[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] Late Touchdown Lifts West Virginia over Baylor, 34-31

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Nov. 25, 2023

Late Touchdown Lifts West Virginia over Baylor, 34-31
Reese returns back-to-back kicks for TDs; Jackson adds first score as a Bear in defeat

By Jerry Hill, BaylorBears.com | Media Materials<https://baylor.app.box.com/s/kmivkwskpgdkj2u6v7ixn774v5634pjf>

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu> or Max Calderone; 254-265-1639, max_calderone at baylor.edu<mailto:max_calderone at baylor.edu> or Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – Despite a 4th-down stop with just over four minutes to play and a four-point lead, West Virginia rallied to beat Baylor, 34-31, in a heartbreaking loss for the Bears in Saturday’s season finale at McLane Stadium.

A pair of missed field goals, including one from 32 yards out that would have given the Bears (3-9, 2-6) a seven-point lead with 1:14 left, also proved to be critical.

Going 80 yards in six plays, the Mountaineers (8-4, 6-3) got the game winner on Garrett Greene’s 29-yard TD pass to running back Jahiem White with just 23 seconds on the clock.

Down to 18 seconds after the kickoff, Baylor got as far as its own 46-yard line before time ran out.

The Bears managed just 86 yards offense in the first half, but were able to keep it close with back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns of 96 and 93 yards by sophomore running back Richard Reese, trailing 27-14 at the break.

Filling in for injured starter Blake Shapen, Sawyer Robertson completed his first 10 passes and connected with Ketron Jackson on a 38-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the third quarter as part of a 14-point quarter.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, Robertson hit Jackson for another 38-yard pass, then converted a fourth-down play with a keeper before Dominic Richardson went in untouched for a two-yard TD run to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 28-27.

The Bears tacked on a 39-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 31-27 and came up with a huge fourth-down stop near midfield. With a chance to run out the clock, Baylor failed to convert on just its second trip into the red zone when Hankins missed the chip-shot field goal wide right.

West Virginia, shut down for most of the second half, finally put it together on that six-play, 80-yard drive that took just 51 seconds.

Greene was 16-of-25 for 269 yards and two touchdowns and added 103 yards and two TDs on the ground, accounting for 372 of the Mountaineers’ 519 yards total offense. White also topped the 100-yard mark with 133 yards on 17 carries and had his only reception on that game-winning touchdown grab.



- BaylorBears.com -


__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_3650963212]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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