WACO, Texas — The No. 9 Baylor Bears football team hit the road and battled the altitude as they faced No. 21 BYU.
The Bears fell 26-20 in overtime after a stalled drive that was doomed by penalties.
BYU struck first, connecting on a field goal in the first quarter. They headed to the second quarter with a 3-0 lead.
The first half lagged in offense until the final two minutes of the half.
Qualan Jones rushed for a one-yard score to put the Bears up 6-3 after a missed extra point.
But the Cougars responded with ease, marching down the field. With just two seconds on the clock, Jaren Hall threw a dime to Chase Roberts.
The Cougars headed to the locker room leading 10-6. The Bears put up just 92 yards in the half.
The offense may have snuck some coffee into the locker room at halftime. Blake Shapen led them on a nine play, 77-yard drive to begin the third quarter. Jones found the end zone for the second time on the night to give the Bears a 13-10 lead.
The Cougars responded with an efficient drive themselves that was capped off with a 39-yard field goal to tie the game at 13 with 6:15 in the third quarter. BYU considered going for it on 4th-and-3 but opted for the three points instead.
They followed that up by reaching into their bag of tricks and pulling off a quarterback throwback. Jaren Hall reeled in a pass from Chase Roberts and went 22 yards to the house as BYU went up 20-13.
Baylor did not fold. Instead, they went right down the field and Shapen found tight end Ben Sims for a four-yard strike to tie things at 20.
With 8:46 left in the fourth, the Bears suffered a major loss. Dillon Doyle was flagged for targeting and by rule, was ejected from the game.
The defense held strong and forced BYU to punt on that same possession. Baylor couldn't move it down field and punted it right back to the Cougars with 2:12 remaining.
Hall led the Cougars on what looked like a game-winning drive. The big play came when Hall found Roberts on a 37-yard gain that put the ball at the Bears 19-yard line. But Jake Oldroyd missed a 35-yard field goal and the game was sent to overtime.
The Bears got the ball first in overtime and Isaiah Hankins hooked his field goal wide-right from 42-yards.
The Cougars liked what the Bears did so much, they impersonated them. Oldroyd missed his kick to end the game and send the game into a second overtime.
In the second overtime, Lapini Katoa rushed for a three-yard score to give the Cougs a 26-20 lead after a failed 2-point conversion.
On the ensuing Baylor drive, Baylor couldn't get into the end-zone, despite moving it to the 5-yard line. Two penalties backed the Bears up to the 12-yard line where they couldn't score.
The Bears ended the night with 14 penalties which cost them 117 total yards. In comparison, BYU was flagged nine times for 74 yards.
You can watch the highlights from the game on 6News at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Plus, sports director Kurtis Quillin will have a full breakdown of the game from Provo. You can follow him on Twitter at @KurtisQuillin.
