Sept. 16, 2000

Box Score

By DENNE H. FREEMAN
AP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas - Thomas Tapeh ran for 178 yards and caught a touchdown pass, and Karon Riley knocked Baylor's quarterback out of the game as Minnesota beat the Bears 34-9 on Saturday.

Tapeh, a 228-pound freshman, scored on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Asad Abdul-Khaliq in the third quarter and had a 1-yard TD run in the fourth as the Gophers (2-1) wore down the undersized Bears (1-1). Tapeh had 31 carries.

Abdul-Khaliq, also a freshman, completed 14 of 20 passes for 172 yards and surrendered one interception.

Renato Fitzpatrick scored Minnesota's final touchdown on a 14-yard run with 3:05 left.

Minnesota took a 13-3 to the dressing room at halftime thanks to a 22-yard scoring pass from Abdul-Khaliq to running back Tellis Redmon and field goals of 22 and 44 yards by Dan Nystrom. The last one came as time ran out on the second quarter clock.

Baylor suffered a big blow in the first quarter when junior college transfer quarterback Greg Cicero fractured his left collarbone on a hard tackle by Riley. The Bears were at the Minnesota 22 after Derrick Cash blocked Preston Gruening's punt. Baylor had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Daniel Andino for a short-lived 3-0 lead.

Third-string quarterback Guy Tomcheck got the Bears a touchdown with 4:15 to play when he hit freshman Robert Quiroga with a 15-yard pass.

Minnesota started the season with a 47-10 victory over Louisiana-Monroe then suffered a 23-17 upset loss to Ohio University.

Baylor opened with a 20-7 victory over North Texas then took a week off the prepare for the Gophers.

It was the first meeting between the two schools.