Battle of the Brazos Continues as Bears Host Aggies
10/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2000
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TEXAS A&M at BAYLOR
Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000)
Waco, Texas * Fox Syndication
October 14, 2000 * 11:38 a.m. (CDT)
The Skinny
Following a 28-0 loss at Texas Tech, Baylor (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) returns home to face Texas A&M (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) at Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000) in the Battle of the Brazos ... The Aggies suffered their first Big 12 defeat of the season, 26-19, at home against previously winless Colorado. It was A&M' s first home loss in four seasons ... This marks the 97th meeting between Baylor and Texas A&M ... The Bears and Aggies have met every year since World War II.
Coaches
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 3-13 in his second season at Baylor. He is 0-1 against Texas A&M.
Texas A&M's R.C. Slocum (BYU, 1983) is 105-34-2 in his 12th season as the Aggies' head coach. He is 10-0-1 against Baylor.
Series
Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 58-29-9, since winning its first meeting against Baylor in 1899, 33-0.
The two have met 53 times in Waco, with the Aggies leading in those games, 29-18-6.
Baylor's last win over A&M was in 1985 (20-15) in Waco. Since then, the Aggies have posted a 13-0-1 record against the Bears, including nine-straight wins.
Texas A&M is Baylor's second most-played opponent with 96 all-time meetings. The Bears have played TCU 103 times.
Bears Youngest In Big 12
Baylor lists 24 freshmen and sophomores among the top 44 players on its depth chart, the most of any Big 12 team. Thus, the Bears' 20 juniors and seniors listed on the depth chart is the fewest of any league school.
Young Cubs See Playing Time
Of the 69 Bears who have played this season, 20 are freshmen, including nine true freshmen.
The nine true freshmen to have played this season are QB Kerry Dixon, LB John Garrett, TB Jonathan Golden, DB Bobby Hart, DB Matt Johnson, WR John Martin, DB Danielle McLean, WR Robert Quiroga and LB Stephen Sepulveda.
Hart Starts
DB Bobby Hart started as the dime back against Texas Tech, making him the first true freshman this season to start for Baylor. He is one of nine true freshmen to have played this season for the Bears.
Newhouse Solidfies WR Corps
Sophomore WR Reggie Newhouse has established himself as Baylor's go-to receiver this season, leading the team with 19 receptions for 357 yards and two touchdowns.
He already has a pair of 100-yard receiving games, including a career-best seven-catch, 136-yard night against South Florida.
Newhouse, the son of former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse, opened the season by catching five passes for 105 yards at North Texas.
His 71.4 yards-per-game average currently ranks fourth in the Big 12.
Turnovers Key BU Wins
Under Head Coach Kevin Steele, Baylor is 3-0 when winning the turnover battle and 0-13 when losing or tying the turnover margin.
BU Among Turnover Leaders
Baylor, tied for third in the Big 12 and 26th nationally in turnover margin, has totalled a plus-four margin through its first five games. The Bears did not commit a turnover in their first six quarters of play this season.
BU finished 1999 minus-five in turnover margin.
Bush 2000
With 50 yards against Texas Tech, senior TB Darrell Bush became the sixth player in Baylor history to reach the 2,000-yard mark in career rushing yardage.
Bush is currently ranked sixth at Baylor in career rushing yardage (2,018), sixth in career attempts (434), fifth in yards per game (59.4) and sixth in yards per carry (4.7).
Bush needs 11 attempts to move past Eldwin Raphel (435, 1987-90) and Pinkie Palmer (444, 1966-68) into fourth on the career carry list and 43 yards to pass David Mims (2,060, 1989-92) for fifth on the yardage chart.
Al-Amin Steady at Safety
Junior strong safety Samir Al-Amin has been one of Baylor's steadiest performers this season. Al-Amin is tied for second on the team with 42 tackles, leads the club with two interceptions and two forced fumbles, and is tied for the team lead with five passes broken up.
He is averaging over 10 tackles a contest in Baylor's last three games (32).
Simmons Leads Bear "D"
Four games into his college career, redshirt freshman WLB Anthony Simmons is tied for second on the team lead with 42 total tackles (26 solo).
