Bears bemoan missed chances
Same ol’ stuff Saturday, just a different Big 12 Conference city.
“It’s just the same old story,” said Baylor football coach Guy Morriss, whose team was poised to snap its 16-game winless streak on the road when it entered the fourth quarter locked in a 14-all tie with Kansas University at Memorial Stadium.
Against Kansas last year, you might remember, Baylor snapped its 29-game Big 12 losing streak when the Bears pulled off a 35-32 victory on a last-second field goal in Waco, Texas.
No such luck Saturday.
Kansas scored twice in the fourth and did just enough to emerge with a 28-21 victory.
“It seemed like it was a back-and-forth deal,” Morriss said. “Nobody wanted to win.
“We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win today.”
The Bears had a chance to win, or at least tie, when Baylor started its final drive on its own 18-yard line with 2:53 to play.
BU quarterback Aaron Karas, who fueled Baylor’s win a year ago by passing for 359 yards and two touchdowns, again seemed sharp.
Baylor coach Guy Morriss yanks off his headset after his team was hit with another penalty. The Bears were tacked up for 99 penalty yards Saturday.
On the Bears’ previous possession, Karas hit Marques Roberts for a 15-yard TD strike on fourth-and-goal to help the Bears overcome Karas’ silly unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.
Karas connected on his first two passes of Baylor’s final drive to move the Bears to their own 30-yard line.
Then, much like the rest of Saturday, problems pummeled Baylor.
The Bears were flagged for their 11th penalty on the afternoon, a false start that backed them up five yards. Karas followed with an incomplete pass.
One final mistake made sure Baylor’s road losing streak hit 17.
Karas tossed the ball downfield, but KU linebacker Banks Floodman leaped in front of the pass for the game-sealing interception.
Hear Mark: Baylor postgame comments
6Sports video: Jayhawks win homecoming game with late touchdown
See the photos: KU v. Baylor“I didn’t see him look at me or anything,” Floodman said. “My objective was to get up on that slant. So I did, and he happened to throw it.”
Baylor has won only five Big 12 games since the league’s inception in 1996.
“The game was there for us to take, and the game was there for them to take,” said BU defensive back Michael Boyd, who helped give the Bears their first score when he blocked KU punter Curtis Ansel’s punt near the Kansas end zone, and Baylor teammate James Todd fell on the ball for a touchdown.
“They got the big turnover that they needed.”
Before that interception, Karas said he thought his team was ready for its first win on the road since a 20-7 triumph at North Texas Aug. 31, 2000.
“I think we should have won that football game,” said Karas, who was 15-of-24 passing for 175 yards and two scores. “We just beat ourselves.”
That seems to be a common theme for the Bears, who were embarrassed, 73-10, at College Station, Texas, last week. Four turnovers and 93 penalty yards didn’t help the Bears’ chances against the Aggies.
“We just beat ourselves again,” first-year coach Morriss reiterated. “We’ve got to try and make them understand it’s about execution, keeping your composure. The dumb penalties and those thing, you’ve got to stop.”