The Erlanger Sports Medicine Kickoff Classic was Notre Dame's shindig Thursday night, but after a few early slips, Baylor took over the dance floor and the DJ's turntable.
The Red Raiders bounced back from a 7-0 deficit and scored 42 straight points on way to a 42-21 victory over the Fighting Irish at Finley Stadium.
It was perhaps Baylor's way of welcoming Notre Dame into the Division II ranks.
"I felt like playing early (6 p.m. kickoff) and the number of guys we have going both ways that the heat was going to be an issue. I'm pleased with the way we responded after falling behind and then not doing well early," Baylor coach Phil Massey said.
With a dance team that includes running back and defensive back Brendon Harris, junior quarterback Lorenzo White had fun calling the tunes. White's 66-yard pass to Jaylon Baker tied the score, and he threw for two others and added a rushing touchdown as Baylor rolled at one point to a clock-running 35-point advantage. His night was done by the end of the third quarter.
"That pass to Jaylon and then Jaylon's interception to set up the second score got the momentum going," Massey said.
The second and third scores were by Harris, a tiebreaking 1-yard run and then a 22-yard off-tackle sprint withfour seconds left in the second quarter.
"We challenged the guys at halftime to play with a little more passion, and we came out offensively - in stride the first three possessions - and the defense played well, so that allows me to leave with a good taste in my mouth," Massey said. "At that point we were just trying to milk the clock."
White figured in all three of those initial second-half scores - a 22-yard TD pass to Clay Thames, a 4-yard run and a third-quarter-ending 15-yard toss to Mekos Baker that engaged the running clock.
He completed 10 of 13 passes for 178 yards and also ran for 24 yards.
"I have good people surrounding me, and they're able to make the plays that make me look good," White said. "I wasn't really nervous coming in. I got a lot of snaps last year. I was just ready to get out here and compete with my boys."
Notre Dame scored early and late, opening with a 12-yard run from Akil Sledge six seconds into the second quarter for what would be a short-lived lead.
The Irish didn't score again until late in the third quarter, stopping the running clock on a pass from Daniel Anderson to Cameron Wynn. They made it respectable on Sledge's second score, a 65-yard run down the Baylor sideline.
"We learned that Baylor can play up front. We knew they were going to be a challenge for us, and moving to Division II we needed to see what it was like," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. "We learned a lot. We're going to watch the film and see where there are some things we can do better."
Baylor is in Division II-AAA, the Irish in II-AA.
Notre Dame, like Baylor, shot itself in the foot early with crucial penalties and then the interception.
"The thing is we did some good things. We'll fix the things we didn't do all that well and then hammer what good things we did," Fant added.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him on Twitter @ wardgossett.