WACO, Texas — With Zach Smith weakened by stomach flu and battered by West Virginia’s blitzes, Baylor coach Matt Rhule made a quarterback change that flipped the game.
Dual-threat freshman Charlie Brewer nearly overcame a 25-point deficit, leading four scoring drives in the final quarter. Only a failed two-point try with 17 seconds remaining prevented the winless Bears from forcing overtime in a 38-36 loss.
Having thrown only seven passes all season, Brewer completed 8-of-13 for 109 yards and tossed two touchdowns to running back Tristan Ebner. His scrambling accounted for 48 additional yards as the Bears roared back from a 38-13 hole.
“I think it surprised the defense,” Ebner said, “because it looked like they didn’t watch film of him.”
Why would they have? After all, Brewer had played only a few garbage-time series in two games after beginning the fall as Baylor’s third-string quarterback.
He may be a first-stringer next week.
“That little quarterback came in, made some big throws under pressure and got out of the pocket with his feet,” said West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
Brewer looked far more mobile than Smith, who concerned coaches the night before when he was awake and sick at 3 a.m. Though he completed 16-of-27 passes for 261 yards, Smith absorbed five sacks.
“Zach doesn’t feel well to begin with, so why continue to let him take a beating,” Rhule said. “The one thing that Charlie brings to the table is the ability to run and move.
“I think we saw what Charlie brings and the job he did. Ended up one play away from doing it.”
Brewer, who led Lake Travis High School to the Texas state championship last season, hit Ebner with a 52-yard touchdown that trimmed the lead to 38-20.
Trailing 38-30 in the final 5 minutes, Brewer delivered his best work by leading Baylor on a methodical last-ditch drive. He scrambled for two first downs and converted a fourth-and-5 pass to Denzel Mims for 15 yards. On third-and-goal from the 9, he scooped a fumbled snap and kept his poise long enough to spot Ebner releasing out of the backfield.
“He’s going to be a really good player,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He’s won a lot of state championships around here, so we’re aware of him. But he ran probably a little better than we thought he did.
“He broke contain several times and did a nice job.”