Showdown in Stillwater: Bears Travel to No. 25 OSU
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
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GAME 10
BAYLOR (3-6, 1-5) vs. No. 25 OKLAHOMA STATE (6-3, 3-3)
Nov. 13, 2004 • 1:00 p.m. CST
Boone Pickens Stadium (48,500) • Stillwater, Okla.
Baylor plays its final road game of the 2004 season Saturday, Nov. 13, traveling to Stillwater, Okla., for a Big 12 Conference intra-division game against No. 25 Oklahoma State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Both teams enter Saturday's game looking to right their respective ships. The Bears (3-6, 1-5) dropped a 42-17 decision last Saturday at Texas Tech one week after upsetting 16th-ranked Texas A&M. After opening the season 5-0, the Cowboys (6-3, 3-3) have lost three of four, including each of their last two (both against Top 10 opponents). OSU, which lost 56-35 last Saturday night at Texas, is 25th in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and 24th in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Saturday's game is the 23rd meeting between Baylor and Oklahoma State in football. While the overall series is tied 11-11, the Cowboys have won eight straight against the Bears -- all eight meetings as Big 12 Conference foes.
The Bears are in their second season under the direction of head coach Guy Morriss, who has compiled a four-year career record of 15-29 and a 6-15 mark in two seasons at Baylor. Les Miles, a 1976 Michigan graduate, is in his fourth season with the Cowboys. Miles has compiled a 27-19 career record, all coming at Oklahoma State.
BAYLOR-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
This is the 23rd meeting between Baylor and Oklahoma State. The series is tied 11-11; however, the Cowboys have won eight straight since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. Baylor's last victory over Oklahoma State was a 14-10 decision in Waco during the 1994 season. Baylor is 5-6 all-time at Stillwater, where the Bears last won in 1939.
The Bears and Cowboys first met Oct. 25, 1914, with Oklahoma State blanking Baylor 60-0. After that, though, the Bears won nine consecutive meetings before a 20-7 OSU victory in 1972. The teams have met once in the postseason, a 24-14 OSU victory in the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome in Houston.
SERIES NOTES: Oklahoma State's current eight-game winning streak is the second-longest in the series behind only Baylor's nine-game streak from 1915 to 1942. ... Baylor and Oklahoma State have met either on the third or fourth Saturday in November each year since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. ... The average score in Baylor's eight meetings with Oklahoma State as Big 12 foes has been 39-19 in favor of the Cowboys. The closest game was a 24-17 OSU victory at Floyd Casey Stadium in 1997, the only margin less than two TDs. Baylor's closest game at Stillwater in that time was a 24-10 loss in 1998. ... In 1974, an 0-2 Baylor knocked off 12th-ranked Oklahoma State at Floyd Casey Stadium. That win started an 8-1 stretch to close the regular season for the Bears in a season that culminated with a Southwest Conference championship. ... In that 1974 meeting, Neal Jeffrey connected with Steve Beaird for an 84-yard pass that still is tied for the seventh-longest pass in Baylor history. ... 20 years later, in 1994, Jeff Watson connected with John Stanley for an 80-yard pass against OSU, a pass that still ranks as the 10th-longest ever at Baylor. ... In the 1983 Bluebonnett Bowl, Gerald McNeil caught 10 passes for 163 yards against the Cowboys; one of 15 double-digit reception games in Baylor history, McNeil's total is tied for sixth in school history. His total of 163 yards receiving is tied for ninth all-time at Baylor. ... Rashad Armstrong rushed 33 times against OSU in 2002, the fifth-highest single-game total in Baylor history. Armstrong had 112 yards that day, the second of his three consecutive 100-yard games.
SEPULVEDA NAMED RAY GUY AWARD SEMIFINALIST
P Daniel Sepulveda joined nine others on the 2004 Ray Guy Award semifinalists list, announced Friday, Nov. 5, by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. Sepulveda was the only Big 12 Conference player on the list for the award that honors the nation's top collegiate punter and honors former NFL All-Pro punter Ray Guy.
Through games of Nov. 6, Sepulveda ranks second in the Big 12 and third nationally with 46.27 yards per punt. A product of Highland Park [Texas] High School, Sepulveda has recorded 18 punts of 50-plus yards and five punts of 60-plus yards this season. He also has placed 20 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line and has a net average of 43.5 yards per punt.
In his two-season career, Sepulveda ranks first all-time at Baylor in yards per punt (44.24), third in punts of at least 50 yards (44), tied for second in punts of at least 60 yards (eight), ninth in total punting yards (6,017) and 10th in total punts (136).
Others named to the Guy Award semifinalists list were Dustin Colquitt of Tennessee, Gary Cook of UNLV, Brandon Fields of Michigan State, Bo Freeland of Alabama, Chris Kluwe of UCLA, Matt Payne of Brigham Young, Adam Podlesh of Maryland and Steve Weatherford of Illinois.
Three finalists will be named Nov. 23. The winner will be announced Dec. 9 during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN.
QUICK SLANTS ...
•Saturday's game against Oklahoma State is one of seven Baylor contests in its final nine of the 2004 season against teams that participated in a bowl game last season. Only Iowa State and Texas A&M did not.
•Baylor's 2004 Big 12 foes are a combined 49-23 (.681) heading into games this weekend. Subtract a 6-1 record against Baylor and 14 games against each other, and Baylor's 2004 Big 12 opponents have an adjusted winning percentage of .846 (44-8).
•Six of Baylor's eight Big 12 have been ranked at some point this season and all eight are at least .500 on the season. All five of the Bears' five Big 12 South opponents are ranked in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
•Through nine games, Baylor quarterbacks have completed 60.5 percent of their passes. The Bears established a school record last year, completing 56.7 percent of their pass attempts.
•Oklahoma State Senior Associate Director of Athletics Dave Martin is the father of Baylor WR John Martin, who is a graduate of Stillwater [Okla.] High School.
•Baylor's 22 turnovers this season have led to 75 points for the opponent. Meanwhile, the Bears have scored just 21 points off nine opponent turnovers.
•Baylor QBs failed to complete a TD pass last Saturday against Texas Tech, ending a nine-game streak dating back to the 2003 game at Oklahoma. It was the longest such streak at Baylor since a 10-game streak that encompassed the final three games of 1986 and the first seven games of 1987.
•Baylor QBs have thrown 15 TD passes this season, the most at Baylor since the 1998 squad had 18 TD passes and tied for sixth in school history (five shy of the program record set in 1983).
•The Bears have completed 202 passes this season, third all-time at Baylor and 32 shy of the 2001 team's school record.
•Baylor recorded season highs for rushing yards (158, tied), yards per rush (4.6) and rushing TDs (2, tied) at Texas Tech, while its defense was credited with a season-best tying four sacks for the second straight week. The Bears also had a season-low four penalties for 39 yards.
•The Baylor offense has gone eight consecutive quarters without a turnover (the Bears have committed just one turnover over that stretch, but that was committed by a defensive player after Baylor had forced a fumble against Texas A&M).
•Baylor is 3-0 under head coach Guy Morriss when scoring at least 30 points, 4-1 when scoring at least 27 points.
•RB Paul Mosley has 43 carries of five-plus yards on the year out of 100 total carries, including 13 that have gone for 10-plus yards. Mosley averages 4.6 yards per tote, most of any Baylor player with at least 10 carries.
•WR Trent Shelton has caught at least one pass in 20 consecutive games with at least two catches in 13 consecutive contests. Shelton's consecutive games with a catch streak is the longest by a Bear since Reggie Newhouse closed his Baylor career with a 34-game streak that spanned the entire 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.
•LB Justin Crooks is fifth in the Big 12 with 8.0 tackles per game; he is fourth in the conference among linebackers. Crooks has averaged 8.5 tackles per game in six Big 12 contests. He also ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 13 tackles for loss.
•Crooks has recorded four or more tackles in 20 straight games and five or more tackles in 18 of the last 19 games. He has started 22 straight games for the Bears.
•FS Maurice Lane ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 8.2 tackles per game, 1.0 tackles per game more than any other DB in the league.
•OS Willie Andrews averages 117.7 all-purpose yards per game, the most by a Big 12 player without offensive production. He also ranks 35th in the league with 5.8 tackles per game.
•Andrews has been credited with five or more tackles in 16 of his last 18 outings and four or more tackles in 11 of his last 12 games. He has started 21 consecutive games for Baylor.
•OL Quintin Outland has started 35 consecutive games for the Bears along the offensive line and played in all 44 games of his BU career.
•A career-high tying five of sophomore P Daniel Sepulveda's seven punts against Texas Tech pinned the Red Raiders inside their own 20-yard line, as the 2004 Ray Guy Award semifinalist averaged 43.9 yards for the day.
•Sepulveda's season average of 46.27 yards ranks second in the Big 12 and third nationally, and is just shy of the Baylor single-season mark of 46.35 set by Ty Atteberry in 1996.
•RB Anthony Krieg needs 93 yards in Baylor's final two games to reach the 1,000-yard mark for his career.
•FS Maurice Lane needs just three solos to crack the Bears' all-time top 10 list.
•WR Dominique Zeigler has caught a team-high 48 passes for 465 yards on the season and needs two receptions to become the sixth Bear to reach the 50-catch mark in a season (a feat that has been accomplished eight times by five players).
ANDREWS ESTABLISHES KICKOFF RETURN RECORD
With 21 kickoff return yards last Saturday at Texas Tech, OS Willie Andrews established a Baylor single-season yardage record at 678. His 25.11 yards per return average ranks sixth all-time at Baylor.
Andrews enters the Oklahoma State game as Baylor's career record holder in total kick return yards (kickoff and punt returns). He has tallied 1,932 yards in his career -- 1,319 yards in kickoff returns and 613 yards in punt returns.
Andrews is one of only seven players in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau for career kickoff return yardage. He enters the Oklahoma State game third on Baylor's career list, just 13 yards behind second-place Martin Dossett (1,332 yards; 1999-2002). Kalief Muhammad (1993-1996) holds the school mark at 1,425.
UN-BELL-IEVABLE
QB Shawn Bell has posted a 121.90 passing efficiency rating this season, completing 67 of 108 passes (62.0 percent) for 534 yards and six TDs with no interceptions. That rating ranks seventh in the Big 12 Conference. He does not have enough attempts to qualify for the NCAA rankings, but his 121.90 mark would rank 61st nationally. Bell needs 15.0 attempts per game to qualify; entering the Oklahoma State game, he has averaged 13.5 attempts per game. He would need 27 attempts against Oklahoma State to qualify nationally in next week's rankings and 42 attempts over the final two games (21.0 per game) to qualify at season's end.
Meanwhile, Bell has gone 154 consecutive attempts without an interception, dating back to a second-quarter pick against Oklahoma last season in his first career start. That is the only interception of his career in 206 attempts. Bell's current streak ranks as the third-longest active streak in the nation behind only David Green of Georgia (206) and Omar Jacobs of Bowling Green (199).
NCAA DIVISION I-A ACTIVE STREAKS -- CONSECUTIVE PASSES WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION
1. David Green, Georgia206
2. Omar Jacobs, Bowling Green199
3. Shawn Bell, Baylor154
4. Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt126
5. Omar Duarte, UTEP121
6. Sefan Lefors, Louisville128
THREE AMIGOS: ROBERTS, SHELTON, ZEIGLER
WRs Dominique Zeigler (48 receptions), Trent Shelton (36 receptions) and Marques Roberts (35 receptions) give the Bears a solid receiving corps. The trio has combined for 119 receptions, becoming just the eighth Baylor trio to combine for 100 or more receptions in a season. In fact, this is only the fifth time a Baylor team has produced three receivers with at least 30 receptions each.
With two games remaining, the Three Amigos have a legitimate chance to become the first trio in school history with 40 or more receptions each.
Here is a look at the eight seasons in which Baylor's top three receivers have combined for 100 or more receptions along with the four seasons in which those three receivers had at least 30 receptions each:
• 1963 -- 129 receptions
• 1964 -- 127 receptions (Lawrence Elkins - 50, Ken Hodge - 35, Harlan Lane - 32)
• 1966 -- 109 receptions (Tommy Smith - 41, Paul Becton - 38, Jack Eisenhart - 30)
• 1983 -- 113 receptions
• 1998 -- 107 receptions (Morris Anderson - 37, Derek Lagway - 37, Derrius Thompson - 33)
• 2001 -- 129 receptions (Reggie Newhouse - 61, Andra Fuller - 36, John Martin - 32)
• 2002 -- 140 receptions
• 2004 -- 119 receptions (Dominique Zeigler - 48, Trent Shelton - 36, Marques Roberts - 35)
BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Through games of Nov. 6, Baylor's schedule ranks fourth nationally behind only Texas A&M (59-27, .686), Arizona (53-28, .654) and North Carolina (46-25, .647). The Bears' Division I-A opponents' cumulative record is 51-28 (.646). Baylor's future opposition strength of schedule (15-3, .833) is third nationally, trailing only Arizona (16-2, .889) and Alabama (14-2, .875).
Not only is Baylor's schedule among the nation's elite, the Bears' opponents also play tough schedules. In fact, seven Baylor opponents rank in the nation's top 46 for cumulative Division I-A opposition: Texas A&M (first), Oklahoma (10th), Texas (16th), Texas Tech (t-17th), Oklahoma State (t-21st), Nebraska (38th) and Iowa State (46th).
