Bears Welcome Jayhawks for Homecoming

10/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football

Oct. 17, 2006

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GAME EIGHT

BAYLOR (3-4, 2-1) vs. KANSAS (3-4, 0-3)

SATURDAY, OCT. 21, 2006 • 2:00 P.M. CDT

FLOYD CASEY STADIUM (50,000)

WACO, TEXAS

SERIES RECORD

Baylor leads 4-3-0

LAST MEETING

Kansas 28, Baylor 21 [10.18.03]

COACHES

BAYLOR: Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973)

Record at Baylor: 14-27 (4th season)

Career Record: 23-41 (6th season)

Record vs. Kansas: 0-1

KANSAS: Mark Mangino (Youngstown State, 1987)

Record at Kansas: 22-33 (5th season)

Career Record: 22-33 (5th season)

Record vs. Baylor: 1-1

BAYLOR/ISP RADIO NETWORK

John Morris, play-by-play

J.J. Joe, color analyst

Ricky Thompson, sideline

Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 161

INTERNET FEEDS

www.BaylorBears.com

BEARS RETURN HOME, HOST KANSAS FOR HOMECOMING

Baylor returns to action Saturday, Oct. 21, hosting Kansas for a Big 12 Conference intra-division game. Kickoff between the Bears and the Jayhawks is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium. The game is part of Homecoming festivities on the Baylor campus.

The Bears (3-4, 2-1) dropped a 63-31 decision at sixth-ranked Texas last Saturday night. Baylor is 2-2 at home this season, 1-0 in Big 12 play. This is Baylor's first home game since Sept. 30, a 17-3 victory over Kansas State.

The Jayhawks (3-4, 0-3) have lost three straight and four of their last five after a 42-32 loss to Oklahoma State at home last Saturday afternoon. Kansas is 0-2 on the road this season, 0-1 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks road losses have come at Toledo (37-31, 2OT) and at Nebraska (39-32, OT).

BAYLOR-KANSAS SERIES

Baylor and Kansas meet on the gridiron for the eighth time Saturday, the fifth as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bears hold a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series; the series is tied 2-2 as conference foes.

The series dates back to a 22-0 Kansas victory at Lawrence in 1971. The teams did not meet again until Baylor won both ends of a home-and-home series in 1988 and 1989. The Bears won the first Big 12 meeting 31-24 in Waco (1998) but lost the next season 45-10 at Lawrence.

Baylor edged the Jayhawks 35-32 at Floyd Casey Stadium in 2002, snapping a 29-game conference losing streak. Kansas won the following year 28-21 at Lawrence.

Overall: Baylor leads 4-3

Waco: Baylor leads 3-0

Lawrence: Kansas leads 3-1

Neutral Site: Never Met

Since Start of Big 12: Tied 2-2

SERIES NOTES

• The home team has won each of the four meetings as Big 12 Conference foes.

• Three of four meetings as Big 12 foes, including each of the last two, were decided by seven or fewer points.

• Aaron Karas had 359 yards passing against Kansas in Baylor's 35-32 victory Oct. 5, 2002. That remains the third-highest single-game total in Baylor history and was the last 300-yard passing game by a Bear until Shawn Bell's 303-yard night at Texas last Saturday.

• Baylor's 2002 win snapped a 29-game Big 12 losing streak for the Bears that spanned four seasons. In fact, from Nov. 2, 1997, to Oct. 3, 2003, Baylor managed two Big 12 wins; both were against Kansas.

• Baylor won the 2002 meeting on Daniel Andino's 33-yard game-winning field goal with one second remaining. It was Baylor's last game-winning field goal in the last minute of a game and the last time Baylor won a game on the final play from scrimmage in regulation.

• The winning team has scored at least 27 points in each of the last six meetings.

SERIES RESULTS

1971 at Kansas 22, BAYLOR 0 Sept. 18

1988 BAYLOR 27, at Kansas 14 Sept. 10

1989 at BAYLOR 46, Kansas 3 Sept. 23

1998 at BAYLOR 31, Kansas 24 Oct. 10

1999 at Kansas 45, BAYLOR 10 Nov. 6

2002 at BAYLOR 35, Kansas 32 Oct. 5

2003 at Kansas 28, BAYLOR 21 Oct. 18

LAST MEETING

KANSAS 28, BAYLOR 21

OCT. 18, 2005 • MEMORIAL STADIUM • LAWRENCE, KAN.

Bill Whittemore hit Mark Simmons for the go-ahead TD from 40 yards out early in the fourth quarter as Kansas fought from behind to beat Baylor 28-21.

Baylor led 14-7 in the first quarter and went into the third period tied 14-14. Kansas took the lead with 12:33 left on Whittemore's pass to Simmons, who caught the ball at the 28, side-stepped two defenders and scored.

