WACO, Texas -- Bryson Washington rushed for 135 yards and two TDs, leading Baylor football to a 42-7 win over Samford in its non-conference, regular-season finale on Saturday at McLane Stadium.
Washington, a preseason All-America who shattered the freshman rushing record in 2024, toted it 21 times for 135 yards and a pair of scores, adding an 11-yard catch. His eighth 100+ yard rushing game – which ranks sixth-most in BU history – in 17 career outings came in consecutive games, also toting it 31 times for 115 yards and two scores in a win at No. 17 SMU. Over his career, Washington has rushed for 1,377 yards and 16 TDs, ranking 31
st in program history.
Baylor (2-1) opened up a quick two-TD lead in the opening minutes of the game and grew the advantage to 35-7 at halftime, allowing the Bears to roll past Samford (0-3) with a fourth-quarter TD for the final margin.
The Bears, ranked No. 13 nationally in total offense and No. 1 in passing offense, rolled to 468 yards of total offense, including 223 on the ground and 245 passing. Baylor stymied Samford to just 195 yards, including 95 on the ground and 100 passing, including 68 yards in the second half.
The Bears will return to action on Saturday, hosting No. 24 Arizona State in their Big 12 Conference lid-lifter at 6:30 p.m. on FOX and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
Defensively, the Bears pulled in four takeaways, including three interceptions.
Kaleb Burns,
Micah Gifford and LeVar Thornton each intercepted passes, marking the first of the careers for Burns and Gifford.
Standout QB
Sawyer Robertson threw for three TDs on 23-of-37 passing for 211 yards in 3.5 quarters of football. He has now thrown for 10 TDs through three games, accumulating 1,070 yards.
Robertson found
Josh Cameron,
Kobe Prentice and
Louis Brown IV for TD strikes, finding 12 different players for receptions, including eight players with multiple catches. Cameron had four grabs for 39 yards, Prentice had four catches for 16 yards, Brown added three catches for 34 yards.
Ashtyn Hawkins had three catches for 42 yards.
Travion Barnes led the defense with six stops, with the Bears also getting sacks from Gifford and
Emar'rion Winston.
Keaton Thomas, the nation's leader in tackles, had his streak of 10+ tackle games snapped with five stops.
After a quick three-and-out to open the game from the Baylor defense,
Placide Djungu-Sungu blocked the ensuing punt, setting the Bears up on the Samford 28-yard line. It took four plays for Washington to punch it in for his third TD of the year.
The Bears forced another punt from the Bulldogs and took the next scoring drive 82 yards on five plays, capped by a Robertson to Cameron 10-yard scoring strike for a quick 14-0 lead with just over five minutes off the clock.
Samford got on the board with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that saw running back C.J. Evans execute a 12-yard throwback for a TD to Torrey Ward.
The Bears pushed the lead to 21-7 with a 14-play, 82-yard drive, with Robertson and Prentice connecting on a 12-yard TD with 8:51 left in the first half.
A pair of scores in the final four minutes of the second quarter stretched the lead to 35-7, including a five-yard TD from Washington and a one-yard score from Knighten. At the break, Baylor held a 252-127 lead in yardage, with 98 yards rushing and 154 yards passing.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Bears got a Robertson to Brown TD strike from 10 yards out to take the lead to 42-7 with 11:40 left in regulation. The score completed a 14-play, 88-yard drive that marked the last with the starting lineup in the game.
