By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

The Baylor players have seen the horror stories and don’t want to let it happen to them.

Can anyone say Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32?

Nobody has quite forgotten how the Mountaineers came into the Big House last September and upset the Wolverines. It’s a lesson to every Division I player: An NCAA Football Championship Subdivision team is quite capable of going on the road and beating a Division I team.

The Bears don’t plan to let their guard down when Northwestern State comes to Floyd Casey Stadium at 6 tonight.

“No matter who we play, we’ve got to protect our house,” Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith said. “It’s hard to get the bad taste out of our mouth from the first game. It took a lot of Listerine, but the first game is over and we just need to iron out all the wrinkles.”

The Bears hoped to set the right tone for the season in the Aug. 28 season opener against No. 20 Wake Forest, but they were undercut by five turnovers and Riley Skinner’s proficient passing in a 41-13 loss.

Though Northwestern State is only the second game of the season, some Baylor players are looking at it as a must-win.

“We’ve got to look at this as a must-win whether we’re playing a national championship team or a junior college team,” Baylor receiver David Gettis said. “This is an opportunity to redeem ourselves.”

“We’re going into it like we’re underdogs,” Baylor defensive tackle Vincent Rhodes said. “Yeah, we’re Division I and they’re Division I-AA and they’re coming to our house, but we haven’t done anything to prove ourselves. We have to come out and execute and hopefully win the game.”

Baylor coach Art Briles is hoping freshman quarterback Robert Griffin will give the Bears a spark in his first college start. After fifth-year senior Kirby Freeman started the first quarter against Wake Forest, Griffin came in early in the second quarter and hit 11 of 19 passes for 125 yards. He led the Bears on their only two touchdown drives, and scored on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter.

But Griffin was already in a 17-0 hole before he came into the game. Getting off to a strong start will be pivotal against Northwestern State.

“I’m impressed with Robert’s poise, mentality and discipline — he’s ahead of the game from that standpoint,” Briles said. “We want to give Robert situations where he feels comfortable and can have success. What we’re working through at this time is getting schemes to match his ability.”

The Demons also have a new quarterback in John Hundley, a junior transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette. Hundley led the Demons to a 30-14 season-opening win over Texas A&M-Commerce last weekend by hitting nine of 17 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown while for rushing for a team-high 83 yards and a touchdown.

Playing its opener at home in Natchitoches, La., Northwestern State showed it had an opportunistic defense as Josh Daniels recovered a fumble in the end zone in the second quarter and Gary Riggs returned an interception for a 29-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“Our defense scored as many points as we allowed — you’re going to win most times when that happens for sure,” said Northwestern State coach Scott Stoker. “We left a ton of room to improve, but we won the game, and that’s the main objective.”

The Bears blew away Northwestern State, 47-10, in their only other meeting two years ago at Floyd Casey Stadium. Baylor is 13-0 all-time against teams now playing in the Southland Conference and certainly doesn’t want to end the streak today.

“We can’t overlook them,” Baylor cornerback Dwain Crawford said. “We didn’t put together a full four quarters last week, and we’ve got to clean some things up. This will be a good opportunity for us to rebound from last week.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

757-5716

—— BAYLOR vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE ——

Kickoff: 6 p.m., Floyd Casey Stadium

Radio: 5:30 p.m., KRZI-AM (1660)

Records: BU 0-1, NW 1-0

Series: BU leads, 1-0 (1-0 in Waco)

Last meeting: BU, 47-10 (2006, in Waco)

Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-90s