Oct. 15, 2001
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Game 6: BAYLOR at OKLAHOMA
Memorial Stadium (72,765)
Norman, Oklahoma
October 20, 2001 * 2:00 p.m. (CDT)
The Skinny
Baylor (2-3, 0-3 Big 12) travels to Norman, Okla., for a Big 12 South matchup against defending national champion Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) ... Last week, the Bears trailed Nebraska 14-7 late in the third quarter before falling at home 48-7 to the Cornhuskers ... The Sooners improved to 6-0 last week with a 38-10 win at Kansas ... Oklahoma is ranked second this week in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and by Associated Press ... Oklahoma has the nation's longest winning streak at 19 games ... Baylor has just two road games remaining.
Coaches
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 5-22 in his third season at Baylor. He is 0-2 against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (Iowa, 1983) is 26-5 in his third season as the Sooners' head coach. Stoops is 2-0 against Baylor.
Series
Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 10-0, since winning its first meeting against Baylor in Waco in 1901, 17-6. Nine of the 10 series meetings have occured since 1973. Oklahoma won last year's meeting in Waco, 56-7.
BU Faces Consecutive Top 5
For the first time since 1959, Baylor will play back-to-back games against teams ranked in the AP top five.
Last week, the Bears faced then-No. 4 ranked Nebraska. This week, Baylor travels to second-ranked Oklahoma.
The last time Baylor played consecutive top-five foes was John Bridgers' first season as head coach, when the Bears lost to third-ranked Texas (13-12) and fourth-ranked Southern Cal (17-8).
Ranked Foes Becoming Routine
For the second-straight season, Baylor is playing a stretch of three-consecutive games against ranked opponents. The Bears have played Texas A&M (No. 24), Nebraska (No. 4) and Oklahoma (No. 2) in succession. Last year, Baylor faced No. 1 Nebraska, No. 22 Texas and No. 1 Oklahoma in a row.
Prior to 2000, the last time Baylor had played a trio of ranked foes in a row was 1959, when the Bears played 15th-ranked TCU, third-ranked Texas and fourth-ranked Southern Cal.
Bears Getting In Their Snaps
Baylor has averaged 75 snaps in its first five games, thanks in large part to its new hurry-up offensive attack. The Bears are on pace to record their most snaps in a season since 1986 (892 snaps/81.1 a game).
The Bears' 84 offensive snaps against New Mexico were the most by Baylor since 1997, and the five-game total of 375 is the highest in any five-game stretch since 1995.
Baylor Injury List
Here's an updated list at Baylor's injuries heading into the Oklahoma game:
Player, Pos., Injury, Status
Matt Amendola, DB, Knee (r), Out indefinitely
Damian Davis, WR, Ankle (l), Probable
Cedric Fields, OL, Ankle (l), Probable
Jamaal Harper, LB, Knee (r), Out for season
Matt Johnson, DB, Knee (r), Doubtful
Antoine Murphy, OL, Foot (r), Probable
Andrew Obriotti, TE, Back, Probable
Penalties Down Under Steele
One sign of the discipline Kevin Steele has brought to the Bear football program is the low penalty numbers. Baylor has committed just 26 penalties (5.2 per game) through five games this season, the lowest total in the Big 12.
Baylor has committed just 128 combined penalties in Steele's first two seasons, its lowest two-season penalty total since 1973-74 (112). The Bears finished 1999 with its lowest penalty total (57) in nearly 30 years.
The Ball Is In The Air
Baylor's offense has taken to the passing game in an unprecedented manner. Averaging nearly 40 pass attempts and 20.2 completions per game, the Bears are on a pace that would shatter the school season records in both categories.
After attempting 47 passes against New Mexico and 40 at Iowa State in back-to-back weeks, the 2001 squad became the first team in school history to attempt 40-or-more passes in consecutive games. Baylor has attempted 40 passes in three of its five games.
