Texas Tech Red Raiders vs Baylor Bears Match Player Stats On Oct 03, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Oct 3, 2015

ARLINGTON, Texas - Baylor's Big 12-opener looked pretty familiar for the two-time defending conference champions.

The fifth-ranked Bears transitioned from pounding on non-conference foes without much of a hiccup as they subdued Texas Tech, 63-35, on Saturday at AT&T Stadium.

Baylor raced to a 49-21 advantage in the first half, then played conservative in the third and fourth quarters.

Bears quarterback Seth Russell passed for 286 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Shock Linwood rushed for 221 yards and two TDs on 20 carries.

Texas Tech quarterback Pat Mahomes passed for 415 yards and three touchdowns. However he was intercepted twice, and the Red Raiders lost two fumbles. Texas Tech was also penalized 17 times for 142 yards.

The Red Raiders have surrendered at least 680 yards in each of the last two games against then-No. 3-ranked TCU (750) and Baylor (680).

Baylor cranked up its dominating style in the first half as the Bears scored on their first four possessions and created a pair of Texas Tech turnovers.

Linwood broke loose for a 79-yard touchdown run on Baylor's game-opening offensive series. Russell hit KD Cannon for a 28-yard touchdown, then Corey Coleman for a 24-yard score and Russell ran in a one-yard touchdown as the Bears surged to a 28-14 lead.

Bears safety Orion Steward recovered a fumble by Texas Tech running back DeAndre Washington at the Baylor 41-yard line. On the next play, Linwood toted the ball 38 yards into Red Raider territory, setting up his eight-yard touchdown later in the march.

Baylor cornerback Xavien Howard kept up the play-making trend for the Bears defense as he intercepted a Mahomes pass and returned it to the Texas Tech 10.

After a personal foul penalty on Baylor, Russell connected with Coleman again, this time for a 16-yard touchdown that put the Bears ahead 42-14 with 8:22 left in the second quarter.

Russell completed 11 of 16 passes for 251 yards and Baylor rushed for 248 yards in the first half as it took the 49-21 lead to the break. Linwood gained 169 yards and scored twice on 12 carries.

Texas Tech seemed ready to keep up with Baylor early as Mahomes hit Zach Austin for a 55—yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 on the Red Raiders' first-offensive series. The Red Raiders pulled within 21-14 when Mahomes threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Batson, but Texas Tech would get no closer than that.

NOTES: Entering Saturday's game, the Texas Tech-Baylor all-time series was tied 36-36-1. But it has been a series of streaks during the last 20 years. The Red Raiders won every meeting from 1996-2010, then Baylor flipped the script and has won the last five. ... Through three games this season, Baylor was ranked first in the nation in rushing offense at 379.7 yards per game and seventh in passing offense at 387.3 yards per contest. ... For the first time in program history, Texas Tech played back-to-back games against teams ranked in the top five. No. 3 TCU defeated the Red Raiders 55-52 last Saturday before the Red Raiders faced No. 5 Baylor.