Bears get defensive in rout of Jayhawks
WACO— Baylor’s offense has piled up big numbers in Big 12 play this season.
With a little help from their defense, the Bears now have something to show for those prolific stats.
Nick Florence threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns, running back Lache Seastrunk had 194 total yards and Baylor won its first Big 12 game of the season, beating Kansas 41- 14 Saturday.
Baylor ( 4- 4, 1- 4) led 2014 at halftime before pulling away in the second half to snap a four- game losing streak.
“This is the first time I’ve felt good in a month,” Bears coach Art Briles said. “I wish I was being funny. This gives you a good feeling, and that’s important. We’d love for this to take off and go.”
While the Bears are averaging well over 40 points a game, their defense struggled mightily during their skid.
Baylor allowed 210 points over the last four games and forced only two turnovers in that span. The Bears’ defense stepped up in the third quarter with a key fourth- down stop and two interceptions.
“We were just on one accord tonight,” Baylor linebacker Ahmad Dixon said. “Hopefully, it rolls over into next week. We just have to stay focused.”
The Bears need two more victories to become bowl eligible. Baylor goes to 14th- ranked Oklahoma and plays three games in Texas. They take on No. 3 Kansas State and Oklahoma State at home, and face No. 20 Texas Tech at Cowboys Stadium.
Baylor 41, Kansas 14
“I feel like the monkey is off our back,” Florence said. “We still have a long ways to go. We have to get two more wins with a tough schedule ahead of us.”
James Sims had 126 rushing yards for Kansas ( 1- 8, 0- 6), which lost its eighth in a rowand 18th straight Big 12 game. The Jayhawks last won a conference game on Nov. 6, 2010, against Colorado, now of the Pac- 12.
Kansas came off a last- second, 21- 17 loss to Texas last weekend. They Jayhawks were close in this one until sputtering in the second half.
“We came out in the third quarter, and things didn’t go so well,” Kansas coach CharlieWeis said.