By Jerry Hill

Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor

Two games, two goal-line stands.

For the second consecutive week, the Baylor defense came up with a huge goal-line stand, keeping Rice running back Justin Hill out of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

“Not just as a defense, but as a team, that was a huge momentum swing,” said cornerback Alton Widemon.

“It just shows how good and solid our defense is,” defensive end Jason Lamb said, “when our backs are against the wall, just not giving up.”

Last week, Brandon Stiggers recovered a fumble that defensive end Jameon Hardeman and linebacker Joe Pawelek stripped from quarterback

One yard shy of another

Baylor quarterback Blake Szymanski stayed in the game long enough to set single-game school records for touchdowns (6) and passing yards (412) before being taken out early in the fourth quarter.

“I didn’t even know it was going to be a record,” Baylor head coach Guy Morriss said. “We kept track of it up in the press box. But we were going to try to get him over 400 (yards), and then get Tyler (Beatty) in.”

But if he had stayed in, Szymanski likely would have rewritten another record. With 422 yards total offense, including 10 yards on three rushes, he finished a yard shy of Tom Muecke’s 23-year-old record.

“That’s awesome to have,” Szymanski said of the school records. “That’s good. But we’ve got to come back next week and be ready to play. We can’t stay too high on this win.”

Call it a Baylor dozen

Last year, Dominique Zeigler and Trent Shelton were the focus of Baylor’s offense, combining for 107 catches.

But the Baylor quarterbacks are spreading the wealth this year. In Saturday’s game, 12 different players caught passes.

Running back Brandon Whitaker led the way with six catches for 12 yards, but inside receiver was the yardage leader with 74 yards on five catches.

“That’s just the way this offense works,” Szymanski said. “This guy here will catch a 34-yard touchdown pass, and he might not see the ball the rest of the day. That’s just the way it is. You’ve got to find the open holes, and you’re not favoring one receiver.”

Smith survives first test

Just four days after returning to the team, fifth-year senior offensive lineman Chad Smith started at left guard and “probably half the snaps,” Morriss said.

“I think his conditioning is not what he’d like for it to be just yet, with him taking 10 days off,” he said. “We’ll probably have to give him some rest this week, which affects his conditioning. But if he could get through 50 percent of the lays, we’d be happy with that at this point.”

Injury report

The only injury reported after the game was junior wide receiver Mikail Baker, who is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a broken collarbone.

jhill@wacotrib.com

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