Baylor Football
Cannon shines, but Bears sluggish in 38-10 victory over Rice
HOUSTON - Baylor traveled to Houston and finished off Rice 38-10 on Friday evening, but for a second week in a row, an offense that is normally picking up steam this time of the year struggled from start to finish on Friday evening.
“We’re not very consistent right now, that’s our problem," Baylor head coach Grobe said. "It’s obvious we’ve got some talent, and I think we can be a really good football team but right now we’re just so inconsistent."
After the Owls got on the board first with a field goal following a 14 play, 74-yard drive that ate up 5:36 off of the clock, the Bears returned serve on their following drive. Redshirt freshman JaMycal Hasty hit the hole up the middle and scampered for the second touchdown of his career, giving Baylor an early 7-3 lead.
It wasn’t until Baylor’s fifth drive of the game that senior quarterback Seth Russell found a bit of a groove, completing 5-of-7 passes for 81 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to KD Cannon. In the prior four drives, Russell completed only 2-of-8 passes with an interception.
“From our standpoint, we obviously need to start quicker," Grobe said. "We’ve had two first quarters now back-to-back where we haven’t started very well. We were a little bit soft on a couple of drives but overall I thought our defense played well tonight."
Following Cannon’s receiving touchdown that put the Bears up 14-3, Baylor’s defense looked to have forced a punt by the Owls and the ball back to the offense. Instead, a roughing the passer extended the drive and the Owls eventually scored on the drive to cut the lead to 14-10.
Cannon finished the game with nine receptions for 213 yards and two scores.
On Baylor’s next offensive possession, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles leaned on the running game to extend the lead back to two touchdowns. Shock Linwood, Terence Williams and Russell carried the ball on seven of nine plays in the drive for 53 yards. Williams capped the drive off with a 24-yard touchdown run.
Linwood finished the night with 57 yards on 13 carries, setting the career rushing record at Baylor.
After forcing a punt on Rice’s first possession of the second have and looked to pick up their offensive momentum from the end of the first half. However, a 10 play, 45-yard drive was all for not when Chris Callahan missed a 37-yard field goal.
"Defensively we just missed some fits inside – on two or three of their good runs we didn’t hit the right gaps," Grobe said. "I think those are things we to continue to improve on, but I think a lot of the issues that we have are that they are young guys who have not been out there a whole lot."
Baylor went on to score on their next two possessions, including a 23-yard field goal by Callahan and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Feuerbacher from Russell to put the Bears up 31-10.
On the ground Baylor was led by Hasty who carried the ball 14 times for 105 yards and a score. Williams chipped in 12 carries for 79 yards and score.
Russell finished the evening by completing 22 of 38 passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also added 38 yards on eight carries on the ground.
For the game, Baylor finished with a season-best 634 yards. The Bears finished the first half with a 21-10 lead, racking up 298 total yards after a sluggish first quarter where the Bears only produced 62 yards.
PASSING
Seth Russell - 22-38, 337 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
Zach Smith - 1-3, 5 yards
RUSHING
JaMycal Hasty - 14 carries, 105 yards, 1 touchdown
Terence Williams - 12 carries, 79 yards, 1 touchdown
Shock Linwood - 13 carries, 57 yards
Seth Russell - 8 carries, 38 yards
Wyatt Schrepfer - 7 carries, 17 yards
RECEIVING
KD Cannon - 9 receptions, 213 yards, 2 touchdowns
Chris Platt - 5 catches, 45 yards
JaMycal Hasty - 2 receptions, 26 yards
Blake Lynch - 5 receptions, 26 yards
Jordan Feuerbacher - 1 reception, 22 yards
Denzel Mims - 1 reception, 10 yards
“We’re not very consistent right now, that’s our problem," Baylor head coach Grobe said. "It’s obvious we’ve got some talent, and I think we can be a really good football team but right now we’re just so inconsistent."
After the Owls got on the board first with a field goal following a 14 play, 74-yard drive that ate up 5:36 off of the clock, the Bears returned serve on their following drive. Redshirt freshman JaMycal Hasty hit the hole up the middle and scampered for the second touchdown of his career, giving Baylor an early 7-3 lead.
It wasn’t until Baylor’s fifth drive of the game that senior quarterback Seth Russell found a bit of a groove, completing 5-of-7 passes for 81 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown to KD Cannon. In the prior four drives, Russell completed only 2-of-8 passes with an interception.
“From our standpoint, we obviously need to start quicker," Grobe said. "We’ve had two first quarters now back-to-back where we haven’t started very well. We were a little bit soft on a couple of drives but overall I thought our defense played well tonight."
Following Cannon’s receiving touchdown that put the Bears up 14-3, Baylor’s defense looked to have forced a punt by the Owls and the ball back to the offense. Instead, a roughing the passer extended the drive and the Owls eventually scored on the drive to cut the lead to 14-10.
Cannon finished the game with nine receptions for 213 yards and two scores.
On Baylor’s next offensive possession, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles leaned on the running game to extend the lead back to two touchdowns. Shock Linwood, Terence Williams and Russell carried the ball on seven of nine plays in the drive for 53 yards. Williams capped the drive off with a 24-yard touchdown run.
Linwood finished the night with 57 yards on 13 carries, setting the career rushing record at Baylor.
After forcing a punt on Rice’s first possession of the second have and looked to pick up their offensive momentum from the end of the first half. However, a 10 play, 45-yard drive was all for not when Chris Callahan missed a 37-yard field goal.
"Defensively we just missed some fits inside – on two or three of their good runs we didn’t hit the right gaps," Grobe said. "I think those are things we to continue to improve on, but I think a lot of the issues that we have are that they are young guys who have not been out there a whole lot."
Baylor went on to score on their next two possessions, including a 23-yard field goal by Callahan and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Feuerbacher from Russell to put the Bears up 31-10.
On the ground Baylor was led by Hasty who carried the ball 14 times for 105 yards and a score. Williams chipped in 12 carries for 79 yards and score.
Russell finished the evening by completing 22 of 38 passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also added 38 yards on eight carries on the ground.
For the game, Baylor finished with a season-best 634 yards. The Bears finished the first half with a 21-10 lead, racking up 298 total yards after a sluggish first quarter where the Bears only produced 62 yards.
PASSING
Seth Russell - 22-38, 337 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception
Zach Smith - 1-3, 5 yards
RUSHING
JaMycal Hasty - 14 carries, 105 yards, 1 touchdown
Terence Williams - 12 carries, 79 yards, 1 touchdown
Shock Linwood - 13 carries, 57 yards
Seth Russell - 8 carries, 38 yards
Wyatt Schrepfer - 7 carries, 17 yards
RECEIVING
KD Cannon - 9 receptions, 213 yards, 2 touchdowns
Chris Platt - 5 catches, 45 yards
JaMycal Hasty - 2 receptions, 26 yards
Blake Lynch - 5 receptions, 26 yards
Jordan Feuerbacher - 1 reception, 22 yards
Denzel Mims - 1 reception, 10 yards
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