Heartbreaker In Hartford: Baylor Drops 28-31 to UConn Huskies

It was almost exactly like I dreamed.

4th and long with just over a minute to play. Too far for a field goal; not enough time to punt.

Art Briles makes the gutsy call. Robert Griffin confidently steps us into the pocket, the ball is snapped, the receivers race down field.

The game is on the line and every Huskie fan in Connecticut knows it as they cheer wildly.

But my dream suddenly becomes a heart-wrenching nightmare when the pass is incomplete. 

The Bears solemnly trudge off the field 2-2; the Huskies manage to scrape through the near-upset for a perfect 4-0 and possibly a top 25 ranking.

I don't know if Coach Briles would call it a "moral victory", but the game should turn heads toward two under-ranked, and upcoming teams.

Baylor TE Justin Akers said it best, "There’s a few plays we should have had, a few costly penalties and stuff we usually don’t do.... You always want to play up to your potential - all the time – but.... [a]ny time you can play a team like this, play them this close for this long and come down to the last few plays on national TV… someone’s going to notice us."

With that, let's take a look at the specifics.

The Good:

1. The Baylor O tore through a vaunted UConn defense for TDs in each of the four quarters.

Remarkably, against a solid pass-rush defense, Griffin managed to actually develop his passing game, going 208 yards for 3 TDs. In fact, a Robert Griffin TD pass was only the second TD allowed by the Huskies-- all season.

Griffin, a true freshman, also showed poise in a hostile environment to go 8-14 on 3rd downs.

2. Perhaps more importantly, the Bears demonstrated they weren't a one man offense.

RB Jay Finley put up 85 yards on 11 touches, while the receiving corps showed depth in WR -and basketball player- Kendall Wright (114 yards, 1 TD)  and TE Justin Akers (61 yards, 2 TDs), adding to the proven talent of WR David Ghettis.

3. On defense, the team leaders continue to impress.

LB Joe Pawelek had a huge game with a resounding 13 tackles, 2 for a loss, and a pick for 33 yards. Fellow LB Antonio Johnson also picked up an impressive 9 tackles.

Elsewhere, DE Leon Freeman (7 tackles, 1 for loss) and DE Jason Lamb (3 tackles, 1 for loss) proved themselves by stepping up when it counted. OT Jason Smith continued to make a case as a future first-rounder and FS Jordan Lake made 9 hard-hitting tackles.

4. Art Briles' coaching staff couldn't get enough compliments from ESPN2 announcers for some great calls with well-designed plays.

The team was obviously well-prepared to play and that intangible, yet crucial, sense of confidence seemed to exude from the Baylor benches.

The Bad:

1. The Bears couldn't find a way to stop standout RB Donald Brown (150 yards rushing) or dual-threat QB Tyler Lorenzen (73 yards rushing).

While arguably among the most talented rushers in the game, Baylor will face more quality rushing teams-- even in the "pass happy" Big XII. Improvement is a must.

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