MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sawyer Robertson threw for a career-high 329 yards and three touchdowns, Bryson Washington ran for three scores and caught a TD pass, and Baylor won its fourth straight, beating West Virginia, 49-35, on Saturday.
Baylor (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) became bowl eligible for the third time under fifth-year coach Dave Aranda. The Bears have made quite the turnaround after a 2-4 start raised questions about Aranda’s job security.
Baylor is scoring an average of 46 points per game during its winning streak, compared with 28 over the first six games of the season.
West Virginia (5-5, 4-3) couldn’t convert a pair of fourth-down opportunities in Baylor territory late in the game, including one at the 9-yard line, and saw its two-game winning streak snapped.
The teams combined for nine first-half touchdowns, with Baylor leading 35-28 at halftime. Baylor put the game away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns by Washington and Dawson Pendergrass. Washington finished with 123 yards.
West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene, returning from a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury, rushed for a season-high 129 yards and two short TDs. He completed 19 of 39 passes for 237 yards and two scores.
West Virginia was driving for a go-ahead score late in the second quarter when Justin Robinson dropped a fourth-down pass inside the Baylor 30. The Bears then drove 65 yards in five plays with Robertson finding Monaray Baldwin in blown coverage for a 40-yard touchdown to put Baylor ahead to stay.
Then, after a 20-yard punt out of bounds by the usually sure-footed Oliver Straw, the Bears needed just two plays to find the end zone with Washington running 51 yards untouched to put the Bears up 28-14.
The Mountaineers have lost four home games for the first time since 2019, which was coach Neal Brown’s first season. They’ve now been outscored in the second half in eight of 10 games this season.
