By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
AMES, Iowa - After what amounted to a week off for both of them, running back Shock Linwood and kicker Chris Callahan came back in a big way Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.
But it was Baylor's defense, which seemed to have no answers for the first three quarters, that came up with three fourth-quarter stops as 13th-ranked Baylor erased a 14-point deficit and escaped with a 45-42 win over upset-minded Iowa State.
"Usually, if you're fortunate enough to have a chance to play for (a conference championship), there's a couple games you look back on and say that made a difference," said Baylor coach Jim Grobe, whose team improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12. "This could be one of those. Who knows, this could be one of those wins that kind of gets you going a little bit."
Callahan, suspended for last week's conference opener against Oklahoma State, was perfect on six extra points and then booted the game-winning, 19-yard field goal as time expired after two fourth-quarter touchdowns and an 18-play, 83-yard drive.
The junior kicker said this one was better than his 28-yard, game-winning kick to beat TCU, 61-58, two years ago "because we're in the present, and given the circumstances for this year and everybody that's against us."
Baylor's all-time leading rusher, Linwood had just four yards on two carries in last week's game and 217 yards for the season. But looking more like the record-setting back he is than a third-stringer, the fifth-year senior exploded for a career-high 237 yards - fourth-most in program history - and one touchdown on 25 carries.
"I told him on the sidelines, `That's the Shock I know,' the guy that fights for every yard, that has that energy, that brings that charisma to the field,'' said quarterback Seth Russell, who threw for 178 yards and rushed for another 88 and two scores.
For Grobe, who's only been on the job for four months, "this is the Shock Linwood that everybody told me about."
"This is the guy that everybody was talking about, and I hadn't really seen that guy early. I'll tell you, when he got challenged, when he didn't play a lot last week, he had a great week of practice. And that's typically what happens - you practice well, you play well. . . . Some of the moves he made today were impressive. I don't think that's (running backs coach) Jeff Lebby's coaching, I think he's got a little bit of ability.":
Linwood already had 106 yards by halftime, but he was at his best in the fourth quarter when he rushed for 86 yards on 12 totes and shared the load with Russell on the game-winning drive.
"He saw where the holes were at," senior center Kyle Fuller said of Linwood, who picked up a couple first downs on third-and-one runs and then got the Bears in position for Callahan's field goal with runs of six and two yards down to the 2. "We know that every time we get him the ball, he's going to try to make something happen."
For all the numbers the offense put up - 469 yards rushing and 647 yards total - the Bears' fourth-quarter comeback wouldn't have been possible without the defense.
Other than a couple kneel downs at the end of the first half, Iowa State (1-4, 0-2) had scored on six consecutive possessions en route to a 42-28 lead going into the fourth quarter. Joel Lanning was a near-perfect 17-of-20 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Warren had churned out 126 yards rushing and the Cyclones were 9-of-10 on third down conversions.
"I think they were the more ready football team to begin today," linebacker Aiavion Edwards said. "We came out and kind of played flat. . . . The third downs, we couldn't get off the field, and they capitalized on all those opportunities."
The Cyclones had a chance to put this one away when Lanning skirted out of a possible sack by Greg Roberts and picked up a first down. But Lanning had to pounce on a bad snap for a seven-yard loss and then missed Carson Epps on a third-down pass, leading to Colin Downing's first punt of the day.
Other than a 14-yard pass to Ishmael Zamora, the Bears stuck to the ground for an eight-play, 86-yard drive and pulled to within seven, 42-35, on a one-yard sneak by Russell for his second TD run of the day.
Momentum continued to turn Baylor's way when Iowa State had its first three-and-out of the day, Lanning missing Epps again on a third-down pass.
"This is not really a defensive plan to try to wear the offense down by staying out there too much," Grobe said. "But, I really felt like at the end when we got a little bit of momentum - the offense was playing really, really well - and all of a sudden our guys saw, `Hey, we might be able to get this thing done.' And I think that raised our level a little bit."
After an eight-yard pass to Zamora on the first play, Linwood and Terence Williams combined to run the ball on the next nine plays in a 10-play, 84-yard scoring drive. Williams bulled over from the 2 to tie it up at 42-42 with 6:27 left on the clock.
"We kept rolling guys in and kept fresh legs in there," Russell said. "Whatever's working, we're going to keep doing. We haven't been able to run the ball very well this whole season. To be able to see that today is a big confidence booster."
The defense went almost 55 minutes without a sack on Lanning, but sophomore defensive tackle Ira Lewis dumped the Iowa State quarterback for a five-yard loss on third-and-6 near midfield and forced yet another punt.
Iowa State's fourth-quarter totals were zero first downs, seven yards on nine plays and 0-for-3 passing.
"I think it was just the will to finish strong," senior cornerback Ryan Reid said. "We knew from the get-go that we weren't playing like the defense knows how. . . . It was just the will to finish strong and just show everybody that we can finish on defense. That's all it was, it came from within."
That final drive covered 83 yards and included six runs apiece by Russell and Linwood, a Williams run and three passes as the Bears ran the clock down from 4:54 to :00.
Grobe credited offensive coordinator Kendal Briles for showing "great patience" in coordinating the offense and calling plays.
"When we throw an incomplete pass, he doesn't have a problem running the football on the next play and setting things up," Grobe said. "I think today, we just had a great day running the football. But, if we can, we'll take whatever's given to us."
Baylor's defense struggled to even slow down the Cyclones' offense in the first half. Led by Lanning and Warren, Iowa State scored on its first four possessions and racked up 325 yards before taking a knee on the last two plays of the half.
Lanning actually threw two TD passes on the first series, but a 38-yarder to Allen Lazard was wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield. On the next play, he tossed one over the middle to Deshaunte Jones, who cut inside safety Orion Stewart and took it to the house for 43 yards and a 7-0 lead.
The Bears looked like they might answer right back, moving from their own 25 down to the Cyclones' 25. But Russell missed Blake Lynch on a fourth-and-8 pass from the 30 after a holding penalty nullified a first-down run by Linwood.
Overcoming back-to-back penalties and a second-and-22 situation, Lanning engineered an eight-play, 70-yard drive, capped by Warren's one-yard run. The extra point gave ISU a surprising 14-0 lead at the 3:06 mark in the opening quarter.
Starting the next drive with a 46-yard pass to Chris Platt, the Bears shrugged off a couple 15-yard penalties and cut the deficit in half with Terence Williams' seven-yard TD run on fourth-and-three.
Controlling the ball for just over 20 minutes in the first half, the Cyclones had scoring drives of 13 and 16 plays to go up 28-14 with 2:48 left.
Sandwiched between those drives, Linwood tied the all-time rushing touchdown record with a two-yard plunge after a 56-yard strike from Russell to Lynch. Linwood's first of the season and 35th of his career tied Alfred Anderson's school record.
Linwood got loose for 59 yards to kick-start the next drive, going over 100 for the day. But that seemed to go for naught when Russell was initially called for a fumble into the end zone that was recovered by the Cyclones.
Under review by the replay booth, though, it showed that Russell crossed the plane of the goal line before losing control, giving him a three-yard TD run and making it a 28-21 game at halftime.
"The thing we hang our hat on at Baylor is we score a lot of points," Russell said. "When we put the ball in the end zone, that's what we're supposed to do."
After their first bye of the season, the Bears will host Kansas (1-3, 0-1) for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 15, with kickoff time and television info expected to be released on Monday. The Jayhawks opened league play Thursday night with a 55-19 loss at Texas Tech.
