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COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Ticker) -- Randy McCown threw for 187 yards and tossed a career-high three touchdown passes in an 11:04 span of the third quarter as 12th-ranked Texas A&M slammed Baylor, 45-13, in a Big 12 Conference South game. The Aggies (4-1, 1-1 Big 12 South) were coming off a disappointing loss at Texas Tech and were sluggish in the first half in building a 17-6 lead. McCown, who completed 9-of-17 passes and was intercepted once, then pitched the Aggies out of trouble. McCown's 26-yard scoring strike to fullback Ja'Mar Toombs pushed the lead to 24-6 just 2:10 into the second half. McCown hit Leroy Hodge with a 12-yard TD pass with 6:46 left in the third quarter and hooked up with Bethel Johnson on a 74-yarder after a blocked field goal to make it 38-6 with 1:46 remaining in the period. "In the first half, we were a little rusty, but in the second half, we got into a rhythm and got things going," McCown said. "It's always good to win by a large margin of victory, but it's apparent there is still a lot of work to be done," Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "I'm disappointed that we're still making mistakes. We continue to look unpolished." Eric Bernard gained 81 yards on 15 carries as the Aggies held a 417-275 advantage in total offense. Toombs added 60 yards on 13 carries and Joe Weber 50 on 13. Johnson had 82 yards on two receptions. "We had some passing opportunities, but I didn't want to get into an all-out passing game," Slocum said. "We wanted to run the ball effectively and we made some adjustments to facilitate the running game against the eight-man front. I'm patient." "We threw more passes downfield in the second half and took advantage of them bringing more guys than we could block," Texas A&M offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe said. "I think we made more positives and hope to continue to move forward next week against Kansas. We definitely played better in the second half." Baylor (1-5, 0-2) lost for the 11th time in 12 games and has dropped nine straight to Texas A&M since a 20-20 tie in 1990. The Bears have not beaten Texas A&M since 1985 and trail the all-time series, 29-58-9. The 58 wins are the Aggies' best total against any opponent and their 90 victories in the 1990s are the best total in any decade for any school in Texas. The Bears got their only touchdown with 4:01 left when Gary Baxter blocked a field goal attempt by Terrence Kitchens and Daniel Wilturner returned it 63 yards. "We broke down in our execution and the result, against a good football team, is what you saw," Baylor first-year coach Kevin Steele said. "You've got to play for the breaks against teams like this and you can't make mistakes. We got breaks and didn't get any points. A&M got breaks and got points." Jermaine Alfred was 15-of-23 for 189 yards and one interception for Baylor. "We were confident the whole game," Alfred said. "We moved the ball but hurt ourselves in the red zone." The Bears took the opening kickoff and marched 45 yards before Kyle Atteberry booted a career-best 52-yard field goal. The Bears' defense forced a three-and-out and had the ball at their 11 after a 62-yard punt by Shane Lechler. On 3rd-and-9, Alfred's pass was intercepted by defensive back Michael Jameson, who ran 20 yards for a touchdown. Baylor drove to the 2 but Alfred was sacked by Lonnie Madison on the final play of the first quarter and the Bears settled for Atteberry's 23-yard field goal and a 7-6 deficit. The Aggies responded on the ensuing possession with a 27-yard field goal by Kitchens and Jameson blocked a punt by Atteberry, setting up Weber's seven-yard TD run for a 17-6 lead. It broke a string of nine straight quarters without a touchdown for the Texas A&M offense, the longest such drought since a 14-quarter span over four games in the 1971 season. "I think all of us were relieved to get in the end zone," Slocum said. "It's been something that's been annoying us the last two weeks." "Our goal was to get a touchdown, and we were able to get more than that," Texas A&M offensive lineman Chris Valetta said. The Bears, who lost by a combined 101-10 to Oklahoma and Texas before beating North Texas last weekend, were happy to be within striking range at the intermission. "We felt good after the first half. We felt we could beat them," said defensive end Fred Rogers, who had one of Baylor's two sacks. "We got tired because they were pounding us with their big offensive linemen. No one in the locker room has their heads down. We want to make things happen the last half of the season." Bernard made it 45-6 with 8:31 left with a two-yard scoring run.
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