RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer
WACO, Texas (AP) — Poised to pull a second straight upset against a top-five team, No. 9 TCU ran out of big plays.
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 TCU 61-58 on Saturday in a crazy Big 12 scorefest.
“I feel bad for my kids because they played well, especially offense,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “Fifty-eight points should be enough to win, and it wasn’t tonight.”
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 it at 58. Petty passed for a career-best 510 yards and threw two interceptions.
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. He said he considered a fake punt.
“Even if we kicked it to the 5-yard line, I didn’t know if we could stop them,” Patterson said. “We make it … you have an opportunity to go down and kick a field goal and you win it. Their field goal kicker did well today, but he had not kicked well before it got to today.”
Callahan came into the game having made only 1 of 6 field-goal attempts. He finished 4 for 4 on Saturday.
Trevone Boykin tossed a sideline fade toward Josh Doctson that the receiver couldn’t come up with. 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.
“Basically, you have a guy who has great ball skills and you basically just try to give the guy a chance,” Boykin said. “That’s what we tried to come out and do. The defensive guy just made a better play.
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 went up 21 points 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.
“I just knew looking at guys’ faces that we were going to come back in that game,” Petty said. “With our offense and the way that we play defense, 21 points isn’t a big deal for us.”
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.
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, and TCU responded with a touchdown made possible by great 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.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphdrussoAP
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