Baylor Lives Up To Top 10 Ranking On Both Sides of Ball In Week 1
Baylor football coach Dave Aranda and the No. 10 Bears came out with a bang in the team's season-opener on Saturday night, routing Albany 69-10 before a rowdy crowd at McLane Stadium.
Much can be said about the blowout win, from Blake Shapen and the offense appearing nearly unstoppable to the Bears' dominant defense to the all-around depth at every position, but let's take a quick look at five key takeaways from Baylor's week one victory.
QUARTERBACK DEPTH IS LEGIT
All three quarterbacks played in Saturday's season opener, and both the first and second-string guys (Shapen and Kyron Drones) had at least 100 passing yards along with a rushing touchdown.
Final stats for the night: Shapen with 214 passing yards and two touchdowns along with 11 rushing yards and a touchdown, Drones with 100 passing yards along with nine rushing yards and a touchdown.
Third-string quarterback Luke Anthony entered the game with a tad under four minutes remaining in the game but did not attempt a single pass.
BEARS CAN RUN THE BALL
Six different Baylor players scored eight rushing touchdowns in the season opener.
Those players and rushing numbers include Monoray Baldwin (two touchdowns, 46 yards), Richard Reese (two touchdowns, 62 yards), Qualan Jones (one touchdown, 59 yards), Craig Williams (one touchdown, 13 yards), Shapen (one touchdown, 11 yards) and Drones (one touchdown, nine yards).
BOTH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE LINES ARE SOLID
The numbers speak for themselves as holes were opened up by the o-line and the quarterbacks were constantly protected while the d-line proved to be quick to the ball and backs.
Baylor racked up a total of 573 yards compared to 237 for Albany, with the Bears outpacing the Great Danes in both passing yards (314 compared to 150) and rushing yards (259 compared to 87). The Bears were also 7-for-11 on third down conversions compared to 5-for-17 for the Great Danes.
SPECIAL TEAMS SHINING EARLY ON
A punt return for a touchdown highlighted special team's play in week one, but that alone is worthy of high praise. With 5:37 remaining in the first quarter, the speedy Gavin Holmes returned a punt 72 yards to the house to give the Bears an early 21-0 lead.
Overall for the night, Holmes garnered 96 punt return yards for a touchdown on three attempts while teammate Jordan Nabors racked up 34 punt return yards on three attempts.
In the kicking game, Isaiah Hankins was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points while John Mayers was 3-for-4 on extra points. Baylor punted twice in the game, with Issac Power kicking one 57 yards and inside the 20 while teammate Noah Rauschenberg had one punt for 14 yards.
STINGY SECONDARY AND RUSH DEFENSE KEEPING OPPOSING OFFENSE AT BAY
Albany was held to just one passing touchdown and one field goal the entire game.
Baylor averaged 11.6 yards per pass and 6.3 yards per rush in Saturday's season opener at McLane Stadium while holding Albany to 5.0 yards per pass and 2.9 yards per rush and recovering a fumble.
So far, so good. The Bears will hope they can keep the momentum rolling into Week 2 when they hit the road for an early test at BYU.
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Denton Ramsey has been a journalist for over 20 years with a decade of experience as a sports writer and editor for a plethora of newspapers throughout Texas and Alabama. Growing up in Houston and attending Baylor University, Ramsey is a die-hard sports fan with a true passion for writing. He may be reached via email at denton.itb@gmail.com