Wake Forest University
Baylor
Wake Forest Falls to Baylor, 24-21
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 5, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Robert Griffin and Ernest Smith threw touchdown passes and Baylor (1-0) held off a late Wake Forest (0-1) rally as the Bears defeated the Demon Deacons 24-21 on Saturday afternoon at BB&T Field.
After leading 10-7 at the half, Baylor stretched its lead to 17 after two third-quarter touchdown drives. Wake Forest was able to rally, trimming the lead to 24-21 with 3:57 left in the game and getting the ball back with a chance to drive for the game-winning score.
Despite running three fewer plays than Wake Forest, Baylor had a 366-269 edge in total offense. The Demon Deacons had 19 first downs, compared to 18 for Baylor. Time of possession was nearly identical as Baylor had the ball for 30:09, while Wake Forest possessed the ball for 29:51.
One of the key stats in the game was the turnover category as Wake Forest turned the ball over four times to just one turnover for Baylor. The Bears were able to get 10 points off the Demon Deacon turnovers.
Griffin and Smith each threw touchdown passes for Baylor. Griffin went 15-for-24 for 136 yards, along with the touchdown. Smith's touchdown pass came on a halfback pass, a 33-yard completion to Lanear Sampson in the third quarter.
Baylor's Jay Finley led all rushers with 14 carries on 91 yards, averaging 6.5 yards a carry. Kendall Wright had four carries for 56 yards. David Gettis had five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown to lead all receivers.
Jerem Williams led all Baylor defensive players with eight tackles. Joe Pawelek had seven tackles, including a sack, and also added an interception.
Riley Skinner went 20-of-31 for 143 yards, two touchdown and three interceptions. Devon Brown led the Demon Deacons with 46 yards on eight carries. Chris Givens had three carries for 28 yards. Mike Rinfrette had the only rushing touchdown of the day for Wake Forest, carrying the ball three times for 10 yards.
Marshall Williams and Jordan Williams each had four catches for 42 yards. Brown had 32 yards on three catches, with a touchdown. Andrew Parker also had a touchdown catch.
Defensively, Brandon Ghee led Wake Forest with nine tackles. Cyhl Quarles and Jonathan Jones each had seven tackles, while Jones also had a sack. Matt Woodlief had a sack and a forced fumble, while Kyle Wilbur also recorded a sack and recovered a fumble.
Baylor took the ball to open the game and drove 80 yards in eight plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Griffin completed all four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. The big play of the drive came on a 37-yard pass play from Griffin to Gettis to the Demon Deacon 19-yard line. Griffin and Gettis hooked up again on the touchdown play, an 8-yard completion on 3rd and goal.
Wake Forest was able to start its first possession of the game in good field position after a 25-yard kickoff return from Junior Petit-Jean to the Demon Deacon 42-yard line. Wake was able to get a first down on the drive, but the drive ended when Phil Taylor intercepted Riley Skinner, giving the Bears the ball at Wake Forest 49-yard line.
The Bears were able to turn the interception into points, as Ben Parks converted a 22-yard field goal to put Baylor in front 10-0 with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The drive, which took 7:40 off the clock, went 44 yards on 13 plays.
The Demon Deacons got on the board with 6:45 remaining in the second quarter. Wake drove 50 yards on nine plays in a drive that lasted 4:42. The Deacs did most of the damage on the ground during the drive as seven of the plays were of the rushing variety. Brown had 12 yards on two carries on the drive and fullback Rinfrette finished off the possession with a 2-yard touchdown plunge.
Baylor had a chance to extend the lead before halftime after recovering a Jordan Williams's fumble at the Wake Forest 34-yard line with 50 seconds left in the half. The Bears were unable to get a first down and had to attempt a 45-yard field goal. Ben Parks's kick was a low line drive attempt that was short, keeping the Baylor lead to 10-7 entering halftime.
The Bears stretched their lead to 17-7 with 13:12 remaining in the third quarter. Wake Forest got the ball to start the drive, but on 3rd-and-13 Skinner threw his second pick of the day, this time being intercepted by Pawelek. On the very next play, Wright rushed 37 yards into the endzone to put Baylor in front by 10.
After Wake Forest was unable to generate anything on its next drive, the Bears offense went back on the attack and found paydirt again to stretch the lead to 24-7 with 5:07 left in the third quarter. On 1st-and-10 at the Wake Forest 33-yard line, Griffin threw what appeared to be a screen pass to Ernest Smith. However, instead of catching and running, Smith threw the ball down field to a wide open Lanear Simpson for a 33-yard touchdown pass.
The Demon Deacons answered with a touchdown-scoring drive of their own on the next possession as Wake Forest went 80 yards on 10 plays for the touchdown. Skinner completed six passes on the drive, including a 19-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Brown to make the score 24-14 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Baylor had a chance to extend the lead on its first drive of the fourth quarter. The Bears drove the ball down to the Wake Forest 11-yard line, but were forced to attempt a 27-yard field goal attempt. The kick was blocked by Gelo Orange, keeping the Baylor advantage at 24-14.
Wake Forest was unable to take advantage of the blocked kick, as the Deacs turned the ball over for the fourth time in the game on the next possession. After moving the ball to the Baylor 30-yard line, Skinner had Jordan Williams open over the middle, but the catch went through his arms and deflected up into the air. Baylor's Mikail Baker intercepted the pass at the 4-yard line to give the ball back to the Bears.
The Demon Deacon defense was able to keep Wake Forest alive, forcing its first turnover of the day with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter. On 3rd-and-12 at the Baylor 32-yard line, Griffin was sacked by Matt Woodlief and John Russell, forcing a fumble. Kyle Wilbur recovered the fumble and returned it to the Baylor 25-yard line.
Wale Forest took advantage of the turnover, driving 25 yards on three plays to cut the lead to 24-21 with 3:57 left in the game. On 2nd-and-goal at the 5-yard line, Skinner found Andrew Parker in the back of the endzone for the touchdown.
The Demon Deacon defense was able to get the ball back for Wake Forest, forcing a Baylor punt and giving the offense the ball back at the Wake Forest 10-yard line with 1:11 remaining. Wake Forest was unable to get anything going on the ensuing possession, as Skinner threw two incomplete passes on the first two plays and was sacked on 3rd-and-10. On 4th-and-12, Skinner's pass for Brandon Pendergrass was incomplete, allowing Baylor to run out the remainder of the clock.
Wake Forest returns to action on Saturday, September 12, playing host to Stanford. Kickoff is set for Noon (ET) and the game will be televised live on Raycom.
