NEW MEN ON THE BLOCK
9/1/2024 9:45:00 AM | Football
Bears' newcomers shine in 45-3 blowout of Tarleton
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – It took Toledo transfer Dequan Finn almost eight months to win the starting quarterback job at Baylor.
In Saturday's season-opening 45-3 rout of Tarleton, it took him less than two minutes to show why he was named the starter. On the fifth play from scrimmage, Finn ran a perfect read option, found a seam around the right end and nobody came close to catching him on a 39-yard touchdown run.
Finn was one of four newcomers to score on a night when the Bears (1-0) rolled up 442 yards total offense and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first game at McLane Stadium before a crowd of 42,272.
"I'm not surprised," fifth-year head coach Dave Aranda said of his newcomers' success. "There's a lot of veteran guys who have played a lot of football. They came because they love Baylor.
"I think for the offensive guys to be with Jake (Spavital) and that style of offense, they wanted that. And then defensively, we're trying to sell them on me, I guess, that maybe we can stop people. A lot of that is hoping and dreaming. To be able to see them come out and be able to do it under the lights is cool."
With a mix of the new and old – the defensive starters included sixth-year linebackers Garmon Randolph and Matt Jones – Baylor put together one of its most impressive season openers since that 45-0 win over SMU on Aug. 31, 2014.
"I'd say, it'll set a good tone," said junior running back Richard Reese, the game's leading rusher with 78 yards on 18 carries. "I know we already had the athletes coming in, and we practiced it all week to prepare for it. So, it felt good."
On the Bears' opening drive, Finn found receiver Josh Cameron for a 14-yard pickup before doing the rest with his feet.
"It opened up a lot," Reese said, "because the defense, they've got to watch for me and him. Everybody on our offense has speed."
With Aranda now calling the defensive plays, the Baylor defense put together a dominating first quarter, forcing two three-and-outs, holding the Texans (1-1) to zero yards and even scoring a touchdown of its own on a 35-yard interception return by linebacker Keaton Thomas.
"I think the kid cares so much, and he wants to prove people wrong, I guess," Aranda said of Thomas, a junior college All-American who started his career at West Virginia. "And he wants to do it all like yesterday. So, for him to kind of just be in the moment, I think that's probably going to be a continued thing with him, because there's a lot of energy there."
Thomas' interception return for a touchdown came after Finn hooked up with Texas State transfer Ashtyn Hawkins for a 32-yard touchdown, helping the Bears jump out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
A workhorse all night with 62 yards on 17 carries, sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass capped off a nine-play, 66-yard drive in the second quarter with a one-yard plunge for his sixth-career touchdown run. Besides the eight runs by Pendergrass, the only other play of the drive was a 39-yard pass from Finn to former Arkansas transfer Ketron Jackson.
Baylor had a chance to put it away late in the first half, but cornerback Kasyus Kurns picked off a Finn pass in the end zone intended for tight end Michael Trigg.
"Dequan's a dog, man. And you put something in front of him, he's going to knock that down," Aranda said. "He's going to run right through the face of the thing, and he's going to bring that attitude right from the beginning. And I think our team feeds off of that.
"There was good and bad, I think, with all of us. We're going to continue to feature and develop the things he does really well and try to limit some of those things that he's struggling with. But I'm very confident with Dequan at the helm."
Tarleton also missed a scoring opportunity in the final minute of the half when kicker Michael James missed badly on a 24-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Bears up 28-0 going into intermission.
Replacing starter Jaden Pete, who was sacked twice and threw the pick-six, Daniel Greek led a drive to start the third quarter that resulted in the Texans' only points of the game. Punter Adrian Guzman took over the place-kicking duties as well, connecting from 34 yards out.
Aranda said the defensive focus was a "little bit bumpy" at the start of the second half, but overall, "the sidelines, the focus, all the things, was the best that it's been in a while."
"To have it at the beginning is one thing, but to have it at the end is another," he said. "That's a really good sign, that when guys still want to hunt when the score is this and the crowd is this, and they were still wanting to hunt both sides, I'm proud of that."
