WACO, Texas — Well, not what would have been expected of the second quarter. It started with Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel throwing an interception in the end zone to kill a drive that could have made it 21-0 and pretty much put the game to bed. Then Baylor moved the ball efficiently down field and scored to make it 14-7. Another turnover by Mizzou — a fumble by De’Vion Moore — gave Baylor a chance to tie the game but Mizzou’s defense stepped up for the first time inthe game, forcing Griffin to throw the ball away, then Sean Weatherspoon sacked Griffin on a blitz and then another incompletion forced a punt. Mizzou drove 93 yards to score and make it 21-7 at the break. Baylor will get the second half kickoff.

Mizzou’s defense has had troubles. Baylor hasn’t gotten anything long — it’s longest play from scrimmage is 21 yards — but it consistently gets short stuff. Baylor has 206 yards of total offense, and only the occasional Mizzou sack of Griffin has kept it from being bigger. When Baylor QB Griffin,drops back to pass, he’s susceptible to pressure and seems uncertain what to do. A couple of Mizzou’s sacks have also been helped by the defensive coverage, which has left Griffin standing in the backfield. When Griffin rolls out, he’s been a threat to break something. And while Mizzou is keeping players in to keep Griffin from keeping the ball, he could still get 5 or 6 yards on those plays if he wants.

Mizzou’s offense is moving well — they’ve yet to punt — and the two drives that didn’t lead to touchdowns ended with turnovers, the interception and the fumble. So if Mizzou takes care of the ball, there’s no reason to expect them to move down field every time. I’ve got to say that Daniel threw three passes on the final drive of the half that were thrown in the flat that got to the receiver just an instant ahead of the defender. If any of the defenders had been there a flash earlier, theycould have taken the ball to the end zone.

On Baylor’s last possession of the half, the Bears went for it on fourth down near midfield, but it’s unclear if they knew it was fourth down. The down box on the sideline still said third down, and Griffin kept for the two yards he needed for the first. Had he come up short, it would have been interesting to see what the officials ruled. It was clearly their fourth play.

Halftime stats:  Daniel 18 of 23 for 185 yards and two TDs. Griffin 14 of 18 for 145 yards and still no interceptions this season. He throws a lot of screens (and laterals) and short stuff over the middle. I thnk they’ve gone deep maybe once. Mizzou has gotten its hands on a few balls and had a small chance at an interception but they were mostly deflections.

Tommy Saunders has six catches for 90 yards, Chase Coffman has 5 catches for 45. Washington has rushed 9 times for 83 yards. Mizzou is averaging 7.5 yards per play and has 316 yards of total offense.

It’s Homecoming, so we have a longer than usual halftime. The Mizzou defense could use the time for some tweaking. Plenty of good seats still available here in Waco on a pretty nice Saturday afternoon.

K State, next week’s opponent for Mizzou, got leveled by Kansas 52-21.