Baylor
North Texas
Bears Win First Game of the Year
7/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 1999
WACO, Texas - Baylor's running game came to life as the combination of Darrell Bush and Derek Lagway led the Bears to a 23-10 win over North Texas in Waco.
The victory, Baylor's first of the season, broke a 10-game winless streak dating back to a 31-24 win over Kansas, Oct. 10, 1998.
"I'm very proud for the men in there," Baylor head coach Kevin Steele said, pointing to the Bear locker room. "We asked them to fight for 60 minutes and never, never give up, to fight like never before...And they did that."
Bush gained 164 yards, a career high, on 27 carries from his tailback spot, while Lagway, playing both fullback and tailback, added a season-high 78 on 14 totes, including a third-quarter touchdown run that sealed the win.
The Bears totalled 251 yards on the ground while finishing with 393 in total offense, a season high.
The BU defense did its part, giving up 179 total yards, another 1999 best.
"The difference in the game is that they were able to line up in the I and hammer away and make six or seven yards a play," coach UNT Darrell Dickey said. "They did not turn the ball over one time and we had two turnovers. For us to play against anybody we've got to play as close to mistake free as we can."
The win couldn't have come at a better time for Steele, who picked up his first career victory as a head coach, though he refused to take credit.
"I'm excited, but this is not about Kevin Steele. It goes way beyond that. The joy is for the players. They earned it. They deserve it. It's all theirs."
The Bears got on the board first when Kyle Atteberry hit a 40-yard field goal to cap a 12- play, 66-yard drive that consumed 4:39.
The drive featured a solid mix of the run and pass with fullback Derek Lagway doing muuch of the work. Atteberry's fourth field goal on five attempts this season made it 3-0 with 6:37 to play in the first.
The Bears stopped North Texas' next drive when linebacker Kris Micheaux intercepted Mean Green quarterback Jason Attaway at the BU 19.
Micheaux's first carfeer interception turned into another Atteberry field goal, this one a 21-yarder. To set up the score BU quarterback Jermaine Alfred moved Baylor sharply downfield, overcoming a third-and-five situation with a 34-yard run-and-catch play to wide receiver Lanny O'Steen, who caught the ball in the right flat and bolted down the right sideline to the seven.
Three snaps got the ball to the four before the senior kicker booted true again after a 10- play, 74-yard drive, making the Bear lead 6-0 with 13:38 to play in the half.
The Bears had to settle for a third Atteberry three-pointer late in the opening half. After Darrell Bush gained 15 and 13 yards up the middle, the drive stalled when Lagway, playing tailback, got caught in the backfield.
Atteberry made it 9-0 with a 31-yard FG at the 3:40 mark in the second, capping a seven-play, 41-yard drive that took 3:40.
The Mean Green, who earlier had inserted quarterback Richard Bridges into the game, used that time to move the Eagles 65 yards in 13 plays down to the Bear 15.
From there Jason Ball hit a 32-yard field goal to make it 9-3 as time in the first half expired.
Bridges has the Mean Green moving again until cornerback Daniel Wilturner intercepted him at the BU 33.
Alfred hit Andra Fuller and Randy Davis as the Bears put together their first touchdown drive of the game. Lagway ran tough to overcome a third- and-one and then he bashed his way up the middle on a seven-yard TD run.
Baylor's first third-quarter points of the year came on an eight-play, 38-yard drive that made it 16-3 with 2:22 to play in the third quarter.
Having seized the momentum, Baylor then engineered a long scoring drive to put the game away with 9:29 to play. Backup fullback Melvin Barnett did the honors from the one, topping off an 11-play, 89- yard drive that consumed 4:44 and upped the BU lead to 20 at 23-3.
North Texas refused to die, scoring a gutsy touchdown on a fourth-and-two from the three. Bridges hit Banks on a rollout right. The drive covered 73 yards in 11 play and took 4:50. With 4:27 to play, BU's lead was down to 23-10.
But Baylor held on, taking the the onsides kick and running out the clock with Bush doing most of the work. On the final two snaps, Alfred took a knee as time expired.
"Give Baylor credit," Dickey said. "They came to play and they ran the ball."