Simmons collected double-digit tackles in his first two games as a Bear (10 vs. North Texas, 17 vs. Minnesota).
Micheaux Collects Tackles, TD
Senior MLB Kris Micheaux leads the team with 52 tackles through five games. He had a season-high 14 in the Bears' loss to Minnesota.
Micheaux made quite an impact in Baylor's 20-7 win at North Texas, collecting a team-high 13 tackles and returning a fumble 14 yards for his first career touchdown.
Micheaux is seventh on Baylor's career list with 186 solo tackles.
Penalties Down Under Steele
One sign of the discipline Kevin Steele has brought to the Bear football program is the low penalty numbers. Baylor finished 1999 with its lowest penalty totals in nearly 30 years.
The Bears were flagged 57 times for 492 yards last season. It was fewest number of Bear penalties since committing 53 in 1973, and the fewest yards penalized since 1972 (472).
Last year was also the first since 1988 (67) that Baylor has held its season penalty total under 70. The Bears are on sub-70 penalty pace again this year, having committed just 26 through five games (5.2 average).
BU has been flagged four times or less in 8-of-16 games under Steele.
Baxter Makes Thorpe List
Senior CB Gary Baxter, the top NFL prospect at his position according to some sources, is one of five Big 12 players on the 40-man, preseason Thorpe Award "watch list."
The Thorpe Award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding defensive back. Baylor's Thomas Everett won the inaugural Thorpe Award in 1986.
Despite other teams avoiding throwing his way, Baxter is tied for the team lead with five pass deflections.
Baxter, along with fellow Bear corner Daniel Wilturner, is another in Baylor's long list of outstanding defensive backs. The Bears have sent 21 DBs into the NFL.
Dossett Paces Kickoff Returns
Senior Martin Dossett is fourth in the Big 12 and is 42nd nationally with 22.2 yards per return.
Family Ties
A number of Bears have noteworthy family connections:
- LB Kris Micheaux is the cousin of Larry Micheaux, an all-american on the University of Houston's famed Phi Slamma Jamma basketball teams of the early 1980s.
- WR Reggie Newhouse is the son of former Dallas Cowboy RB Robert Newhouse.
- The father of true freshman TE Jonathan Evans, Dr. Tony Evans, is the host of a nationally syndicated daily radio program which can be heard on 250 stations in the U.S. and in 40 countries. He is founder and president of The Urban Alternative, a national organization seeking spiritual renewal in urban America through the church. He also serves as chaplain for the NBA 's Dallas Mavericks.
- True freshman WR John Martin is the son of Dave Martin, current associate AD at Oklahoma State and one-time interim commissioner of the Big 12.
- Defensive graduate assistant coach Brian Polian is the son of Indianapolis Colts GM and President Bill Polian, the man credited with building Buffalo's AFC championship teams of the 1990s.
Bears Pick Up Road Win at UNT
Baylor snapped a 16-game road losing streak with its 20-7, season-opening win at North Texas. It marked the Bears' first road win since defeating Fresno State, 37-35, on Sept. 6, 1997.
Bears Lose QB Cicero To Injury
Junior QB Greg Cicero, a junior college transfer who had won the starting position in spring drills, was lost for the season with a broken collarbone sustained in the first quarter against Minnestoa.
Cicero completed 19-of-30 passes for 228 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in his four-plus quarters of play this season.
BU Wins With Freshmen QBs
Baylor is 29-22-2 all-time when starting a freshman quarterback. The Bears' 31-17 loss to Iowa State snapped a three-game winning streak by freshmen QBs dating back to 1995.
Prior to redshirt freshman Guy Tomcheck starting Baylor's 28-13 win over South Florida, true freshman Jermaine Alfred was the Bears' last rookie starting QB. Alfred got the nod in wins over SMU and Rice in 1995.
Tomcheck Has Strong 1st Start
Redshirt freshman QB Guy Tomcheck was impressive in his first start, completing 20-of-28 passes for 223 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against South Florida.
In place of the injured Greg Cicero (broken collarbone), Tomcheck became the first Bear in four seasons to throw three scoring passes. He was also Baylor's first freshman starting QB since Jermaine Alfred started a pair of games as a true freshman in 1995.
