Aggies suffer rare loss to Baylor
WACO, Texas (AP)-- With a couple of long passes and some nifty pitches, Robert Griffin helped lead Baylor to a rare victory over Texas A&M that ensured the turnover-plagued Aggies a losing season.
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Griffin threw touchdown passes of 31 and 55 yards and Jacoby Jones ran for two scores after taking late pitches from Griffin in Baylor's 41-21 victory Saturday. It was only the second time the Bears won in their last 23 meetings against Texas A&M.
The Aggies (4-7, 2-5 Big 12) came in with slim bowl hopes in their first season under coach Mike Sherman, but had five turnovers. That included two interceptions by linebacker Joe Pawelek, the second coming in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Jay Finley added a 12-yard TD run for Baylor (4-7, 2-5), which played its home finale for first-year coach Art Briles.
Griffin, an 18-year-old freshman, didn't start the season opener at home in late August. But he entered that game before halftime and has started ever since. The dual-threat quarterback has accounted for a school-record 25 touchdowns (14 passing, 11 rushing).
Jones had a clear path to the end zone along the right sideline for a 12-yard TD that made it 13-0 after Griffin, while shedding a tackler, pitched the ball. Then on a fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter, Jones scored on an 18-yard run when Griffin got rid of the ball just before being slammed to the ground by a defender.
Griffin was 13-of-23 for 241 yards and added 56 yards on 12 rushes. Finley carried 23 times for 116 yards.
The Aggies' Jerrod Johnson was 19-of-30 for 244 yards with four interceptions and a late touchdown. He had only four passes picked off in his first eight games before throwing two in A&M's 66-28 loss to Oklahoma last week.
Jorvorskie Lane scored on a pair of 1-yard runs, increasing his A&M school records to 49 career rushing touchdowns and 50 overall.
Baylor led 6-0 after Ben Parks had field goals of 42 and 28 yards, the first on the Bears' opening drive of the game and the second after Leon Freeman recovered a fumble caused when Johnson was tackled from behind by Zac Scotton.
Dwain Crawford's interception set up the drive that led to Jones' first touchdown and included Griffin's 49-yard pass to Ernest Smith to convert a third-and-14.
The Aggies finally scored when Lane plunged in over the left side after Johnson's 51-yard pass to Mike Goodson, who made a leaping, stretching catch between three defenders.