Going back to Trigg, a transfer from Ole Miss, Finn capped a seven-play, 63-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring strike to his tight end that answered Tarleton's only points of the night.
Finn was picked off again on a deep pass that was underthrown to Jamaal Bell and failed to convert on a fourth-down attempt from the Texans' 5-yard line, but Baylor tacked on a 39-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins and Sawyer Robertson's 30-yard TD pass to Jackson in the fourth.
"It was tough out there," Tarleton head coach Todd Whitten said. "They were saying we weren't going to be able to run the ball to beat them, and they were right about that. They had a good plan on the defensive side. We couldn't get anything going, and a lot of that is to their credit."
Back in the defensive controls for the first time since LSU's 2019 national championship, Aranda compared it to flying a fighter jet plan, "and it's got all these weapons."
"You get to fly this thing, but there are people out there that want to kill you," he said. "You get to fly it, but you don't want to die. That's how I feel about calling plays. And I feel that all the time. To prep and to do all the stuff right, to where you can get people and they don't get you, that's hard to do in today's game. Offenses are really good."
Finn was 14-of-22 for 192 yards and two touchdowns with the two interceptions, while the Bears netted 164 yards rushing on 43 attempts. Robertson and freshman Nate Bennett were a combined 4-for-6 for 86 yards and a touchdown in relief, helping Baylor finish with a 442-181 edge in total offense.
"I don't think anything is going to be perfect. We always have something to work on," said defensive end Jackie Marshall, who recorded a career-high seven tackles. "The goal for the whole defense was to just start fast and finish. So, I think that was a go."
In its first road test of the season, Baylor will face No. 12/13 Utah (1-0) in a non-conference matchup at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday in Salt Lake City. Part of a two-game contract, the game was scheduled before the Utes joined the Big 12 Conference.
In Utah's season opener on Thursday, seventh-year quarterback Cameron Rising threw for 254 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of a 49-0 win over Southern Utah.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – It took Toledo transfer Dequan Finn almost eight months to win the starting quarterback job at Baylor.
In Saturday's season-opening 45-3 rout of Tarleton, it took him less than two minutes to show why he was named the starter. On the fifth play from scrimmage, Finn ran a perfect read option, found a seam around the right end and nobody came close to catching him on a 39-yard touchdown run.
Finn was one of four newcomers to score on a night when the Bears (1-0) rolled up 442 yards total offense and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first game at McLane Stadium before a crowd of 42,272.
"I'm not surprised," fifth-year head coach Dave Aranda said of his newcomers' success. "There's a lot of veteran guys who have played a lot of football. They came because they love Baylor.
"I think for the offensive guys to be with Jake (Spavital) and that style of offense, they wanted that. And then defensively, we're trying to sell them on me, I guess, that maybe we can stop people. A lot of that is hoping and dreaming. To be able to see them come out and be able to do it under the lights is cool."
With a mix of the new and old – the defensive starters included sixth-year linebackers Garmon Randolph and Matt Jones – Baylor put together one of its most impressive season openers since that 45-0 win over SMU on Aug. 31, 2014.
"I'd say, it'll set a good tone," said junior running back Richard Reese, the game's leading rusher with 78 yards on 18 carries. "I know we already had the athletes coming in, and we practiced it all week to prepare for it. So, it felt good."
On the Bears' opening drive, Finn found receiver Josh Cameron for a 14-yard pickup before doing the rest with his feet.
"It opened up a lot," Reese said, "because the defense, they've got to watch for me and him. Everybody on our offense has speed."
With Aranda now calling the defensive plays, the Baylor defense put together a dominating first quarter, forcing two three-and-outs, holding the Texans (1-1) to zero yards and even scoring a touchdown of its own on a 35-yard interception return by linebacker Keaton Thomas.