OPPORTUNISTIC BEARS FIND WAYS TO SCORE
When Braelon Davis intercepted an Iowa State pass on the Cyclones' two-point attempt and returned it 100 yards for a defensive two-point conversion, it marked the ninth time under the direction of head coach Guy Morriss (since the beginning of the 2003 season) the Bears have posted a non-offensive score:
•2003 vs. UAB -- James Todd blocked punt for safety
•2003 vs. Colorado -- Jamaal Harper 7-yard fumble return (forced by Derrick Cash)
•2003 at Kansas -- James Todd blocked punt recovery in end zone (blocked by Michael Boyd)
•2003 at Kansas State -- Robert Quiroga 98-yard kickoff return
•2003 vs. Texas Tech -- Robert Quiroga 100-yard kickoff return
•2003 vs. Oklahoma State -- Willie Andrews 30-yard fumble return (forced by John Garrett)
•2004 vs. Texas State -- Justin Crooks 9-yard fumble return (forced by Montez Murphy)
•2004 vs. North Texas -- Braelon Davis blocked punt recovery in end zone (blocked by Davis)
•2004 vs. Iowa State -- Braelon Davis defensive PAT (interception return)
NOTES FROM THE TEXAS TECH GAME
•WR Trent Shelton's 71-yard TD run was a career long and the first rushing TD of his career.
•Shelton's 71-yard rushing TD in the first quarter tied for the 14th-longest run in school history and was the longest by a Baylor player since Chedrick Ricks' 78-yarder against Samford in 2002.
•That run was the longest rushing TD by a Baylor player since Jerod Douglas' 80-yarder Oct. 11, 1997, against Nebraska.
•That run was the longest Baylor run on the road since Michael Moore had a 77-yard jaunt at Arizona State in 1990.
•P Daniel Sepulveda's 61-yard punt in the second quarter was his fifth this season of 60-plus yards, tied for the third-highest single-season total in Baylor history.
•That was Sepulveda's eighth career punt of 60-plus yards, moving him into a second-place tie on Baylor's all-time list behind only Kyle Atteberry's 10.
•CB Anthony Arline's fourth-quarter interception was the first of his career.
•QB/WR Terrance Parks' fourth-quarter pass completion was the first of his career. He established career game highs in completions (4), attempts (4) and yards (37).
•With five receptions, WR Dominique Zeigler moved into a 10th-place tie on Baylor's single-season receptions list. He now has 48 catches on the year.
•OS Willie Andrews established a career high with 12 tackles.
•FS Maurice Lane posted a season high with 13 tackles.
BAYLOR AMONG NATION'S YOUNGEST TEAMS
With 96 underclassmen out of 135 players on its 2004 roster, Baylor ranks as the second-youngest team in Division I-A football behind only SMU. The Bears are 71.1 percent underclassmen, while SMU is 76.1 percent (86 of 113). Only one school has more underclassmen on its roster: Army, which lists 120 underclassmen on a roster of 178 players. North Carolina (92 of 135) is the only other team with at least 90 underclassmen.
Baylor's depth chart features 29 underclassmen out of 50 spots (two-deep at 25 positions). Nine underclassmen are listed as starters at their respective positions: QB Shawn Bell, WR Dominique Zeigler, DT Klayton Shoals, DE Marcus Foreman, OS Maurice Linguist, CB Braelon Davis, CB Anthony Arline, P Daniel Sepulveda and DS Jonathan Weeks.
BAYLOR AGAIN RANKS HIGH IN GRADUATION RATES
For the fifth time in the Big 12 Conference's nine-year history, Baylor University posted the highest student-athlete graduation rate of any league institution, according to figures released last month by the NCAA.
The Bears' most-recent graduation rates, for the freshman class of 1997-98, is 78 percent, a school record by four points over the previous high of 74 percent in 2000. That figure is also 8 points higher than Baylor's general student population and 16 points better than the NCAA Division I national average of 62 percent.
Baylor also graduated a Big 12-best 76 percent of its male student-athletes and a league-high 82 percent of its female student-athletes. Five Baylor programs recorded 100 percent graduation rates and another five teams recorded a mark of at least 75 percent for the survey period. The Baylor football program produced a Big 12-leading 88 percent graduation rate, marking the fifth time in the league's history it has set the standard for classroom excellence.
The NCAA graduation-rates study has tracked entering classes of student-athletes annually since 1991. The study is a product of the Student Right To Know Act, a federal law that requires institutions to provide graduation-rate data to prospective student-athletes, parents, high-school coaches and counselors as part of the recruiting process. The percentage is derived from the number of freshmen on athletic aid in the 1997-98 school year who earned their degree in six years.
In addition to leading the Big 12 in graduation rates five times, Baylor ranked second on three other occasions. All-told, 88 percent of Baylor student-athletes who exhausted their eligibility and entered school from 1988-89 through 1997-98 have left with degree in hand according to the NCAA study.
NEXT UP...
Baylor concludes its 2004 season Saturday, Nov. 20, hosting No. 2 Oklahoma at Floyd Casey Stadium. Kickoff has not yet been announced as the Big 12 Conference awaits the TV schedule.
