The TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Baylor Bears 42–36 Saturday afternoon, reclaiming the Bluebonnet trophy and extending their dominance in the series to eight wins in the last 10 matchups.

It seemed like TCU was going to cruise to an easy win. They were up 21 points with the ball late in the fourth quarter. Then everything flipped on its head. Quarterback Josh Hoover fumbled, and Baylor returned it for a touchdown and got the two-point conversion. Then the Bears got the ball back quickly and tried to score again.

Baylor attempted the onside kick and got it back. They were down 6 with 19 seconds left and on their own 42-yard line. Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson looked for his big tight end Michael Trigg, however TCU linebacker Namdi Obiazor picked off the throw to seal the game.

Head Coach Sonny Dykes said the game didn’t end how he wanted, but he emphasized that his team knows how to win. “Over the last three and a half years, we’re the winningest team in the Big 12. These guys know how to win.”

The weather played a key part in the game as the forecast predicted rain. Dark clouds loomed ominously overhead before the game.

The game started slowly with four consecutive punts before Baylor was able to get on the board with a touchdown from running back Bryon Washington. The Bears converted twice on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

The Horned Frogs answered with a touchdown of their own, with Hoover connecting with tight end D.J Rodgers. The drive was a mix of running back Kevorian Barnes running the ball and quarterback Josh Hoover throwing the ball to his various weapons.

Then came the rain.

The downpour only lasted for a few minutes, but it marked the turning point in the game.

The Horned Frogs outscored the Bears 35-14, until the final three minutes when Baylor scored 15 points.

The TCU defense played well, headlined by edge rusher Devean Deal, who played like a man possessed. He had 0.5 sacks along with three hurries, which produced two holding calls. One of the hurries came on fourth down, causing Robertson to get the ball out sooner than he wanted, resulting in a turnover in downs.

Deal and Paul Oyewale came together to force Washington to fumble. The turnover lead to a TCU touchdown.

But Frogs made mistakes too. After he broke up a pass Robertson threw to tight end Trigg on third down, Jamal Johnson stood over Trigg, which drew a taunting penalty and gave the Bears a new set of downs that led to a field goal.

Johnson made up for it as he picked off Robertson later in the game. This marked his third straight home game with an interception.

The defense held Sawyer Robertson to 318 passing yards, one passing touchdown, three interceptions, and a completion percentage under 50. This was not an easy task as Robertson leads the Big 12 in passing yards and passing touchdowns.

They also held Washington to 23 yards on 11 carries. This is a significant improvement from the previous year, when he gashed them for 196 yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Dykes was happy with how his defense played up until those last couple of minutes. ” I think that this is the best defensive game that we have played all year until those last couple minutes.”

Defensive captain Kaleb Elarms-Orr spoke about containing Baylor’s offense.

“It’s a group effort, secondary and linebackers need to get great drops. We knew that they like to pass the ball a lot,” Elarms-Orr said. “The guys upfront need to get a good rush and just get hands on guys when the quarterback escapes the pocket.”

The rushing attack led the offense with 196 yards. Barnes led the team with 106 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Trent Battle had a good day too, with 75 yards fueled by a 65-yard touchdown he had in the third quarter.

Hoover was solid with 231 yards and three touchdowns. Jordan Dwyer was his go-to target with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Hoover talked about how in sync he and Dwyer were. “He was working those corners out there all day long. They tried putting different guys on him, but he was giving them a tough time.”

This win moves TCU’s record to 48-36-3 in the rivalry game. There were two more lightning delays. In total, all three lightning delays lasted 2 hours and 16 minutes.

TCU’s next game will be against West Virginia on Oct.26 at Milan Puskar Stadium.