Charlier Brewer, No. 12 Baylor Avoid WVU's Upset Bid to Stay Unbeaten

The No. 12 Baylor Bears defeated West Virginia 17-14 Thursday night at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, to remain the lone undefeated Big 12 team. 

The Bears improved their record to 8-0 overall and 5-0 against Big 12 competition. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, fell to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

Last season, the tables were turned. West Virginia was ranked 13th and cruised by an unranked Baylor 58-14. While Baylor was the ranked team this time around, West Virginia played them tough.

Baylor gutted out an ugly win, though, and topped West Virginia for the first time since 2015. 

Notable Performances

Baylor

QB Charlie Brewer: 277 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT; 19 carries, 25 yards

RB JaMycal Hasty: 14 carries, 77 yards

RB John Lovett: 12 carries, 49 yards

WR Denzel Mims: 5 catches, 99 yards, 1 TD

WR R.J. Sneed: 4 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD

WR Tyquan Thornton: 5 catches, 86 yards

West Virginia

QB Austin Kendall: 205 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 9 carries, 20 yards

RB Leddie Brown: 9 carries, 27 yards

RB Kennedy McKoy: 5 carries, 19 yards

WR George Campbell: 1 catch, 83 yards, 1 TD

Baylor Barely Hangs on to Perfect Season

Baylor's perfect season almost came crashing down when Bears receiver R.J. Sneed fumbled a punt return to give West Virginia the ball back at the BU 34-yard line. 

And after the Bears defense, as the unit had done all night, halted the Mountaineers offense, Bravvion Roy blocked Casey Legg's 48-yard field-goal attempt that would have tied the game at 17. It was the Bears' ninth blocked kick in the last 13 games, according to the team.

West Virginia managed to get the ball back one more time with 30 seconds remaining, but without any timeouts or evidence that the offense could move efficiently, it was too late.

As a result, Baylor kept pace with No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Penn State, No. 13 Minnesota and No. 15 SMU as FBS' only remaining undefeated teams. 

As the final score would suggest, Baylor won this game despite themselves.

The offensive line allowed West Virginia to sack junior quarterback Charlie Brewer seven times and to apply pressure on him more often than not. Then there were the three turnovers. Sneed's fumble that almost cost the Bears the game late in the fourth was preceded by a Sneed fumble in the second quarter and a Denzel Mims fumble on Baylor's first play of the third quarter. 

The Bears were bailed out by West Virginia's inability to turn any of those turnovers into points, as the Mountaineers' three ensuing possessions ended in a punt, fumble and missed field goal.

If WVU was able to play even slightly more competently on offense, chances are high that Baylor would have joined No. 20 Appalachian State in picking up its first loss against an unranked opponent. Baylor ranked 45th among FBS programs in total defense entering this matchup, while West Virginia ranked 119th in total offense.

Mountaineers junior quarterback Austin Kendall had 84 passing yards through the game's first two-and-a-half quarters before striking on an 83-yard touchdown pass to George Campbell that tied the game 7-7 with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter. Prior to Campbell's touchdown, West Virginia had compiled 87 total offensive yards.

And when Brewer answered with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Mims to take a 14-7 lead on Baylor's ensuing possession, West Virginia's special teams stepped up:

It's worth mentioning that Baylor went 1-11 in 2017, head coach Matt Rhule's first year in charge, and 7-6 last season. So in that context, ugly games like this one are to be expected regardless of the Bears' current perfect record. 

The real gauge of how far Rhule has brought this program will come in two weeks when No. 10 Oklahoma visits Waco. While the Sooners dropped behind Baylor in the Big 12 by losing 48-41 to unranked Kansas State last week, their top-ranked offense will prove a stark contrast to the Mountaineers squad the Bears barely squeaked by Thursday night. 

What's Next?

The Bears will travel to TCU next Saturday before their biggest test of the season on Nov. 16 when No. 10 Oklahoma comes to Waco.

West Virginia will host Texas Tech next Saturday before traveling to take on No. 22 Kansas State, which handed Oklahoma its first loss of the season last week.