Baylor Soars Past Air Force with Strong Second Half

Saturday, September 14

Waco, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Baylor

2-1 , 0-0

Air Force

1-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Air Force

Baylor

Baylor Soars Past Air Force with Strong Second Half

9/14/2024 10:03:00 PM | Football

Box Score Game Book (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Postgame Notes

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Bouncing back from a turnover-plagued first half, the Baylor Bears scored twice in the first seven minutes of the third quarter and blew out the Air Force Academy Falcons, 31-3, Saturday night before a crowd of 46,212 at McLane Stadium.

Sawyer Robertson, subbing for an injured Dequan Finn, threw for a career-high 248 yards and added a six-yard TD run as the Bears (2-1) picked up a win in their final tune-up before opening Big 12 play on the road next week at Colorado (2-1) in the Buffaloes' return to the league.

Redshirt freshman Bryson Washington made his first-career start and rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, adding another 23 yards on one reception. Scoring on a 28-yard TD run, Richard Reese had 47 yards on eight totes, while Ashtyn Hawkins tallied 81 yards on four catches.

With Air Force (1-2) using its patient triple-option attack to keep the ball for right at 24 minutes in the first half, Baylor ran just 23 offensive plays and was clinging to a 6-3 lead on a pair of Isaiah Hankins field goals despite three fumbles.

Baylor had a chance early in the game when Caleb Parker blocked a punt that Josh White recovered at the Falcons' 28-yard line. But Robertson was dropped for a four-yard loss on third down, settling for a Hankins' 46-yarder that made it 3-0 with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

Air Force got a game-tying 26-yard field goal from Matthew Dapore to cap a 16-play, 65-yard drive late in the second quarter. The two teams exchanged turnovers in the last couple minutes of the half, with Devyn Bobby recovering a fumble by quarterback John Busha that was forced by Jackie Marshall.

After a 22-yard pickup on a pass from Robertson to Josh Cameron, Hankins booted one just inside the left upright to give the Bears the 6-3 halftime lead.

In a dominant third quarter, Baylor took command with matching TD runs of six yards by Robertson and Washington and added another Hankins field goal for a 23-3 lead.

The Falcons turned it over on downs late in the third quarter before the Bears scored their final points of the night with Reese's 28-yard TD run and a two-point conversion run by Robertson.

Piling up nearly 300 yards in the second half, Baylor finished with a 478-218 edge in total offense. The Bears featured a balanced attack, rushing for 230 yards on 38 attempts for a 6.1-yard average.

Held to just 48 yards in the second half, Air Force was led by Cade Harris with 71 yards on eight carries. Busha was 0-for-5 passing and picked up 45 yards on 21 attempts before going out in the third quarter.