MONROE, La. -- On a historic night inside Malone Stadium, a record crowd of 31,175 fans
witnessed a back-and-forth contest in Friday night's home-opener, which Baylor (3-0) came out
on top, 47-42, over ULM (1-2). An untimely fumble did the Warhawks in and the
lost possession proved to be the difference in the fastbreak affair that
featured only three combined punts, five lead changes and one tie.
A solid rushing attack led by junior Jyruss Edwards who collected
his second-career 100-yard game as he finished with 120 yards and a touchdown to pace ULM. Monterrell Washington collected his first carries of the season
to finish with 86 yards and two touchdowns. Kolton Browning finished 25-for-39 for
272 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and rushed for 49 yards and
another score.
Behind a 351 yard, four-touchdown performance by Nick
Florence Baylor extended its winning-streak to nine games, second longest in
the country behind TCU's 10-game streak.
Baylor did its damage throught the air as four pass-catchers finished with at least 50 yards receiving led by Tevin Reese who caught eight passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Baylor took the ball to begin the game but were forced to
punt bringing ULM's offense onto the Malone Stadium field for the first time in
2012. Browning and crew drove inside Baylor territory after a successful fourth
down conversion but a second fourth down attempt fell incomplete.
DaCorris Ford intercepted a Nick Florence pass and gave the
Warhawks excellent field position. A pass interference call prefaced a 22-yard
touchdown pass from Browning to Tavarese Maye, giving ULM a 7-0 advantage with
7:43 left in the first quarter.
Baylor's next drive included a double pass to bring the
Bears inside Warhawk territory before Ford brought pressure and got a hand on
Florence's pass and the ball fluttered into Rob'Donovan Lewis' hands for the
second pick of the night for ULM. A personal foul on Baylor at the end of the
play gave the Warhawks possession on its own 24-yard line with 4:19 left in the
first quarter.
Both quarterbacks entered the game for the ensuing drive as
Cody Wells and Browning were handling the ball. Browning handed the ball to
Wells who completed two passes to advance the ball. Washington
carried the ball on back-to-back plays. The first went for 22 yards and the
second for nine and a touchdown putting ULM up 14-0 with 1:33 remaining in the
opening quarter. It was the first two carries for Washington on the season.
Reese snuck behind the ULM secondary and caught a
43-yard touchdown pass from Florence to put the Bears on the board, 14-7, with
14:22 left in the first half.
On the next drive, Browning was flushed out of the pocket
and scrambled for 15 yards and a first down. Washington broke free and sprinted
48 yards and his second touchdown of the night, upping the Warhawk lead to 21-7
with 12:00 on the clock.
Florence found room around the right side for 16 yards and
followed with a nine-yard rush bringing Baylor to ULM's 10-yard line. A few
short carries were met by several ULM defenders including a spectacular tackle
from Mitch Lane on an end-around to save a Baylor touchdown. On the following
play, Glasco Martin carried for a one-yard touchdown to cap the 11-play drive.
With 7:51 left in the first half, ULM led Baylor 21-14.
A promising-looking drive ended with a fumble recovered by
Baylor safety Sam Holl and Florence found Terrance Williams on the very next
play for a 48-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21.
A pass interference on a throw intended for Je'Ron Hamm from
Browning brought ULM inside Baylor territory at the 21-yard line. Maye nearly
pulled down his second touchdown of the night but was knocked away by Joe
Williams at the last second. On 4th & 7, the ULM offense came onto the
field and Browning was sacked for a loss of 11 yards and a turnover on downs
with 1:55 left in the half.
An offsides penalty on ULM kept the Baylor drive alive but
on the following play Cameron Blakes stuffed Jarred Salubi just short of the
first down marker. On 4th & 2, backup quarterback Bryce Petty carried for
the first down. Petty completed a pass to Lanear Sampson with just two seconds
left in the half. Baylor's all-time leading scorer, Aaron Jones converted a
34-yard field goal as time expired, giving Baylor a 24-21 advantage.
At the break, Baylor held the advantage in first downs (18
to 17), total yards (308 to 257) and passing yards (217 to 122). ULM did hold
the rushing advantage 135 to 91. The Bears ended the half with 17-straight
points.