After John Randall's 12-yard scoring run put Kansas on top 28-14 with 8:47 to go, the Bears marched 80 yards in eight plays, capped by Aaron Karas' touchdown pass to Marques Roberts on third-and-goal from the 15.

Baylor had one last shot but Banks Floodman intercepted Karas' pass deep in the Bears' territory with less than two minutes to play.

BEARS HOPE TO SNAP HOMECOMING CURSE

Baylor plays its 74th homecoming game Saturday. The Bears are 33-36-4 all-time in Homecoming games and have lost eight consecutive such games since a 23-21 victory over Texas in 1997. Baylor's first Homecoming game was in 1930, a 14-0 loss to Texas.

Baylor, which first recognized Homecoming in 1909, is among five universities that were the first to hold homecoing festivities -- Illinois, Northern Illinois, Indiana and Michigan being the others.

This is the first time the Bears have played Kansas as their Homecoming opponent. Baylor has faced TCU (31 meetings) the most on Homecoming, followed by Texas A&M (20), Arkansas (eight), Texas Tech (three), Iowa State (two), Kansas State (two), Texas (two), and six other teams once.

QUICK NOTES

• A win over Kansas would give Baylor ... its first three-win conference seasons since the Bears went 5-2 in 1995, the final season of the Southwest Conference ... victories in three consecutive conference home games for the first time since defeating Rice in the final home game of the 1993 season and SMU and Houston in 1994 ... a record of at least .500 through eight games for the first time since 1996 (4-4).

• Baylor is tied for the national lead with 20 turnovers forced. Baylor has forced 49 turnovers since the start of the 2005 season, the most of any team in Division I-A.

• Baylor has out-scored its opponents 111-27 in the first half over the last eight games and held the lead at halftime in seven of those eight games.

• Baylor leads the Big 12 and is tied for second nationally with 13 interceptions.

• Only seven of Baylor's 24 offensive scoring drives have lasted more than three minutes.

• Of Baylor's 24 offensive scoring drives, six have been less than one minute in duration (four have been less than 40 seconds).

• Baylor has registered 15 plays longer than 40 yards this season in seven games. The Bears totaled 11 plays longer than 40 yards in 11 games last season.

• Five of Baylor's six longest plays this season have come in the last two games, including three against Texas.

• Baylor has committed 28 offensive penalties on 23 drives this season. Only 10 times have the Bears overcome an offensive penalty to gain a first down (twice by virtue of a defensive penalty). Only five times has Baylor overcome an offensive penalty to score on that drive without benefit of a defensive penalty.

• QB Shawn Bell has passed for at least 200 yards and recorded at least one TD pass in nine straight games, both school records.

• Bell's career interception percentage of .0179 is the lowest of any active Division I-A quarterback with at least 500 attempts.

• Bell needs one TD pass to claim sole possession of Baylor's career TD passes record.

• WR Trent Shelton has caught at least one TD pass in four consecutive games, the first Bear to accomplish that feat since Melvin Bonner in 1991.

• LB Joe Pawelek leads all NCAA Division I-A freshmen with 7.9 tackles per game, 2.4 more than any other freshman in the Big 12.

BAYLOR-KANSAS CONNECTIONS

• Kansas' roster features 24 players who prepped at Texas high schools. CB Anthony Arline attended San Antonio's Madison High School along with Kansas RB Gary Green. DE Geoff Nelson attended Cedar Hill High School along with Kansas WR Marcus Herford. PK Caleb Allen and LB Nick Moore attended Arlington High School along with Kansas LB Olaitan Onyegbule. OS Bryan Bays, DT Trey Bryant and DE Jason Lamb attended Berkner High School with Kansas CB Aqib Talib. DE Julian Hill, CB Queito Teasley and RB Keegan Vann attended Katy's Cinco Ranch High School with Kansas P Kyle Tucker.

• Kansas RB Gary Green is the son of former Baylor All-America defensive back Gary Green, who was a first-round draft selection of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1977. The elder Green was one of seven players in Baylor history to earn consensus All-America honors (1976).

• DT M.T. Robinson began his collegiate career at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.

• Kansas co-defensive coordinor Clint Bowen's son is named Baylor. Bowen also attended Lawrence [Kan.] High School, the same school that produced Baylor Athletic Media Relations assistant director Michael Collins.

BAYLOR vs. BIG 12 NORTH

Most of Baylor's success in the Big 12 Conference has come against teams from the North Division. The Bears are 7-25 against teams from the North with only three victories (Texas, 1997; Texas A&M, 2004; Oklahoma State, 2005) against teams from the South.

