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Baylor becomes bowl eligible with 47-42 victory

Oct 24, 2010 - 1:09 AM WACO, Texas (AP) -- Jay Finley rushed for a school-record 250 yards, Robert Griffin threw for a career-high 404 yards and four touchdowns and Baylor became bowl eligible for the first time since joining the Big 12, beating Kansas State 47-42 Saturday night.

Baylor (6-2, 3-1) has not played in a bowl game since 1994, back when the Bears were a member of the now defunct Southwest Conference.

Griffin was 26 of 38 passing and Finley averaged 9.6 yards per carry to key an offense which gained 683 yards, breaking a school record that was set three weeks ago.

One week after thumping rival Kansas 59-7, the Wildcats (5-2, 2-2) missed out on becoming bowl eligible. Kansas State hasn't played in the postseason since 2006.

Josh Gordon and Kendall Wright each had two receiving touchdowns as the Bears scored on eight of their first 10 possessions.

William Powell returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and Daniel Thomas rushed for 113 yards and two scores for the Wildcats, whose next three opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

Powell's kickoff return brought the Wildcats within 34-28.

Kansas State caught a break when Finley fumbled just before getting to the end zone on an 82-yard run. Finley was originally ruled down, but Kansas State got the ball after the call was reversed.

The Wildcats didn't score on their next two drives and the Bears were able to pull away.

Finley powered in for a 2-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, and Griffin threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Wright to extend Baylor's lead to 47-28 early in the fourth.

Quarterback Carson Coffman's 1-yard touchdown run made it 47-42 with 7 seconds left. Baylor recovered an onside kick and took a knee on the final snap to clinch things, setting off a celebration where hundreds of students stormed the field after the final horn sounded.

Baylor, which once had a 30-game conference losing streak, is the only Big 12 school that hasn't played in a bowl game.

The game was delayed 1 hour, 47 minutes because of a thunderstorm. Four plays into the game, lightning was spotted in the area and players and coaches were sent back to their locker rooms.

When play resumed, Baylor's big-play offense went to work as it piled up 387 yards in the first half.

Griffin, who tossed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Wright earlier in the second quarter, hooked up with Gordon on a 47-yard scoring pass that gave Baylor the lead for good at 28-21 with 4:17 left in the first half.

Griffin has thrown for 10 touchdowns of 40 yards or longer this season, including six of more than 50.