On the opening drive of the second half, Edwards gashed the
Baylor defense again for a long run, this time for 58 yards and a touchdown to
give ULM the lead, 28-24, with 13:10 left in the third quarter.
Baylor's quick-strike offense scored again on a 46-yard
touchdown pass from Florence to Reese giving Baylor the 31-28 lead with 8:13
left in the third quarter.
Ahmad Dixon jumped a Colby Harper route and picked Browning
off, setting the Bears up with good field position at ULM's 29-yard line. An
offsides penalty on ULM aided Baylor but following a short run, the Bears opted
to go for it on fourth down. Martin picked up the first down with one-yard
carry. The Warhawk defense held serve and forced a field goal inside its own
red zone. Jones converted the 21-yard field goal to extend Baylor's lead to
34-28 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.
The Warhawk offense found its rhythm on the next drive and
Browning was able to find Hamm cutting across the defense for a gain of 31
yards down to Baylor's 19-yard line. An underhand shovel pass after a Browning
scramble to Maye nearly gave the Warhawks a score, down to the one-yard line.
Browning kept it himself and with the help of a strong push from his offensive
line, he fell into the endzone for the touchdown. With 10:54 remaining in regulation,
ULM led 35-34.
The Bears answered with a 14 play, 73-yard drive capped by a
nine-yard touchdown run by Levi Norwood on an option pitch from Florence.
Baylor failed with a two-point conversion after a fumble recovery by Joey
Gautney with 7:10 left in the game. Gautney was brought down from behind to end the play.
Browning found Harper down the near sideline for 41
yard-reception but a mishandled handoff between Browning and Edwards was
recovered by Baylor to put a halt to the drive.
Baylor faced a 4th & 1 with 4:24 remaining from its own
47-yard line. A handoff to Martin for two yards gave the Bears a new set of
downs. Florence found Williams for a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Bears a
47-35 lead with 2:25 left in the game.
Maye led the Warhawks in receiving with nine catches for 76
yards and a touchdown while Leonard hauled in eight catches for 72 yards and a
score and Harper caught five balls for 82 yards. R.J. Young finished with 14
total tackles (four solo) while Lane and Ray Stovall finished with nine tackles
each.
The Warhawks will hit the road the next two weekends
beginning with Tulane on Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m. in New Orleans. The Green Wave
host Ole Miss on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
ULM - 22-yard pass from K. Browning to T. Maye (J. Manton XP), 4-44-1:11 ULM
7-0
ULM - 9-yard run (J. Manton XP),
7-76-2:11 ULM 14-0
2nd Quarter
Baylor - 43-yard pass from N. Florence to T. Reese (A. Jones XP), 7-75-2:11
ULM 14-7
ULM - 48-yard run by M. Washington (J.
Manton XP), 5-75-2:22 ULM 21-7
Baylor - 1-yard run by Glasco Martin (A. Jones XP), 11-68-4:09 ULM 21-14
Baylor - 48-yard pass from N. Florence to T. Williams (A. Jones XP) Tied 21-21
Baylor - 34-yard field goal by A. Jones Baylor, 12-51-1:55 24-21
3rd Quarter
ULM - 58-yard run by
J. Edwards (J. Manton XP) 5-75-1:50 ULM 28-24
Baylor - 46-yard pass from N. Florence to T. Reese (A. Jones
XP) 4-68-1:13 Baylor 31-28
Baylor - 21-yard field goal by A. Jones 11-25-3:53 Baylor 34-28
4th Quarter
ULM - 1-yard run by K. Browning (J.
Manton XP) 15-75-5:54 ULM 35-34
Baylor - 9-yard run by L. Norwood (N. Florence fumble/failed
two-point) 14-73-3:44 Baylor 40-35
Baylor - 22-yard pass from N. Florence to T. Williams (A. Jones
XP) 8-62-3:15 Baylor 47-35
ULM - 15-yard pass from K. Browning to
B. Leonard (J. Manton XP) 12-90-2:19 Baylor 47-42
