By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Racing to beat Hurricane Ike, Baylor turned to its own force of nature.

When it was all over, freshman Robert Griffin left every Washington State defender scrambling and falling in his wake.

Griffin set a school record with 217 yards rushing while also passing for 129 yards to lead the Bears to a 45-17 blowout of the Cougars before a Floyd Casey Stadium crowd of 25,595.

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The day after

• »  Bears create buzz with win over Washington State

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Baylor vs.
Washington St.

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• »   Sacks, turnovers feed Bears' hunger
  
  
• Updated team stats
• Full game summary

SIC 'EM BEARS! Fans in the stands

ACTION SHOTS Bears vs. WSU

With Hurricane Ike set to roar through Texas today, Baylor and Washington State officials scrambled to move the game a day earlier to Friday night. The Cougars flew out of Pullman, Wash., Friday morning to get to Waco in time for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Baylor (2-1) pulled off its most lopsided win over an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team since a 49-21 win over Iowa State in 1996.

“It was great that it worked out this way and we got a win out of it,” said Baylor coach Art Briles. “I was amazed by the effort and attitude that our players prepared for this game with. We got a win against a Pac-10 team, but we need to keep grinding and fighting.”

The Cougars (0-3) simply looked worn out when the night was over, and Griffin was a big reason for it. Carrying the ball just 11 times, Griffin broke Jerod Douglas’ Baylor single-game rushing record of 210 yards against Texas in 1994. Griffin’s 19.7 yards per carry set a Big 12 record.

“I’m surprised it’s a school record with all the great backs that Baylor has had,” Briles said. “But Robert is a gifted athlete without a doubt. What I like about him is that he handles it in such a mature manner. He’s a real team player.”

Griffin ran for touchdowns of 58 and one yards and also showed his athleticism when he reversed field and threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ernest Smith. He was just as spectacular on plays that he didn’t score as he broke off runs of 57 and 58 yards while also throwing a career-long 61-yard pass to David Gettis.

After a 51-6 thrashing of Northwestern State last weekend, the Bears scored more than 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1994.

“It’s a real confidence booster to beat Washington State,” Griffin said. “Our goal was to get up on them early and make them quit. The key was our offensive line because they opened up some big holes for us to get through.”

While Griffin was clearly the star, Jay Finley added 119 yards on 10 carries as the Bears finished with 426 yards rushing and 555 yards total offense. It marked just the third 400-yard rushing performance in school history and was the first since the Bears picked up 482 yards against SMU in 1993.

In last week’s 66-3 loss to California, Washington State gave up 391 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

“With me putting up 217 yards and Jay putting up 100-plus, it shows how much we want to run the ball,” Griffin said. “If we keep putting up performances like this, it’s just going to make us want to run the ball more.”

Baylor’s defense allowed 340 yards, but was opportunistic as it forced five turnovers and came up with seven sacks. Middle linebacker Joe Pawelek had a tremendous night as he intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, broke up two passes and collected 10 tackles.

“We were flying around to the football and making plays and came out with a great win,” Pawelek said. “Our defensive line got a lot of sacks and it all worked out for us. We came in focused on getting better and that’s what happened tonight.”

The Cougars didn’t look like a team that had flown into Waco earlier Friday afternoon as they scored the first time they got the ball.

Christopher Ivory exploded 50 yards on the opening kickoff return to give the Cougars great field position at Baylor’s 44.

Kevin Lopina converted two third downs to keep the drive alive, hitting Brandon Gibson over the middle for 19 yards and finding Jeshua Anderson along the right sideline for 13 yards to the 3.

Three plays later, Chantz Staden drove up the middle for a one-yard touchdown to give the Cougars a quick lead with 11:27 remaining.

But the Bears responded with a 10-play, 78-yard drive that was ignited by Griffin’s legs.

Facing second-and-15, Griffin pump faked and scrambled 21 yards to Washington State’s 49. Finley then popped up the middle for 22 yards before Griffin quickly hit Thomas White along the left sideline for 19 yards to the 3.

Griffin finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 7:53 left in the first quarter.

On the second play after Baylor’s kickoff, Lopina took a snap from center off his facemask and Pawelek recovered the fumble at Washington State’s 27.

“When the defense gives you the ball, you have more drive and motivation,” Finley said. “The team that wins the turnover battle should come out with the win. Our defense did a good job setting up our offense tonight.”

Griffin showed his athleticism when he scrambled to the left and cut back to his right with Washington State linebacker Greg Trent in pursuit. Still on the run, Griffin threw a bullet in the right corner of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown to Smith to give the Bears a 14-7 lead with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bears forced turnovers on Washington State’s next two drives as Dwain Crawford and and Pawelek intercepted Lopina’s passes. But the Bears couldn’t convert on either turnover.

After Pawelek returned his interception seven yards to Baylor’s 47, Griffin moved the Bears into Washington State territory. But facing fourth-and-nine at the 38, Matt Mullennix sacked Griffin for an eight-yard loss.

That ignited the Cougars as they drove for a touchdown with Lopina finishing it off with a nine-yard run to tie the game at 14-14 with eight minutes left in the first half.

But the rest of the half belonged to Griffin and the Bears.

Griffin blew around the right side, raced down the sideline and cut back toward the middle of the field before Tyrone Justin dragged him down after a 57-yard gain.

On the next play, Jeremy Sanders exploded for a 13-yard touchdown near the right sideline to give the Bears a 21-14 edge with 7:32 left in the first half.

After Baylor forced Washington State’s first punt, Finley blew up the middle for a 46-yard touchdown to push Baylor’s lead to 28-14 with 5:12 left in the first half.

Getting the ball again with 45 seconds left in the half, the Bears nearly scored again as Griffin hit Gettis for a career-long 61-yard pass to the 16 with nine seconds remaining.

After Griffin missed T.J. Scranton in the end zone, Ben Parks missed a 33-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

Griffin wasn’t through as he pulled off a perfect fake to Finley and raced for a 58-yard touchdown to push Baylor’s lead to 35-14 with 8:47 left in the third quarter.

Late in the third quarter, Vincent Rhodes recovered Lopina’s fumble at Washington State’s 32 to set up Kendall Wright’s 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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