Baylor
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Kansas
Early Lead Not Enough as Kansas Beats Baylor, 45-10
7/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 1999
LAWRENCE, Kansas - Baylor grabbed an early lead, but Kansas, led by Texan David Winbush, took control in the second quarter and never looked back en route to a 45-10 win over the Bears in Lawrence.
Baylor had played some of it best football of the season to take a 14-10 early second-quarter advantage, but KU erased the margin and made it 24-10 by halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Jayhawks blew it open with 21 more points in the fourth.
The loss put Baylor at 1-8 on the season, 0-6 in Big 12 play, while the resurgent Jayhawks went to 4-6, 2-4.
"The most disappointing thing is where we are," coach Kevin Steele said. "We just have to stay focused no matter how painfil it is, but we will get it done."
KU overcame an early deficit to wind up with 466 yards total offense, compared to the Bears' 251. Winbush, a Killeen native, led KU with 111 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. His backup, Mitch Bowles, recorded 86 yards on 13 carries.
KU finished with 373 rushing yards, the top total of the Terry Allen era in Lawrence. "I thought the offensive line did an excellent job," the Jayhawk coach said. "We ran the football well. We had some guys wake up and make statements. We did a good job."
Kansas quickly put the game's first points on the board after Baylor's opening drive stalled at the Bear 44. Taking over on their own 29, the Jayhawks covered the distance in seven plays, taking 2:37 off the clock.
Kansas never had to face a third down situation before fullback Moran Norris, who finished with 75 yards on 13 carries, powered his way up the middle from the four, putting his team ahead 7-0 with 8:56 to go in the first.
Baylor responded with its own 71-yard scoring drive, capped by a 26-yard Kyle Atteberry field goal that made it 7-3. Randy Davis, who finished with 53 yards on three catches, caught passes of 33 and 12 yards on the 14-play march that took 5:08 off the clock.
The Bears then took their first lead in a game since the UNVL contest when Jermaine Alfred scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. Alfred's touchdown, making it 10-7 and coming with 11:34 to play in the half, topped a 15-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 5:46.
BU did an excellent job controlling the clock to keep the march alive. Wide receivers Reggie Newhouse and Martin Dossett caught clutch passes for first downs across the middle, but the biggest play came when tight end Andrew Obriotti snared an Alfred strike down the heart of the KU defense.
The catch went for 21 yards and kept the drive going after a sack of Alfred had the Bears facing a third-and-17 situation. The play also marked the second time this season Baylor converted a third-and-11 or longer down.
Alfred finished the day with 15 completions on 31 attempts for 147 yards. He now has 614 career pass attempts, No. 6 all-time at Baylor.
The Bears appeared to be in control, but the Jayhawks wasted no time in reclaiming the lead and extending it to 21-10. Winbush began to assert when he himslef scored a pair of touchdowns as KU grabbed the momentum right back out of the visitors'hands.
First, Winbush bounced around left end on a 19-yard TD run with 9:13 remaining in the half. The score came off a quick eight-play, 80-yard taking 2:16.
Then the shifty tailback took an option pitch around right end to score from six. That drive took 4:42 and covered 63 yards in 10 plays.
KU extended its lead to 14 on Joe Garcia's 27-yard field goal with just 25 seconds to go before intermission. When they took possession, the Jayhawks appeared to be content to run the clock out, but a simple draw play to Bowles gained 49 yards to set up the three-pointer.
The score, which stood at halftime, went to 24-10 after the seven-play, 70-yard drive that took 1:21 to unfold.
Kansas's second-quarter surge was clearly reflected in the halftime stats. The Jayhawks trailed the Bears in total yards, 71-130, at the end of the first quarter, but by halftime they had staked a 279-193 advantage in offensive yardage.
The Bears held KU to a to a three-and-out series to open the half and showed all the signs of recapturing the momentum before a tough series negated the threat.
A blocking in the back penalty negated a 32-yard Darrell Bush screen pass which would have put the ball all the way down to the 10 and then a sack by Jayhawk linebacker Andrew LeClair moved it back another nine.
An illegal proceedure penalty ended a five-play drive that lost a yard.
Baylor's next drive held some promise as well, but receiver Lanny O'Steen fumbled at the BU 48 after taking a solid hit from KU's Kareem High after a 10-yard reception.
The Bears notched their first turnover of game when Samir Al-Amin snagged a Dylen Smith pass in the endzone. Al-Amin's first career pick halted a threat which had reached the Bear 22.
But the drive ended when an Alfred pass to Andra Fuller came up just short at the 35.
The Jayhawks broke the second-half scoring drought and put the game away with a short TD drive set up by Henri Childs' 32-yard punt return.
With 10:14 to play, Norris catapulted over the top of the pile on a fourth-and-goal from the one, making it 31-10.
Another fine Childs punt return, this one for 34 yards, set up another KU TD. Winbush bounced around right end for a nine-yard TD that capped a four-play, 31-yard drive and upped to lead to 38-10 with 7:26 remaining.
Reserve tailback Matt Jordan tacked on a 20-yard touchdown run, capping a five-play, 50-yard run that upped to lead to 45-10 with 4:12 to play.
"In the first half we didn't make the plays when we had opportunities, but in the second half we moved the ball well," Allen said. "We're better than we were a month ago."
