A backup thrown in at the deep end
DJ Lagway went down with an ankle injury in Baylor’s season opener, a one-point loss to Auburn. That handed Nate Bennett the reins in Waco on Saturday night, making it the first start of his career.
The quarterback passed for 301 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Bears’ 44-3 win over Prairie View A&M, an FCS program.
Baylor scored 44 straight points after falling behind. Final tally: 540 yards to 110.
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The Panthers led for three minutes
Prairie View came out firing. A 30-yard screen from Tevin Carter to Ky’Yon Harris pushed the visitors to the Baylor six-yard line. Ethan Eddins finished it off with a 25-yard field goal at 10:58 of the first quarter. 3-0.
That was as good as it got. Rhett Armstrong answered with a 46-yard kick on the next drive, then Caden Knighten punched in a five-yard run with 4:22 left in the opening period.
Bennett then hit Jayden McGowan for 33 yards and Dre’lon Miller for 22 more, both still in the first quarter, before taking off for a 17-yard touchdown run at 12:55 of the second. Armstrong added a 45-yard field goal before half-time, after also missing from 41. 34-3 at the break.
Two picks, no damage
The young quarterback also gave the ball away twice. Jacob Davis intercepted an overthrown pass to give the Panthers possession at the Baylor 47, and Malachi Williams did the same at 7:53 of the third quarter. In both cases, Prairie View came away with nothing.
Gavin Freeman finished as the game’s top receiver with 10 catches for 104 yards. McGowan added a second touchdown, this time on the ground from 13 yards out to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
For the Panthers, Carter managed just 74 passing yards and Zayvion Turner-Knox led the team on the ground with 12 yards on four carries. Prairie View drops to 1-2, while Baylor moves to 1-1 ahead of a far sterner Big 12 schedule.
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