"I think the kid cares so much, and he wants to prove people wrong, I guess," Aranda said of Thomas, a junior college All-American who started his career at West Virginia. "And he wants to do it all like yesterday. So, for him to kind of just be in the moment, I think that's probably going to be a continued thing with him, because there's a lot of energy there."
Thomas' interception return for a touchdown came after Finn hooked up with Texas State transfer Ashtyn Hawkins for a 32-yard touchdown, helping the Bears jump out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
A workhorse all night with 62 yards on 17 carries, sophomore running back Dawson Pendergrass capped off a nine-play, 66-yard drive in the second quarter with a one-yard plunge for his sixth-career touchdown run. Besides the eight runs by Pendergrass, the only other play of the drive was a 39-yard pass from Finn to former Arkansas transfer Ketron Jackson.
Baylor had a chance to put it away late in the first half, but cornerback Kasyus Kurns picked off a Finn pass in the end zone intended for tight end Michael Trigg.
"Dequan's a dog, man. And you put something in front of him, he's going to knock that down," Aranda said. "He's going to run right through the face of the thing, and he's going to bring that attitude right from the beginning. And I think our team feeds off of that.
"There was good and bad, I think, with all of us. We're going to continue to feature and develop the things he does really well and try to limit some of those things that he's struggling with. But I'm very confident with Dequan at the helm."
Tarleton also missed a scoring opportunity in the final minute of the half when kicker Michael James missed badly on a 24-yard field goal attempt, leaving the Bears up 28-0 going into intermission.
Replacing starter Jaden Pete, who was sacked twice and threw the pick-six, Daniel Greek led a drive to start the third quarter that resulted in the Texans' only points of the game. Punter Adrian Guzman took over the place-kicking duties as well, connecting from 34 yards out.
Aranda said the defensive focus was a "little bit bumpy" at the start of the second half, but overall, "the sidelines, the focus, all the things, was the best that it's been in a while."
"To have it at the beginning is one thing, but to have it at the end is another," he said. "That's a really good sign, that when guys still want to hunt when the score is this and the crowd is this, and they were still wanting to hunt both sides, I'm proud of that."
Going back to Trigg, a transfer from Ole Miss, Finn capped a seven-play, 63-yard drive with a 17-yard scoring strike to his tight end that answered Tarleton's only points of the night.
Finn was picked off again on a deep pass that was underthrown to Jamaal Bell and failed to convert on a fourth-down attempt from the Texans' 5-yard line, but Baylor tacked on a 39-yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins and Sawyer Robertson's 30-yard TD pass to Jackson in the fourth.
"It was tough out there," Tarleton head coach Todd Whitten said. "They were saying we weren't going to be able to run the ball to beat them, and they were right about that. They had a good plan on the defensive side. We couldn't get anything going, and a lot of that is to their credit."
Back in the defensive controls for the first time since LSU's 2019 national championship, Aranda compared it to flying a fighter jet plan, "and it's got all these weapons."
"You get to fly this thing, but there are people out there that want to kill you," he said. "You get to fly it, but you don't want to die. That's how I feel about calling plays. And I feel that all the time. To prep and to do all the stuff right, to where you can get people and they don't get you, that's hard to do in today's game. Offenses are really good."
Finn was 14-of-22 for 192 yards and two touchdowns with the two interceptions, while the Bears netted 164 yards rushing on 43 attempts. Robertson and freshman Nate Bennett were a combined 4-for-6 for 86 yards and a touchdown in relief, helping Baylor finish with a 442-181 edge in total offense.
"I don't think anything is going to be perfect. We always have something to work on," said defensive end Jackie Marshall, who recorded a career-high seven tackles. "The goal for the whole defense was to just start fast and finish. So, I think that was a go."
In its first road test of the season, Baylor will face No. 12/13 Utah (1-0) in a non-conference matchup at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday in Salt Lake City. Part of a two-game contract, the game was scheduled before the Utes joined the Big 12 Conference.
In Utah's season opener on Thursday, seventh-year quarterback Cameron Rising threw for 254 yards and five touchdowns in the first half of a 49-0 win over Southern Utah.
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