Baylor uses big first half to put away Samford

Baylor rode a 35-point first half to an easy 42-7 victory over visiting Samford on Saturday at Waco, Texas.

Bryson Washington led Baylor (2-1) with 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns, despite leaving the game for a short time in the first quarter with an injury. Washington broke away for early runs of 31 and 23 yards.

Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson was 23 of 37 for 211 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions.

Samford quarterback Quincy Crittendon was 7 of 13 for 59 yards, while the Bulldogs had 100 yards passing in the game. Samford running back CJ Evans had 13 carries for 53 yards.

Baylor head coach Dave Aranda kept Washington, Robertson and the Bears' offense on the field well into the second half and the Bears dominated in total yards 468-195.

In the third quarter, the Baylor offense stalled with 81 yards on offense and one interception by Robertson. But Samford (0-3) was held to just 55 yards of offense in the quarter as the Baylor defense made its presence known.

Robertson responded in the fourth quarter on the quarterback's final offensive drive with a 14-play, 88-yard scoring push, which culminated in an 11-yard touchdown reception by Louis Brown IV with 11:40 remaining.

When Washington was out with an early injury, freshman running back Caden Knighten moved into the backfield and scored on a 1-yard run with 1:09 remaining in the first half to give Baylor a 35-7 lead.

Samford's lone touchdown came on a trick play from the 12-yard line with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter. On what looked like a screen play, Crittendon passed to Evans who caught the ball, stopped and threw a wobbling pass to Torrey Ward. After the catch, Ward pushed into the end zone from the 1-yard line.

Crittendon played only one half for Samford, while Brady Stober was 4 of 10 with 30 yards in the air for the Bulldogs.

--Field Level Media