Takeaways from Baylor's big win over Samford
After their thrilling overtime victory over the SMU Mustangs a week ago, the Baylor Bears returned home to face the Samford Bulldogs in McLane Stadium. The Bears got off to a hot start, scoring 35 points in the first half, and never looked back, beating Samford by a score of 42-7.
Here are my takeaways from Saturday's win:
Kobe Prentice is a touchdown machine
Kobe Prentice may not have the most yards this year, but man does he know how to get open in the red zone. In Week 1, Prentice had two catches for 38 yards, but scored a touchdown in his Baylor debut. In Week 2, Prentice caught four passes for 63 yards, two of which resulted in touchdowns. This week against Samford, Prentice caught four passes for 16 yards, and of course, he scored a touchdown.
There are great receivers all over the country, but it takes a certain kind of talent to find open space in the red zone when the defense is compacted, and Prentice seems to have that.
Exactly what you wanted to see from the offense in the first half
We all know how good this Baylor offense is. They averaged 36 points in their first two games against two Power Four teams, and Sawyer Robertson threw for 400+ yards in each of those games. There have been some questions about the run game, but they've still been pretty good to start the year.
Today, all Baylor fans wanted to see was a dominant game offensively, and that's what they got. In the first half, the starters scored 35 points and scored a touchdown on five of their six drives. Robertson didn't even have to put up an insane stat line - he threw for 158 yards and two scores in the first half - because the run game was so good. Bryson Washington totaled 76 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries while Caden Knighten added 18 yards and a score. As a team, they rushed for 98 yards and three scores behind a 5.4 average.
...But not in the second half
I'm not sure what happened in the halftime locker room, but it was nothing good. The offense came out and looked like a shell of themselves. They punted on their first three drives of the half before Robertson threw his second interception of the day. Then, on the next drive, Robertson almost threw a third pick, but it was overturned. They finally hit on a big strike to Kobe Prentice for a 50+ yard touchdown, but it was called back on an offensive holding penalty.
Thankfully, they were able to score a touchdown before the starters were pulled, but it was a bit of a head-scratching second half for the starting offense.
Defense did its job
I know it's Samford, but outside of one drive, Baylor's defense looked pretty good. They got a ton of stops, forced four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble) and allowed just seven points all afternoon. The Bulldogs completed just 52% of their passes for 100 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 95 yards (2.9 yards per carry).
Again, I know it's Samford, but this will be a confidence booster for Dave Aranda's unit. They've been very disappointing all season, but if they can become just an average defense, this team's ceiling is very high.
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Luke is a writer for the Baylor Bears On SI. He's an LSU graduate and previously covered the Tigers for two years. He also covers the New Orleans Saints and Formula 1. Luke's passion for sports and storytelling led him to become a sports writer.