SOUTHWEST ROUNDUP : No. 11 Baylor Turns to Joe and Defense for 38-21 Victory

Baylor quarterback J.J. Joe accounted for three touchdowns and the Bears intercepted three passes and recovered four fumbles as No. 11 Baylor beat Houston, 38-21, in a Southwest Conference game at Houston.

Baylor improved its record to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 1980, when the Bears won the SWC title. Baylor beat defending national champion Colorado earlier this season.

“Colorado was a big game for us, but we knew Houston would be just as big,” said Joe, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 262 yards, including nine passes to Melvin Bonner for 169 yards. “They’re sitting in the way of the Cotton Bowl, so it means a lot.”

Houston (1-3, 0-1) had beaten Baylor by a combined 124-49 over the past three years, including 66-10 in 1989.

Joe triggered the Bears’ option offense with trick plays and key passes for a 17-14 halftime lead.

Baylor turned opportunist in the second half, using an interception by Brian Hand and a fumble recovery by Albert Fontenot to take a 31-21 lead in handing the Cougars their third consecutive loss.

All three interceptions and two of the fumbles were attributed to Houston’s David Klingler, who completed 35 of 57 passes for 470 yards.

No. 23 Texas A&M; 37, Texas Tech 14--Bucky Richardson rushed for three touchdowns and the Aggies gave up only eight yards on the ground for the SWC victory at Lubbock, Tex.

Texas A&M; (3-1, 1-0) rolled up 443 yards of offense and held a seven-minute advantage in possession time. Texas Tech (1-4, 0-2) mustered only 220 yards total offense.

Richardson rushed for 76 yards with touchdown runs of one, one and five yards, all in the first half. Texas A&M; led, 24-0, at halftime and wasn’t seriously threatened.

Arkansas 22, Texas Christian 21--The Razorbacks completed a comeback from a 21-0 deficit when E.D. Jackson scored on a three-yard with 5:36 left in a SWC game at Ft. Worth.

Jackson scored for Arkansas (3-2, 2-0) after a 71-yard drive, with the big play coming on a 29-yard pass from Jason Allen to Ron Dickerson to the TCU four.

TCU (4-1, 1-1) drove to the Arkansas 21, but the ball was stripped away from Gary Cullors and Arkansas’ Henry Ford recovered to beat back the Frogs’ final threat.

Texas 28, Rice 7--Adrian Walker, Shane Childers and Peter Gardere rushed for touchdowns to lead the Longhorns in their SWC opener at Austin, Tex.

Texas’ first victory, after losses to Mississippi State and Auburn, extended its winning streak against Rice (2-2) to 26 games.

The Longhorns intercepted four passes and held the nation’s leading rusher, Trevor Cobb, to 68 yards in 28 carries. Cobb averaged 216 yards in Rice’s first three games.

Gardere completed 11 of 20 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.