QB Blake Shapen, Baylor Offense Struggles in First Half vs. Texas State
The Baylor Bears welcomed the Texas State Bobcats to Mclane Stadium in Waco on Saturday, hoping to turn the page from a disappointing upset loss to the BYU Cougars in Week 2.
So far, the Bears have managed to do just that, leading the Bobcats 21-7 after the first place.
A big part of the Bears' first-half lead belongs to the strong play of the defense, which held Texas State to 154 yards of total offense and just one score, with two fourth-down stops, including one at the Baylor goal line late in the second quarter that would have cut the Bears lead in half at the time.
Still, the Texas State offense has been able to move the football at times, with Layne Hatcher completing 17 of 21 passes for 125 yards and wide receiver AShtyn Hawkins catching nine passes for 72 yards and a touchdown with a long of 17 yards.
He also completed his 10 passes in a row to end the first half.
However, while the defense did their job, Dave Aranda's offense was far from perfect through the first half of play.
As a team, the Bears managed just 154 yards of total offense heading into the locker room, with quarterback Blake Shapen completing 11 of 18 passes for just 95 yards.
In fact, it was the running game that once again carried the Baylor offensive attack, with Sqwirl Williams and Richard Reese combining for 15 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Baylor was able to kick start the offense on the last drive of the half, with a 96-yard drive that was capped off with a 35-yard touchdown run from Shapen to give Baylor the 21-7 lead.
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