WACO, Texas -- With a coach named Briles still calling the plays, and Seth Russell throwing touchdown passes, Baylors offense certainly looked very familiar.Russell threw four touchdown passes in less than a half, and the No. 23 Bears beat FCS team Northwestern State 55-7 on Friday night in their first game since the sudden dismissal of coach Art Briles just more than three months ago.It felt like Baylor, Russell said, who took the calls from offensive coordinator, Kendal Briles, the former coachs son.Two-time Big 12 Conference champion coach Art Briles lost his job in the wake of a May report from an external investigation into allegations the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against football players.Acting head coach Jim Grobe retained the rest of the staff, and had no issues with the younger Briles having the initials CAB written on his hand -- presumably for Art Briles.To think about him losing Art as his head coach ... it had to be tougher on KB than anybody, Grobe said. I have no problems with that whatsoever. If you dont love your dad, somethings wrong.Kendal Briles wasnt available for comment since Baylor isnt making assistant coaches available to speak to the media this season.Russell was the top-rated FBS passer when he suffered a season-ending neck injury in the seventh game last year. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 163 yards with TDs to four receivers, including two tight ends. The Bears led 41-0 when he threw his last pass, a 10-yard TD pass to Pooh Stricklin with 5 minutes left in the first half.All for it, hes who brought me here. He gave me opportunity and I love him for it, Russell said when asked about Kendal Briles tribute. Coach Grobe did a fantastic job of stepping into a risky situation. Hes done a great job of handling it, and hes been staying positive the entire time.QUOTABLE:It was refreshing honestly to get to football, for me. I wanted to see how we reacted as a team. ... Ive just got a good feeling about these guys after the game. Thats what I was wondering going in, Grobe said.THE TAKEAWAYNORTHWESTERN STATE: Really, the outcome should have been no surprise. Northwestern State had lost its previous four meetings against Baylor by an average margin of 50 points, including 70-6 two years ago. Brooks Haack, the second graduate transfer in a row to start for the Demons, was under constant pressure and completed only 3 of 13 passes for 14 yards, but did run 3 yards for their only score.BAYLOR: The Bears, who are down to about 70 scholarship players, got some valuable playing time for true freshman quarterback Zach Smith and plenty of other non-starters, including third-teamers on offense and defense after halftime. Smith went through spring practice after graduating high school early, and was thrust into the role as backup when Jarrett Stidham left Baylor this summer. Smith was 5 of 7 passing for 60 yards and a touchdown and two other freshmen got into the game as well.The defense was overwhelming, holding Northwestern State to 78 total yards, but will get a much tougher test against SMU, where Bears defensive coordinator Phil Bennett was once the head coach.POLL IMPLICATIONSBAYLOR: Dont look for the Bears to make much of a move in the poll. Sure, they could move up a spot or two if other teams ranked above them lose, but a 48-point victory against an FCS team isnt likely to overly impress voters.KEY NUMBERSBaylor had 498 total yards (275 rushing, 223 passing). ... Terence Williams ran a Baylor-high 11 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns. ... Shock Linwood, who ran nine times for 97 yards, is 107 yards shy of becoming Baylors career rushing leader. Walter Abercrombies record of 3,665 yards has stood for 35 years. ... The last time two Baylor tight ends caught TD passes in the same game was Sept. 8, 2007, when Justin Akers had two TDs and Brad Taylor one in a 42-17 win vs. Rice. ... The Bears led 48-0 at the half, when Northwestern State had 3 total yards and eight punts.UP NEXTNORTHWESTERN STATE: The Demons have never been competitive against Baylor. So they just have to move forward and get ready for their Southland Conference opener at home Sept. 8 against Incarnate Word.Coming out in the second half, offensively, defensively we were able to do some things, Demons coach Jay Thomas said. Baylor, theyre really good, man.BAYLOR: After easing into the season against a lower-division opponent, the Bears stay home next week against SMU. It is the first of consecutive games against former Southwest Conference rivals (the Mustangs and Rice) who are still in the field of candidates for possible Big 12 expansion. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Cheap NFL Jerseys . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.cheapauthenticnfljerseys.net/ . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Cheap China Jerseys . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. China NFL Jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Jeremy Morgan plays guard for the Northern Iowa Panthers, but that seems almost too limiting.The senior does a little bit of everything for the Panthers. That much was obvious on Thursday night when Morgan scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and gave four assists -- all game highs -- in leading UNI to an impressive 82-63 win over Arizona State in the opening round of the Tire Pros Invitational.The best part of his game is his versatility, said UNI coach Ben Jacobson, whose team improved to 2-0 on the season. Usually when thats the word used by your coach or what people see is the versatility then they say,` OK, he must not be great at anything. But he is pretty good at a lot of things. I use the term versatility as high praise.The Panthers got outstanding performances from Spencer Haldeman, Klint Carlson and Bennett Koch but it was Morgan who served as the facilitator of their production. That often meant him finding Haldeman on the perimeter or Koch flashing in the paint or ASU paid so much attention to Morgan that at least one of his teammates was left open.What it all led to was a dominant performance by the Panthers over their Pac-12 opponent. With Morgan and Haldeman leading the way from 3-point range and Koch unmatched in the paint, UNI led by as many as 10 points in the first half and 20 points in the second half.Im just going out there and doing everything I can for the team whether thats getting the ball to somebody who is wide open or going to get an extra possession on offense or knocking down an open 3, said Morgan, the Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. Im just trying to do everything I can to help the team win.The Panthers shoot 51 percent from the field and with Morgan and Haldeman combining to convert nine 3-pointers.ddddddddddddASU coach Bobby Hurley was disappointed that his team seemed a step slow defensively and out of synch offensively against its toughest opponent so far this season.It was out of character with how weve playing and practicing, he said. We didnt really move the ball well at all and credit Northern Iowa with how to share the ball and the shot making.BIG PICTURENorthern Iowa: In their first real test of the season, the Panthers proved they can be a force in the Missouri Valley Conference and perhaps on the national scene. Morgan, the preseason MVC Player of the Year, and Haldeman didnt flinch against their Pac-12 opponent.Arizona State: The Sun Devils got off to an impressive 2-0 start but when faced against a team that can defend and has a nice inside-outside game they were exposed. Senior Obinna Oleka never came close to figuring out how to defend Koch in the post.CONFIDENT PANTHERKoch may have lacked some confidence last season, but he played like he was the best player on the floor Thursday against the Sun Devils.He consistently demanded the ball in the paint against Oleka and he made good. Koch was 6 for 7 in the paint for 14 points and could have scored much more because ASU never figured out how to stop him.UP NEXTNorthern Iowa: The Panthers faces Oklahoma in semifinals on Friday.Arizona State: The Sun Devils meets Tulane on Friday in the consolation semifinals.-----More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '
