go to the Sugar Bowl — very literally let the game slip away. Turnovers doomed Baylor, part of the team’s inability to adjust to the weather conditions. The only points Baylor scored in regulation came in the first quarter. It was just a pitiful performance. Devin Chafin was the lone bright spot for the Bears with 123 all-purpose yards and all three Bear touchdowns. He didn’t get much help.
One important point to make is that much as number-two quarterback Jarrett Stidham (replacing the number-one man, Seth Russell) did well in an extended appearance but struggled the following week against a quality opponent, his backup followed the same path.
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