Baylor rallies, avoids shocking FCS upset
That's still no excuse for a Big 12 team to lose to the Bearkats. Baylor came much closer than they would have liked, but ralled to win, 48-23.
The Bears couldn't move the ball and couldn't stop Sam Houston State's offense in the first half, and went to the locker room losing 20-10.
The second half? All Bears, and both of Baylor's units led the charge.
The offense racked up 31 points and the defense held the Bearkats to three points, and Terrance Williams caught the second of his two scores on the night, finishing with 131 yards and six catches.
The running game was slowed in the first half, but like the rest of Baylor, picked up in the second. Jarred Salubi led the Bears with 83 yards on 17 carries.
Ideally, you'd like to see a much higher completion percentage from Nick Florence, who finished just 24-of-41 for 312 yards, three scores and two interceptions. The first of those two picks, however, came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. The second came early in the fourth quarter after the Bears retook a 24-20 lead.
Not pretty for Baylor, but the Bears survived, and have a worrisome trip ahead. Baylor travels to Louisiana-Monroe next week to face the WarHawks, who beat Arkansas a week ago and nearly knocked off Auburn this week.
Take care of business there, and the Bears will get a hyped Big 12 opening game on the road against West Virginia -- the Mountaineers' first Big 12 game.
David Ubben | email
College Football- ESPN.com Big 12 blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010
- Wrote for The Oklahoman
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Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
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Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
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