WACO, Texas -- The No. 23 Baylor Bears exorcised the Northwestern State Demons and perhaps some of their own to begin the 2016 season.

The Baylor defense forced Northwestern State backward for most of the first half and its offense clicked with its usual precision on the way to a 55-7 victory on Friday night at McLane Stadium.

Baylor quarterback Seth Russell passed for 163 yards and four touchdowns in less than two quarters. Bears running back Shock Linwood rushed for 97 yards on nine carries, most of which came in the first quarter.

"Scoring as many points as we did, our offense is the same," Linwood said. "We're still scoring fast. Not as fast as we want it to be, the first drive wasn't as fast. Just us scoring points and winning games."

While Baylor gained 498 yards of total offense, the defense held Northwestern State to 78.

Not a bad start for a program that had perhaps the most tumultuous offseason of any in college football.

Baylor dismissed former head coach Art Briles, who led the program from the bottom of the Big 12 to back-to-back conference titles in 2013 and 2014 in May after a law firm hired by the school determined that Briles was to blame for the football team's Title IX failings. Baylor was plagued by a rash of football players charged, and some convicted, in a series of sexual assault cases during the previous four years.

Briles' exit left Baylor supporters divided and led to the hiring of interim coach Jim Grobe, who debuted as Bears coach on Friday. Grobe last coached at Wake Forest before resigning from that post at the end of the 2013 season.

Grobe started work at the school in June and kept most of the coaching staff intact. That led to familiar results for a Baylor team aiming for its fourth straight 10-win season.

Grobe said he liked how the transition went and enjoyed being back under the lights.

"It was refreshing, honestly, to get to football," Grobe said. "For me it was a learning experience. I really felt good about our players and felt good about our coaching staff, but I wanted to see us put it together. I wanted to see how we reacted as a team and I was very pleased tonight."

Baylor stuffed Northwestern State on its opening possession. Bears defensive ends K.J. Smith and Jamie Jacobs converged to drop Demons running back De'Mar Llorens for a 1-yard loss on the Demons' first play. That began a trend as Northwestern State took a combined 32 yards in losses on its first four possessions.

The Demons finally gained a first down on their fifth offensive series, but by that time, Baylor had a comfortable 24-0 lead.

"I thought their defense played lights out in the first half and just gave our offense fits," Northwestern State coach Jay Thomas said. "We couldn't get any first downs, keep our defense off the field."

Baylor, conversely, had little trouble moving the football.

Linwood broke loose for a 42-yard gain on Baylor's first possession. Linwood's long run set up backfield mate Terence Williams's 13-yard touchdown to put the Bears in front 7-0.

Linwood began the game needing 204 yards to break former Baylor running back Walter Abercrombie's school career rushing yards record of 3,665. Linwood rushed for 96 yards in the first quarter but shared carries for most of the rest of the first half and had 97 at the break.

"They find ways to move the football and that's what they got us with tonight, creating two backs and the personnel," Thomas said. "I thought it was the same. I thought the tempo was the same, I thought the rhythm was really sharp. They don't look like they missed a beat at all."

While Baylor moved the ball effectively on the ground, Russell also got into a groove before intermission. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 163 yards in the first two quarters, including touchdown passes to tight ends Sam Tecklenburg and Jordan Feuerbacher and wide receivers KD Cannon and Pooh Stricklin.

Russell took a seat by halftime as Baylor freshman quarterback Zach Smith entered the game near the end of the second quarter. Smith directed a 53-yard touchdown drive and concluded with Williams' 1-yard scoring run that put Baylor ahead 48-0 at the break.

NOTES: Baylor QB Seth Russell and three other Baylor players led the school's student body freshmen, "Baylor Line" onto the field during pregame ceremonies. Leading the "Baylor Line" onto the field was a tradition started by former Baylor president Ken Starr. Starr was demoted In May and resigned from his job with the Baylor law school in August, just before the start of classes. ... Baylor began the season looking to improve on a school-record three-consecutive 10-win seasons. ... Northwestern State is 0-5 against nationally ranked FBS opponents. The Demons' previous such game was a 70-6 loss to 10th-ranked Baylor in 2014.