[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] No. 17/17 Baylor football earns 31-24 win at Iowa State

Sat Sep 24 15:39:26 CDT 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 24, 2022

No. 17/17 Baylor earns 31-24 win at Iowa State
Shapen throws for three TDs and 238 yards

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu> or Max Calderone; 254-265-1639, max_calderone at baylor.edu<mailto:max_calderone at baylor.edu>

By Jerry Hill, BaylorBears.com

AMES, Iowa -- Blake Shapen threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns to lead 17th-ranked Baylor to a 31-24 win over the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday afternoon in the Big 12 opener at a packed Jack Trice Stadium.

Already up by double digits, the Bears (3-1, 1-0) threw what looked to be the knockout punch with 9:37 left when Shapen connected with a wide-open Gavin Holmes for a 38-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker that went from Richard Reese to Seth Jones and back to Shapen.

That came after senior safety Christian Morgan picked off a Hunter Dekkers' fourth-down pass for the defense's second takeaway of the game after getting just two in the first three games.

On a freak play that was eventually overturned, cornerback Lorando Johnson popped the ball loose from running back Jirehl Brock before he crossed the goal line on a 36-yard run for what was initially called a touchback. But, Brock actually recovered the fumble before it rolled out bounds and was awarded the touchdown, cutting it to a 31-21 deficit with 7:16 left.

And then, the Cyclones (3-1, 0-1) tacked on a 28-yard field goal by Jace Gilbert with 55 seconds left after a 10-play, 71-yard drive. But, Matt Jones recovered the onside kick and the Bears ran out the final seconds to pick up their first win in Ames in six years.

Scoring on their first three possessions, the Bears went up 17-7 when Shapen hit fullback/linebacker Dillon Doyle for a one-yard TD pass on a third-and-goal play. That capped a nine-play, 70-yard drive that included a 36-yard strike from Shapen to Gavin Holmes on the first play.

An Iowa City native who started his career at the University of Iowa, scored his third-career touchdown and first since scoring twice against BYU last season.

After an exchange of three-and-outs, Iowa State answered with an eight-play, 63-yard drive and closed to within three, 17-14, on Dekkers' 24-yard TD pass to Dimitri Stanley.

Aided by a couple personal-foul penalties, including a targeting ejection on safety Beau Freyler, Baylor went 77 yards on 12 plays on the opening series of the game and took a 7-0 lead on Shapen's 12-yard TD pass to tight end Ben Sims.

Brock scored on a two-yard pass from Dekkers, but Baylor went back on top for good with John Mayers' 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Before the flea-flicker pass to Holmes, who had three catches for 92 yards, Baylor went back up by double digits in the second half when Reese sprinted 19 yards around the right end.

Reese finished with 78 yards on 21 carries, helping the Bears rush for 123 yards against an Iowa State defense that had allowed just 60 yards rushing per game and 2.6 per carry.

Conversely, the Baylor defense completely shut down the Cyclones' running game, holding them to 66 yards on 27 attempts. With a late flurry, Dekkers was 23-of-36 for 284 yards and two touchdowns, but he was picked off twice.

Baylor returns home to host No. 8/9 Oklahoma State (3-0) next Saturday, Oct. 1, at McLane Stadium. The Cowboys were off on Saturday after blowing out Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 63-7, the week before.

For the latest news and information on Baylor football, follow @BUFootball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

www.BaylorBears.com

--
Brent Ingram | Assistant AD for Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

[signature_1049805336]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/fbmedia/attachments/20220924/5d5822e3/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 20340 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/fbmedia/attachments/20220924/5d5822e3/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Baylor 2022 Football Stats.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 405535 bytes
Desc: Baylor 2022 Football Stats.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/fbmedia/attachments/20220924/5d5822e3/attachment-0003.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: fb_book_092422_ISU.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 708019 bytes
Desc: fb_book_092422_ISU.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/fbmedia/attachments/20220924/5d5822e3/attachment-0004.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BU FB 2022 Postgame_Notes_4_ISU.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 133646 bytes
Desc: BU FB 2022 Postgame_Notes_4_ISU.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/fbmedia/attachments/20220924/5d5822e3/attachment-0005.pdf>