Sept. 3, 2005

Final Stats | Notes

DALLAS (AP) - Paul Mosley ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the final 7:47, to help Baylor end a 24-game road losing streak with a 28-23 victory over SMU on Saturday night.

The Bears made things hard on themselves by failing to score on first-half drives that began at SMU's 13, 20 and 28. However, they snapped out of it to go 93 yards on their go-ahead drive midway through the fourth quarter, with Mosley going around the right side of the line for the final yard and a 21-14 lead.

Baylor appeared on the verge of giving it back by fumbling a punt at its 19, but the hapless Mustangs - who haven't beaten a nonconference foe since 2000 - managed only a field goal. The Bears answered with an 80-yard drive that Mosley capped with a 12-yard TD run, making it 28-17.

SMU scored again with 19 seconds left, but missed a 2-point conversion, a fitting ending to a game that also featured a blocked punt, a blocked field goal, a fumbled kickoff and two interceptions by Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell, who had thrown only one in his 17-game career and none in a school-record 159 passes coming in.

The Bears are 1-0 for the first time since 2001, and this was their first road win since the 2000 opener. It was just the third win in the school's last 47 road games, a span that covers eight-plus seasons and four coaches.

With the victory, Baylor preserved a bit of dignity for the four Texas teams in the Big 12. They're 15-0 against the four schools they spurned when the Southwest Conference broke up 10 years ago.

The Mustangs kept alive another dubious streak by dropping their 29th straight game under coach Phil Bennett when they scored 24 points or less.

SMU did ruin one statistical oddity, a 13-game run of games won by the team leading after one quarter. The Mustangs were up 7-3 one period into this one.

Baylor rallied by going to a ground game and wearing out SMU. The Bears ran 16 times in the first half, then 29 over the last two quarters. They finished with 215 rushing yards, with Brandon Whitaker gaining a team-high 110.

Bell was 23-of-40 for 198 yards with the two interceptions and no touchdowns.

Tony Eckert started at quarterback for SMU and was 6-of-18 for 64 yards and a touchdown, but backup Jerad Romo played most of the game. He was 3-of-8 for 42 yards, but ran 14 times for a team-best 82 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown. Richuel Massey gained 64 yards on eight carries, with a 19-yard TD run.

Members of the Tulane football team, who are living in a hotel near the SMU campus and practicing here, watched from the stands.