Baylor vs. Northwestern State, In-Game
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008
Jeff Brown
Postgame, 9:25 p.m. -- That'll do it for us here tonight. They've shut off the scoreboard and most of the stadium lights, so I'll take that as my key to wrap things up. Tune in again next week (if you're not here) as the Bears host Washington State -- 11:30 a.m. on another national FSN broadcast. Until then -- sic 'em, Bears!
Postgame, 9:22 p.m. -- Briles called the key of the game the play on both offensive and defensive line. He says the team didn't run the ball as well as they would have liked -- something of a shock, considering the team racked up 207 yards rushing.
Postgame, 9:15 p.m. -- All kinds of fun notes tonight, based on the team's extraordinary showing on offense. Check back to BaylorBears.com a little later tonight for those.
Postgame, 9:11 p.m. -- Also after games, they pipe in video of the Baylor press conference to the press box for reporters on deadline. While Coach Briles finishes his radio interview, Jay Finley has taken the podium down in one of the team meeting rooms.
Postgame, 9:08 p.m. -- Hang around long enough after a game, and you'll get to see a couple hundred kids running loose on the field, playing catch, chase and who knows what else. Good memories for the little ones down there, who hopefully will grow up to be Baylor Bears!
Postgame, 9:01 p.m. -- Nice to see the team lined up in front of the band for the playing of "That Good Old Baylor Line." Another tradition that really means something not just to band members, but do longtime Baylor fans. It's even more fun after a win.
4th Quarter, 0:00 -- That'll do it, folks. Nice showing by the Bears -- this was exactly the sort of game I'd hoped for, one that shows what the offense can do when it's working correctly. Even tonight, there were certainly some places to improve, but this was very encouraging to see. Next week against Washington State should be interesting. WSU lost 66-3 to Cal today.
FINAL SCORE: BAYLOR 51, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6
4th Quarter, 1:04 -- If this score holds up, it will be the Bears' first 45-point margin of victory since Baylor beat SMU 49-3 in 1989.
4th Quarter, 2:38 -- The last time the Bears scored more than 50 points was 2001 against Southern Illinois. That game, you might remember, was scheduled to make up for the Bears' game vs. Minnesota that was canceled due to 9/11. Baylor won that game 56-12.
4th Quarter, 2:46 -- Nice job by Freeman, quickly moving down for another touchdown, this one a completion to Justin Finley. That's Freeman's first TD as a Baylor Bear. After a false start on the extra point, Shea Brewster nailed it through again on his second try.
BAYLOR 51, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6
4th Quarter, 4:15 -- Senior Kirby Freeman now in at QB for the Bears. I thought we might get to see all three guys tonight if the Bears had things well in hand.
4th Quarter, 5:27 -- Tonight's player of the game was just announced as Robert Griffin, earning the freshman a nice round of applause from the crowd. Griffin, ever the humble one, just shook his head and pointed at his teammates.
4th Quarter, 5:27 -- NSU punting out of their own end zone with 4th and 28 from the 4 yard line. The Bears will take over for what could be their last drive at the NSU 36.
4th Quarter, 6:57 -- And just like that, a fumble by Szymanski ends the Baylor drive at NSU's 20 yard line. But, a bad snap by NSU ends up with the QB getting touched down at their own four yard line. Hold 'em here, Bears!
4th Quarter, 8:17 -- A pass interference call and a nice screen pass from Szymanski that Luke La Mar turned into big yards have the Bears moving again. It would be nice to put up one more TD here; Baylor hasn't put up 50 points on the board since a 50-12 win over Samford back in 2002.
4th Quarter, 9:29 -- Bruiser and Inflatable Judge are both in the house, but it looks like NSU's mascot, Vic the Demon, didn't make the trip. I'm too far away from the NSU cheerleaders to hear them, but they have a sign leaning up against the stands that reads "Fork 'em, Demons." Is that their equivalent of "Sic 'em, Bears!" It's similarly interesting to read in their media guide how proud they are of an incident that happened in 1992, when Vic the Demon got in a fight with Northeast Lousiana's mascot; the footage apparently earned national attention. Read more here.
4th Quarter, 13:59 -- NSU has gone to the bench for a new QB again, bringing the backup back in. He only had one attempt (an incomplete pass) during his first stint earlier tonight.
4th Quarter, 14:06 -- Another great punt by Epperson, pushing NSU's return man back about 15 yards from where he originally lined up. Nice coverage means the 61-yard punt (all in the air) was only returned three yards. Epperson has two punts on the night -- 56 and 61 yards. Do we have another Sepulveda?
4th Quarter, 15:00 -- The crowd seems to have thinned a bit already. Where's everyone going? It's only a little after 8 p.m. on a Saturday night!
