By Adam Gibson | Sports Writer
Baylor football leads Kansas 23-0 at halftime at McLane Stadium.
Baylor received the kick off to start Big 12 play against Kansas. Sophomore quarterback Charlie Brewer started the game for the Bears and led a five play, 21-yard drive that resulted in a punt. After a 48-yard punt by senior kicker Drew Galitz, Kansas came out with a five-play drive for only four yards that, like the Bears drive, resulted in a punt.
For its second drive, Baylor broke through the scoreless game with a touchdown pass from Brewer after scrambling to the right to find an open senior wide receiver Chris Platt in the back right of the end zone to put the Bears up 7-0 with 5:35 left to go in the first quarter.
Kansas drove down the field on a drive plagued by Baylor penalties on its next drive and looked to get points up with a field goal, but senior kicker Gabriel Rui missed the 48-yard attempt wide right.
At the end of the quarter, Baylor’s defense held strong only allowing 29 total yards and -7 rushing yards. Brewer racked up a 100 percent completion rate completing all five of his passing attempts for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Baylor did not slow down as the first play into the second quarter Brewer launched a 39-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Tyquan Thornton who managed to get past multiple defenders to the back right of the end zone for the touchdown. The Bears extended its lead to 14-0 with the touchdown.
Kansas offense could not find its rhythm as after three drives, two resulted in punts and one ended in a missed field goal. Senior quarterback Peyton Bender completed five of his eight attempts throughout the game, while the rushing game failed to get anything started. Freshman running back Pooka Williams led the Jayhawks rushers with nine yards off of six attempts.
On its fourth drive of the game Baylor started from its own 17 yard line looking to score a touchdown for the third consecutive drive. After 11 plays for 55 yards, the field goal team went on led by junior kicker Connor Martin who knocked down a 45-yard field goal from the left hash mark to give the Bears a 17-0 lead with 4:32 left on the clock.
After three unsuccessful drives for the Jayhawks, sophomore quarterback Miles Kendrick came onto the field to take over for Bender. Kendrick went one for two on his passing attempts for two yards on the drive, before being sacked for an 11 yard loss by freshman safety J.T. Woods, forcing the third punt of the day for the Jayhawks.
Brewer and the Bears took advantage of the punt scoring a touchdown on just a four-play 46-yard drive. The touchdown came off a 34-yard pass from Brewer to freshman wide receiver Josh Fleeks for Brewer’s third on the day. After a failed extra point attempt from Martin, the Bears lead the Jayhawks 23-0 with 2:33 to go.
At the end of the half, Baylors defense stood out, holding Kansas to 48 total yards in the half, with a net total of zero rushing yards, two sacks and five tackles for loss. Brewer led the Bears in rushing with six attempts for 58 yards and 11 pass completions for 151 yards. All three of Brewer’s passing touchdowns were to different receivers. Fleeks led the receivers for both teams with three receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown. The Bears had more than five times Kansas’s total yards with 256 going into the locker room.
Kansas will receive the second half kickoff.
