Baylor
North Texas
Baylor Runs By North Texas 20-7
8/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 31, 2000
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
DENTON, Texas (AP) - Elijah Burkins made a quick impact in his return from an injury as Baylor ended a 16-game road losing streak Thursday night with a 20-7 victory over North Texas, the only team the Bears beat last season.
Burkins didn't touch the ball until the first play of the second quarter, and then had three straight carries up the middle for the final 31 yards of Baylor's first touchdown drive. He had gains of 18 and 9 yards before scoring from the 4.
Baylor led for good in the season opener for both teams after the TD by Burkins, a senior who received a medical redshirt after injuring his right ankle in the third game last season.
The Bears had a 17-0 halftime lead after Adam Stiles kicked a 46-yard field goal, and linebacker Kris Micheaux followed just 21 seconds by returning a fumble 14 yards for a touchdown.
North Texas, which hasn't beaten Baylor in the 11-game series that dates to 1922, began coach Darrell Dickey's third season with another loss after a five-game losing streak to end 1999. The Mean Green had four turnovers.
Baylor was 1-10 last year in coach Kevin Steele's debut season, including six straight losses after the 23-10 victory over North Texas.
North Texas didn't score until freshman quarterback Scott Hall took over and led a nine-play, 80-yard drive that ended on Aaron Holly's 2-yard TD run on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Hall completed passes of 22 and 29 yards just before the score.
The last time Baylor had held an opponent scoreless into the fourth quarter was Sept. 30, 1995, in a 9-7 victory over Texas Tech.
Greg Cicero was adequate in his first start as Baylor's quarterback. Cicero, who first went to the University of Texas before transferring to a California junior college after an injury, completed 16 of 27 passes for 207 yards. That included a 55-yard play on the final drive before Baylor ended the game inside the UNT 10.
North Texas made it into Baylor territory on just one of its seven first-half possessions, after Richard Bridges passed to Byron Curtis for a 51-yard gain to the 14. The Mean Green stalled, and Jason Ball - who ended 1999 by making nine straight field goals, a school record - was wide right on a 26-yard attempt.
