By Will Martin
All week long it was being suggested that perhaps Bryce Petty might be available to suit up and play on Saturday night against Northwestern State.
Art Briles revealed postgame that he really wasn’t needed.
In improving to 2-0 before another packed house at McLane Stadium along I-35 and Brazos River the Bears would pound out 70 points in a 70-6 win.
Backup quarterback Seth Russell did just fine as a fill-in while completing 16 of 25 passes for 438 yards and five touchdown passes.
KD Cannon was his main target as the two connected three times for scores totaling 223 yards. Russell found Cannon for an 81 yard score, a 50-yard touchdown and a 42-yard pass as Baylor pulled away to a 49-3 lead at halftime.
Seven touchdown drives that took a total of ten minutes and thirteen seconds.
Congratulations to Seth Russell for setting a Baylor record for yards passing in a half. Chris Johnson came on in the second half and got two more scores by way of handing off to Silas Nacita on runs of 11 and 7 yards to make the final score 70-6.
Baylor pounded out 720 yards of total offense compared to only 202 for the Demons.
This upcoming Friday the Bears go to Buffalo for a nationally televised game. It will mark three games in 13 days. Coach Briles spoke at length about this stretch of play since June to his players. Coach also took time to thank the fans for staying around after a 16 minute delay of play due to lightning in the area this night.
“I thought our crowd was tremendous, even with all of the rain. I never did get outside, but somebody said it was a lot of rain, a lot of wind, and some lightning. They stayed out there and they were in the stands. It made a big difference, huge difference. We have had some rain delays before here, and you walk out there and lose people in the stands. This was a big deal. Our people stayed and that is critical. I think it is all due to the fact that we have a beautiful place, in the best location in America, and are extremely proud of it. It makes a huge difference for our fans. They really got to feel a real college game day. A Saturday they can watch the games. They can mess around all day, and then they can come watch us play in the evening. That was a big deal, and I appreciate them helping us win the game.”
Coach Briles spoke a little more specifically on the urgency of playing three games in 13 days.
“The thing we are looking at — and we talked about it back in June and early August — three in 13. Three games in 13 days. We knew what was coming up. We have accomplished two of three. Now we have a big one. We have to flip in six days and go on the road on national TV. It is not in Oklahoma or in Louisiana, it is pretty good little journey. That is something that is going to help us mature as we go into those games, but the first thing we have to do is to take care of business this Friday up in Buffalo, New York. That is really as far as we have looked. We talked about three in 13, and we will take a day or two because we have 15 before the next game at Iowa State. We will take a day or two to regroup, assess where we are at, and then we will get ready for another run. The critical thing is to be three games to none after 13 days.”
While looking ahead to Buffalo the main question many in the know wanted to know. Can Bryce Petty go?
“I don’t know. We will look at him tomorrow. He felt a little better today. We have a quick turnaround. In four days we will be on a plane heading to Buffalo. We will see what is happening. Tomorrow we will go through a Sunday-Monday mix with our guys, and Monday is a workout day for us, which is a Tuesday in a regular week. We will just see how he progresses. He is eager to get back out there, and that is the way he is. He is a winner, a fighter, and a dang good football player. He is one of three quarterbacks that led their team to a conference championship that is returning. Once again we will make sure that he is healthy. That little flame I think turned into a really big fire, and it is hard to watch. If there is anyway he can get on the field at Buffalo he will be on the field at Buffalo.”
115 points in two games while allowing only six. This Friday night in Buffalo may be an interesting night for the people of upstate New York.
Everything coming up roses for Art Briles and his Baylor Bears. There may have been lightning in the area before the start of the game but Baylor provided the heavy metal thunder in Waco as night drew near.
Miscellany:
KD Cannon’s 3 touchdowns marked the third time in Baylor history that a player made that distinction. The first time since Kendall Wright did so in 2011 in a game at Kansas State.
The interception by Xavion Howard was his second in consecutive games.
Seth Russell’s 438 yards passing were tied for third most in Baylor history. His six TD passes tied the Baylor record, accomplished three times prior.
Bryce Hager recorded 11 tackles. This was his 9th career double digit game with the stops.
Next home game for the Bears will be October 11 against TCU. I will be here and look forward to the fireworks both teams shall engender.
