Baylor Football
Baylor routs Kansas 49-7 thanks to consistent defensive play
WACO, Tx. —— Baylor’s inaugural homecoming game in McLane Stadium put Kansas in its seat by a score of 60-14. That 2014 season was considered the best the Bears had ever played. If Baylor’s 49-7 win over the Jayhawks on Saturday is any indication, the 2016 despite all its outside distractions, could more than rival 2014 considering how much coach Jim Grobe views Kansas as an improved program.
“I’m really proud of our football team,” Grobe said. “I though from what Kansas did to TCU last week, I felt like we had a real challenge on our hands, and I think our guys accepted the challenge.”
Baylor took a commanding 21-0 lead in the first quarter, but it still wasn’t without its challenges.
Electing to receive, Baylor was forced to play against the 15 mph winds and in the process, Seth Russell completed just 4-of-11 passes for 48 yards in the first quarter despite KD Cannon and Chris Platt both being open for go-ahead touchdowns. That challenge was easily overcome by putting the ball on the ground.
In the first drive, Russell decided against pulling the trigger, running four times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Still in the first quarter, he added a 26-yard scamper on fourth down for a touchdown to put the Bears up 21-0. Despite the success, there was a bit of hesitation to forgo a 43-yard field goal try. But that decision was later confirmed after two Chris Callahan missed field goals in back-to-back drives no thanks to Baylor’s defense.
While the first quarter featured two scores from Russell, his touchdowns sandwiched a 64-yard pick-six from Ryan Reid to stop Kansas from driving down the field with a mix of slant routes and zone runs. Reid also picked off Ryan Willis a second time in the second quarter putting the Bears inside the red zone only to give the ball back off the second Callahan missed try despite having the wind’s advantage.
“The first thing, we game planned for the out routes that they run,” Reid said about his interceptions. “It changed our whole game plan. The second thing is I just put it in God’s hand. I had faith all season. This is something I prayed about, just to live up to the expectations that I know I can.”
Playing from behind, Kansas was forced to keep looking to the air despite Reid’s advantageous performance. After Baylor missed its second field goal, the Bears rallied with consecutive sacks from Taylor Young and Raaquan Davis. The team finished with five sacks for the afternoon, with Young logging two of his own.
Baylor responded with a slant route to Cannon which he took 59-yards for a touchdown to go up 28-0. It was a mirror image of an earlier play that set up a fourth down situation. Baylor’s following drive following a Kansas fumble inside its five-yard line also lasted just one play with Shock Linwood walking in for his school record 36th career rushing touchdown. Linwood finished the day with 46 yards on 10 carries.
“Every yard he got today was well-earned,” Grobe said. “It’s just nice to see him really start coming into his own . . . . He’s one of our guys that the past couple of weeks since the Oklahoma State game looks like he’s having more fun than anybody out there.”
Russell led the team with 68 yards and his two touchdowns from the first half. He would also add two touchdowns through the air, sitting out the second half to avoid risking injury, as did other starters sitting well with a 42-point lead.
“The big thing was we watched a lot of film this week on a lot of [Kansas’] defensive tendencies,” center Kyle Fuller said. “That’s what we do every week. But this week more so than most.”
Though the starters were resting, Baylor didn’t sit on its laurels. Kansas’ opening drive ended with Orion Stewart grabbing his fourth interception of the season. That turnover was then followed by a 70-yard drive orchestrated by Zach Smith ending in a Terence Williams touchdown. Williams finished the day with 33 yards on eight carries.
The Kansas possession ended by Stewart was one of 15 possessions that lasted five plays or less. Consistent pressure from the Bears quickly laid the Jayhawks’ initial dreams of advancing past the 40-yard line to rest. Though, the Bears were not without fault of their own. Baylor missed all three of its field goal tries between Callahan and Drew Galitz, an influence of forgoing a 21-yard chip shot late in the fourth quarter.
“We really hurt Drew (Galitz) today,” Grobe said. “He punts for us, kicks off for us, and he’s our long distance field goal kicker and we actually told him to kick a field goal with two seconds on the clock.”
With Galitz’s missed field goal, Kansas was allowed to score its first points of the game on a two-yard run by Khalil Herbert facing packages mostly consisting of Baylor’s second-string players. But plays like Clay Johnston’s 65-yard interception return after a lost Baylor fumble made up for any faults of the rest of the backup defense. It was Baylor’s fifth forced turnover of the game, a season-high.
As the game neared the end, Baylor kept recycling its depth chart, giving snaps to third-string quarterback Preston Heard. Though, he only contributed five yards rushing.
