Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM ó Robert Griffin might have discovered a new way to beat opponents: give up the ball.
“I just gave other guys a chance to shine,” Baylors gifted quarterback said. “Teams are going to key on me, based on what I did last year, based on how explosive I was last year. We still won the game.”
Griffin completed his first eight passes, finishing with 136 yards passing and a touchdown, to help Baylor beat Wake Forest 24-21 on Saturday.
Kendall Wright ran for a touchdown, wide receiver Ernest Smith passed for a score and David Gettis caught one for the Bears, who opened last season with a 41-13 home loss to the Demon Deacons.
Griffin, the 2008 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, also ran for 41 yards on 13 carries for Baylor. Joe Pawelek finished with seven tackles, a sack and an interception.
The Bears snapped a nine-game road losing streak, which dated back to a 34-21 victory against Buffalo last season.
“We deserved what we got, and I give Baylor credit for that,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. “I think from a confidence standpoint, it would have been better if we started faster on both sides of the football.”
After Wake Forest’s Riley Skinner threw his second interception, the Bears took a 17-7 lead early in the third quarter when Wright scored on a 37-yard run. Baylor pulled ahead by 17 points later in the quarter when Smith caught a lateral from Griffin and then tossed a 33-yard touchdown to Lanear Sampson.
“Weve got a lot tricks left,” Griffin said. “Coach (Art) Briles is an offensive genius, everybody knows that. We might have used three or four today, but we probably have about 15 in the bag.”
Skinner connected with Andrew Parker for a 5-yard touchdown with 3:57 remaining to bring the Deacons within 24-21. That was as close as they would get, with Griffin and Baylor running all but the final 1:23 off the clock.
Skinner, who is currently the all-time ACC leader in completion percentage, completed 20 of 31 for 143 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw three interceptions.
“We made it a little more interesting that it needed to be,” Briles said. “I really thought our guys, for the most part, played good enough to dominate this football game. We just didn’t put them away when we had the opportunities to do so.”