Four of Baylor's seven victories against Big 12 North teams have come under head coach Guy Morriss. Those wins are as follows: Iowa State (1996), Kansas (1998), Kansas (2002), Colorado (2003), Iowa State (2005), Kansas State (2006) and Colorado (2006). Baylor has won three of its last five against Big 12 North opponents.

A win against Kansas would give Baylor its first-ever season sweep against the Big 12 North portion of its schedule.

EVERETT, FORMER TEAMS HONORED

Former Baylor FS Thomas Everett will be honored during halftime ceremonies of Saturday's Homecoming game against Kansas along with members of the Bears' 1985 and 1986 teams.

Everett was the inaugural winner of the Jim Thorpe Award and a unanimous consensus All-America selection in 1986. He was named Southwest Conference Athlete of the Year for the 1986-87 academic year and was a two-time consensus All-SWC selection. Everett is being honored for his 2006 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. He joins Lawrence Elkins, Hayden Fry, Bill Glass, Morley Jennings, Barton Koch, Mike Singletary, James Ray Smith and Grant Teaff as former Bears in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Baylor's 1985 and 1986 teams both posted 9-3 records and 6-2 marks in the Southwest Conference. Both teams won bowl games and finished the season ranked nationally.

In 1985, the Bears lost three games by a total of 16 points, falling at 18th-ranked Georgia 17-14, at 10th-ranked Arkansas 20-14 and at Texas 17-10. Baylor's most memorable victory that season was a 20-13 triumph at third-ranked Southern California, to date the highest-ranked opponent Baylor has ever defeated. The season ended with a 21-7 victory over Louisiana State at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn. The Bears finished the season ranked 17th nationally by the Associated Press.

In 1986, the Bears lost three games by a total of 10 points, falling at home to Southern California 17-14, at home to 20th-ranked SMU 27-21 and at 11th-ranked Texas A&M 31-30. Baylor finished the season with five consecutive wins, including a 29-14 triumph over 10th-ranked Arkanas, an 18-13 win over Texas and a 21-9 victory over Colorado at the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. The Bears finished the season ranked 12th nationally by the Associated Press.

BAYLOR TURNS OVER A NEW LEAF

Baylor ranked 113th nationally in turnover margin and forced just nine opponent miscues over the 11-game 2004 campaign. The Bears' defense has forced 49 turnovers (29 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries) since the start of the 2005 season. Baylor has come up with at least one turnover in 17 of 18 games since the start of the 2005 season, including nine straight dating to last year's game against Texas.

Over Guy Morriss' first two seasons on the Baylor sideline, Baylor's defense forced 34 turnovers in 23 games, compared to the 49 it has totaled over the last 18 outings.

Here is a look at teams nationally with the most turnovers forced since the start of the 2005 season:

1. BAYLOR, 49

2. Southern California, 48

3. TCU, 46

Southern Mississippi, 46

Texas, 46

6. Florida, 45

Tulsa, 45

Louisiana Tech, 45

9. Miami (Ohio), 44

West Virginia, 44

SMU, 44

Louisiana Monroe, 44

THE BEAR HAWKS

Baylor's defense has taken on a persona as ball hawks, forcing 49 turnovers since the start of the 2005 season and 20 this season. The Bears are tied for second nationally with 13 interceptions this season.

Fourteen different Bears have have played a part in Baylor's 20 turnovers forced this season. Senior All-America and Thorpe Award candidate CB C.J. Wilson has picked off four passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Here is a look at Baylor's 2006 totals for interceptions, fumbles forced and fumble recoveries:

Player INT FF FR Total

C.J. Wilson 4 0 0 4

Jordan Lake 1 2 1 4

Nick Moore 0 2 1 3

Anthony Arline 1 1 1 3

Dwain Crawford 2 0 0 2

Alton Widemon 0 0 2 2

James Todd 2 1 0 3

Joe Pawelek 1 0 0 1

Jake La Mar 1 0 0 1

Corey Ford 1 0 0 1

Vincent Rhodes 0 0 1 1

Julian Hill 0 1 0 1

Maurice Linguist 0 1 0 1

Jeremy Williams 0 0 1 1

Team Totals 13 8 7 28

BELL BAYLOR'S MOST PRODUCTIVE BIG 12 QUARTERBACK

QB Shawn Bell earned his fifth career victory as a starter in a Big 12 game two weeks ago at Colorado, matching the total number of Big 12 victories by all other Baylor quarterbacks since the league's inception.

Bell is 5-9 (.357) as a starter in Big 12 games, including a loss at Oklahoma State in 2004 in which he played less than one quarter due to a broken hand. He has wins against Texas A&M (2004), Iowa State (2005), Oklahoma State (2005), Kansas State (2006) and Colorado (2006). Bell also is the only Baylor quarterback to ever win a Big 12 road game.

Ten other quarterbacks have started a Big 12 game for Baylor. That decad combined for a 5-64 record, posting a .072 winning percentage.

Only three other Baylor signal callers have won a Big 12 game: Aaron Karas (Kansas, 2002; Colorado, 2003), Jermaine Alfred (Iowa State, 1996; Kansas, 1998) and Jeff Watson (Texas, 1997).

DEFENSE STINGY IN FIRST QUARTER

Colorado's touchdown on the game's opening possession two weeks ago was the first score against Baylor in the first quarter since last season's game at Missouri, snapping a seven-game first-quarter shutout streak. That was the longest streak by a Baylor team since the Bears held seven consecutive opponents scoreless in the first quarter during the 1990 and 1991 seasons (last two games of 1990 and first five of 1991).

Baylor has not allowed more than one first-quarter score since Oct. 2, 2004, when Texas scored two touchdowns. In 25 games since, Baylor has surrendered only nine first-quarter touchdowns. The Bears have out-scored their opponents 109-43 in the first quarter since the start of the 2005 season, allowing only five touchdowns in those 18 games and out-scoring their opponents 64-7 over the last eight games with seven first-quarter shutouts during that stretch.

JOE PAW PLAYS OLDER THAN AGE

Freshman All-America candidate LB Joe Pawelek has quickly made a name for himself on an all-ready strong Baylor defense.

Through the first seven games of his redshirt-freshman season, Pawelek leads the Bears with 55 tackles, including 30 solo efforts. He also has eight quarterback hurries (tied for the team lead), 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, one interception and three passes broken up.

Pawelek leads all NCAA Division I-A freshmen with 7.9 tackles per game, 2.4 stops per contest more than any other freshman in the Big 12. He is ninth in the league and tied for 70th nationally in tackles per game regardless of class.

After not starting the TCU and Washington State games, Pawelek has started four straight contests. He has averaged 9.0 tackles per game in five starts, including career highs of 14 stops and 11 solo efforts at Colorado. His one interception ended Baylor's 34-31 triple-overtime victory against the Buffaloes.

YOUNG LINEBACKER CORPS TACKLES PROBLEMS

Baylor's three main linebackers -- Joe Pawelek, Nick Moore and Antonio Jones -- rank first, second and sixth, respectively, on Baylor's tackles chart. The trio has combined for 128 tackles, including 60 solo stops, for an average of 18.3 tackles per game.

Jones and Pawelek both are redshirt freshmen. Moore, a junior, played all 11 games last season after transferring to Baylor from Georgia Tech; however, he never started a game until this season.

BELL CONTINUTES TO RE-WRITE RECORDS BOOK

QB Shawn Bell continued his assault on Baylor's records book, establishing one career record and breaking another in last Saturday's game at Texas.

Bell finished the Texas game 25-of-47 for 303 yards and two touchdowns. In doing so, he broke Baylor's career pass attempts record. Bell now has 839 attempts, eclipsing Jeff Watson's previous school mark of 802 attempts.

It was the first 300-yard game of his career and the first by a Baylor quarterback since Aaron Karas' 359-yard performance against Kansas in 2002. Bell's 303-yard night tied for the 13th-best single-game passing performance in school history.

With two touchdown passes, Bell tied Cody Carlson's school record for career TD passes with 32. Bell is one of nine Baylor quarterbacks to amass at least 25 career TD passes. Each of the other eight quarterbacks also had at least 27 career interceptions; Bell has only 15 interceptions. Bell joins J.J. Joe (31 TD, 28 INT) and Watson (30, 27) as the only quarterbacks on that list with more touchdowns than interceptions.

Bell became the fifth quarterback in Baylor history to eclipse the 5,000-yard plateau for career yards passing during the Texas game. He enters the Kansas game 983 yards shy of Joe's career mark (5,995) and needs to average 197 yards passing per game the remainder of the regular season to break that record.

Here is a list of Baylor career records established by Bell along with the previous record:

• 839 attempts (802, Watson, 1994-97)

• 512 completions (425, Watson, 1994-97)

• .610 completion percentage (.591, Aaron Karas, 2001-04)

• 32 touchdown passes (32, Carlson, 1983-86)

• 2.133 TD-INT ratio (1.538, Adrian Burk, 1948-49)

• .0179 interception percentage (.0337, Watson, 1994-97)

• 14 200-yard passing games (12, Don Trull, 1961-63)

• 9 consecutive 200-yard games (7, Trull, 1963)

• 9 consecutive games with at least one TD (7, Brad Goebel, 1987)

• 5 Big 12 wins as a starter (2, two others)

• 161 consecutive passes without an interception

BELL NEARING SINGLE-SEASON MARKS, AS WELL

QB Shawn Bell has completed 194 passes this season, breaking the previous school mark of 190 completions he established last year. He enters the Kansas game within reach of several other Baylor single-season passing marks.