After the win, Baylor heads into a bye week and will resume play with a road trip to Texas to prove just how competitive it can be and keep its national ranking on the up and up.
“We get to rest again, so everybody else should be worried about Baylor again,” Reid said. “So we’re ready.”
“I’m really proud of our football team,” Grobe said. “I though from what Kansas did to TCU last week, I felt like we had a real challenge on our hands, and I think our guys accepted the challenge.”
Baylor took a commanding 21-0 lead in the first quarter, but it still wasn’t without its challenges.
Electing to receive, Baylor was forced to play against the 15 mph winds and in the process, Seth Russell completed just 4-of-11 passes for 48 yards in the first quarter despite KD Cannon and Chris Platt both being open for go-ahead touchdowns. That challenge was easily overcome by putting the ball on the ground.
In the first drive, Russell decided against pulling the trigger, running four times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Still in the first quarter, he added a 26-yard scamper on fourth down for a touchdown to put the Bears up 21-0. Despite the success, there was a bit of hesitation to forgo a 43-yard field goal try. But that decision was later confirmed after two Chris Callahan missed field goals in back-to-back drives no thanks to Baylor’s defense.
While the first quarter featured two scores from Russell, his touchdowns sandwiched a 64-yard pick-six from Ryan Reid to stop Kansas from driving down the field with a mix of slant routes and zone runs. Reid also picked off Ryan Willis a second time in the second quarter putting the Bears inside the red zone only to give the ball back off the second Callahan missed try despite having the wind’s advantage.
“The first thing, we game planned for the out routes that they run,” Reid said about his interceptions. “It changed our whole game plan. The second thing is I just put it in God’s hand. I had faith all season. This is something I prayed about, just to live up to the expectations that I know I can.”
Playing from behind, Kansas was forced to keep looking to the air despite Reid’s advantageous performance. After Baylor missed its second field goal, the Bears rallied with consecutive sacks from Taylor Young and Raaquan Davis. The team finished with five sacks for the afternoon, with Young logging two of his own.
Baylor responded with a slant route to Cannon which he took 59-yards for a touchdown to go up 28-0. It was a mirror image of an earlier play that set up a fourth down situation. Baylor’s following drive following a Kansas fumble inside its five-yard line also lasted just one play with Shock Linwood walking in for his school record 36th career rushing touchdown. Linwood finished the day with 46 yards on 10 carries.
“Every yard he got today was well-earned,” Grobe said. “It’s just nice to see him really start coming into his own . . . . He’s one of our guys that the past couple of weeks since the Oklahoma State game looks like he’s having more fun than anybody out there.”
Russell led the team with 68 yards and his two touchdowns from the first half. He would also add two touchdowns through the air, sitting out the second half to avoid risking injury, as did other starters sitting well with a 42-point lead.
“The big thing was we watched a lot of film this week on a lot of [Kansas’] defensive tendencies,” center Kyle Fuller said. “That’s what we do every week. But this week more so than most.”
Though the starters were resting, Baylor didn’t sit on its laurels. Kansas’ opening drive ended with Orion Stewart grabbing his fourth interception of the season. That turnover was then followed by a 70-yard drive orchestrated by Zach Smith ending in a Terence Williams touchdown. Williams finished the day with 33 yards on eight carries.
The Kansas possession ended by Stewart was one of 15 possessions that lasted five plays or less. Consistent pressure from the Bears quickly laid the Jayhawks’ initial dreams of advancing past the 40-yard line to rest. Though, the Bears were not without fault of their own. Baylor missed all three of its field goal tries between Callahan and Drew Galitz, an influence of forgoing a 21-yard chip shot late in the fourth quarter.
“We really hurt Drew (Galitz) today,” Grobe said. “He punts for us, kicks off for us, and he’s our long distance field goal kicker and we actually told him to kick a field goal with two seconds on the clock.”
With Galitz’s missed field goal, Kansas was allowed to score its first points of the game on a two-yard run by Khalil Herbert facing packages mostly consisting of Baylor’s second-string players. But plays like Clay Johnston’s 65-yard interception return after a lost Baylor fumble made up for any faults of the rest of the backup defense. It was Baylor’s fifth forced turnover of the game, a season-high.
As the game neared the end, Baylor kept recycling its depth chart, giving snaps to third-string quarterback Preston Heard. Though, he only contributed five yards rushing.
After the win, Baylor heads into a bye week and will resume play with a road trip to Texas to prove just how competitive it can be and keep its national ranking on the up and up.
“We get to rest again, so everybody else should be worried about Baylor again,” Reid said. “So we’re ready.”
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