Baylor 30, Long Island 7
Associated Press
WACO, Texas - Richard Reese ran for two touchdowns, freshman Dawson Pendergrass added 111 yards and a score on his 21 carries and Baylor ended a six-game losing streak with a 30-7 win over FCS-member Long Island University.
Baylor (1-2) also ended a four-game losing streak at home, in a game that included a two-hour delay because of lightning in the area that first started when the teams were leaving the field at halftime. The Bears' last win overall was 38-35 at Oklahoma on Nov. 5, 2022.
The Bears had four scoring drives that lasted at least 10 plays, the last when Sawyer Robertson threw a 3-yard TD to tight end Drake Dabney with 5:41 left in the game. That was Dabney's third TD catch this season.
Robertson completed 10-of-22 passes for 113 yards. It was the Mississippi State transfer's second game filling in for injured starting quarterback Blake Shapen, who is expected to miss at least one more game because of an MCL injury.
Reese carried it 12 times for 82 yards for the Bears, who played without leading rusher Dominic Richardson. The Bears finished with 251 yards rushing.
After LIU (0-3) stopped Baylor on downs right before halftime, quarterback Chris Howell scored on 10-yard run to make it 16-7. The Sharks then recovered a fumble but gave the ball right back on an interception.
THE TAKEAWAY
Long Island: The Sharks saw little of the ball in the first half when the result was still in doubt. Until their four-play, 59-yard touchdown drive late in the half, they had only one first down and 12 total yards on 12 plays. Long Island’s initial first down came on its opening drive, which lasted five plays and covered 19 yards, but it opted to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Baylor 48.
Baylor: It wasn’t the dominating effort the Bears likely envisioned when they scheduled this game, but they came out of it with a much-needed win. They did so primarily by going 6-for-14 on third down and 5-for-6 on fourth to keep drives alive and continue wearing on the Long Island defense. The Bears’ defense also did its part to get off the field, limiting Long Island to 1-for-9 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth.
September 16, 2023
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
LIU | Baylor |
| Baylor |
TD |
3:44 |
Richard Reese 13 yard TD run (Isaiah Hankins Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| Second Quarter |
LIU | Baylor |
| Baylor |
TD |
8:27 |
Dawson Pendergrass 1 yard TD run (Isaiah Hankins Extra Point) |
0 |
14 |
| Baylor |
SF |
6:55 |
Team safety |
0 |
16 |
| LIU |
TD |
0:40 |
Chris Howell 10 yard TD run (Michael Coney Extra Point) |
7 |
16 |
| Third Quarter |
LIU | Baylor |
| Baylor |
TD |
6:51 |
Richard Reese 13 yard TD run (Isaiah Hankins Extra Point) |
7 |
23 |
| Fourth Quarter |
LIU | Baylor |
| Baylor |
TD |
5:45 |
Drake Dabney 3 yard TD pass from Sawyer Robertson (Isaiah Hankins Extra Point) |
7 |
30 |
| Team Stats |
| |
LIU |
Baylor |
| First downs |
10 |
26 |
| Rushing |
8 |
17 |
| Passing |
1 |
8 |
| Penalty |
1 |
1 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
1-9, 11% |
6-14, 43% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-2, 50% |
5-6, 83% |
| Rushes-Yards |
28-150 |
48-270 |
| Passing Yards |
44 |
121 |
| Return Yards |
0 |
40 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
6-14-1 |
13-27-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
3-25 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
4 |
2 |
| Fumbles Lost |
2-0 |
1-1 |
| Penalties - Yards |
5-45 |
2-15 |
| LIU Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| C. Howell |
4 |
10 |
41 |
0 |
1 |
| E. Greenwood |
2 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Baylor Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| S. Robertson |
10 |
22 |
97 |
1 |
0 |
| R. Martinez |
3 |
5 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
| LIU Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| J. Dawkins |
1 |
42 |
42.0 |
0 |
| P. Bowen |
5 |
32 |
6.4 |
0 |
| C. Howell |
6 |
23 |
3.8 |
1 |
| D. Wells |
1 |
22 |
22.0 |
0 |
| E. Greenwood |
11 |
15 |
1.4 |
0 |
| K. Petteway |
1 |
9 |
9.0 |
0 |
| A. Smith-Mack |
2 |
4 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Z. Rhodes |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| Baylor Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Pendergrass |
21 |
111 |
5.3 |
1 |
| R. Reese |
13 |
84 |
6.5 |
2 |
| B. Washington |
9 |
43 |
4.8 |
0 |
| J. Jenkins |
2 |
19 |
9.5 |
0 |
| S. Robertson |
1 |
14 |
14.0 |
0 |
| J. Nabors |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| M. Baldwin |
1 |
-5 |
-5.0 |
0 |
| LIU Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| A. Smith-Mack |
1 |
35 |
35.0 |
0 |
| M. Smith |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| L. Bryant |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| J. Dawkins |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| P. Bowen |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| D. Wells |
1 |
-1 |
-1.0 |
0 |
| Baylor Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| K. Jackson Jr. |
2 |
29 |
14.5 |
0 |
| K. Johnson |
2 |
28 |
14.0 |
0 |
| D. Pendergrass |
2 |
24 |
12.0 |
0 |
| J. Roberts |
3 |
20 |
6.7 |
0 |
| J. Cameron |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
0 |
| J. Burton |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| D. Dabney |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
1 |
| B. Washington |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
| LIU Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Baylor Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| R. Martinez |
1 |
0 |
| LIU Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| W. Lynch |
4 |
174 |
43.5 |
| Baylor Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| P. Williams |
2 |
94 |
47.0 |
| LIU Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Baylor Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Cameron |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
| LIU Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Baylor Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| R. Reese |
2 |
35 |
17.5 |
| LIU Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| M. Coney |
43 |
| Baylor Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