Also, BU has notched two of the school's top five pass completion totals against ISU and UNM. The 27 completions at the Cyclones was the third-highest total in Bear history, while the 25 catches against the Lobos tied for the fifth-highest total.
BU Adds U.S. Decal To Helmet
Baylor has added two decals - one of the U.S. flag and another of a black cross - to the back of its helmet in remembrance of the terrorist attacks upon America.
Turnovers Key BU Wins
For the first time under Head Coach Kevin Steele, Baylor lost a game in which it had won the turnover battle. Nebraska had five turnovers to Baylor' s four in it's win in Waco.
The Bears are now 5-1 under Steele when winning the turnover battle. The Bears have an overall turnover margin of +2 this season. BU is +4 this season in its two wins, but is -2 in its three losses.
Baylor-Nebraska Tidbits
* Baylor trailed fourth-ranked Nebraska by only seven, 14-7, before the Huskers scored their third touchdown with 2:00 left in the third quarter.
* LB Stephen Sepulveda recovered a second quarter fumble in the endzone for Baylor's touchdown, the Bears' second defensive score of the season.
* Baylor tied a school record with 13 punts against the Huskers. P Adam Stiles nailed Nebraska inside its 20 on five of those punts.
Bear QBs Standing Tall
Baylor has allowed just 10 sacks in five games, a remarkable figure given the number of passes the Bears have attempted (199). That's comes out to a sack every 20 pass attempts.
Baylor Sack Happy
It took Baylor just three games to exceed its sack total from a year ago (nine). The Bears currently have 12 sacks through five games. Sophomore DE Aaron Lard and junior DE A.C. Collier are tied for the team lead with two each.
Newhouse Catching On
Junior WR Reggie Newhouse leads Baylor and is among the Big 12 leaders in receptions with 25 for 267 yards through five games. After catching at least five passes in the Bears' first four games, he was limited to just two receptions against Nebraska.
In game two against New Mexico, Newhouse grabbed a career-high eight passes, the most receptions in a game by a Bear in three years.
The son of former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse has 72 career receptions for 973 yards and now needs just 27 more yards to become the 19th player in Baylor history with 1,000 yards career receiving. He also needs just two more catches to move into Baylor's top 15 all-time in receptions.
BU Leads Big 12 In Grad Rates
According to the latest NCAA graduation rates, Baylor's football team has posted an 82 percent success rate in this category, far higher than the rest of the Big 12 and the NCAA division I average (48 percent).
Nebraska was second among Big 12 football programs with a 50 percent graduation rate, while Baylor's fellow Big 12 South foes came in at 46 (Texas Tech), 45 (Oklahoma State), 42 (Texas), 38 (Texas A&M) and 17 percent (Oklahoma).
AFCA Recognizes BU Academics
For the fifth time in six 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 28 schools nationally to receive the AFCA's award for graduating over 70 percent of its players.
Steele Gets Neighborly Visit
Baylor's Kevin Steele got a chance to visit with his high-profile neighbor, President George W. Bush, on Aug. 30th.
Steele lives near Crawford, Texas, where Bush owns a ranch. A friend in the Secret Service arranged a meeting between the two, part of which took place at the Western White House and part aboard Air Force One shortly before Bush returned to Washington following his August vacation.
Ironmen On The O-Line
C Joe Jackson has started 30-straight games and 34 total in his career. Fellow senior, RT Greg Jerman, has 32 career starts on the Baylor offensive line.
Capers Speaks To Bears
Houston Texans' head coach Dom Capers addressed the Baylor football team two days before the Bears opened the 2001 season with a 24-3 win over Arkansas State.
Capers, who was in town as the featured speaker at Waco's annual Kickoff Luncheon, is a close friend of Baylor's Kevin Steele. Steele and Capers were both assistants at the University of Tennesse in the 1980s and Steele coached linebackers under Capers at the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
Gold Rush
Floyd Casey Stadium was awash in gold during Baylor's season-opening win over Arkansas State, thanks in large part to the efforts of two local women.
