Bears Host Bulldogs for 2005 Home Opener
9/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
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GAME 2: SAMFORD BULLDOGS (1-0) at BAYLOR BEARS (1-0)
SEPT. 10, 2005 • FLOYD CASEY STADIUM •
BAYLOR OPENS 2005 HOME SCHEDULE AGAINST SAMFORD
After snapping a 24-game road losing streak last Saturday night with a 28-23 victory at SMU, Baylor returns to action Saturday against Samford in the 2005 home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for
BAYLOR-SAMFORD SERIES
This is the second meeting between Baylor and Samford; the Bears won the only previous meeting 50-12 at Floyd Casey Stadium in the 2002 home opener.
HOME OPENERS
Baylor is 76-22-5 all-time in home openers, including a 38-17 mark since moving to Floyd Casey Stadium in 1950. The Bears are 6-4 in their last 10 such contests. Baylor defeated
BAYLOR vs. DIVISION I-AA OPPONENTS
In 1978, the NCAA split Division I into two divisions for football -- Division I-A and Division I-AA. Since then, Baylor is 10-0 against Division I-AA opponents, including a 24-17 victory over
1982 Baylor 21,
1986 Baylor 38,
1987 Baylor 13,
1988 Baylor 45,
1990 Baylor 13,
2000 Baylor 20,
2001 Baylor 56,
2002 Baylor 50, Samford 12
2003 Baylor 27,
2004 Baylor 24,
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ...
• Guy Morriss' Bears are 6-7 all-told at Floyd Casey Stadium, but stand 1-10 away from
• Baylor seeks its first 2-0 start since 2001 and only its 11th 2-0 start since 1962 (1965, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1996 and 2001).
• Senior FS Maurice Lane, a Thorpe Award Watch List member, needs five solo tackles to move into third place on Baylor's all-time list. He enters the Samford contest with 210 solo tackles (286 total career stops).
• Senior OS/KR Willie Andrews needs 10 kickoff return yards to move into first place on the Bears' career chart. He has 1,416 career kickoff return yards to rank second at Baylor behind Kalief Muhammad's (1993-96) 1,425 yards. A preseason All-Big 12 selection, Andrews has averaged 24.41 yards per kickoff return for his career.
• Senior LG Lequalan McDonald should draw his 25th straight start along the o-line against Samford, while senior
• WR Trent Shelton has at least one reception to 23 games, the eighth-longest active streak in Division I-A and the longest at Baylor since Reggie Newhouse's school-record 34-game streak.
• Samford head coach Bill Gray lettered four seasons at wide receiver for
• Baylor is 6-2 under Morriss when scoring at least 24 points.
INJURY REPORT
Senior WR Ryan Jeffrey (broken left hand) and freshman LB Justin Osinde (season-ending knee injury) will miss the Samford game with injuries sustained during fall camp. Senior OT Hunter Herring (knee), junior OT Travis Farst (knee cap) and senior WR J Fields (hamstring) could return to practice this week and are questionable for the Samford game.
MOSLEY HONORED BY
Junior RB Paul Mosley earned Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors from the Houston Chronicle, the publication announced Monday. Mosley established career bests with 24 rushes, 105 yards rushing and three rushing TDs. He became the first Baylor player with multiple rushing touchdowns in one game since Rashad Armstrong had two against
FROM THE SMU GAME ...
• Paul Mosley was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week by the Houston Chronicle.
• Baylor snapped a 24-game losing streak in road games. The Bears' last road victory was a 20-7, season-opening victory at
• The SMU game also marked the first time Baylor won a road game when trailing after one quarter since
• The SMU game also marked the first time since
• Baylor's defense held SMU to 1-of-12 on third-down conversions. That is the best third-down conversion defensive effor by a Bears' team since Baylor held
• Anthony Arline's first-quarter blocked field goal against SMU was Baylor's first since Ethan Kelley's block against Samford in 2002.
• Last Saturday marked Baylor's first win under Guy Morriss when committing three or more turnovers; the Bears entered 0-6 in such games.
• Baylor out-gained SMU 269-129 in the second half. Of SMU's 129 second-half yards, 105 yards came on the Mustangs' first (52 yards) and final (53 yards) drives of the half; the Mustangs gained just 24 yards on their other four second-half drives.
• QB Shawn Bell saw his school-record streak of consecutive passes without an interception snapped at 161 during the first quarter. It was the third-longest such streak in Big 12 Conference history.
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•
• WR Trey Payne established career highs with six receptions and 35 yards receiving.
• WR Shaun Rochon established career highs with five receptions and 52 yards receiving.
• RB Brandon Whitaker established career highs with 16 rushes for 110 yards.
• RB Paul Mosley established career highs with 24 rushes for 105 yards and three TDs. It was his second career 100-yard game and his first career multiple-TD game.
