Baylor tops Washington in record-breaking shootout

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This was supposed to be Robert Griffin III’s big game.  In his first action since winning the Heisman, the junior QB posted solid stats: throwing for 295 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for a score as well in a ridiculous 67-56 Baylor victory over Washington.

But the big story was the Baylor running game, led by senior RB Terrance Ganaway, who had a breakout performance with 200 yards and five, count ‘em, five touchdowns for the 12^th ranked Bears.

As you can tell from the final score, this game was a shootout from the very beginning, with Griffin dominating the first quarter.  After converting on two fourth down tries, the QB connected with WR Kendall Wright for an 11-yard touchdown pass to put the first points on the board.  Griffin’s biggest moment came with :48 left in the first quarter.  The Washington defense had appeared to have RGIII wrapped up for a sack when the agile QB broke two tackles and scrambled his way to a 24-yard touchdown run to put Baylor up 14 at the end of the first quarter.

Washington QB Keith Price wasn’t about to be outdone, and he seemed to have an answer for every Baylor score, throwing for a whopping 438 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 39 yards and three scores.  Price showcased his athletic ability as well as his arm on numerous occasions, most notably on an 80-yard touchdown strike to senior Jermaine Kearse after rolling to the left to avoid the pursuit of the abysmal Baylor defense.  Washington scored 28 unanswered points to start the second quarter to build a 35-21 lead.

That’s when the fun started.  Ganaway scored all of his five touchdowns in the second half, the most spectacular of which came on an 89-yard scamper that was capped by a 2-point conversion to pull Baylor to within three points.  After trading touchdowns, Baylor took the lead for good on Ganaway’s fourth touchdown, a 4-yard score that took the wind out of Washington’s sails.

Washington had a chance to stay in the game, but Price could not convert on a 4th and 8 opportunity, and that allowed Griffin and Baylor to ice the game and run the clock out.  The 17 total touchdowns and nearly 1,400 yards in this game both shattered previous bowl records, leading to plenty of jokes that it should be renamed the “Temco Bowl”.

Griffin acknowledged the fact that this could have been his last college game, but had these words to say to ESPN: “I want Baylor nation to enjoy this.  It’s not about me.  I’ve got about two weeks.  I’ll enjoy this the next day, and then the next day, and then I’ll make it.”

It will be interesting to see if Griffin declares for the draft, but one thing is for certain: if this was indeed his last game, then he can look back and be proud of what Baylor has accomplished this season.

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