Nov. 5, 2001
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Game 9: BAYLOR at MISSOURI
Memorial Stadium (68,349)
Columbia, Missouri
November 10, 2001 * 1:00 p.m. (CST)
The Skinny
Baylor (2-6, 0-6 Big 12) travels to the Show Me State to take on Big 12 North foe Missouri (3-5, 2-4 Big 12) Saturday afternoon ... Last week, the Bears lost a 49-10 home game to fifth-ranked Texas ... The Tigers travelled to Boulder, Colo., last Saturday and fell to Colorado, 38-24 ... Four of Baylor's last five opponents have been ranked, including three in the top five nationally ... According to USA Today's Jeff Sagarin, Baylor has played the nation's fifth-toughest schedule to date ... For the first time since 1959, Baylor has played three top five teams in a season. The Bears played No. 4 ranked Nebraska, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas within a four-week span ... Four of Baylor's last five games are at home. Missouri is the Bears' last road opponent of 2001.
Coaches
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 5-25 in his third season at Baylor. He is 0-1 against Missouri. Missouri's Gary Pinkel (Kent, 1975) is 3-5 in his first season as the Tigers' head coach and 76-42-3 overall in his 11th season as a head coach. Pinkel has never faced Baylor.
Series
Missouri leads the all-time series, 6-2, since winning its first meeting against Baylor in Waco in 1970, 38-0. Five of the previous eight meetings have come in Columbia, with Missouri winning four of those. Baylor's lone road win against the Tigers was a 27-0 victory in 1972.
Baylor Sack Happy
Baylor continues to rank third in the Big 12 with 24 quarterback sacks in eight games. The Bears have already posted their highest season sack total since recording 26 in 1995.
The Bears highest single-game sack total this year was eight against defending national champion Oklahoma. Prior to the BU game, OU had allowed just seven sacks in its first six contests.
It took Baylor just three games to exceed its sack total from a year ago (nine). Junior DE A.C. Collier leads the Bears and is among the Big 12 leaders with six sacks.
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.
Collier Applies QB Heat
Junior DE A.C. Collier is a big reason Baylor is third in the Big 12 with 24 sacks. Collier leads the club with six sacks, 21 quarterback hurries and 10 tackles for loss.
Last week against Texas, the Dallas native recorded a pair of sacks, four quarterback hurries and a pass deflection.
Collier's six sacks, which currently ranks fifth in the Big 12, are the most by a Bear since Scotty Lewis collected seven sacks in 1993.
Stiles Booming It
Junior punter Adam Stiles, who is third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally with a 43.5 average, has boomed the ball for a 46.2 average in Baylor's last three games. Of his 27 punts in those three contests, Stiles has had 10 of 50-or-more yards.
Stiles is currently sixth on Baylor's all-time list with a 41.49 career average. He also ranks among career leaders in total punts (138) and punt yardage (5,716).
You Gotta Have Hart
Sophomore CB Bobby Hart has become a dual-threat weapon for Baylor as the team's top defensive back and kick returner.
Hart leads the Bears with 15 passes defended and ranks third in tackles with 65.
As a return man, Hart is ninth in the Big 12 with an 11.2 average and fourth all-time at Baylor with a 9.81 career average. Hart also returns kickoffs for the Bears, averaging 17.0 yards on 13 returns.
BU Among Recovery Leaders
Baylor is tied for second in the nation with 14 fumble recoveries. That figure has helped the Bears rack up 21 total defensive takeaways, which is tied for 16th nationally.
Baylor's 21 takeaways is third in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma (26) and Nebraska (23).
The Bears have capitalized on the turnovers as well, averaging nearly a touchdown a game (5.3 ppg) off of takeaways.
Baylor Injury List
Here's an updated list at Baylor's injuries heading into the Missouri game:
Player, Pos., Injury, Status
Kelvin Chaisson, LB, Shoulder (r), Probable
Justin Crooks, Thigh (r), Probable
Randy Davis, DB, Knee (l), Out 2-3 weeks
Jamaal Harper, LB, Knee (r), Out for season
Matt Johnson, DB, Knee (r), Probable
Aaron Lard, DE, Shoulder (r), Probable
Antoine Muphry, OL, Knee (r), Out 1-2 weeks
Joe Simmons, DE, Knee (l), Probable
Michael Tolbert, LB, Ankle (l), Questionable
Newhouse Catching On
Junior WR Reggie Newhouse leads Baylor and is among the Big 12 leaders in receptions with 36 for 407 yards.
The son of former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse is currently eighth all-time at Baylor with 83 receptions, tied for ninth with eight career touchdown catches and 10th with 1,113 career receiving yardage. He is just the 19th player in Baylor history with 1,000 career receiving yards.
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.
Bears Getting In Their Snaps
Baylor has averaged nearly 75 snaps in its eight 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 eight-game total of 598 is the highest in any eight-game stretch since 1995.
Bear QBs Standing Tall
Baylor has allowed just 22 sacks in eight games, a remarkable figure given the number of passes the Bears have attempted (313). That's comes out to a sack every 14.2 pass attempts.
A year ago, Baylor allowed 42 sacks and attempted 359 passes, for one sack every 8.5 attempts.
Baylor-Texas Tidbits
* Texas won in Waco for just the fifth time since 1971. Baylor is 9-5 against the Longhorns in their last 14 meetings at Floyd Casey Stadium.
* Two starters - RDE Aaron Lard and RG Antoine Murphy - did not play against UT due to injuries.
* Five Bears - QB Josh Zachry, WR John Martin, RG Derek Long, LB Justin Crooks and FS Kyle Staudt - made their first starts of the season.
* True freshman LB Colin Allred saw his first action. Allred was forced into duty because of injuries to the Baylor linebacking corps.
Ranked Foes Become Routine
For the second-straight season, Baylor played a stretch of three-consecutive games against ranked opponents. The Bears 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.
Ironmen On The O-Line
C Joe Jackson has started 33-straight games and 37 total in his career. Fellow senior, RT Greg Jerman, has 35 career starts on the Baylor offensive line.
The Ball Is In The Air
Baylor's offense has taken to the passing game in an unprecedented manner. Averaging 39.1 pass attempts and 19.4 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 five of its eight 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.
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.
Bear Schedule Fifth-Toughest
According to USA Today's Jeff Sagarin, Baylor has played the nation's fifth-toughest schedule to date.
Six of Baylor's 11 2001 opponents (Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Nebraska) participated in bowl games last season.
Four of Baylor's opponents are already bowl eligible this year.
Fewest Penalty Yards In Big 12
One sign of the discipline Kevin Steele has brought to the Bear football program is the low penalty numbers. Baylor has committed just 49 penalties (6.1 per game) through eight games this season, the third-lowest total in the Big 12. The Bears lead the league in fewest penalty yards with 365.
Baylor committed just 128 combined penalties in Steele's first two seasons, its lowest two-season penalty total since 1973-74 (112). BU finished 1999 with its lowest penalty total (57) in nearly 30 years.
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.
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).
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 -6 in its six losses.
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.
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.
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 outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable 18).
Bear Captains Named
A pair of seniors, SS Samir Al-Amin and C Joe Jackson, have been selected by teammates as captains for 2001.
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.