Bell currently ranks seventh in school history with 1,928 yards passing and needs 357 to break Cody Carlson's school mark of 2,284 yards from the 1986 season. Bell's 308 attempts this season are tied for the eighth-most in school history, 29 shy of Terry Southall's 1966 mark (337). Bell's current .630 completion percentage would be a school record, bettering the .598 mark Aaron Karas established in 2002. Bell is fifth in touchdown passes with 13; he needs three to match Southall's 1966 record (16).

BAYLOR HAS 20/20 VISION

In three-plus seasons under head coach Guy Morriss, Baylor has established a bit of a vicenary rule on the scoreboard. The Bears are 12-8 when scoring at least 20 points and 2-19 when scoring less than 20 points since the start of the 2003 season. Likewise, the Bears are 9-3 when holding the opponent to fewer than 20 points and 5-24 when allowing 20 or more points in that time.

Baylor's lone victories when scoring less than 20 points since the start of the 2003 season came in Morriss' first victory with the Bears -- a 10-7 win over SMU at Floyd Casey Stadium -- and a 17-3 win over Kansas State two weeks ago that snapped a 17-game losing streak when scoring less than 20 points.

In fact, since 1995, Baylor has won a game when scoring less than 20 points only five times: 14-0 at North Carolina State in 1995, 14-13 at Louisville in 1996, 16-13 in overtime vs. New Mexico in 2001, the 2003 SMU game and this season against Kansas State.

Baylor's 34-31 victory at Colorado snapped a six-game losing streak for Baylor when its opponent scores at least 20 points. However, Colorado scored only 17 points in regulation. The last time the Bears allowed 20-plus points and won was a 28-23 victory at SMU to open the 2005 season.

Furthermore, Baylor is 10-11 under Morriss when holding the opponent to fewer than 20 first downs and 4-16 when the opponent records at least 20 first downs.

HANGING 30 ON TEXAS NO SMALL FEAT

Texas won the game. But Baylor joined an elite group of football program's who have reached the 30-point plateau against Texas.

Since the start of the 2005 season, only Baylor and Southern California have amassed at least 30 points against Texas. Coincidentally, Texas won both games. Furthermore, Baylor is one of only nine teams to score at least 30 points on Texas since the start of the 2000 season, joining Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma (three times), Oklahoma State, Texas Tech (twice), Southern California and Washington.

SHELTON, ZEIGLER: BAYLOR'S BEST RECEIVER DUO EVER

WRs Trent Shelton and Dominique Zeigler claimed the epithet of Baylor's all-time best receiving duo earlier this season. Shelton and Zeigler have combined for 285 receptions as teammates, breaking the previous Baylor record of 265 receptions amassed by teammates Reggie Newhouse and Robert Quiroga during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Zeigler (143) enters the Kansas game fourth in career receptions at Baylor, while Shelton (142) is fifth. Newhouse (1999-02) holds the all-time Baylor mark at 183. The only other Baylor receivers to amass at least 100 career receptions are Gerald McNeil (163), Lawrence Elkins (144) and Quiroga (131).

Shelton enters the Kansas game fifth all-time at Baylor with 1,776 career receiving yards. He needs 209 yards to pass Melvin Bonner (1,984; 1989-92) for fourth place and 224 yards to join McNeil, Newhouse and Elkins as the only Baylor receivers to reach the 2,000-yard plateu.

Zeigler enters the Kansas game sixth all-time at Baylor with 1,513 career receiving yards.

WILSON AMONG NATIONAL INTERCEPTION LEADERS

CB C.J. Wilson is tied for the Big 12 Confence lead with four interceptions. He is one of only 21 players nationally with at least four interceptions this season. Wilson is tied for 14th nationally with 0.57 interceptions per game.

SEVERAL BEARS AMONG ACTIVE NCAA CAREER LEADERS

• QB Shawn Bell ranks first in interception percentage (.0179), 17th in attempts (839), 15th in completions (512) and 14th in completion percentage (61.03).

• WR Dominique Zeigler ranks 15th in receptions (143).

• WR Trent Shelton ranks 16th in receptions (142).

• CB C.J. Wilson is 11th in interceptions (9) and 18th in interception return yards (152).

• P Daniel Sepulveda ranks first in punts (251), first in punting yardage (11,271), second in punts per game (6.1) and fourth in average (44.90).