• Mosley is the first Bear with multiple rushing TDs in one game since Rashad Armstrong had two against
• Mosley and Whitaker are the first Baylor duo to rush for 100 yards each in one game since Jerod Douglas (154) and Elijah Burkins (142) accomplished the feat against
• LB Colin Allred tied a career high with seven solo tackles. He also registered his first career sack.
• LB Jamaal Harper tied his career high with six total tackles. He also established a career high with six solo stops.
• OS Jon Piorkowski recorded his first career fumble recovery. He also recovered a blocked punt.
BAYLOR SNAPS ONE STREAK, EXTENDS ANOTHER AT SMU
Baylor's 28-23 victory at SMU last Saturday ended a 24-game losing streak in road games for the Bears, a streak that dated back to Baylor's 20-7 victory at
BEARS' DEFENSE STANDS TALL ON THIRD DOWN
Baylor's defense held SMU to 1-of-12 on third down conversions last Saturday night, stopping the Mustangs on each of their first six and each of their last five attempts. That is the best percentage by a Baylor defense on third-down since the Bears held
In fact, the SMU game marked only the third time since 1985 that a Baylor team held an opponent to one third-down conversion. The only other time the Bears accomplished that feat was in 1992, limiting
SPECIAL TEAMS SHINE AGAINST SMU
Baylor's heralded special teams unit, ranked 15th nationally by Phil Steele's 2005 College Football Preview, turned in another strong outing last Saturday in the season opener at SMU. All-America P Daniel Sepulveda averaged 42.0 yards per punt. PK Ryan Havens, in his first season handling place kicking duties for the Bears, made good on two of three field goal attempts, including a 47-yarder that was Baylor's longest since Kenny Webb's career-long 47 yarder in the 2003 game against SMU.
However, the highlight of the night for the special teams unit was a pair of first-quarter blocks. After the Baylor defense held SMU to a three-and-out situation on the game's first drive, Latif Nurudeen blocked SMU's punt and Jon Piorkowski pounced on the loose ball at the SMU 28 yard line. On SMU's next drive, the Mustangs drove to the Baylor 5 before the drive stalled. Again, Baylor's special teams stood tall as Anthony Arline blocked the Mustangs' field goal attempt. It was Baylor's first blocked field goal since 2002. Later in the game, Piorkowski and Josh Bell forced a fumble on an SMU kickoff return.
MOSLEY, WHITAKER GIVE BEARS BACKFIELD DEPTH
RBs Paul Mosley and Brandon Whitaker combined for 215 yards on 40 carries last Saturday against SMU, rushing for 105 yards and 110 yards, respectively. That marked the first time two Bears rushed for at least 100 yards each in the same game since Jerod Douglas (154) and Elijah Burkins (142) accomplished the feat against
Both running backs established career highs for rushing yards and rushes. It was Mosley's second career 100-yard game; he also rushed for 100 yards on 20 yards against
Mosley registered three rushing touchdowns against SMU, a career high for scoring runs. He was the first Bear to record multiple rushing touchdowns in a game since Rashad Armstrong had two against
Baylor's 215 yards rushing was its best since a 280-yard outing against Samford in 2002 and its best against a Division I-A opponent since a 251-yard performance against
BEARS SPREAD THE WEALTH IN PASSING GAME
QB Shawn Bell connected with nine different receivers in last Saturday's game against SMU. It marked the eighth time in Guy Morriss' tenure that Baylor quarterbacks completed passes to at least nine different receivers.
YEAR OPPONENT COMPLETIONS RECEIVERS
2003 UAB 20 9
2003 North
2003
2003
2004 at UAB 28 13
2004 at
2004
2005 at SMU 23 9
ZEIGLER,
Despite the loss of Marques Roberts, BU's sixth-leading receiver all-time with 91 catches, the Bears' 2005 receiving corps, headlined by a pair of juniors in All-Big 12 candidates Dominique Zeigler and Trent Shelton, may well be the strength of Morriss' 2005 offense.
An honorable mention All-Big 12 performer as a sophomore, Zeigler caught a team-high 55 passes for 536 yards and five touchdowns. His 55 receptions ranked as the sixth-best one-year total in school history as he recorded at least two catches in each of his 10 appearances.
