Football to Host Samford in Home Opener

Sept. 2, 2002

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BAYLOR (0-1) vs. SAMFORD (1-0)
Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000) - Waco, Texas
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2002 - 6:00 p.m. CDT

SERIES
This is the first ever meeting between Baylor and Samford on the gridiron.

COACHES
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 6-28 in his fourth season at Baylor. He has never faced Samford. Samford's Bill Gray (Mississippi College, 1983) is 1-0 in his first season as a head coach.

BEARS IN HOME OPENERS
Baylor is 74-21-5 all-time in home openers, including a 36-16 mark since moving to Floyd Casey Stadium in 1950.

TURNOVERS KEY TO LOSS AT CAL
Baylor's five first-half turnovers, four of which led directly to Cal touchdowns, spelled an early doom on the left coast.

Statistically, however, Baylor and Cal came out of the game evenly matched. Both teams collected 21 first downs. Cal had a slight advantage in yardage with 460 (105 rushing, 355 passing) to Baylor's 402 (79 rushing, 323 passing). But Baylor took 18 more snaps than Cal (79-61) and dominated the time of possession (35:18 to 24:42).

THREE STRAIGHT 300-YARD PASSING GAMES
Baylor passed for 323 yards against Cal, giving the Bears three-straight, 300-yard passing games for the first time in school history. BU finished the 2001 season with passing totals of 315 against Oklahoma State and 344 against Southern Illinois.

NEWHOUSE LEADS BIG 12
Senior WR Reggie Newhouse leads the Big 12 (fourth nationally) in receiving yards and is second in receptions (10th nationally) after catching eight passes for a career-best 164 yards and a touchdown at California. Newhouse, who had 20 yards in punt returns against the Golden Bears, is also third in the league in all-purpose yardage with 184.

Newhouse is currently third at Baylor in career receptions (116), fourth in yardage (1576) and tied for fourth in TDs (13).

His performance against Cal was the sixth 100-yard receiving game of his career.

KARAS 4TH-RATED PASSER IN BIG 12
Sophomore QB Aaron Karas, who came off the bench at Cal to complete 14-of-27 passes for 211 yards with one touchdown and one interception, ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 44th nationally with a 122.3 passing rating.

In three career outings dating back to last season, Karas has now posted combined totals of 50-of-80 passing (63 percent) for 737 yards, 6 TDs and two interceptions.

KARAS TO NEWHOUSE
Aaron Karas' 85-yard touchdown strike to Reggie Newhouse at Cal is tied for the fifth-longest pass play in school history and was the longest for Baylor since 1996.

OFFENSE TOPS 400 YARDS AGAIN...
For the first time in 11 years (the 1991 season), Baylor has gone over 400 yards of total offense in four-straight games. The Bears closed out 2001 with 402 yards at Missouri, 517 against Oklahoma State and 507 versus Southern Illinois. BU gained 402 in its season opener at Cal.

Grant Teaff's next-to-last Baylor squad had five-straight games with over 400 yards offense (428 vs. Colorado, 649 vs. Missouri, 458 vs. SMU, 499 vs. Houston and 531 vs. Rice).

... AND 20 POINTS
For the first time since 1994, Baylor has scored 20 points or more in four-consecutive contests. The Bears scored 24 against Missouri, 22 against Oklahoma State, 56 against Southern Illinois and 22 against Cal.

TRIO OF CUBS MAKE FIRST START AT CAL
Three Baylor Bears made their first career starts at Cal: sophomore Tyson Hampton started at cornerback, redshirt freshman Maurice Lane started at free safety, and junior Shane Williams started at tight end.

A total of 15 Bears saw their first career action at Cal. In addition to Hampton and Lane, DB Willie Andrews, RB Rashad Armstrong, DB Larry Bynum, DE Dominick Cravens, TE Chris DeLeenheer, RB Jontue Fears-Hayes, DT Michael Gary, OT Lequalan McDonald, OT Glen Oskin, WR Charles Radford, DB Ahmad Rhodes, WR J.T. Thompson and LB James Washington wore the Green and Gold for the first time last Saturday.

TWO TRUE FROSH SEE PLAYING TIME IN OPENER
Only two true freshman made the travel roster last week, and both saw action against Cal. DB Willie Andrews and OT Lequalan McDonald both got in the game during the second half.

BEARS FACE TOUGH SCHEDULE
Half of Baylor's 12 2002 opponents (Colorado, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech) participated in bowl games last season. Baylor's 2002 opponents went a combined 73-67 (.521) in 2001.

BEAR CAPTAINS NAMED
Four seniors, DT Ethan Kelley, DE Charles Mann, WR Reggie Newhouse and DT Kevin Stevenson, have been selected by their teammates as captains for the 2002 season.

GARRETT ON BUTKUS WATCH LIST
Junior LB John Garrett is one of 11 Big 12 players on the 67-man, preseason Butkus Award 'watch list.'

Since 1986, the Butkus Award has been given annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.

Garrett was named honorable mention All-Big 12 last year after finishing third in tackles with 89. He has started 15 of his first 20 games as a Bear.

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 pitcher who as a member of the 1976 World Champion Cincinnati Reds won the National League's Rookie of the Year award.

- 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.

- DL Lorenzo Davis is the cousin of 14-year NBA veteran Derrick McKey.

- LB Jamaal Harper is a cousin of Kenyon Martin, who plays for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

- Freshman TE Iris Williams has a pair of notable family members. Uncle Elvis Patterson won a pair of Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, while cousin and former Baylor standout Fred Miller is a starting offensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans.

- Freshman WR Trent Shelton is the nephew of San Francisco 49er receivers coach George Stewart.

BAYLOR INJURY LIST
Here's an updated list at Baylor's injuries heading into week 2:

Player, Pos.        Injury      StatusAnthony Arline, DB  Knee (l)    OutRyan Jeffrey, WR  Shoulder (r)    Out for seasonAaron Lard, DL      Knee(r)     Out

TURNOVERS KEY BU WINS
The Bears are 5-1 under Kevin Steele when winning the turnover battle. Baylor's lone loss when having a turnover advantage was last season against No. 4 Nebraska, when the Bears were a +1 but lost 48-7.

OVER THE AIR
Bear football games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The network includes 18 affiliates across Texas, including flagship stations KRZI-AM (1660/1580) and KLRK-FM (92.9) in Waco. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his eighth season. Former Baylor football standouts Walter Abercrombie and Ricky Thompson are in their third season providing analysis.

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.BaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.

BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the Official College Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.

INSIDE BAYLOR 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).

BEARS CLOSE IN ON WIN NO. 500
Baylor needs five more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 495-465-44 since beginning football play in 1899. Entering the 2002 season, 50 schools have reached the 500-win plateau.

NEXT UP...
The Bears travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to face the New Mexico Lobos Sept. 14 at University Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CDT.

Football to Host Samford in Home Opener

Players Mentioned

Willie Andrews

Jamaal Harper

Maurice Lane

Lequalan McDonald

Glen Oskin

Trent Shelton

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Football to Host Samford in Home Opener

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Players Mentioned

Willie Andrews

Jamaal Harper

Maurice Lane

Lequalan McDonald

Glen Oskin

Trent Shelton

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