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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Baylor-Wake Forest
10:26 p.m. — No, they won’t. The Deacons do the sportsmanlike thing, and kneel out the clock. It’s a Wake Forest rout, with a 41-13 final score.
10:25 p.m. — Or they can run right through the Baylor defense. C.J. Washington breaks loose on a 55-yard run to the Baylor 25. Wake may still get some more points.
10:24 p.m. — Wake intercepts a wounded duck from Freeman in the end zone for the touchback. The Demon Deacons should be able to run out the clock from here.
10:22 p.m. — Baylor is trying to mount one final scoring drive with Freeman at the helm, but he’s under a lot of pressure from the Wake defense.
10:20 p.m. — Kirby Freeman is back in at QB for Baylor, incidentally.
10:18 p.m. — Jake Lamar gets in on the BU highlight tape, bringing back a well set-up kickoff return 44 yards. Excellent blocking on that play by the Bears.
10:14 p.m. — Wake’s Josh Adams coasts into the end zone from 5 yards out. It’s 41-13 with 4:38 to play, and another Baylor fan exodus for the exits begins. It is a school night, after all.
10:11 p.m. — Another turnover for Baylor. This time the Wake Forest punt deflects on Dwain Crawford, setting the Deacons up in prime scoring position at the Baylor 10.
9:58 p.m. — Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry absolutely leveled the Baylor punt returner with a hit that drew “ooos” and moans from the crowd. It drew a 15-yard flag, though it’s unsure if the BU return man signaled for a fair catch. Could be helmet-to-helmet contact.
9:51 p.m. — Robert Griffin caps off a nice 12-play, 76-yard drive with a six-yard scamper up the gut. His speed brings another dimension to the Baylor offense.
9:49 p.m. — Actually, the play stands. White’s knees hit the ground before the ball came loose.
9:47 p.m. — Griffin throws a nice strike to Thomas White at the 1-yard line, but the play is under review and looks as if it might come back. The ball appeared to be coming out as White fell to the turf.
9:42 p.m. — End of the third quarter, Wake leads 34-6. The crowd, which was announced at 30,633, has dwindled to far, far below that now.
9:33 p.m. — The Bears are just not getting to Skinner, and he’s so accurate, he’s making them pay big. He just connected with a wide-open tight end Ben Wooster deep downfield, bringing the score to 34-6, Wake.
9:23 p.m. — It’s getting ugly for Baylor now. The Bears nearly fumbled the kickoff, then put together an atrocious three-and-out to give the ball back to Wake.
9:16 p.m. — With all day to pass, Skinner hits Brinkman for the second TD hook-up between the duo on the evening. The Deacons lead 27-6 with 7:36 remaining in the third.
9:15 p.m. — The Bears suffer their third turnover of the game, as Griffin fumbles on a second-down carry and Wake recovers. This one could prove extra-costly, given that it puts the Deacons in prime scoring position.
9:11 p.m. — Baylor will take over 1st-and-10 from its own 4 after an excellent Wake Forest punt.
9:05 p.m. — Baylor gives it right back, as Jay Finley can’t get a handle on the handoff from Griffin. It almost looked as if Finley didn’t know he was getting the carry.
9:03 p.m. — Great way for Baylor to start the second half, as the BU defense forces a turnover. Antonio Jones recovered the Wake fumble, and the Bears take over at the 32.
8:41 p.m. — After a three-and-out from BU, Wake kneels out the clock and takes a 20-6 lead into the halftime break. Baylor has mixed flashes of brilliance with plenty of mistakes (dropped passes, a middling defensive pass rush). We’ll see if the Bears can make some adjustments and put together a stronger second half.
8:34 p.m. — Sam Swank makes it 20-6 for Wake Forest, curling in a 42-yard field goal. The 23rd-ranked Deacons have lived up to their preseason billing thus far.
8:26 p.m. — Jacoby Jones takes advantage for the Bears with a 12-yard scamper to paydirt, following a “wow” sideline-navigating run from Griffin. Freshman kicker Ben Parks misses the PAT, but Baylor is on the board, trailing 17-6 with 2:54 to go in the half.
8:24 p.m. — Man, that Alphonso Smith is good. The All-America cornerback made a terrific play to break up a would-be TD pass from Griffin to David Gettis.
