Baylor football overcame some early mistakes to beat Oklahoma State 35-31 on Homecoming afternoon at McLane Stadium in Waco.

The Bears overcame a 31-21 deficit with just six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to come back and win. Baylor overcame a poor showing from quarterback Jalan McClendon, and ran for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the way.

Here are three key takeaways from the Bears’ win over the Cowboys on Saturday.

Mims returns

Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims hasn’t looked much like his old self. He had just five combined catches in the last two games, and didn’t have a reception against Oklahoma State in the fourth quarter. But in the biggest moment, Baylor went to its most dominant receiver.

The Bears set up an out in the shallow end zone and isolated Mims on a defensive back. In the biggest moment, Mims came down with the ball for a game-winning touchdown with just six seconds left to launch the Bears to a victory.

Quarterback Charlie Brewer ultimately only threw eight passes after getting inserted late against the Cowboys, but two were for touchdowns.

Explosive plays

Baylor has typically been pretty methodical, but needed some quick scores down 10 points late in the third quarter. The Bears responded with big plays for the first time this season.

Running back John Lovett broke away for a 75-yard touchdown. Previously, Lovett’s longest run of the year was just 31 yards. Later, Brewer found Jalen Hurd for a 36-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Bears also had a massive special teams play, blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown.

Baylor has been slow and methodical this season, and there’s nothing wrong with that if you can move the ball. However, adding some explosion back to the offense adds a different dimension to how teams match up with the Bears.

Important win

Baylor needed this game. Heading in, the Bears had four wins and were two away from earning a trip to a bowl game. After this, there are still several difficult games remaining for Baylor.

Now, the Bears head into matchups with Iowa State, TCU and Texas Tech with a little bit of wiggle room. The Bears will likely not be favored in any of the remaining games, but they just have to win one of them. If the roster plays as well as it did down the stretch of this game, there’s plenty of reason to believe that they can make a bowl game.