By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Looking at a calendar loaded with Top 25 teams, Baylor knew a stumble against Iowa State could start a harrowing free fall.

So the Bears stepped up and delivered one of their best all-around performances in 13 Big 12 seasons.

With Robert Griffin throwing brilliantly and the defense shutting down Iowa State, the Bears rumbled to a 38-10 win before 30,548 fans Saturday night at Floyd Casey Stadium.

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The day after

• »  Bears eager for more wins after complete performance vs. Iowa State
• »  Bear Blog: Griffin isn't Bears' only great freshman

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Baylor vs. Iowa State

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• »   Baylor defense gets it done, keeping Iowa State out of end zone for 3 quarters
• »   Notebook: Bears match biggest win in Big 12 Conference play
  
  
• Updated team stats
• Full game summary

BEARS IN ACTION BU dominates Iowa State for 38-10 win

BAYLOR FANS CHEER Baylor backers out in force

The Bears not only snapped a 13-game Big 12 losing streak, they matched their most lopsided conference win. The Bears’ only other 28-point margin of victory also came against Iowa State in a 49-21 decision for their first Big 12 win in 1996.

As the Bears walked off the field, the student body chanted, “We want Briles. We want Briles.” Baylor coach Art Briles couldn’t have been happier with his team’s performance after his first Big 12 win.

“I hate to say this was a must-win, but we needed it,” Briles said. “Any Big 12 victory is hard to come by, and this was a good step in the right direction. We’ve felt all along we’re a good football team, and maybe we’re starting to show it a little bit.”

Baylor (3-3, 1-1) will play one of the toughest stretches of games in the country in the next four weeks. After facing No. 17 Oklahoma State and Nebraska the next two weeks on the road, the Bears will host No. 3 Missouri on Nov. 1 before traveling to No. 5 Texas on Nov. 8.

After a 49-17 blowout loss to No. 1 Oklahoma last week, the Bears needed a feel-good game. Baylor’s last Big 12 win was a 36-35 thriller over Kansas on Oct. 22, 2006.

“This was a lot of fun,” Baylor cornerback Dwain Crawford said. “It was good to get that losing streak out of the way. We have a new foundation here with Coach Briles and his staff, and I think we’re working toward the right things.”

Griffin was almost perfect as he hit 21 of 24 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns. The freshman from Copperas Cove also ran for a touchdown, giving him at least one rushing touchdown in all six games.

But unlike the last two games when he carried the ball 23 times against Connecticut and 21 times against Oklahoma, Griffin carried just nine times against the Cyclones (2-4, 0-2).

Many more hands got involved for the Bears as eight players ran the ball and seven players caught passes. The Bears finished with 435 total yards and didn’t commit a turnover for the fourth straight game, setting a modern-day school record.

“I didn’t feel a lot of pressure to do it all,” Griffin said. “When they are spying on me, it leaves running and passing lanes open for the other guys. I just spread the ball around and let the guys work it from there. We ran the ball well and the receivers did a good job of catching the ball. The offensive line was manhandling them up front.”

Freshman receiver Kendall Wright had a particularly big night as he set personal records with seven catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He made a diving 34-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter before turning a short route into a highlight-reel 51-yard score in the fourth quarter.

On the second touchdown, Wright caught a pass from Griffin near the right sideline. He raced all the way across the field before outrunning the Iowa State defenders down the left sideline for the touchdown.

Baylor’s defense was also superb as it limited the Cyclones to 257 total yards, including 176 passing and 81 rushing. Mikail Baker gave the special teams a lift by returning a kickoff for a 93-yard touchdown to open the second half.

“That’s the most complete game we’ve played all year,” Briles said. “We were very crisp from an offensive standpoint and everybody acted like they knew what they were doing. Our defense did an outstanding job of making plays when they had to. Baker’s kickoff return really ignited the crowd.”

Griffin was spectacular in the first half as he hit 14 of 15 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown to guide the Bears to a 21-3 lead.

After failing to score on their first drive, the Bears rolled for touchdown drives of 56, 81 and 79 yards on their next three possessions.

Griffin kicked the first drive into gear by hitting three short passes to Thomas White for 18 yards. After Iowa State’s Christopher Lyle sacked Griffin for a 13-yard loss, he got back the yardage with a 13-yard pass to David Gettis.

Facing fourth-and-12 at the 34, Griffin went for the whole bundle.

Under a heavy blitz by Iowa State, Griffin let the ball fly and Wright made a diving catch at the back of the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

“When they sent the blitz, I just wanted to put enough air under the ball for Kendall to run under it,” Griffin said. “I didn’t see Kendall catch the ball because I was on the ground. But I heard the crowd and thought it must be a touchdown.”

On their next drive, the Bears ate up 81 yards on 14 plays with Jay Finley finishing it off with a 12-yard touchdown run.

Griffin was perfect on the drive as he hit three passes for 36 yards, including a 21-yarder to Brad Taylor to Iowa State’s 27.

Iowa State’s next drive was one of the strangest of the season. The Cyclones moved only 45 yards, but used 17 plays and killed 8:42 off the clock before Grant Mahoney nailed a 34-yard field goal.

After the Cyclones moved to Baylor’s 4, they were flagged twice for false starts. But Baylor was called for roughing the kicker on fourth down, and the Cyclones elected to take Mahoney’s 22-yard field goal off the scoreboard.

Following another false start, a delay of game penalty and an illegal block against Iowa State, Mahoney came back on the field and nailed his 34-yard field goal to cut Baylor’s lead to 14-3 with 5:36 left in the second quarter.

There was plenty of time remaining for Griffin to lead another scoring drive as the Bears moved 79 yards on nine plays for their third touchdown, with Griffin scoring on a four-yard run.

The Bears opened the second half in electrifying fashion as Baker blew down the right sideline for a 93-yard kickoff return to open up a 28-3 lead.

“Everyone made their blocks, and all I had to do was run through them,” Baker said. “Once I got past their kicker, I knew I was going to score.”