4th Quarter, 15:00 -- Blake Szymanski in at QB for the Bears there just before the third quarter ended. If that's all for Griffin tonight, he's had a nice evening: 15 of 19, 294 yards and three touchdowns, plus 10 carries for 42 yards and another score. The Baylor media relations staff has better spend this week looking up all the freshman and true-freshman records, because a lot of those may go down this year.
3rd Quarter, 0:29 -- Nice play there by the Bears, breaking up the pass on 4th and 3 at Baylor's own 26 to stop the NSU drive.
3rd Quarter, 4:12 -- WOW - heck of a move by Jay Finley, stopping on a dime to juke an NSU defender and then cutting up field for a 47-yard touchdown. It took multiple looks up here in the press box to determine if the play was a forward pass or a lateral run. By a half yard, it was determined to be a pass, so Finley missed picking up his third rushing score of the night, Either way, it's a score for the sophomore and for Baylor!
BAYLOR 44, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6
3rd Quarter, 5:29 -- A nice breeze has picked up now that the sun has gone down. Temperature has dropped to about 80 -- just a beautiful night. The score certainly doesn't hurt, either.
3rd Quarter, 6:18 -- During timeouts and other breaks in play, the TVs in the press box and suites are showing a series of videos Baylor has produced called Snapshots, in which BU students talk about their experiences here. You can see some of those here.
3rd Quarter, 7:32 -- Announced attendance tonight of 36,258. Student support looks a little bit down from last week's record numbers, but the north end zone is pretty well filled out. All in all, a fairly good total for a game against a I-AA... excuse me, Football Championship Subdivision team.
3rd Quarter, 11:30 -- Several times tonight Griffin and the receivers have been just a tad out of sync, with throws going either ahead or behind the receivers. This time, he and Thomas White were perfectly in sync, as Griffin hit White streaking across the middle for a 32-yard TD.
BAYLOR 37, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6
Halftime -- While we've got a minute, Baylor alums should keep an eye on their mailboxes for the new issue of Baylor Magazine, with a cover story on head football coach Art Briles. That issue began hitting homes this weekend.
Halftime -- Nice first half for the Bears on offense. Robert Griffin looks to have settled in, completing 7 of 11 pass attempts for 147 yards and a TD. He's also rushed eight times for 34 yards and a score, but unlike last week, he's not the team's leading rusher. Jay Finley has five carries for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. NSU, meanwhile, has moved the ball when passing (14-of-24, 118 yards) but has been completely ineffective running the ball (15 carries, 18 yards). But, NSU moved the ball well twice in the 2nd quarter, so hopefully the Bears' defense will come out with some renewed energy in the second half.
Halftime -- One more presentation -- the Bear Foundation presented an oversized check for over $5.5 million to Ian McCaw and Baylor president Dr. David Garland -- a record total raised by the Bear Foundation over the past year to support student-athlete scholarships.
Halftime -- The band's performance was followed by a recognition of United Way's work in Waco. Baylor donated a number of tickets to United Way for tonight's game, which the agency then gave to many of its donors.
Halftime -- An assortment of Broadway tunes from the Baylor Golden Wave Band tonight for the halftime show, starting with the Frank Sinatra standard "New York, New York." That was followed by "On Broadway" and "Mambo," and wrapped up with the Baylor fight song, which as usual drew a nice round of applause from the crowd.
2nd Quarter, 0:00 -- NSU lost a touchdown with about a minute left, as the reciever looked like he had the ball in the end zone, then was hit and dropped it out of bound. The ref at first signaled TD, then changed it to incomplete following the juggle and drop. NSU has been moving the ball again on this drive -- 68 yards in the last two minutes. The Demons missed a field-goal attempt with 2 seconds left in the half, but got another chance when Baylor was called offsides. On his second try, the 30-yard kick was good, and that'll take it to halftime.
BAYLOR 30, NORTHWESTERN STATE 6
2nd Quarter, 1:16 -- After last week's epidemic of lost helmets, we just saw our first of the night here just now. Guess it wasn't a trend, or else maybe the players were urged to keep both straps strapped down.
2nd Quarter, 2:44 -- Penalties cost Baylor on that drive, leading to the Bears' first punt of the night -- a booming kick by Derek Epperson that drew some "ooooohs" from the crowd and sailed into the end zone.
2nd Quarter, 3:40 -- An illegal motion penalty calls back what would have been a 61 yard TD catch by Kendall Wright. Wright caught the short pass and tightroped the sideline even after a hit, an impressive show by yet another true freshman, but all for naught.
2nd Quarter, 4:31 -- A nice round of applause for Justin Akers as he runs off the field after an 11-yard catch. Akers was hit hard and came down on his back, nearly on his neck, but jumped up immediately after picking up the first down.
