Sunday, December 1, 2013

Game 11: Baylor 41, TCU 38

Singing the Baylor Line.  See the BUGWB stuck up in the corner?
Ten wins!  Ten and one! 10-1!  I have to keep pinching myself as Baylor keeps winning.  After Saturday's oh-so-close win over TCU, Baylor has 10 regular season wins for only the second time in their history.  They won 10 games in 1980, and in 2012 the bowl win was win number 10.  Win number 10 did not come easy Saturday, and it looked like we were going to have to wait another week for it.

Thanks to the generosity of Kelly's family, and Kyle's bad luck that he couldn't stay in town long enough for the game, we used their season tickets, so Mom, Dad, Mark, and Drew could join Elliot, Elliot's friend Aaron, and me in the middle of the TCU section.  Even in the TCU season ticket section, there were plenty of Baylor fans (as well as quite a few empty seats) around us.

The stadium filled in some during the game,
but there were plenty of empty seats.
We knew this would be an emotional game.  Last week's loss at Oklahoma State still stung.  Art Briles's brother passed away this week, which affected not only him, but the whole team, who view Briles as family.  The Frogs, bowl-ineligible, had said this was their bowl game.  The game seemed pretty even, until Baylor recovered a fumble on the TCU 1 and scored a TD, and Pachall threw 2 pick sixes.  With TCU gift wrapping 3 TDs for Baylor, it looked like Baylor had it in the bag--until TCU scored 2 unanswered TDs.  Finally, late in the 4th quarter, Baylor had a precarious 3 point lead, and TCU had the ball in the red zone with seconds left.  They decided to attempt on more pass play, hoping to score TD for the win.  But when the pass was tipped into the hands of a Baylor defender, the game was over and Baylor had win number 10.

Baylor players' pre-game prayer time.
Two weeks ago, I thought Baylor had a chance to play for the national championship, and I thought they could compete with the best teams in the country.  The national championship game is out of the question for Baylor, and my faith in their competitiveness has been shaken.  Credit goes to the defense for forcing the four turnovers.  Without them, we might have seen a loss similar to last week.  It all comes down to Texas.  The good news is, we get them at home.  It will be a sellout at the last game in Floyd Casey Stadium.  The seniors will be playing their last home game, the team knows they're playing for a Big 12 championship and a possible BCS bowl.  I think Baylor can win it, but it promises to be a hard-fought game.

I know I'm biased, but I think Baylor's band is much better than TCU's.  This is the first road game where BUGWB marched at halftime.


In case you can't tell, this is a submarine sinking below the water line, part of their tribute to the armed forces.
Aaron wore his TCU shirt and cheered for the Frogs, even though he knew he's have to hitch a ride home with someone else if the Frogs won.
Just a random play to display my weekly ineptitude at sports photography.
I'm not sure how to get a good picture of the scoreboard.  The important thing is the message: 41-38.
Win #10!  I love it!  So Elliot and I have been to all 11 games.  One regular season game to go, and we're hoping to make the bowl game.  It's been a fun, historic season!

Sic 'em!!


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