Florence, Baylor fend off ULM

Nick Florence completed 26 of 39 passes for 351 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to help Baylor beat Louisiana-Monroe 47-42 on Friday night for its ninth consecutive victory. With Baylor (3-0) trailing 35-34 in the fourth quarter, Florence led a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Levi Norwood's 9-yard touchdown run off a pitch. Florence added a 22-yard scoring pass to Terrance Williams to put the game out of reach. Louisiana-Monroe fell to 1-2, dropping its home opener in front of a Malone Stadium-record crowd of 31,175. The Warhawks opened with consecutive overtime games, beating Arkansas and losing to Auburn. Baylor scored 17 consecutive points to take a 28-24 lead into the half. The teams combined for 63 first downs and 1,109 yards of total offense and there were only three punts in the game. The Bears have scored more than 40 points in seven consecutive games and have accumulated over 500 yards of total offense in all nine games in the winning streak. The streak is the second-longest in the nation, one behind TCU. Baylor fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter after Florence's two interceptions set up two touchdowns -- Kolton Browning's 22-yard scoring pass to Tavarese Maye, and Monterrell Washington's 9-yard TD run. The Bears were down 21-7 midway through the second quarter, but rallied on Glasco Martin had a 1-yard touchdown run, Aaron Jones' 34-yard field goal, and Williams' 48-yard touchdown reception. The Warhawks regained the lead with 10:54 left in the fourth quarter on Browning's 1-yard run. Browning also led the Warhawks to a touchdown in the final seconds. He finished 25 of 39 for 272 yards and two touchdowns.