Shelton hauled in 38 passes for 426 yards and four scores to rank third on the squad, while recording both the Bears' season-long rush (71 yards) and reception (55 yards). He heads into the Samford game having caught at least one pass in 23 consecutive games, the longest such string for a Bear since Reggie Newhouse ended his career with a 34-game streak (2000-2002). Here is a look at the longest such active streaks nationally:
34 - Chris Francies, WR, UTEP
30 - Derek Hagan, WR,
29 - Mark Philmore, WR, Northwestern
28 - Garrett Mills, TE,
26 - Steve Odom, WR,
25 - Vincent Marshall, WR, Houston
24 - Jason Avant, WR,
23 - Trent Shelton, WR, BAYLOR
22 - Antwon Courington, WR,
22 - Jeff Webb, WR,
A second-team 2004 All-Big 12 selection, Lane has started all 35 games he has played in at Baylor and already ranks among the school's all-time leaders in solo tackles. With 210 career solos, he stands No. 4 on BU's career list and needs just 90 more to join College and Pro Hall of Famer Mike Singletary as the only Bears to record 300 or more career solos. Lane, who has 286 career tackles, is just 18 stops shy of the school's all-time top 10 and 95 away from moving into the No. 2 position behind Singletary's career mark of 662 stops.
In 2004, he led the Bears and ranked No. 3 among all Big 12 performers (tops among league defensive backs) in tackles with 104 (9.5 tpg). Lane paced the Big 12 and ranked No. 3 nationally in solo tackles with 7.0 per game, as his 77 solos ranked as the eighth-best one-season total in school history. He ended the season with four straight double-figure tackle games, one of which was a season-high, 16-tackle effort at
ANDREWS MAKES MARK IN MULTIPLE AREAS
One of Baylor's most versatile players, senior OS Willie Andrews again figures to be a busy man in the secondary and on special teams for the 2005 Bears. On the field for 854 snaps as a junior, the 2005 All-America and All-Big 12 candidate has started 24 consecutive games in the secondary entering the Samford game.
Andrews led the 2004 Bears in sacks (three), ranked No. 2 in both tackles for loss (10) and quarterback hurries (seven) and was No. 3 in total tackles with 67. A near consensus 2004 first-team All-Big 12 honoree as a return specialist, he also garnered a first-team award from The Dallas Morning News for his standout defensive play. Andrews ranks as the school's all-time leader in total kick return yards (kickoff and punt returns) with 2,057 yards and is poised to own nearly every school return record before his career ends.
In the season opener last Saturday at SMU, Andrews had one punt return for nine yards and two kickoff returns for 34 yards.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
The strongest facet of Baylor's squad in Guy Morriss' two seasons on the sideline has arguably been its special teams play. After recording four scores in 2003, the Bears' 2004 special team units tallied two more scores and featured the 2004 Ray Guy Award winner in Daniel Sepulveda and consensus first-team All-Big 12 return specialist Willie Andrews.
The 2004 Bears, who ranked No. 5 nationally in net punting (40.6 ypp), No. 35 in kickoff returns (21.7 ypr) and No. 36 in punt returns (11.1 ypr), were the only Big 12 team to rank among the nation's top 36 in all three of those statistical categories a year ago. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that in the year prior to Mark Nelson's arrival as Baylor's special teams coordinator the program ranked 91st nationally in punt returns, 115th in kickoff returns and 117th in net punting.
Sepulveda captured the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top collegiate punter after ranking No. 3 nationally with his 46.0 yard average and Andrews led the league and ranked 24th nationally in kickoff returns with his 24.7 yard mark.
A senior outside safety who will again contend for All-Big 12 and All-America honors, Andrews ranked No. 6 in the Big 12 and No. 65 nationally in 2004 with 107.6 all-purpose yards per game despite not taking a snap on the offensive side of the ball. He also led the Big 12 and ranked 24th nationally in kickoff returns (24.7 ypr) while standing No. 3 in the league and No. 43 nationally in punt returns (10.8 ypr).
Baylor has recorded nine non-offensive scores in head coach Guy Morriss' first two seasons. Here is a look at those non-offensive scores:
• 2003 vs. UAB -- James Todd blocked punt for safety
• 2003 vs.
• 2003 at
• 2003 at
• 2003 vs. Texas Tech -- Robert Quiroga 100-yard kickoff return
• 2003 vs.
• 2004 vs.
• 2004 vs.
• 2004 vs.
2005 BEARS FACE SIX 2004 BOWL TEAMS
After playing eight of 11 games a year ago against teams that went on to earn bowl invitations, Baylor will tackle six bowl squads in 2005. However, that's really nothing new for coach Guy Morriss' program, as 15 times in his first 24 games (including 13 of 16 Big 12 contests) along the Baylor sideline he's faced an opponent which wound up with a bowl bid at season's end.
The Bears' 2005 opponents combined for a 70-58 (.545) record a year ago and six earned bowl invites -- Texas A&M, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas and Oklahoma State.
All-told, six of BU's eight 2005 Big 12 games will be against teams that earned bowl bids last year. The Bears' eight Big 12 foes went 61-34 (.642) last year and accounted for six of the league's seven 2004 bowl bids.
Two of Baylor's three wins a year ago and six of its eight losses were at the hands of eventual bowl-bound teams. The Bears knocked off Cotton Bowl participant Texas A&M (35-34 in overtime) and New Orleans Bowl entrant North Texas (37-14) but dropped games to bowl-bound programs Texas (Rose champion), Iowa State (Independence champion), Texas Tech (Holiday champ), Oklahoma State (Alamo), Oklahoma (Orange) and UAB (Hawai'i).