SHELTON EXTENDS CONSECUTIVE RECEPTIONS RECORD

WR Trent Shelton has at least one reception in a Baylor record 40 consecutive games. Shelton's streak is tied for the fourth-longest among active players in Division I-A. He also has recorded at least two receptions in 17 consecutive games and at least one TD reception in four straight games.

WR Dominique Zeigler has recorded at least one reception in 27 consecutive games, tied for the 13th-longest streak in Division I-A. In fact, Zeigler has recorded at least two receptions in each of those 27 games.

Baylor is the only team in the nation with two receivers with active streaks of 25-plus games.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION, ACTIVE DIVISION I-A PLAYERS

44 - Steve Odom Sr. WR Toledo

43 - Vincent Marshall Sr. WR Houston

41 - Johnny Quinn Sr. WR North Texas

40 - Trent Shelton Sr. WR BAYLOR

40 - Brian Leonard Sr. FB Rutgers

36 - Clark Harris Sr. TE Rutgers

36 - Ryne Robinson Sr. WR Miami (Ohio)

31 - Shaun Herbert Sr. WR Northwestern

30 - Dwayne Jarrett Jr. WR Southern California

30 - Calvin Johnson Jr. WR Georgia Tech

30 - Craig Davis Jr. WR Louisiana State

28 - Marcus Monk Jr. WR Arkansas

27 - Eric Deslauriers Sr. WR Eastern Michigan

27 - Dominique Zeigler Sr. WR BAYLOR

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Anthony Arline's 40-yard fumble recovery returned for a touchdown against Washington State was Baylor's second non-offensive score of the game, third of the season and 16th in 41 games under head coach Guy Morriss.

Here is a list of Baylor's 16 non-offensive scores under Morriss:

• 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)

• 2005 vs. Samford -- Jamaal Harper 29-yard fumble return (forced by Colin Allred)

• 2005 vs. Samford -- Shaun Rochon 85-yard punt return

• 2005 at Oklahoma -- Shaun Rochon 98-yard kickoff return

• 2005 vs. Oklahoma State -- Colin Allred 25-yard interception return

• 2006 vs. Northwestern State -- C.J. Wilson 52-yard interception return

• 2006 at Washington State -- punt snap through back of end zone

• 2006 at Washington State -- Anthony Arline 40-yard fumble return (forced by Jordan Lake)

BEARS CONVERT TURNOVERS TO POINTS

Baylor has scored on 11 of the 20 turnovers it has forced over the season's first seven games, while its opponents have registered points on eight of Baylor's 19 miscues on the season. The Bears have produced 67 points off opponent miscues in 2006 (not including the safety they recorded against Washington State on an errant punt snap), while their opponents have 52 points off Baylor turnovers after seven games (35 of that was by Texas).

Eight of Baylor's last 16 interceptions have led to scores, including six touchdowns and two returned for touchdowns. Three of those 16 interceptions were in the 2005 season finale against Oklahoma State.

Baylor recorded its third three-interception game of the season and second in as many games two weeks ago at Colorado. It was the Bears fourth such game in their last eight contests.

OPPONENT INT RETURN SPOT RESULT

Oklahoma State Jamaal Harper 15 yards OSU 1 TD: Mosley 1 run

Oklahoma State Colin Allred 25 yards OSU 0 TD: Allred 25 INT return

Oklahoma State Dwain Crawford 6 yards BU 32 6-play drive, punt

TCU C.J. Wilson 46 yards TCU 20 TD: Bell 21 pass to Baker

NW State C.J. Wilson 0 yards TCU 46 TD: Bell 46 pass to Shelton

NW State C.J. Wilson 52 yards BU 48 TD: Wilson 52 INT return

NW State Jake La Mar 5 yards NSU 48 3-play drive, punt

Washington St. C.J. Wilson 0 yards BU 15 3-play drive, punt

Washington St. James Todd 0 yards WSU 49 3-play drive, end of half

Kansas State Dwain Crawford 4 yards KS 21 5-play drive, FG

Kansas State Dwain Crawford 0 yards BU 41 1-play drive, INT

Kansas State Jordan Lake 0 yards BU 0 3-play drive, punt

Colorado Corey Ford 0 yards CU 33 3-play drive, FG

Colorado Anthony Arline 0 yards BU 19 TD: Bell 17 pass to Payne

Colorado Joe Pawelek 0 yards BU 0 end of game

Texas James Todd 0 yards BU 31 3-play drive, fumble

SEPULVEDA EYES NCAA PUNTING RECORDS

P Daniel Sepulveda enters the Kansas game with 251 career punts for 11,271 yards, an average of 44.90 yards per punt. He is on pace to break former Texas A&M punter Shane Lechler's NCAA Division I-A record for yards per punt with at least 250 career punts (44.69, 1996-99). His average also is better than Ray Guy's (44.7 on 200 punts, Southern Mississippi, 1970-72).

