Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon led the Bears to a blowout victory against conference rival Kansas on Saturday. The Bears triumphed 45-7 on the strength of Bohanon’s passing arm and gobs of yards after the catch by Baylor receivers. The win takes Baylor to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. Kansas drops to 1-2 on the season.
Baylor set the pace of the game with the first drive, marching 75 yards in nine plays. Bohanon capped off the drive with a 14-yard completion to tight end Ben Sims to go up by a touchdown. Fullback Gavin Yates punched in a two-yard score in the second quarter with his only carry of the game to give Baylor a 14-0 lead.
The halftime score of 14-7 may not have looked like a game that was on the verge of a blowout, but Baylor players knew they had things well in hand. Bohanon said that he told Bears head coach Dave Aranda at halftime, “We got this.”
“At halftime in the locker room, we made up our minds that we were going to change the game around,” said Bohanon. “The defense said they were going to get a three-and-out, and we said we’re going to capitalize. I think it was significant for the defense to back up what they said [. . .] and see the defense had our backs.”
After getting that first stop, it was all downhill from there. Baylor scored 30 points in the second half and overcame several missteps from the first half to win in Lawrence, Kansas. The game’s biggest play came on a short pass to wide receiver R.J. Snead, who stepped through several poor tackles en route to a 69-yard touchdown. Snead had six catches on the day for 128 yards and a touchdown.
The Jayhawks managed to sustain only one drive all game, going 76-yards in 11 plays at the end of the second half. Quarterback Jason Bean found running back Trevor Wilson in the endzone on a short slant pass, but it would be the best performance of the day for the Jayhawks offense. Bean completed only eight passes for 57 yards and added 62 yards on 12 runs to lead the team in both categories.
Kansas managed only 223 total yards of offense to Baylor’s 845 yards. The Jayhawks could not capitalize on two forced fumbles in the game and gave up one of their own to break an 11-quarter fumble-free streak. Kansas is no stranger to blowout losses, having only one game last season decided by one score or less.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold, who was brought in this season to reverse a decade-long losing streak, said he was “highly disappointed” by the loss.
“The facts are the facts. And we’ve got to find a way to overcome some of the things that we have right now,” Leipold said. “I think we will. And I’m counting on our seniors and our leaders to continue to do so.”
Baylor will host #14-ranked Iowa State this week in an effort to go 2-0 in Big-12 play. Iowa State defeated UNLV 48-3 on Saturday. Kansas will try to regroup and get a win against Duke University on September 25.