Bear Captains Named
A trio of seniors, CB Daniel Wilturner, LB Kris Micheaux and TB Darrell Bush, were selected by teammates as captains for the 2000 season.
Bears in the NFL
Twelve former Baylor players made opening day NFL rosters, including a pair of 1999 Bears:
Player, Pos., NFL Team
Ray Crockett, DB, Denver Broncos
Santana Dotson, DT, Green Bay Packers
Derrick Fletcher, OL, Washington Redskins
Albert Fontenot, DE, San Diego Chargers
Daryl Gardener, DT, Miami Dolphins
Kelvin Garmon, OL, Dallas Cowboys
Dwight Johnson, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
George McCullough, DB, Tennessee Titans
Fred Miller, OT, Tennessee Titans
Frankie Smith, DB, Chicago Bears
Justin Snow, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Derrius Thompson, WR, Washington Redskins
Bears Close in on Win No. 500
Baylor needs eight more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 492-451-44 since beginning football play in 1899.
Entering the 2000 season, 47 schools have reached the 500-win plateau.
Bears Face Tough Schedule
Five of Baylor's 11 2000 opponents (Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska) participated in bowl games last season, while seven of them posted winning records (including Texas Tech and South Florida).
Baylor's opponents have combined for a 37-20 (65 percent) record thus far.
Bear Miscellany
With its 20-7 win at North Texas, Baylor improved to 64-30-5 all-time in season openers ... Baylor's defense limited North Texas to just seven points, the fewest points allowed by the Bears since a 34-6 home win over Rice in 1995 ... Baylor's 40 pass attempts against Minnesota were the most by the Bears since attempting 43 passes in a 49-42, four-overtime loss to Missouri in 1996. It was also the first time BU had attempted 40 passes in a regulation-length game since 1988.
Multi-Sport Bears
Baylor's Kevin Steele believes strongly in recruiting multi-sport athletes. On the current Bear roster, wide receivers Martin Dossett and Randy Davis are members of the Baylor track squad, while true freshman wideout Robert Quiroga is a member of the AAU 1,600-meter national champion relay team.
Academic Power
For the fourth time in five years, the American Football Coaches Association recognized Baylor for producing one of the top football teams in America in terms of academic performance.
The Bears were one of 25 schools nationally - and the only one in the Big 12 Conference - to receive the AFCA's award for graduating over 70 percent of its players.
BU Staff Returns Intact
For the first time in 11 years, Baylor returns its entire coaching staff intact. The legendary Grant Teaff was the last Bear head coach to keep the same staff in place for consecutive seasons.
Preseason BU Honors
A trio of Bears were honored during the preseason by a number of publications.
CB Gary Baxter was named first-team All-Big 12 and was ranked the No. 15 corner in the nation by The Sporting News.
LB Kris Micheaux was a second-team All-Big 12 preseason selection, and was named the No. 10 inside linebacker nationally by TSN.
QB Greg Cicero was recognized as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year by several publications.
Baylor Games on the Internet
The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard live on the internet on Baylor's official online website, www.GoBaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.
Inside BU Sports TV Show
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other regional outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox SportsNet Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18).
KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays while Fox shows it at 1:00 p.m. Wednesdays.
Baylor Through the Years
Baylor is 492-450-44 since beginning football play in 1899 ... Baylor has had winning seasons in nine of the last 15 campaigns ... The school record for wins came in 1980 when the conference champion Bears won 10 games ... Baylor has 16 seasons of eight-or-more wins and five of nine-or-more victories ... The Bears' last eight-win season came in 1991 and the last nine-win mark in 1986.
"Green-to-Gold" Defense
Baylor coach Kevin Steele began a program last season to give his defensive players added incentive to perform on a daily basis. The system, which Steele calls "Green-to-Gold", puts the most productive defenders in special practice jerseys which can be awarded or taken away at any moment as performance dictates.
Steele, who was an assistant at Nebraska for six seasons, based the concept on the Cornhuskers' Blackshirts defense. The jerseys are green around the torso with gold shoulders and sleeves.