8:18 p.m. — Well, another chance for the BU offense, as Dwain Crawford makes an amazing strip and fumble recovery to give the Bears the ball right back.
8:14 p.m. — Baylor’s not able to do anything, as Griffin uncorks a pair of errant throws on third and fourth down. The drive stalls at the 37, where Wake will take over.
8:11 p.m. — Now the Bears are in business. Griffin lofts a short screen out to Finley, who bobbles it before pulling it in, then rumbles downfield for a 26-yard gain.
8:05 p.m. — Baylor fans finally have a real reason to cheer, as safety Jeremy Williams sacks Skinner on a third-down play. The Bears really need to put some points on the board on this ensuing possession.
8:04 p.m. — Yee-owwch! BU linebacker Joe Pawelek nailed Pendergrass with a lickety-split lick. That’s why he’s on the Butkus Award watch list.
8:01 p.m. — Remarkably, we’re an hour into the game and we’ve got our first flag. It had been a penalty-free game up until this block-in-the-back call on Wake.
7:57 p.m. — Dropped passes rear their ugly head again. Mikail Baker dropped Griffin’s first pass of the game, a 3rd-and-4 attempt, and of course Kirby Freeman has a pick on his stat sheet because of a flub by a receiver.
7:55 p.m. — Griffin trots out onto the field. There’s a noticeable cheer.
7:53 p.m. — Kirby Freeman has his helmet off. Robert Griffin has his on. I’m thinking he’s coming in on the next series.
7:51 p.m. — Too easy for Wake right now, as Brandon Pendergrass plows in from three yards out. The Deacons lead, 17-0, with 14:23 to play in the half.
7:49 p.m. — Looking at some first-quarter stats, another area that Wake is hurting Baylor is in third-down conversions. The Deacons have converted 3 of 5 on third down, while Baylor is just 1 of 4.
7:46 p.m. — Baylor’s got to get more of a pass rush on Wake quarterback Riley Skinner, or he’s going to pick the Bears apart. End of the first quarter, Wake leads 10-0, and the Deacons are knocking on the door again, with the ball at the Bears 6.
7:40 p.m. — For the second time in his career, Kirby Freeman has had a pass intercepted by Wake Forest. Alphonso Smith, who led the nation in forced turnovers last year, snagged it as Freeman’s pass bounced in and out of the hands of Jay Finley. Freeman was 1-for-4 with a pick in mop-up duty as a Miami freshman in 2005.
7:37 p.m. — Big cheer goes up, as we’ve got the initial first down of the Art Briles era. Freeman connected with Justin Akers for 13 yards on a third-and-short.
7:33 p.m. — Wake grabs a 10-0 lead, as Demon Deacon QB Riley Skinner connects with tight end Chip Brinkman on a slant for a 12-yard TD.
7:24 p.m. — After Baylor’s second three-and-out, a faint “Robert Griffin! Robert Griffin!” chant arose from a few Baylor fans. We’ll see what Baylor does on its next series, but Freeman hasn’t looked particularly sharp thus far. Nevertheless, it’s still early.
7:20 p.m. — Freeman’s back on the field for Baylor’s second offensive series.
7:16 p.m. — Wake’s Sam Swank nails a 40-yard field goal to put the Deacons up 3-0. But that was certainly a small victory for the Bears holding Wake out of the end zone.
7:12 p.m. — Three-and-out for the Bears. That’s alright, Baylor fans, it’s like Art Briles said in the press conference Tuesday: “It’s not going to matter who plays quarterback those first three plays.”
7:10 p.m. — It’s Freeman at QB for the first series. The reaction from the Baylor faithful is relatively subdued applause.
7:07 p.m. — Perhaps the first clue at a starting QB: Kirby Freeman is extremely busy making warm-up throws.
6:59 p.m. — The Baylor Line is coming in … and coming in … and coming in. Good gosh, the freshmen have multiplied.
6:48 p.m. — Well, it’s a nice, sweltering August evening here in Waco. Why not play a little Baylor football? The fans are starting to pull themselves away from their tailgate parties, and are making their way into the stadium.
There’s already a nice-sized student contingent in attendance, as I’d estimate that section is 75-80 percent full, all decked out in their bright gold T-shirts.
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