No. 5 Baylor erases 21-point deficit to beat No. 9 TCU, 61-58

Chris Callahan kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired and No. 5 Baylor wiped out a 21-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to beat No. 9 Texas Christian, 61-58, on Saturday in a crazy Big 12 scorefest.

Bryce Petty threw six touchdown passes for the Bears (6-0, 3-0), including a 25-yarder to Corey Coleman with 4:42 left in the fourth that tied the score at 58. Petty passed for 510 yards and had two passes intercepted.

TCU moved to midfield and faced fourth and 3 from the Baylor 45 with 1:17 left in the fourth. Instead of punting, the Horned Frogs elected to try to keep the ball and end it in regulation.

Trevone Boykin tossed a sideline fade toward Josh Doctson that the receiver couldn’t haul in for a first down. TCU (4-1, 1-1) was looking for a pass interference call on Ryan Reid but didn’t get it and Baylor took over with 1:11 left.

With the help of a pass interference call on TCU and some good running by Shock Linwood, the Bears marched to the TCU 11.

Callahan came on with 4 seconds left and booted through the winner, setting off a celebration that brought the bright-yellow clad Baylor student section pouring onto the field to celebrate with their team.

A week after taking down Oklahoma, TCU was poised to pull off a second straight upset of a top-5 team when Marcus Mallet returned an interception 49 yards for a score with 11:38 left to make it 58-41. Save for the purple patches in McLane Stadium, the Bears’ new home next to the Brazos River was silent.

Like a blur, Baylor came back.

It took 59 seconds to cut the lead to 14 with Devin Chafin’s 7-yard touchdown run.

The next Baylor drive took 1:23, covered 92 yards and ended with Petty hitting Antwan Goodley from 28 yards out. Then it was 58-51.

Another Baylor stop. Another lightning strike drive, this one 91 yards in 59 seconds. Petty’s sixth touchdown pass of the day was a 25-yarder to Corey Coleman. Tie game.

Now McLane was rocking. Music blaring. Dancing in the stands and on the sideline with 4:42 left in the fourth.

When it was over, the 110th meeting of TCU and Baylor and the first with both as ranked teams, became the highest-scoring game ever between two teams in the AP Top 10. Baylor extended its home winning streak to 13 games.

B.J. Catalon scored three touchdowns, including a 94-yard kickoff return in the first half, for the Frogs. Boykin passed for 287 and score.

All of Petty’s touchdown passes covered at least 25 yards in a wild game, filled with huge gains.

Petty threw his first interception deep in Baylor territory and it led to a 20-yard field goal by Jalen Oberkrom that made it 34-27 with 8:42 left in the third quarter. The Bears came back with a field goal of their own, and TCU responded with a touchdown made possible by a great bit of hustle from Doctson.

Aaron Green broke free on a 46-yard run, but was chased down by Reid, who punched the ball free inside the 10. Doctson swooped in and beat two Bears for the loose ball at the 3. Trevorris Johnson’s 2-yard TD plunge made it 41-30 for the Frogs, and another kick by Oberkrom put the Bears down two scores.

Petty’s response: a 47-yard TD to Jay Lee streaking past a TCU defensive back.

That was Baylor’s best play all day, and at the end, when they needed it most, the Bears’ defense got the stops it needed.

TCU wasn’t shy about going deep either. And not just Boykin.

Receiver Cameron Echols-Luper got into the act on half-back pass to TCU’s halfback, letting loose a rainbow throw to Catalon for 59 yards. Green capped that drive with a 6-yard TD run and it was 51-37 with 14:29 left in the half.