THE RUNDOWN
AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) - Bryce Petty threw four touchdown passes, leading No. 8 Baylor to a 63-21 victory against Buffalo on Friday night.
Petty went 23 of 34 for 416 yards through three quarters, and Shock Linwood had 98 yards rushing and two touchdowns for Baylor (3-0). Lynx Hawthorne and Jay Lee each caught two touchdowns passes.
It was Petty's first game since he cracked two small bones in his back during a season-opening 45-0 win against SMU.
The Bears scored on their first four possessions on their way to a 35-0 halftime lead. Baylor had more touchdowns (five) than Buffalo had first downs (four) in the first half.
The Bulls (1-2) scored twice on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Joe Licata hit Devon Hughes for 41-yard touchdown pass, and Anthone Taylor scored on a 41-yard run.
The Bears showed no signs of fatigue in their third game in 13 days after blowing out their first two opponents at home. Coming off a 70-6 win of FCS' Northwestern State, Baylor has now outscored its opponents 178-27 this season.
The defending Big 12 champs now get a two-week break before opening their conference schedule at Iowa State on Sept. 27.
Bears freshman receiver KD Cannon scored on an electrifying 89-yard catch. Backup quarterback Seth Russell threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Lee, and also scored on a 31-yard run.
Linwood opened the scoring on a 2-yard run and also added a 24-yard score, when he burst up the middle untouched. Johnny Jefferson also scored on a 14-yard run.
The Mid-American Conference Bulls, who lost 70-13 at Baylor last season, scored on consecutive possessions in the third quarter. Joe Licata hit Devon Hughes for 41-yard touchdown pass, and Anthone Taylor scored on a 41-yard run that cut Baylor's lead to 42-14 with 7:09 left in the period.
The touchdowns were the first surrendered by the Bears this year.
Licata was 14 of 21 for 171 yards, and Hughes had six catches for 72 yards. Backup quarterback Tony Daniel closed the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Robinson.
The Bears grabbed control during a four-play stretch six minutes into the game.
With Buffalo facing third-and-7 on its opening drive, Licata found Marcus McGill wide open up the right sideline only to have the ball bounce off the receiver's fingers.
Buffalo was forced to punt, and the Bears capitalized. Petty made it 14-0 by hitting a wide-open Cannon, who burst past defensive back Okezie Alozie up the right sideline.
Baylor has now topped 40 points in four straight games dating to last season, and 28 of its past 35.
The Bears maintained their roll on offense despite missing four key receivers. Antwan Goodley (quadriceps), Levi Norwood (wrist), Corey Coleman (hamstring) and Clay Fuller (broken collarbone) all sat out.
Cannon, an 18-year-old freshman, continues to provide a big-play threat. He had five catches for 171 yards a week after finishing with six catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
Bulls fans were asked to wear black, and the team unveiled new black helmets and mostly black jerseys as part of a promotion at UB stadium.
The blackout, however, quickly turned into a blowout courtesy of Baylor's high-tempo, quick scoring attack.
The Bears finished with 669 yards of offense and 27 first downs. Their quick-strike attack was on track with six of nine scoring drives lasting less than two minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor's 63 points tied the most in a road game in program history -- lost 70-63 at West Virginia in 2012 -- and tied 13th-most in any game in BU history.
• Baylor's 480 passing yards were the 3rd-most in a game in program history and the 669 yards of offense ranked 16th in a game in BU history (3rd-most on road).
• Baylor had 3 different 100-yard receivers in the same game for the 2nd time in program history (2012 at West Virginia).
• Baylor gained 269 yards of offense while holding Buffalo to 27 yards in the 1st quarter.
• Senior QB Bryce Petty threw for 416 yards, the 9th-most in a game in Baylor history and the 2nd-most in his career (430 at Kansas in 2013).
• Petty tied a career high with 4 passing TDs and has thrown at least 2 TD passes in all 15 career starts.
• Petty moved into 3rd on Baylor's career passing touchdowns list with 39, passing Shawn Bell (38).
• True freshman WR KD Cannon caught an 89-yard TD pass from Petty in the 1st quarter, tying the 3rd-longest pass in program history.
• Cannon had 189 receiving yards, tying the 7th-most in a game in BU history. He has 412 receiving yards in his last 2 games, which ranks 2nd in a 2-game span in BU history behind Terrance Williams' 477 yards over 2 games in 2012.
• Cannon's TD catch was his 5th in 3 career games played, all of which went for more than 40 yards (42, 46, 50, 81 and 89).
• WR Jay Lee had TD catches of 30 and 14 yards, giving him 4 receiving TDs this season (at least 1 in every game).
• Lee had career-highs with 136 receiving yards, 9 receptions and 2 receiving TDs.
• RB Shock Linwood had TD runs of 2 and 24 yards in the 1st quarter, giving him his 12 career rushing TDs (3rd and 4th of season).
• Redshirt freshman RB Johnny Jefferson had a 14-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter for his 2nd TD of the season.
• IR Lynx Hawthorne had an 18-yard TD catch in the 3rd quarter for his 1st career touchdown and added a 37-yard TD catch in the 4th quarter.
• Hawthorne had career highs with 7 receptions, 123 receiving yards and 2 receiving TDs.
• Sophomore QB Seth Russell had a 35-yard TD run in the 4th quarter for his 5th career rushing touchdown.
• Russell threw a 37-yard TD pass for his 10th career passing TD.
• DE Shawn Oakman had a 9-yard sack in the 1st quarter for his 3rd sack of the season (5th of career).
• DE Jamal Palmer had a 2-yard sack in the 1st quarter, giving him 6.5 sacks for his career.
• DT Beau Blackshear had a 5-yard sack in the 3rd quarter, giving him 9.5 sacks for his career (2.5 this season).
STAT OF THE GAME
416: Passing yards for Bryce Petty, the ninth-most in a single game in Baylor history.
TWEET OF THE GAME
TOP QUOTE
"We know what he can do, I think he is the best quarterback in the country in college football. The fact of him getting out there with different personnel was a big deal. We have young receivers and running backs. For him to come into a situation like that in his first road game of the year against a team that was hungry to beat us, I think he did exceptionally well. - Baylor head coach Art Briles on Bryce Petty
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor has a bye week before heading to Ames, Iowa, to take on Iowa State Sept. 27.
