No. 10 FB Beats UAlbany 69-10 in Season Opener

Saturday, September 3

Waco, Texas

6 PM

Baylor

1-0 , 0-0

UAlbany

0-1 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UAlbany

Baylor

No. 10 FB Beats UAlbany 69-10 in Season Opener

9/3/2022 10:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Game Book Baylor Postgame Notes (.pdf)

Eight Bears score touchdowns in rout of the Great Danes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Dave Aranda appreciates that there is "not a lot of drama" with Baylor sophomore quarterback Blake Shapen.
            "Probably the most drama is what's on his head with his mohawk," the third-year Baylor head coach said of Shapen, who threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns in the 10^th-ranked Bears' 69-10 drubbing of UAlbany before a crowd of 41,242 in Saturday night's season opener at McLane Stadium.
            "Outside of that, there's not a whole lot happening, which is very just 'Joe Cool' with all of it."
Shapen, who won the starting job in the spring, was making just his third-career start. But, he was an efficient 17-of-20 passing and led the Bears to 42 points in the first 34 minutes before taking the rest of the night off.
            "I think tonight was just a glimpse of what you'll see in the future," Shapen said. "I feel like it was good for some of the guys, and especially me, to get out there and be able to play again and take some shots down the field, stuff that you'll definitely see in the future. We just have to keep working and get better at it."
            Coming off an historic 12-2 season and Big 12 championship, Baylor did exactly what it needed to do against an FCS UAlbany team that has now lost 13 of its last 16 games. The Bears rolled up 573 yards total offense, held the Danes to less than 100 yards in the second half and used 89 players in the game.
            "To come out and attack the game the way we did," Aranda said, "I just think there are so many possible off ramps to not play at your best. To have a score like this, and to start the game and to end the game the way we did, just very proud of our team. Very proud of our coaches. It just speaks well to the inner workings of all of it."
            Scoring 21 points in the first 9 ½ minutes, the Bears wasted no time in taking control early. Shapen hooked up with Monaray Baldwin on a 47-yard touchdown pass, with the sophomore receiver wrestling the ball away from cornerback Christian Lewis.

Started with a bang 🎆 @Monaray2x #SicEm | #PersonOverPlayer pic.twitter.com/DQ6QPTDaFc
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) September 4, 2022

            The defense set up a short-field touchdown when linebacker Bryson Jackson stripped the ball from receiver Jackson Parker and came up with the recovery at the Danes' 29-yard line.
            "Al (Walcott did his job containing leverage on (Parker), so I just came in and was trying to be aggressive and get the ball out," Jackson said. "We started 'Jackers and Robbers' this camp with (outside linebackers coach) Caleb Collins. Our defense has been working on forcing turnovers, interceptions hits, strips and fumbles."
            Four plays later, Craig "Sqwirl" Williams took a pitch around the left end and scored on a four-yard run, extending the lead to 14-0.
            Baylor's special teams got in the act next, with sixth-year senior receiver Gavin Holmes returning a punt 72 yards for a touchdown. It was the Bears' first punt return for a touchdown since current Houston Texans practice team player Grayland Arnold took one back 73 yards against UTSA in 2019.

Good to be back in the endzone @gavinholmes_ #SicEm | #PersonOverPlayer pic.twitter.com/sWMDtpN3HR
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) September 4, 2022

            "I hope that's a weapon for us," Aranda said of the Bears netting 130 yards on six punt returns. "We talk about hidden yardage and trying to attack on that phase of the game."
UAlbany's only first-half points were set up when the Bears went for it and failed on fourth-and-one from their own 34-yard line. Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger connected with Julian Hicks on a 17-yard TD pass on the last play of the first quarter to get the Danes on the board.
            Shapen answered with a 38-yard TD pass to sophomore receiver Hal Presley, then scored on a one-yard touchdown run on the last play of the half. Engineering an 11-play, 80-yard in the last three minutes of the half, Shapen picked up a first down with a 16-yard run and then beat cornerback Isaac Duffy to give the Bears a 35-7 lead.
            "I don't know how many seconds (were left), I knew it was our last play, so I either had to throw it into the end zone somewhere or take off and run," Shapen said. "They did a good job on the back end, so I had to take off and run and make a play."
            After UAlbany's defense essentially shut down Baylor's running game in the first half, Baylor used a four-back rotation of Williams, Taye McWilliams, Qualan Jones and freshman Richard Reese to pile up more than 250 yards rushing. Reese led the way with 62 yards on just nine carries and scored on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
            "Early on, we were getting some nine-man fronts," Aranda said, "and those safeties were way down. . . . We had some negative plays running the ball, so we took advantage of that. The shot plays came off of it, and I think that eventually loosened it up. The score probably had something to do with that, too, in the second half, but it was good to get the running game going."
            Baldwin, who finished with 130 yards on just six touches, capped off a six-play, 80-yard drive with a 50-yard run on an end-around to get the scoring started in the third quarter. That play turned out to be Shapen's last, as he gave way to redshirt freshman QB Kyron Drones.
            Completing 5-of-7 passes for 100 yards, Drones led the Bears to their last four touchdowns, scoring the first on a nine-yard keeper. After back-to-back TD runs by Reese, Jones capped the scoring with a 27-yard run after Drones hit Jaylen Ellis in stride on a 50-yard pass down the right sideline.
            "I think we wanted to see guys make contested catches, and they did," Aranda said. "We wanted our skill people to block on the perimeter, and they did. We wanted our young people, after they make a mistake, to attack the next play. Really, want to see our coaches, after our young people make a mistake, help them out the very next play."
            This was the Bears' most points in a season-opening game since beating Wofford, 69-3, on Aug. 31, 2013.
            Baylor will go on the road for a top-25 matchup against No. 25 BYU (1-0) at 9:15 p.m. CDT next Saturday, Sept. 10, in Provo, Utah. The Cougars opened with an impressive 50-21 road win over USF.
            In a matchup of future Big 12 Conference foes, Baylor defeated then-No. 19 BYU, 38-24, last year at McLane Stadium.