MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Sawyer Robertson’s poise helped him set a personal best while enabling Baylor to snap a futility streak against West Virginia on the road and become bowl eligible.
Robertson threw for a career-high 329 yards and three touchdowns, Bryson Washington ran for three scores and caught a TD pass, and Baylor won its fourth straight, beating West Virginia 49-35 Saturday night.
Baylor (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) became bowl eligible for the third time under fifth-year coach Dave Aranda. The Bears have made quite the turnaround after starting the season 2-4 that raised questions about Aranda’s job security.
“Winning solves a lot of things,” Aranda said.
Baylor is scoring an average of 46 points per game during its streak, compared with 28 over the first six games of the season.
Much of that points to the leadership of Robertson, who now has 20 TD passes and just four interceptions this season.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Robertson said. “It’s a testament to the guys in the lockeroom, a testament to the coaches putting us players in a position to succeed. It’s a really good feeling.”
West Virginia (5-5, 4-3) couldn’t convert a pair of fourth-down opportunities in Baylor territory late in the game, including one at the 9-yard line, and saw its two-game winning streak snapped.
“The game was there to win in the third and early in the fourth and we just didn’t get it done,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “We didn’t play good enough.”
The teams combined for nine first-half touchdowns with Baylor leading 35-28 at halftime. Baylor put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by Washington and Dawson Pendergrass.
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene, returning from a two-game absence due to an upper body injury, rushed for a season-high 129 yards and two short TDs. He completed 19 of 39 passes for 237 yards and two scores.
Momentum switch
West Virginia was driving for a go-ahead score late in the second quarter when Justin Robinson dropped a fourth-down pass inside the Baylor 30. The Bears then drove 65 yards in five plays with Robertson finding Monaray Baldwin in blown coverage for a 40-yard touchdown to put Baylor ahead to stay.
Then, after a 20-yard punt out of bounds by the usually sure-footed Oliver Straw, the Bears needed just two plays to find the end zone with Washington running 51 yards untouched to put the Bears up 28-14.
Young rising star
Washington, a redshirt freshman, finished with 123 rushing yards and has scored eight touchdowns over the past two games. He also had TD runs of 8 and 9 yards Saturday along with a 22-yard leaping catch for a score with a defender draped over him.
“When he gets going or the running backs get going, it just opens up the offense for us and the receivers,” said Baylor wide receiver Josh Cameron. ”I’m super happy and just really proud of him with his journey and how far he’s come.”
The takeaway
Baylor: The Bears won for the first time in seven tries in Morgantown. Robertson has thrived against the Mountaineers, going 43 of 55 in two starts, including 26 of 36 on Saturday after completing his first 12 passes.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers have lost four home games for the first time since 2019, which was Brown’s first season. They’ve been outscored in the second half in eight of 10 games this season.
Up next
Baylor: Plays at Houston next Saturday.
West Virginia: Hosts UCF next Saturday.
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