Early in the fourth quarter of the Baylor-Texas game, one of ESPN’s commentators had this to say:
“You don’t expect Baylor to be in this kind of game.”
This statement would have had a completely different meaning just five years ago.
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In 2009 it would have meant you didn’t expect the Bears to be competing in a game, let alone against the mighty Texas Longhorns, the program with a stranglehold on the Big XII.
That year, the second for both Art Briles and Robert Griffin III in Waco, the Bears went 4-8 and lost to Mack Brown’s second-ranked Longhorns, 47-14. It was Baylor’s 12th straight loss to Texas.
What does it mean in 2014?
It means you don’t expect Baylor — undefeated Baylor — to be shooting itself in the foot offensively and only be beating Texas 14-0 through three quarters. Especially when Baylor’s four wins came with an average margin of victory of 43 points.
You don’t expect Bryce Petty, who entered Saturday completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 913 yards and seven touchdowns to be 6 of 16 in the pocket for 81 yards with seven minutes left in the third quarter. One of those completions went for 30 yards to Antwan Goodley to make it 14-0.
"I saw more looks today than I could swing a bat at, if that makes sense," Petty said. "My head is still spinning. I can't even get my analogies right."
But this is a different Baylor program. It’s a program that’s won four of the last five meetings against Texas, equaling a similar stretch from 1988-1992.
This is a Baylor program with a Heisman winner and a BCS Bowl appearance to its name.
This version of Baylor doesn’t panic. It finished out the game on the ground, leading to two fourth quarter scores to seal a 28-7 win, despite Petty finishing with just seven completions for 111 yards.
"It was just a grind out win. I think we're a better team than last year," Briles said. "This is a mature, tough minded, confident team that knows how to win."
Briles’ Bears now put themselves in prime position to claim a top-5 ranking after losses by Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.