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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. Vapormax Sale . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. Vapormax 2021 .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. https://www.cheapvapormaxoutlet.com/ . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Vapormax 2020 . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Wholesale Vapormax . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell and Cincinnati counterpart Bryan Price had definite ideas about areas to improve with their struggling teams during the last 2 1/2 months of the season.Theyre both going to have to wait a little longer.Counsells Brewers missed a golden opportunity to pull out a win over the Reds on Friday at Great American Ball Park, loading the bases with one out in the ninth inning before Scooter Gennett and Ryan Braun popped up to help the Reds hold on for a 5-4 win.Prices Reds committed one fielding error and another mental lapse on defense and had to overcome Tony Cingranis ninth-inning difficulties while trying to close out the win and snap a three-game losing streak.The rebuilding Reds first-half pitching woes, especially in relief, have been well-chronicled, but they went into the All-Star Game break on a three-game losing streak fueled by shoddy defense and embarrassing mental errors.It really comes down to the consistency of play, said Price, whose team lost seven of its last eight games and nine of 11 before the four-day holiday. We played 38 games that were decided by one or two runs, so we were in a lot of games. We just want to get better in all facets.We have areas with room to grow statistically. We want to make sure the young guys show growth through the process. One hundred and sixty-two games is a beast. Team defense, overall pitchiing, walks and home runs -- we want to see those numbers go down.ddddddddddddCounsell was hoping to see his similarly rebuilding team take advantage of opening the post-break schedule against a team actually below his in the standings after losing the last two games and three of the last four before the break.Nothing changes, he said. We took a little break. Its not a stopping point. Well try to do the same things weve been doing.We kind of limped into the All-Star break, but we played some really good teams over the last 30 games, and the margin of error is less. You could see it every night. Youve got to take advantage of every opportunity. The two series against St. Louis, we didnt do that.It doesnt promise to get any easier for Milwaukee. After finishing the three-game series against the Reds, which is scheduled to continue Saturday night with Jimmy Nelson (5-7) starting for the Brewers against John Lamb (1-6), Milwaukee is scheduled to face the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs and the third-place Pittsburgh Pirates in nine of the next 13 games.After finishing with the Brewers, the Reds are due to play six straight games against last-place teams -- Atlanta from the NL East and Arizona from the NL West -- all in Cincinnati. ' ' '