Recap: Baylor Controls Prairie View A&M in Home-Opening Win, 44-3

WACO — Baylor football imposed its will to the tune of 540 yards in a 44-3 blowout win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday at McLane Stadium.

In his first career start, quarterback Nate Bennett (Jr.) completed 23-of-35 passes for 301 yards and two passing touchdowns to two interceptions. He also added a 17-yard touchdown run.

Despite the lopsided win, Baylor had its fair share of offensive flaws, including three interceptions and scoring just 10 points in the second half.

Wide receiver Gavin Freeman (5Sr.) recorded his second consecutive double-digit reception game, finishing with 10 catches for 104 yards.

Prairie View (1-2) got the day started, aided by a pass interference call and a third-and-13 scramble by quarterback Tevin Carter that got them 16. A 30-yard screen pass to running back Ky’Yon Harris against the blitz got the Panthers inside the 10, but the offense stalled out as kicker Ethan Eddins drilled a 25-yarder to make it 3-0 with 10 minutes, 58 seconds left in the first quarter.

Baylor (1-1) fed a heavy dose of Dawson Pendergrass (Sr.) on the first drive with four touches for 33 yards. Bennett overthrew Freeman, forcing a 46-yard field goal that Rhett Armstrong (So.) drilled to tie it at three. Armstrong hit three of four field goals, with his lone miss being from 42 yards right before halftime.

Thanks to a short punt starting at the Bears’ 46, Baylor took advantage as a screen to Freeman got 32 yards and down to the four-yard line. On third and five, running back Caden Knighten (Sr.) broke out of a congested interior, bounced the play outside, before making the cornerback miss en route to a five-yard score with 4:22 left in the first quarter to make it 10-3.

Bennett showed off the arm on the next possession as he hit Jayden McGowan (Sr.) for a 33-yard score on a post route to put the Bears up 17-3.

It was a number of firsts for Dre’Lon Miller (Jr.) to begin the second quarter as he got his first catch and touchdown of the season on a comeback route that he plucked out of the air, tight-roped the sideline and stretched the ball over for a 22-yard score to make it 24-3 just a little over a minute into the second quarter.

The defense got its first turnover as linebacker Keldrick Walker (Sr.) punched out the ball on a screen pass, with safety Bo Onu (So.) recovering. A play later, Bennett got to show off his wheels as he kept a read option across the left side for a 16-yard score to make it 31-3 with 12:55 left in the half.

Bennett made his first mistake of the day with an interception to Prairie View’s JJ Davis on a cross-field throw.

Baylor got an impressive 46-yard field goal from Armstrong after starting from its own 3 to make it 34-3 with 4:10 left until halftime.

In the third quarter, Bennett threw his second interception of the game on an in-route intended for Louis Brown IV (5Sr.), which was jumped by Panthers’ Malakiah Williams.

The Bears defense forced a three-and-out to get the Baylor offense the ball back at its own 25.

Baylor didn’t score until 1:39 left in the third when Bennett hit McGowan out of the backfield, made a man miss and raced to the end zone for a 13-yard score to make it 41-3.

The Bears added a late field goal as Armstrong nailed his third of the day, a 25-yarder, to make it 44-3 with 8:42 left in the game.

Baylor will play its second of a three-game homestand against Louisiana Tech (1-1) on Sept. 19 at 3 p.m. It will be televised on ESPNU.

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defense