2nd Quarter, 5:17 -- Looks like a smaller than usual travel roster for NSU. I'm not sure they have even 50 guys suited out tonight.
2nd Quarter, 6:38 -- Dr. Ted Powers, professor emeritus in the Health and Human Performance Department, was just honored by Baylor's Student-Athlete Services office for his long career at Baylor.
2nd Quarter, 6:38 -- 31-yard field goal gets the Demons on the board, but Crawford's sack likely kept the Demons from making it a 7 instead.
BAYLOR 30, NORTHWESTERN STATE 3
2nd Quarter, 7:30 -- And a big, big sack by Dwain Crawford pushes the Demons from 2nd and goal at the 8 to 3rd and goal at the 22. That was Crawford's first career sack.
2nd Quarter, 8:46 -- For the first time today, NSU is moving the ball. The drive started with a long kickoff return, and the Demons just picked up a first down at the Baylor 25 after going for it on 4th and inches. NSU's starting QB is back in; looks like that short benching woke him up. First and goal at the 10 for the Demons.
2nd Quarter, 10:25 -- Lucky the Baylor Trailer is in attendance! The bright gold trailer is parked north of the stadium near Touchdown Alley. Look for it the next time you're at a Baylor game. I would love to see it being towed on the highway to and from Waco. What a show of spirit!
2nd Quarter, 13:30 -- And that number will go up to 11.2 yards/play following a 35-yard touchdown run by Jay Finley, who turned the corner on the right side and just outran the defense to the end zone. That's Finley's first career multiple-TD game.
BAYLOR 30, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
2nd Quarter, 14:01 -- 21-yard pass from Griffin to Akers. The Bears are averaging 10.4 yards per play so far tonight.
2nd Quarter, 14:48 -- And NSU will punt again. 206 total yards of offense in the 1st quarter for the Bears. Baylor was 3 of 4 on third-down conversions, too, after struggling in that area last week.
2nd Quarter, 15:00 -- During the midquarter break, the B Association honored former letterwinner Gary Don Johnson as a Baylor Legend. Johnson earned all-America honors in 1976. Nice feature on the videoboard.
1st Quarter, 0:30 -- The Demons have already changed quarterbacks, bringing in backup Drew Branch for his first action of the season.
1st Quarter, 1:11 -- Griffin faked the handoff and carried the ball untouched into the end zone for yet another BU TD. Parks is good on the XP again, and Baylor continues to push the lead.
BAYLOR 23, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
1st Quarter, 2:09 -- Interception, Bears! Chris Francis made a nice catch reaching behind himself to set up Baylor at the NSU 19.
1st Quarter, 3:04 -- That set the Bears up for their first field goal attempt of the year. It's good, and Baylor extends the lead.
BAYLOR 16, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
1st Quarter, 4:20 -- Yet another big play puts the Bears in the NSU red zone, as Griffin hits Gettis downfield. Griffin is 4 of 5 for 100 yards and a touchdown already.
1st Quarter, 5:13 -- And the Bears force another punt, stopping the Demons a yard shy of the 20 yard line and the first-down marker.
1st Quarter, 7:36 -- The crowd looks fairly similar in size to last week's, which was announced at 30,633. NSU traveled a little better than I expected. A decent amount of purple scattered in the southeast section of the stadium. Not much for Demon fans to cheer about yet, though.
1st Quarter, 7:41 -- Another big play leads to the Bears' second score of the night, as Jay Finley busted out a career-long run of 40 yards for the touchdown. And the extra point is good, drawing a nice cheer from the crowd.
BAYLOR 13, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
1st Quarter, 9:05 -- Jordan Lake forces the NSU fumble! Lake stripped the ball from the Demons' RB just before he went down, popping the ball straight up in the air and into the waiting hands of Antonio Johnson. Baylor ball!
1st Quarter, 10:09 -- If anyone has been having trouble with Gametracker, I'm told it should be working now. Sorry for the technical difficulties.
1st Quarter, 10:09 -- After a long pass just went off the hands of David Gettis on second down, the Bears went long again on third down, connecting on a 49-yard TD pass to Ernest Smith -- Griffin's first career passing TD. Missed the extra point again, though.
BAYLOR 6, NORTHWESTERN STATE 0
1st Quarter, 10:37 -- The rushing game is getting it done for the Bears so far, as Baylor crosses into NSU territory on the strength of runs by Robert Griffin, Jacoby Jones and Jay Finley.
1st Quarter, 13:32 -- True freshman Robert Griffin is starting for Baylor at quarterback. I've been asking around, and even the legendary Dave Campbell can't remember the last time the Bears started a true freshman at QB.
