Ground Game Powers FB Past LIU, 30-7

Saturday, September 16

Waco, Texas

11AM

Baylor

1-2 , 0-0

Long Island

0-3 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

LIU

Baylor

Ground Game Powers FB Past LIU, 30-7

9/16/2023 3:56:00 PM | Football

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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            WACO, Texas – Making the most of a rare "do-over," Baylor came back from a two-hour weather delay to put away the visiting Long Island Sharks, 30-7, Saturday afternoon at a rain-soaked McLane Stadium.
            "I thought the rain delay gave us that opportunity," said Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, whose team picked up its first win of the season and snapped a six-game losing streak overall. "I thought when we came back out after that, the energy and the edge and all the things we talked about were there. I credit the guys for that."
            Even with leading rusher Dominic Richardson sidelined with a high ankle sprain, the Bears (1-2) leaned on their ground game to pile up 270 yards on 48 carries behind the running of sophomore Richard Reese and freshmen Dawson Pendergrass and Bryson Washington.
            Playing in just his second game, Pendergrass produced Baylor's first 100-yard rushing game of the season with 111 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Reese scored twice from 13 yards out and finished with 82 yards on 12 totes. Washington got his first touches on the collegiate level and added 45 yards on 10 carries.
            "I'm proud of the running backs," Aranda said. "I thought they ran hard, they ran physical. The times we needed to throw it, they were on the guys they needed to block. I'm proud of just their effort. And the stage wasn't too big. I thought they attacked it, they fell forward. Just good things from the running back room today."
            With Blake Shapen still sidelined with an MCL knee injury, sophomore quarterback Sawyer Robertson made his second-straight start and completed 10-of-22 passes for 113 yards, capping the scoring with a three-yard TD pass to tight end Drake Dabney with 5:45 left.
            "There was a lot of fight in him and he's a prideful guy and wanted to be out there," Aranda said of Robertson, who was bothered by an ankle injury. "I think he struggled in the pocket at times. His weight transfer and getting his feet set and driving into throws, we didn't see as consistently as what you'd like to see."
            Long Island (0-3), a sixth-year FCS program that is winless in seven games against FBS teams, managed just 17 yards total until late in the first half and trailed 16-0 after a safety. But the Sharks made a fourth-down stop near midfield and got on the board with a 10-yard keeper by Chris Howell with 40 seconds left in the half.
            After a quick exchange of turnovers that included an interception by freshman cornerback Carl Williams IV, the teams went back to the locker rooms for an extended halftime that stretched into more than a two-hour delay with several lighting strikes in the area.
            "We had music playing, we had guys up, turned up, dancing, being loud, patting each other, supporting each other," senior linebacker Bryson Jackson said. "It was really special how we handled that little adversity at halftime. It was just the music and just the whole experience of all of us being together and wanting to go out and fight together."
            Coming out of the tunnel after the delay, the Bears were "where we needed to be," Aranda said. After getting on the drawing board with the coaches and doing some walk-throughs in the locker room, "we just turned the music up."
            "I thought the music was a big factor in all of it," he said. "Guys could relax and recharge and start over."
            After a three-and-out by the defense that included a TJ Franklin sack, Baylor put together its third lengthy drive of the day, going 76 yards in 13 plays and going up 23-7 on Reese's second touchdown of the day.
            "My coaches always tell me, if you mess up, get back up," said Reese, who had his best game since back-to-back 100-yard days last year against Kansas and Texas Tech, "because it's the little things that matter. I'd say that's what it was, just correcting the little things."
            After an exchange of punts, LIU stuck to the ground and marched from its own 20 down to Baylor's 27, but linebacker Mike Smith dumped quarterback Ethan Greenwood for a four-yard loss and Byron Vaughns sacked him for another 12-yard loss on 4^th-and-6 from the 31. The Sharks were 1-for-9 on third-down conversions and 1-for-3 on fourth.
            Baylor answered with a 10-play, 57-yard scoring drive and pushed the lead to 30-7 with Robertson's TD pass to Dabney on a perfectly executed play-action. After throwing for 100 yards in the first half, Robertson was just 3-of-9 for 13 yards in the second half.
            "I think at times, we were pushing the ball. I think the weight transfer has something to do with that," Aranda said. "The skill that we have, we were not really able to put that on display. That was a big plan going into this game, and I feel like we fell short. So, we'll go back to trying to get that right."
            Long Island threatened again late, but Joey Spano's 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Trey Wilson and returned by Alfonzo Allen 28 yards to the LIU 42. The Sharks had success running the ball, picking up 143 yards on 29 carries, but were just 6-of-14 for 40 yards passing.
            "I thought it was cool to get the block at the end," Aranda said. "Guys are still fighting and competing. That's something we've talked about, we really made a point of trying to finish strong. And I think that was a big play in doing that."
            Baylor finishes off a season-opening four-game homestand with a matchup against fourth-ranked Texas (3-0) at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 23, in a nationally televised game on ABC. The Longhorns scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Wyoming, 31-10, after knocking off then-No. 3 Alabama, 34-24, last week in Tuscaloosa.

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