Heisman winner Robert Griffin III’s departure from Baylor left a huge hole in Baylor’s offense. But based on senior Nick Florence’s performance against SMU Sunday, it looks like the Bears are still in good hands.
Florence threw four touchdowns in Baylor’s 59-24 rout of SMU. He played in eight games in 2009 while Griffin III was recovering from an injury.
“He’s an intelligent, passionate, driven player that places himself second,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. “Those are all very good qualities to have at that position. He’s going to continue improving."
Kendall Wright, Baylor’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, was also a key part in last year’s offense.
But touchdowns by Lanear Sampson, Tevin Reese, Darryl Stonum and Jordan Najvar showed the Bears’ wide receivers have potential. The offense seemed to barely miss a step.
Sooners avoid upset
No. 4 Oklahoma led UTEP 10-7 in the fourth quarter. A late surge aided by two touchdown passes from Landry Jones to Damien Williams gave the Sooners a 24-7 win.
“We just weren’t in synch,” Jones, who threw for 222 yards on 21-of-36 passing, said. “It was one of those things where we would have flashes of greatness, but it wouldn’t be all as a team.”
The Sooners were unable to create much of a running game and dropped a spot in the rankings and now sit at No. 5.
The team was ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls last year only to be defeated by Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. The Sooners were once again ranked among the top five teams in the nation before this season began, but a narrow win over the Miners was not how Oklahoma wanted to kick this year off.
Big 12 teams putting up big numbers
Reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma State and conference newcomer West Virginia both blew out their opponents last weekend.
The Cowboys stomped on Savannah State 84-0 as freshman quarterback Wes Lunt completed all 11 of his passes before being taken out by the end of the first quarter. Running backs Desmond Roland and Jeremy Smith both ran for three touchdowns.
With the highest scoring opener in the school’s history, the Mountaineers defeated Marshall 69-34. Quarterback Geno Smith threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns. He was dominant and finished 32-for-36. Though the Mountaineers had success in the air, the team also compiled 331 yards on the ground.
Every Big 12 team that played this weekend has a 1-0 record.
Running backs dominating week 1
Though the Big 12 teams were facing off against easier competition than each other, most teams ran all over their opponents.
Ten running backs in the conference had more than 100 yards. Two of these were Texas’ Malcolm Brown (105 yards) and Joe Bergeron (110).
Iowa State’s Shontrelle Johnson (120 yards) and West Virginia’s Shawne Alston (123 yards) both set career highs in rushing yards.
With the help of a 95-yard run, Kansas State’s John Hubert had 12 carries for 152 yards.
