WACO, Texas - The No. 5 Baylor Bears devoured another non-Big 12 foe Saturday, this time feasting on Rice.

Baylor separated itself from the pesky Owls late in the first quarter and posted a 70-17 victory at McLane Stadium.

Earlier in the week, Bears coach Art Briles said he seemed to have lost his edge early this season and perhaps the rest of the team was taking a cue from him. Baylor opponents SMU and Lamar both stayed competitive for longer than expected.

Briles said the remedy was not to be happy or satisfied.

The Bears (3-0) certainly didn't seem comfortable with an early back-and-forth against Rice. Baylor responded by demolishing the Owls after the first 10 minutes.

"I thought we did what we aspired to do today," Briles said. "We came out with a lot of energy, a lot of effort and a little bit of enthusiasm. We had not played with any energy the first couple of weeks. That's something our guys kind of challenged each other to do."

Baylor quarterback Seth Russell had a big game with 277 passing yards and six touchdowns.

The Baylor defense held Rice to 29 yards in the second quarter and shut out the Owls in the period.

That allowed the Bears to score 28 unanswered points before halftime.

"I thought the defense was borderline dominant at times," Briles said. "Our guys up front really made some plays and kept a lot of pressure on their quarterback."

Baylor began to assert itself late in the first quarter after Rice had pulled to within 14-10 on quarterback Driphus Jackson's 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dennis Parks.

Rice had a possession to take the lead midway through the first quarter. Jackson broke loose for an 18-yard run into Baylor territory, but Bears safety Orion Stewart forced and recovered a fumble at the end of Jackson's run.

"We had some momentum going and that fumble that I had, it came at an inopportune time," Jackson said. "It was a drive killer and momentum shifter."

That's when Baylor pounced.

The Bears needed just four plays to reach the end zone. Russell connected with Corey Coleman for a 16-yard touchdown and a 21-10 edge.

After the Baylor defense came up with a quick stop, the Bears' offense was on the hunt for another score as the second quarter started. This time running back Shock Linwood waltzed into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

Russell and Coleman made it three straight touchdown drives when the Baylor quarterback lofted a 35-yard pass toward the front left corner of the end zone and Coleman went up and snagged it. Coleman landed in the end zone, putting the Bears ahead 35-10.

But Coleman and the Bears weren't finished. Baylor's go-to receiver turned a wide receiver screen into a 32-yard touchdown with 2:49 left before halftime. It marked the second straight game that Coleman scored three touchdowns in the first half as he did the same versus Lamar two weeks ago.

Coleman caught six passes for 100 yards, all in the first half.

Rice coach David Bailiff said the Owls couldn't afford to plan specifically around stopping Coleman.

"Baylor is just an incredible offensive machine," he said. "If you game-plan one, they're just going to get you with another. There were times when we had doubles, we had brackets, we were rolling the gambit of coverages. It didn't happen."

Russell completed 11 of 14 passes for 255 yards and five touchdowns in the first two quarters. He tied a school record when he tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Lynx Hawthorne with 8:36 left in the third quarter, and he came out of the game after that.

Russell hit receivers KD Cannon and Jay Lee for touchdowns of 26 and 57 yards for Baylor's first two scores.

"He was very efficient," Briles said about Russell. "He made some really good throws early. The throw to Jay Lee was just a phenomenal throw. The one to KD, the first touchdown there was a great ball. He really, really made some good throws."

Baylor finished with 793 yards. Linwood led the Bears with 158 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

NOTES: It has been almost 18 years since Rice defeated an opponent ranked in the Top 25. The Owls defeated No. 21 BYU 27-14 on Oct. 11, 1997, at Rice Stadium in Houston. ... The Rice-Baylor series is more than 100 years old. The programs first met in November 1914. Baylor leads 47-30-2. ... Baylor owns the nation's longest home winning streak at 18 - a run that began on Oct. 13, 2012. ... Rice's nonconference schedule included two games versus former Southwest Conference rivals. The Owls lost at Texas 42-28 two weeks ago, before falling to the Bears on Saturday.