Sepulveda reached the 11,000-yard plateau during the Colorado game, becoming only the 15th player in NCAA history to accomplish the feat.

With 82 career punts of at least 50 yards, Sepulveda is seven shy of breaking the NCAA record held by Brian Smith (Mississippi, 1983-86).

Sepulveda has averaged 40.0 yards per punt 33 times in games with at least four punts. He needs four more such games to match the NCAA record shared by Lechler and former Ryan Plackemeier (Wake Forest, 2002-05).

NOTES FROM THE TEXAS GAME

• Baylor trailed at the half for the first time since last year's game at Missouri, snapping a seven-game streak.

• It was the third-highest scoring game (both teams) in Baylor football history.

• WR Trent Shelton posted his third 100-yard game this season.

• Shelton moved into a five-way tie for sixth on Baylor's career TD receptions list with 11.

• WR Dominique Zeigler moved into sixth place on Baylor's career yards receiving list. He now has 1,513 yards.

• WR Mikail Baker's 58-yard second-quarter kickoff return was a career long. It was the longest kickoff return by a Baylor player since Shaun Rochon's 98-yard TD return at Oklahoma last season.

• The third-quarter Zeigler-to-Bell TD pass was the first TD pass of Zeigler's career and the first TD reception of Bell's career.

• RB Paul Mosley's 56-yard third-quarter run was the longest run by a Bear since Mosley's career-long 57-yard TD run at Texas A&M last season.

• IR Thomas White established career highs for receptions (6) and yards receiving (95).

• RB Jacoby Jones' fourth-quarter TD reception was the second reception of his career and his first career TD reception.

• Baylor scored 30-plus points in consecutive games for the first time since 2002. It was the first time to accomplish the feat in consecutive conference games since 1995 and the first time in consecutive conference road games since 1991.

WILSON, SEPULVEDA AMONG KIPER'S TOP SENIORS

CB C.J. Wilson and P Daniel Sepulveda were ranked among the nation's top five seniors at their respective positions by ESPN.com's Mel Kiper. Wilson was listed No. 4 at cornerback, while Sepulveda was listed No. 2 at punter.

BEARS HONOR FORMER ASSISTANT COACH ADAMS

Baylor's jerseys feature black TA patches in 2006. These patches are in memorial of former defensive line coach Tom Adams, who passed away Aug. 2 after a battle with cancer.

Adams served as Baylor's defensive line coach during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. While with the Bears, Adams coached 2004 NFL draftee Khari Long and 2004 Associated Press All-Big 12 defensive end Montez Murphy.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP

Two years after fielding the nation's second-youngest football team, Baylor's 2006 hopes may well rest on the shoulders of its 33 seniors, 25 of whom are fifth-year players. Of those 33 seniors, 16 were listed No. 1 at their respective position on the Bears' preseason depth chart -- eight on offense, six on defense as well as its No. 1 place-kicker and punter.

The Baylor roster featured an average of just 17.3 seniors over its first 10 seasons in the Big 12 and only once prior to 2006 had the Bears carried more than 20 seniors (the 2002 roster listed 22 seniors) on the squad.

WILSON NAMED TO THORPE AWARD WATCH LIST

Senior All-America candidate CB C.J. Wilson, who earned first-team 2005 All-Big 12 honors from six media outlets at cornerback, is one of 33 players named to the 2006 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. Wilson is one of four Big 12 players selected to the list, joining Texas' Michael Griffin, Missouri's David Overstreet and Oklahoma's Reggie Smith. The list was derived through a point system based on 10 preseason All-American teams.

SEPULVEDA NAMED TO GUY AWARD WATCH LIST

P Daniel Sepulveda is one of six members on the Greater Augusta Sports Council's 2006 Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List, comprised of the top non-graduating finalists from the previous year and Sepulveda, the award's 2004 winner.

Sepulveda, who was selected as the nation's No. 1 punter by The Sporting News in its 2006 preview magazine, ranked second in the Big 12 and third nationally with a 46.18-yard punting average in 2005 en route to All-America and All-Big 12 honors. That averaged ranked as the second-best single-season average in Baylor history, just ahead of his 2004 mark of 46.0 ypp.

The Ray Guy Award is presented to the nation's best collegiate punter as determined by a national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches and sports information directors, former punters and members designated by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. Wake Forest's Ryan Plackemeier won the 2005 Ray Guy Award.

BELL NAMED TO MANNING AWARD WATCH LIST

QB Shawn Bell was among 22 student-athletes named to the 2006 Manning Award Watch List, announced Aug. 23 by the Sugar Bowl Committee. Bell joins Iowa State's Bret Meyer and Nebraska's Zac Taylor as the only Big 12 Conference quarterbacks on the list. Also on the list is Washington State's Alex Brink, who the Bears faced Sept. 16 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Wash.

