WACO, Texas – Crew Wakley had a game-clinching interception with 59 seconds left and No. 22 BYU held on for a 34-28 win at Baylor on Saturday to remain undefeated after the Cougars twice blew a three-touchdown lead had built up as Jake Retzlaff threw for two scores and ran for another.

Wakley made a leaping interception near midfield along the sideline in front of the Baylor bench to secure the first Big 12 road win for the Cougars (5-0, 2-0 Big 12).

Retzlaff threw two interceptions after halftime, the second a deflection that was caught by 337-pound nose tackle Elinus Noel III to set up Baylor at the Cougars 45 with 4:01 left. The Bears were stopped on a fourth-and-6 incompletion from the 24 with 1:47 to go, but still had all their timeouts and got the ball back with just 13 seconds left, but BYU went three-and- out.

Baylor (2-3, 0-2) had pulled within 34-28 on Josh Cameron’s 23-yard touchdown catch on the other side of the end zone with about 10 minutes remaining. Cameron had seven catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

Retzlaff was 13 of 17 passing for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and that didn’t count a pass behind the line to Chase Roberts that was officially ruled a 2-yard TD run as the Cougars built a 31-14 lead during halftime. . They led 21-0 in the first quarter and later 28-7.

But Retzlaff was just 4-of-14 for 36 yards after the break.

Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson finished 27 of 48 passing for 324 yards. He had three touchdowns and also threw two picks.

The Cougars led 14-0 just 6 1/2 minutes into the game. Baylor’s only offensive snap at that point was a pass that was deflected straight up in the air by 290-pound nose tackle John Nelson and caught by defensive tackle Blake Mangelson.

It was 28-7 with 9:32 left in the first half after a 44-yard touchdown from Darius Lassiter, who caught eight passes for 120 yards.

Takeaways

BYU: The Cougars are 5-0 for the third time in five seasons, having reached that mark just twice (2001 and 2008) since their undefeated championship season of 1984. BYU matched the two conference wins it achieved last year after had played the previous twelve seasons as an independent.

Baylor: Playing at home on the banks of the Brazos River was no advantage for the Bears in Big 12 play. Two weeks after ending a nine-game losing streak against FBS teams with a 31-3 win over Air Force, the Bears lost their eighth consecutive home conference game since beating Kansas on Oct. 22, 2022.

Survey implications

The Cougars will certainly be up in the rankings for the second week in a row. But they may not rise much, if at all, after having to push to the limit rather than turn that big early lead into a lopsided victory.

Next

BYU: Has an open date before hosting Big 12 newcomer Arizona on Oct. 12.

Baylor: Will play No. 18 Iowa State next Saturday night.

More Baylor coverage from The Dallas Morning News can be found here.