Old school Robert Griffin was back in the house Saturday night with new school accuracy.

Griffin ran the ball like it was 2008, turning several scrambles into big gains, but also showed the passing efficiency that has made him a Heisman Trophy candidate.

The combination was too much for Stephen F. Austin as No. 19 Baylor romped to a 48-0 win before 43,090 fans at Floyd Casey Stadium.

The game was called with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter after a second lightning delay.

Baylor QB Robert Griffin runs over SFA's Derrick Choice (bottom) and Ben Wells in the first half. Griffin had 78 yards on eight carries.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

“We were just trying to get three quarters in the book and get a W and get ready to play Rice next week,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “We need rain, so if it rains I’m happy. We got a win and it rains, and that’s pretty hard to beat at this time of year.”

All of Griffin’s talents were on display as he hit 20 of 22 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns and also ran the ball eight times for 78 yards. Last year, Griffin cut back on running the ball, but the jets were back against the Lumberjacks.

“I was having fun,” Griffin said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to run, but sometimes you’ve got to move around a little. They got some pressure on me, and the guys did a good job blocking when I broke out of the pocket.”

Baylor receiver Kendall Wright had a great time watching Griffin leave defenders grasping at air.

“We’re back to watching Superman,” Wright said. “He was pretty much unstoppable.”

One thing was certain: Griffin showed no rust after hitting 21 of 27 passes for 359 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in a 50-48 win over TCU on Sept. 2 that lifted the Bears into the Top 25.

Griffin has as many touchdown passes (eight) as incompletions this season.

“Robert played at a high level the whole game,” Briles said. “He kept plays alive and made a bunch of plays with his feet. He was active and focused tonight and was game speed ready. He gave us a spark offensively.”

Turnovers thwart SFA

Though SFA had some impressive early drives, the Bears made some key plays to end them including an interception by safety Mike Hicks and a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Nicolas Jean-Baptiste. The Bears collected 545 offensive yards in the shortened game while SFA finished with just 207.

Baylor’s shutout was its first since a 14-0 win over North Carolina State in 1995 and first at home since a 45-0 win over TCU in 1985.

“I was really concerned after a 15-day layoff because that’s a long time during a season,” Briles said. “It was really like we were starting over. I think we’ll be more active on both sides of the ball and be at game speed a lot quicker next week against Rice.”

The Bears opened up a 31-0 lead with 2:14 left in the second quarter before a lightning delay stopped the game for 41 minutes. At that point, Griffin had hit 14 of 15 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns while rushing seven times for 79 yards.

Wright finished with eight catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. His 66-yard touchdown catch from Griffin in the second quarter gave him 19 touchdown catches for his career as he tied the school record by Lawrence Elkins and Melvin Bonner.

Baylor’s Lanear Sampson catches a 9-yard touchdown pass in front of Ben Wells in the first quarter.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

Wright also set the school career record with 2,653 receiving yards. 

“We’re a tempo offense, and when we play fast a lot of good things happen,” Wright said. “Things started to open up for the receivers with the productivity of our running backs.”  

The Lumberjacks (1-2), a Football Championship Subdivision school, had the early momentum as they moved 56 yards on their first drive. But it stalled when Jean-Baptiste stopped quarterback Brady Attaway for no gain on fourth-and-one at the 24.

Griffin quickly went to work as he led the Bears on a 45-yard drive that ended with Aaron Jones’ 48-yard field goal.

Once again, SFA moved the ball well but couldn’t finish. After driving 51 yards to Baylor’s 29, Hicks intercepted Attaway’s pass at the 9 and returned it 28 yards.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” said Hicks, who has made two interceptions this season. “Our defensive line got a good push, and Ahmad Dixon pushed the receiver’s route higher than it was supposed to be.”

Griffin went to work as he hit Wright with an 18-yard pass and then scrambled for 12. But the biggest play of the drive was Griffin’s 27-yard pass to Tevin Reese to SFA’s 10.

Two plays later, Griffin rolled left and hit Lanear Sampson with a 9-yard touchdown pass to give the Bears a 10-0 lead with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

SFA responded with its best drive of the first half by moving 76 yards. But on second-and-goal at the 6, Brody Trahan stripped the ball from Gus Johnson and Jean-Baptiste recovered at the 4.

“Early on, we didn’t communicate like we needed and it hurt us,” Baylor linebacker Elliot Coffey said. “We have a bend but don’t break mentality. When they came down to the red zone, we stopped them.” 

Ganaway explosion

Ganaway got Baylor out of the hole as he exploded up the middle for 26 yards, and that wasn’t even the best run of the 96-yard touchdown drive. Facing second-and-seven, Griffin scrambled and kicked it into overdrive when he split two SFA defenders downfield for a 35-yard gain.

“Coach (Dino) Babers said he never saw me run like that,” Griffin said, “and he doesn’t hand out compliments very often.”

On the next play, Griffin spotted Jerod Monk over the middle for a 10-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 17-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin breaks into the clear on a first-half run against Stephen F. Austin. Griffin rushed for 78 yards while completing 20 of 22 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears’ 48-0 win.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

On their next possession, the Bears drove 65 yards on just seven plays. Griffin broke away from two SFA defenders on one play to hit Sampson for 16 yards to the 32. Jarred Salubi finished off the drive with a 6-yard run up the middle to push Baylor’s lead to 24-0 with 8:06 left in the second quarter.

“After the defense got some stops, we started making things happen,” Ganaway said. “Once we start executing, no one can slow us down.”

Baylor’s next touchdown came much easier as Griffin found Wright streaking down the right sideline for a 66-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 31-0 lead with 3:14 left in the second quarter.

“I just ran a vertical route,” Wright said. “I don’t know how I got that wide open.”

After the lightning delay, the teams agreed to have no halftime.

No broken rhythm

It didn’t take the Bears long to score in the third quarter as Ganaway found a huge hole up the middle for a 41-yard touchdown run to push Baylor’s lead to 38-0 with 11:21 left in the third quarter. Ganaway finished with 80 yards rushing on just nine carries.

“It’s a definite tribute to our offensive line and play calling,” Ganaway said. “Coach Briles knows how to put us in good situations to succeed. Robert (Griffin) had a good game, so it definitely takes pressure off me in the backfield. I was able to showcase some speed, but the biggest thing is that we got the win.”

The Bears kept on scoring as sophomore Glasco Martin roared through a big hole for an 18-yard touchdown with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Petty saw his first action of his career in the third quarter as he hit one of two passes for 14 yards. Martin rushed for 61 yards on five carries and helped set up Jones’ 30-yard field goal with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

Then the lightning started again, and the game was called. The Bears are 3-0 in lightning delayed games in the last two years after beating Rice and Kansas State last season.

“I didn’t expect them to call the game,” Griffin said. “But there was a big storm coming and we would have had to sit here a long time. We would have been here three hours twiddling our thumbs.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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