Abram Smith rushed for career-high 188 yards and three touchdowns as Baylor rolled to a 38-24 win over No. 19 BYU on Saturday afternoon in a dustup between future Big 12 Conference rivals in Waco, Texas.
Gerry Bohannon passed for 231 yards and a touchdown for Baylor.
Baylor gave the visiting Cougars a taste of what they can expect when they join the Big 12 in the 2023-24 season. The Bears (6-1) dominated the game on both sides of the ball, outgaining BYU 534-409 overall and 303-67 on the ground.
Dillon Doyle, the Bears’ linebacker and leading tackler on the season, crossed over to the offensive side of the ball, scoring on a 2-yard run and on a 2-yard reception. He also had four tackles and a sack.
BYU (5-2) lost for the second straight week and will likely fall from the Top 25. Jaren Hall passed for 342 yards and a late 16-yard score to Puka Nacua (who had a career-best 168 yards receiving) and ran for touchdown while enduring five sacks.
Baylor got the scoring started with Isaiah Hankins’ 31-yard FG with 1:11 to play in the first quarter. The Cougars answered with a 1-yard scoring run by Tyler Allgeier on the ensuing possession.
Smith shoved his way into the end zone from 9 yards away to send the Bears back to the lead at the 8:54 mark of the second quarter. Doyle added his 2-yard TD run to push the Baylor advantage to 17-7 play with 3:36 to in the first half.
Hall ripped off a career-high 56-yard TD run to cap BYU’s opening possession of the second half and cut Baylor’s lead to 17-14.
The Bears responded when Bohannon hit Doyle with a 2-yard touchdown pass 6 minutes into the third quarter. Then after a fumble by Hall, Baylor marched to a 7-yard TD run by Smith at the 4:32 mark of the third.
BYU clawed back to within 31-17 on Jake Oldroyd’s 48-yard field goal with 10:28 remaining. But the Bears put away the game with a 12-play, 82-yard drive that ended with Smith’s 1-yard scoring plunge.
–Field Level Media
