By Ahfaaz Merchant | Sports Writer, Video by Nate Smith | Broadcast Reporter
Baylor football moved to 2-0 on the season dominating the UTSA Roadrunners 63-14 at McLane Stadium Saturday. The Bears played well on both sides of the ball and recorded 368 rushing yards and 178 passing, totaling 546 yards that went for 9 touchdowns. This is the second straight week that the Bears have scored 56 or more points.
The heat was a huge factor in the game especially with the Roadrunners playing their home games at the Alamodome. With temperatures reaching up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, the players’ safety was a concern. But despite the heat, head coach Matt Rhule still felt that his team played well.
“Obviously [it was a] good win for us,” Rhule said. “Proud of our guys for the way they played. I thought it was a complete game, clean game, not a lot of penalties. So, we looked like we knew what we were doing in a lot of different areas. Offensively, I felt we were efficient, especially in the first half.”
Junior quarterback Charlie Brewer connected with senior wide receiver Denzel Mims for three first half touchdowns. Brewer completed 12 out of 16 passes while also rushing for a touchdown himself in the first quarter. After not scoring once in his last start, Mims said he was taking this game one step at a time.
“I was just taking it play by play. I was just going to let it come to me,” Mims said. “I did not expect to score three touchdowns. I was just going to give it my all each and every play.”
Junior corner back Grayland Arnold, freshman running back Qualan Jones, freshman quarterback Garry Bohanan saw some action helping the Bears score on seven straight possessions. Arnold had one of the game’s most of explosive plays: a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown.
This is the second week straight where Bohanan has seen almost an entire half of action. The young quarterback completed 4 out 7 pass attempts and had the most rushing yards for the Baylor at 96 yards. Jones took everyone by surprise with a late fourth quarter 61- yard rushing touchdown.
While the offense had quite the day, the defense continued to hold strong, only allowing a total of 266 offensive yards. Senior linebacker Clay Johnston played an important role on the defensive side of the ball recording 1.5 sacks and 6 total tackles.
While the Roadrunners recorded 490 yards of total offense on their season opening victory over the Incarnate World Cardinals last week, the Bears held UTSA to only 79 yards of total offense in the first half, shutting them out 35-0.
UTSA Sophomore quarterback Frank Harris completed 6 out of 10 pass attempts for 32 yards with the longest going for only 7 yards in the first half. Harris ended the game with 15 out of 24 completed passing attempts for only 93 yards. It wasn’t until late in the game that freshman running back Sincere McCormick helped get UTSA on to the board with two-yard touchdown run. The freshman also had a 54-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
The Bears will get an opportunity to rest this next week but will resume the action the following week with their first road game against Rice University.
The game is set for 6 p.m. on September 21 in Houston at Rice Stadium.