Baylor and Syracuse were the only programs to play eight eventual bowl teams in 2004 and the Bears' slate ranked as the nation's sixth-toughest according to the NCAA's annual strength of schedule survey.
BEARS GROWING UP
After fielding the nation's second-youngest team a year ago (only SMU at 76.1 percent had a higher percentage of underclassmen on its 2004 roster than Baylor, whose roster was 71.1 percent underclassmen) third-year coach Guy Morriss' 2005 Baylor squad will arguably be the most-seasoned of his tenure in
Baylor's 132-man 2005 roster includes 19 seniors, 34 juniors, 25 sophomores and 54 freshmen. The Bears' 2004 roster, by comparison, included some 96 underclassmen among the 135 players listed.
BAYLOR AGAIN LEADS BIG 12 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 by the NCAA last fall.
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. The Baylor football program produced a Big 12-leading 88 percent graduation rate, marking the fifth time in the league's history it set the standard for classroom excellence.
Among Division I-A institutions, Baylor's overall student-athlete graduation rate ranked as the nation's 10th-highest mark according to the most-recent NCAA figures.
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 left with degree in hand according to the NCAA study.
LONE STAR TIES
The Bears' 132-man roster features 120 players who played their high school football in the Lone Star state. The other 12 players on Baylor's roster hail from Louisiana (2), Oklahoma (2), California (2), Arizona (1), Nebraska (1), Missouri (1), Mississippi (1), Illinois (1) and Virginia (1).
Of the 76 players listed on Baylor's 2005 depth chart for the SMU game, 67 are Texans, including 22 of the 24 projected starters (includes No. 1 place-kicker and punter) for the Bears.
BAND OF BROTHERS
Baylor's 2005 roster features three sets of brothers: the Boatners (junior Yancy and true freshman Thad), Jenkins (junior
COACHING STAFF BOASTS 198 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
The 2005 Baylor football coaching staff boasts a combined 198 years of sideline experience in the professional, collegiate and high school ranks. Six members of this year's staff -- Larry Hoefer (safeties), Chris Lancaster (offensive line), Wesley McGriff (cornerbacks/recruiting coordinator), Mark Nelson (linebackers/special teams coordinator and Brent Pease (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) -- have been with Guy Morriss since he first became a Division I-A head coach in 2001 at Kentucky. Entering his fifth season as a head coach, Morriss was recently rated as one of the nation's eight most underrated coaches by SportsIllustrated.com.
The newest member of the Baylor staff is 26-year coaching veteran Don Wnek who replaced Tom Adams as the Bears' defensive line coach on Aug. 7, 2005. Wnek, a specialist in pass rush and defensive line techniques, spent the 2004 season as the director of football operations at the University of Indiana and worked as a federal law officer for the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. Prior to his stint with the U.S. Government, he worked in the CFL, XFL and in the college ranks at his alma mater, Northern Illinois, and Nevada.
Not only is the Baylor staff steeped in sideline experience, but it features three men, Morriss (one), defensive coordinator Bill Bradley (three) and receivers coach Harold Jackson (five), who combined to earn nine NFL All-Pro awards between them. Two others, Nelson and Pease, also enjoyed successful professional football playing careers.
TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
Baylor's 2005 depth chart features seven players who began their collegiate careers at other Division I-A programs but have since found their way to
Tulane transfer Will Blaylock missed nearly all of Baylor's spring drills with an ankle injury, but the junior is listed as the Bears' top center. Sophomore Jordan Adams stands No. 3 at tight end after joining the program from New Mexico. Junior RB Mario Price, who lettered as a true freshman at Army in 2002 before sitting out the 2003 season in Waco, is No. 4 on the depth chart at running back.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Nick Moore, who lettered at Georgia Tech as a true freshman in 2003, is No. 2 at linebacker behind senior Jamaal Harper and another Tulane transfer, sophomore Alton Widemon, is No. 2 at cornerback.
Junior Paul Howard, the Bears' No. 2 defensive end, began his collegiate career at Texas Tech and played there as a redshirt freshman, and DT Klayton Shoals redshirted as a true freshman at Iowa State before joining the Baylor program.
Howard, Price and Shoals both lettered for the Bears in 2004 while the other four were in the program but sat out due to NCAA transfer rules.
OVER THE AIR
Bear football games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The network includes 10 affiliates across Texas, including flagship stations ESPN KRZI-AM (1660) in Waco. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears"
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases,
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE INTERNET
The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard free of charge live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout
NEXT UP...
Baylor plays its final non-Big 12 Conference game of the 2005 season Saturday, Sept. 17, traveling to historic
