WACO -- All the air was sucked out of McLane Stadium when Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson desperately launched an interecepted pass on 3rd and 16, putting No. 12 Utah on the Bears' own 29-yard-line.

Robertson, in his first game as a starter, was pressing. Baylor had nursed a comfortable lead against an anemic Utah offense throughout the game. But with 1:59 remaining, Utah punched a touchdown to tie the game at 13. Now, in a spot where they needed a score to finish off the upset that had seemed sure minutes ago, Robertson instead gifted Utah a short field to steal a 20-13 victory in a game they had no business winning. To his credit, Robertson bounced back and threw a 47-yard dime to Hal Pressley, giving the Bears one play to take back the game. But his ensuing pass fell incomplete.

And Baylor's losing streak dating back to the end of last season grew to six games. 

"It's just brutal," redshirt freshman linebacker Kyler Jordan said. "It's the most brutal part of this game."

THREE THOUGHTS

Baylor's defense responds to embarassing week one showing: There was no sugar-coating it. Baylor got shellacked last week by a Texas State team who'd never won a Power Five game. After giving up 42 points to the Bobcats, the Bears faced a far steeper challenge in week two against Utah, even absent quarterback Cameron Rising.

Baylor answered the bell.

The defensive line was active all game, racking up six tackles for loss and three sacks. Gabe Hall and TJ Franklin helped control the line of scrimmage for Baylor, who, outside of a 44-yard run by running back Ja'Quinden Jackson, limited Utah to 3.9 yards per carry on all other attempts. The defensive line harassed Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes all game, while the secondary notched 7 pass breakups.   

"Our goal going into this game was to play way more physical than we did last week," Jordan said. "To show up ready to play and ready to beat the guy across from us."

The first win will be the hardest: The difference between a win and a loss is usually razor-thin, and it's harder to find the more the losing streak goes on.

Baylor's defense played well enough to win the entire game except for one drive. Utah turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Nate Jackson with 10:01 left in the third quarter, and he led a 15-play, 88-yard drive, the first sustained possession of the day. Jordan said defensive coordinator Matt Powledge had prepared them for both Barns and the more dual-threat Jackson, but Baylor's execution fell short as Utah racked up its total time of possession to 36:17 on a 100-degree day.

Part of the reason the defense was out there so long was because the offense converted on just three of 11 first-down attempts. Robertson had numerous flashes in relief of Blake Shapen, who'll miss a couple more games with an MCL injury. He connected on two long balls with Ketron Jackson Jr. for 69 yards, a 35-yard touch pass to Drake Dabney and that 47-yard prayer to Presley to end the game. Yet the offense couldn't capitalize in the red zone due to numerous false start penalties, something head coach Dave Aranda said plagued them against Texas State.

"It's hard to win, and I think our team is learning how to," Aranda said. "I think we have the makings of a great team. I believe that, 100%, and I'm proud of just the work, and the sacrifice, and the effort. But it's not enough."

It ain't gonna get easier: Well, it will be a reprieve next week when they host Long Island, but after that cupcake, Baylor has to figure out how to finish games.

They host Texas, the preseason Big 12 favorite, in two weeks. Then, they travel to UCF to face another mobile quarterback like the one they struggled with today in John Rhys Plumlee. They round out the first half of the season with a game against Texas Tech, a dark horse pick to steal the Big 12 title. If Baylor plays like they have through the first two weeks of the season, they could easily be 1–5 a month from now.

And Shapen isn't the only guy they'll have to do it without. Safety Devin Lemear is also unavailable for the foreseeable future with a dislocated elbow. The Bears have to hunker down and stay together, or else this season will get out of hand in a hurry.

"I think of the winter, the spring, the summer and all the coming together and all the work (we did)," Aranda said. "It just turns out it's for something like this."