West Virginia defeats No. 4 Baylor 41-27 as Bears rack up penalty yards

Baylor set a Big 12 record on Saturday at West Virginia. No, it wasn't for points or yards. Well, OK, it was for yards. Penalty yards.

The Bears committed an astounding 18 penalties for 215 yards in a 41-27 upset loss at West Virginia. While Baylor was the most-penalized team in the country last season and near the top of the penalty chart again this season, the barrage was absolutely wild. DB Xavien Howard committed five personal foul penalties and a face mask penalty on West Virginia WR Kevin White, the leading WR in the country.

White entered the game with 888 receiving yards and was unstoppable. In addition to the six fouls, he had eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The second touchdown came with the score tied at 27-27 in the fourth quarter. And, fittingly, with a pass interference penalty by Howard too. White broke the tie and gave West Virginia the lead for good with a nifty one-handed touchdown catch.

Perhaps all the penalties affected Baylor coach Art Briles' thinking. Usually one of the most aggressive coaches in college football, Baylor was facing a 4th-and-8 from its own 45-yard-line with over 5:30 to go in the fourth quarter and trailing 41-27. Instead of going for the conversion, Briles elected to punt and attempt to pin West Virginia deep.

While Baylor did get the ball back with 4:30 left, it didn't score on the drive. Given the context of the game, and Baylor's propensity for penalties, you have to wonder if the odds of converting the fourth down and scoring to pull the deficit to seven were better than punting and playing for two touchdowns, even with all three timeouts.

Undefeated and with games against Oklahoma State and Kansas State at home, Baylor was the favorite for the Big 12 title and the conference's best shot to make it to the College Football Playoff entering Saturday. While the presence of those games doesn't remove Baylor from favorite status in the Big 12, it's Playoff chances, and the Playoff chances of the Big 12 itself, are now teetering.

And as the Playoff hopes took a hit, so did QB Bryce Petty's Heisman chances. Baylor's QB was outplayed by WVU Clint Trickett, who rebounded from an early interception to finish 23-35 passing for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Petty was 16-36 for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - West Virginia defeats No. 4 Baylor 41-27 as Bears rack up penalty yards