More than 17,000 "Gold Rush" shirts were sold through the work of Debbie Sartain and Nell Hawkins, who organized the athletic department's goal of encouraging the Baylor faithful to wear bright yellow shirts to Bear athletic events.
Bears Close in on Win No. 500
Baylor needs five more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 495-460-43 since beginning football play in 1899.
Entering the 2001 season, 48 schools have reached the 500-win plateau.
Starting At Home
2001 marked the first time since 1997, and just the second since 1994, that Baylor had opened a season at home. The Bears began the 1998 season at Oregon State, the 1999 season at Boston College and the 2000 campaign at North Texas.
Family Ties
A number of Bears have noteworthy family connections:
- WR Reggie Newhouse is the son of former Dallas Cowboy RB Robert Newhouse.
- The father of FB 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.
- WR John Martin is the son of Dave Martin, current associate AD at Oklahoma State and one-time interim commissioner of the Big 12.
- QB Josh Zachry is the son of Pat Zachry, a 10-year major league veteran who as a member of the 1976 World Champion Cincinnati Reds won the National League's Rookie of the Year award.
- Freshman CB Michael Boyd is the cousin of former Baylor standout Thomas Everett, a two-time All-SWC performer and winner of the inaugural Thorpe Award in 1986.
- Freshman DL Lorenzo Davis is the cousin of 14-year NBA veteran Derrick McKey.
- Freshman LB Jamaal Harper is a cousin of Kenyon Martin, who plays for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.
BU Walk-on Program Strong
Two current scholarship Bears, starting left tackle Jon Erickson and second-team quarterback Josh Zachry, were former walk-ons who earned their scholarships.
Baylor currently has nearly 60 walk-ons in its non-scholarship program. In the last two years alone, seven walk-on student-athletes have earned athletic scholarships. The Bears even have a specific scholarship, the Williams M. Harman III Memorial Scholarship, that is designated for a former non-scholarship player.
Bear Captains Named
A pair of seniors, SS Samir Al-min and C Joe Jackson, have been selected by teammates as captains for 2001.
Bears Face Tough Schedule
Seven of Baylor's 11 2001 opponents (Iowa State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Nebraska) participated in bowl games last season.
Preseason BU Honors
LB John Garrett and WR Reggie Newhouse were named honorable mention All-America by Street & Smith.
DL Kevin Stevenson (Lindy's) and P Adam Stiles (The Sporting News) were both named second-team All-Big 12.
Baylor Football on the Air
The Baylor Radio Network provides Bear broadcasts to 18 stations throughout the state of Texas. For a list of affiliates, click here.
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).
Late Starters
After opening the 2000 season on Aug. 31, Baylor didn't start its 2001 season until Sept. 8. It was the Bears' latest opener since starting the 1998 season on Sept. 12.
Teaff To Join Hall Of Fame
Former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, who became the Bears' winningest coach from 1972-92, has been selected to join the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame in December.
Teaff compiled a 128-105-6 record while leading the Bears to a pair of Southwest Conference championships and eight bowl games. While posting 12 winning seasons, Teaff, who still resides in Waco and currently serves as the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, guided six of his Baylor squads to season-ending national rankings.
Teaff joins six previous Baylor additions to the Hall of Fame: Barton Koch, Jim Ray Smith, Lawrence Elkins, Bill Glass, Morley Jennings and Mike Singletary.
Bears in the NFL
Nine former Baylor players made opening day NFL rosters, including 2000 Bear defensive back Gary Baxter (Baltimore Ravens).
Player, Pos., NFL Team
Gary Baxter, DB*, Baltimore Ravens
Ray Crockett, DB, Kansas City Chiefs
Santana Dotson, DT, Green Bay Packers
Albert Fontenot, DE, San Diego Chargers
Daryl Gardener, DT, Miami Dolphins
Kelvin Garmon, OL, Dallas Cowboys
Fred Miller, OT, Tennessee Titans
Justin Snow, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Derrius Thompson, WR, Washington Redskins
* - 2000 Baylor letterman