The Manning Award was created in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning and will be presented to the recipient following the holiday bowl season. It is the only quarterback award which takes into consideration the candidates' bowl performances.

The winner will be determined by a select panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings.

DUAL-SPORT ATHLETES

Baylor's 2006 roster features four dual-sport athletes: WR David Gettis, LB Joe Pawelek, WR Carl Sims and WR Queito Teasley.

Gettis is one of the nation's top-rated 400-meter runners in track. Pawelek is a catcher on Baylor's baseball team; he sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt. Sims appeared in 10 games at guard for Baylor's basketball team during the 2005-2006 campaign. Teasley earned All-Big 12 honors in the long jump and was a member of Baylor's 2006 Big 12 champion 4x100-meter relay team.

CB Braelon Davis and WR Dominique Zeigler both ran track previously in their time at Baylor. Davis was a sprinter; Zeigler competed in the high jump. Both Davis and Zeigler earned All-Big 12 honors in track.

THE GRADUATES

Baylor is one of 10 schools in Division I-A with at least six graduates on its 2006 football roster, according to research conducted by Tony Neely at the University of Kentucky. Auburn leads the way with 11, followed by Notre Dame and Texas Tech (nine each); Miami, Fla. (eight); Boston College, Louisiana Tech and Penn State (seven each); and Baylor, Kentucky and West Virginia (six each).

2006 BAYLOR BEARS WHO HAVE COMPLETED UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES

QB Shawn Bell May 2006 B.S.Ed., physical education

OT Travis Farst May 2006 B.S., communication studies

IR Andrew Heard * May 2004 B.S., communication studies

OS Maurice Linguist August 2006 B.S., communication studies

RB Mario Price August 2006 B.S.Ed., health science studies

CB James Todd May 2006 B.S., communication studies

* - Texas Tech graduate

BEARS TAP TEXAS TALENT POOL

Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference with 111 former Texas high school athletes on its 2006 football roster, according to research by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. The Bears also rank first in the conference with 40 student-athletes from Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex high schools. The other 14 Bears hail from Louisiana (three), California (two), Oklahoma (two), Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia (one each).

SCHOOL DFW TEXAS

BAYLOR 40 111

Texas 27 105

Texas Tech 24 99

Texas A&M 14 91

Oklahoma 30 53

Oklahoma State 17 53

Missouri 10 25

Kansas 11 23

Kansas State 9 18

Iowa State 5 15

Colorado 7 14

Nebraska 2 7

AFCA HONORS BAYLOR FOR GRADUATION RATE

Baylor was one of 29 NCAA Division I-A schools nationally to have its football program honored with the 2006 Academic Achivement Award by the American Football Coaches Association. The AFCA has honored Baylor for its football graduation rates seven times since 1996.

Six institutions registered graduation rates of 90 percent or more for their freshman football classes of 2000-2001, including SMU, which earned top honors from the Touchdown Club of Memphis with its 100 percent mark. Baylor joined Big 12 schools Iowa State, Nebraska and Texas Tech among the 23 institutions who received honorable mention recognition with a graduation rate of 70 percent or higher.

The overall graduation rate of the survey-record 104 schools that responded was 58 percent. Since the NCAA began tracking graduation rates in 1991, the Baylor football program has averaged a 65.3 percent rate and seven times in the last nine years it has recorded a 60.0 percent or higher mark.

FORMER WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS

Five senior members of the Baylor football team who began their careers as walk-ons have been awarded scholarships for the 2006-07 academic year, head coach Guy Morriss announced at the end of the Bear's Aug. 18 practice.

OS Bryan Bays, FB Damon Dotson, FS Bennett Hoefer, WR Craig Munn and RB Mario Price were rewarded by the Bears' staff. Hoefer, who will graduate in May 2007, is the only one of the five who is not a fifth-year senior. Price earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor in August.

Since Morriss' arrival in Waco, 22 walk-ons have earned scholarships, 11 of which are on the Bears' 2006 roster. The most notable walk-on turned scholarship recipient is P Daniel Sepulveda, who won the 2004 Ray Guy Award as the nation's top collegiate punter. Sepulveda, who had not punted since early in his high school career, walked-on as a linebacker and became Baylor's top punter as a redshirt freshman in 2003. He was placed on scholarship by Morriss after earning second-team All-Big 12 honors in January 2004.

UP NEXT ...

Baylor returns to action Saturday, Oct. 28, hosting Texas A&M for the 103rd rendition of the Battle of the Brazos. Kickoff between the Bears and the Aggies is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium.