Baylor Football: Bears edge Vandy in close Texas Bowl

A pair of 6-6 teams proved well matched, as Vanderbilt and Baylor football played a close contest at the Texas Bowl on Thursday night in Houston.

Baylor and Vanderbilt were both sitting at .500, and only one would end 2018 with a winning season. It was a game that on paper looked relatively uninteresting, as the two teams fought against mediocrity.

It was a back-and-forth struggle, as the Commodores went to the locker room up at halftime but ended up falling behind in the 45-38 defeat. Baylor managed to pull back the deficit as a result of some critical halftime adjustments.

The Big 12 got a win against the SEC in a game between two of the weaker bowl-eligible teams for both conferences. It wasn’t necessarily the biggest of statements, but it did amount to one of the most pleasant surprises so far this bowl season as the Bears and Commodores played what proved to be an instant classic.

What should we take away from the victory by the Bears as they came back to get to seven wins and relegate the Commodores to a losing season? Here are three things we learned from the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl on Thursday night.