1st Quarter, 13:38 -- Nice tackle by Joe Pawelek to stop the Demons on third down, forcing NSU to punt on their first possession.
1st Quarter, 14:27 -- After receiving the kickoff, the Demons came up just short on a long pass down the left side on 2nd down, then had to use their first time out to get ready for third down.
Pregame, 5:59 p.m. -- And here comes the Line! A good number of the students are already lined up waiting to welcome the football team, while others are still coming down the ramp and heading to the field. The championship gold jerseys look great against the green field.
Pregame, 5:57 p.m. -- Fireworks startled the crowd during the Star Spangled Banner. Another nice touch -- the 10x20 yard flag unfurled at midfield during the Anthem.
Pregame, 5:54 p.m. -- Pregame music from the Golden Wave Band -- Deep in the Heart of Texas. What other state has this sort of state pride? Don't mess with Texas!
Pregame, 5:50 p.m. -- Driving in today, I heard director of athletics Ian McCaw on the pregame radio show say that about 8,500 students attended last week's game. That's 60% of the student body! Included in that number were 2,500 or so members of the Baylor Line (see photos here). The numbers for the Line look slightly down this week, but still a very nice group lined up on the southeast ramp waiting to run in.
Pregame, 5:47 p.m. -- And here comes the band! The twirlers are leading the way down the ramp in the stadium's southeast corner and around the field, followed by the band in their summer attire (word is that the dress uniforms are still undergoing final fittings; plus, it's warm!). The band is one of the things that makes college football so great. Welcome, BUGWB! Go Bears, Go Bears, Go Bears Go!
Pregame, 5:45 p.m. -- Before each game, fans in their seats early are treated to a series of features on the videoboard. Right now, they're running a story introducing defensive coaches Chris Achuff and Theo Young. I just learned Coach Young played two years with the Steelers!
Pregame, 5:36 p.m. -- Just watched the Trolley drop off another load of fans (primarily students) out in Touchdown Alley. Baylor runs the Trolley service from campus to the stadium on gamedays -- a nice service for students without a car or those who just don't want to fight through traffic at the stadium.
Pregame, 5:20 p.m. -- For the second week in a row, Baylor faces an opponent nicknamed the Demons. Last week, it was the Wake Forest Demon Deacons; this week, the Northwestern State Demons.
Meanwhile, NSU is in the midst of a streak where they play the Lions (TAMU-Commerce), Tigers (Grambling) and Bears. Oh my!
Pregame, 5:16 p.m. -- A good number of guys are out on the field now warming up. Of note to many of you -- rather than the white pants the team wore last week, the Bears this week are in metallic gold pants, with a white stripe (flanked by green stripes on either side) running down the legs. The rest of the uniform -- green jersey, gold helmet -- is the same as last week. Though I didn't mind last week's gold-green-white look, it's nice to see the team decked out in a look that even better represents Baylor and Baylor's tradition. Make sure to check back here at BaylorBears.com after the game for a photo gallery to see the new look.
Pregame, 4:39 p.m. -- The field is empty except for a couple of NSU punters kicking the ball around, and the mohawked Jordan Lake doing some warm-up exercises. The stands don't have too many more people yet, either; everyone is out tailgating or enjoying Snickers' Touchdown Alley. A little bit cooler today than last week; 90 degrees and sunny right now, with more than 90 minutes to go 'til kickoff. Nice weather for some football tonight!
Pregame, 4:30 p.m. -- Welcome back to BaylorBears.com's In-Game Blog! We'll be posting little tidbits throughout today's game that we find interesting, and we hope you'll enjoy it, too. Stay tuned!
Baylor vs. Northwestern State, Preview
9:05 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1, 2008
Brad Sheffield
Baylor returns to action Saturday, Sept. 6, hosting Northwestern State for an NCAA inter-division game. Kickoff between the Bears and the Demons is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium. This is the second of four non-Big 12 Conference games for the Bears; it also is the Bears' lone game this season against an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision member.
The Bears (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) look to stop a nine-game losing streak that dates back to last season. It is the program's longest skid since a 10-game streak that spanned the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. Baylor also looks to snap a five-game losing streak at Floyd Casey Stadium.
The Demons (1-0, 0-0 Southland) opened their season last Saturday with a 30-14 victory at home over NCAA Division II member Texas A&M-Commerce. This is Northwestern State's lone game against an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision member this season. It also is the Demon's last road game until Oct. 18.
All Baylor football games are broadcast live on the Baylor/ISP Sports Radio Network; Waco's 1660 ESPN Radio is the network's flagship station. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor football games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the CBS College Sports network. Live streaming video also is available for all non-televised home games.
Check back just before kickoff Saturday night for more information on the only official live in-game blog of Baylor athletics.
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