Sunday With Guy
10/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 2006
The Baylor football team, off to its best start ever in Big 12 play at 2-0 (3-3 overall) after Saturday's 34-31 triple-overtime victory at Colorado, plays at No. 7 Texas on Saturday. Kickoff for the 96th meeting between the Bears and Longhorns is set for 6 p.m. from Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin and the game will be televised nationally on TBS.
Here are Baylor coach Guy Morriss' thoughts on Saturday's win at Colorado and this week's game against the defending national champion Longhorns.
What do you think about Baylor's performance yesterday?
"Well we haven't worked ourselves out of a job yet. We're obviously happy to have the win. But there are a lot of things we have to improve on and get better at. That's, I guess, part of the growing pains. We'll go in and show [the players] the mistakes and see if we can't get some of those corrected. I think if we had been playing somebody that was a little bit better of an opponent, then we might not have come out on the winning end of this deal yesterday."
What do you think of next week's challenge at Texas?
"They are a great program. We have to go down there, and we obviously have to play better than we did yesterday. And we'll see what we can get done. I haven't seen them on tape yet, so I can't speak from a technical standpoint. But they are a great program, and we have our work cut out for us."
How important was it to win the Colorado game in overtime after losing three straight overtime games?
"It was huge. The kids really hung in there pretty tough and made a play when we needed it. It's good to be on the good end of that. I've been on some of the other deals when we've lost some of those games, and it's unfortunate that anybody has to lose one that close. But we're happy to get the win, and like I said, we have a little work to do to get better."
What are some the things this team needs to improve on?
"Well we have to do a better job communicating on both sides of the ball. I think from a technical standpoint, it is all little stuff that has been haunting us all year long."
How important was it to get a win on the road?
"Well that's good. I think we're over the road blues or whatever. I think the kids understand the field is the same, and the crowd didn't seem to bother us. I thought they handled the noise pretty well. It's just a matter of going out and executing really."
What does having two victories in a row do for a team's psyche?
"Well, first of all, I think it helps your confidence. To beat a couple of Big 12 opponents certainly helps your confidence. You know, I think as they come in this afternoon and start looking at the film, they are going to see that they can get better. And hopefully, you know, as we go down through the schedule we can get some more wins."
What do you think about Joe Pawelek's interception at the end of the game?
"He was in the right place at the right time. We dialed the right defense, and he did what he was supposed to do. They tried to force it in their to the tight end, and I'm sure they wish they didn't throw that ball now. But he just executed what he was asked to do, and we came out of there with a win."
What do you think about you and Texas being the only two undefeated teams in the South?
"Well, it sounds good, you know. Hopefully, we can come out of there and say we are the only one left. That's what we're going down there for."
Up front, what are some of the things that worry you going into next week?
"Inconsistency. The thing that worries you about some of that is the technical stuff of the proper sets, half sets. The better athletes we see and the deeper we get into conference play I think is part of the problem because we kind of reverted back into some old habits that got us in more trouble."
Did you work a lot more on the running game in practice last week?
"We've worked a little more and devoted more time to the running game, yeah. But I wasn't happy in our performance in that area either up front."
What did you think of Paul Mosley's performance against Colorado?
"Well, he's a kid that's very patient, and I guess he figured that sooner or later we were going to count on him. And he was ready. I mean, a lot of times there wasn't much there, but he just dropped his shoulder. He's a big guy. He would to a crack and run over some people. He's a load to bring down."
How was Shawn Bell's performance?
"Overall, I think he played pretty well. He checked to the running game more this week when it was there. He did a good job of getting us into the right checks."
Does it concern you that Texas is the one team that you haven't been able to be competitive with?
"I think it's something we have to get over. We need to go down there and see if we can't play well. Hopefully it will be good enough to get it done. You know, you're right. That is the one team we seem to struggle with more than anyone."
Baylor Sunday Notes: Baylor improved to 12-7 under head coach Guy Morriss all-time when scoring at least 20 points, 7-1 when scoring 30 or more ... Baylor has won three consecutive Big 12 games and two straight in the same season for the first time ever ... Colorado's touchdown on the game's opening drive was the first time Baylor has allowed a first-quarter score since Nov. 12, 2005, at Missouri, snapping a seven-game streak ... Baylor's defense has recorded at least one turnover in eight consecutive games ... Baylor's defense has recorded at least two interceptions in four of six games this season ... Baylor's 12-play, 6:24 touchdown drive in the second quarter was the longest touchdown drive this season by the Bears in terms of plays and time ... Baylor has led the half seven consecutive games; the Bears are 4-3 in those games ... Eight of Baylor's last 14 interceptions (defensive) have resulted in scores, including six touchdowns ... Seven of Baylor's 13 turnovers (offensive) this season have occurred inside the opponent's 30-yard line ... Baylor's fourth-quarter touchdown was its first offensive touchdown in the fourth quarter against a Division I-A opponent since last year's Missouri game (five games without a fourth-quarter offensive touchdown) ... The Colorado game marked Baylor's first with two rushing touchdowns this season ... Colorado's 272 yards rushing were the most allowed by a Baylor defense since Missouri rushed for 298 yards last season, but its 75 passing yards were fewest vs. Bears since Missouri had 72 in last year's game ... Baylor's 382 yards of total offense were the most by a Baylor offense since the Bears had 413 yards in the 2005 season opener vs. SMU. It was the highest total offense tally by the Bears in a Big 12 game since logging 398 yards at Oklahoma State in 2004 ... Baylor established a season high in rushing yards with 110, the best rushing total for the Bears since gaining 112 yards rushing against Texas in 2005 ... QB Shawn Bell has completed at least one touchdown pass in eight consecutive games, establishing a Baylor record. Brad Goebel previously held the record of seven straight games, established in the first seven games of the 1987 season ... Bell has passed for at least 200 yards in eight consecutive games, breaking Don Trull's school record established during the 1963 season ... Bell's 272-yard passing game vs. Colorado marked the 13th career 200-yard passing game of his career, which broke Trull's school record ... Bell became the fourth QB in Baylor history to reach 30 career touchdown passes. He joins Cody Carlson (32), J.J. Joe (31) and Jeff Watson (30) in that club. He is the only QB in that club with fewer than 27 interceptions (Bell has 14) ... WR Trent Shelton has recorded at least one reception in 39 consecutive games, extending his school record. He also has at least two receptions in 16 consecutive ... WR Dominique Zeigler has recorded at least one reception in 26 consecutive games. He also has at least two receptions in each of those 26 games ... Shelton moved into sole possession of fifth place on Baylor's career receptions list; he now has 136 ... Zeigler moved into seventh place on Baylor's career yards receiving list; he now has 1,474 ... Shelton and Zeigler became Baylor's all-time most prolific receiver duo; they have combined for 276 receptions as teammates, eclipsing the previous school mark of 265 established by Reggie Newhouse and Robert Quiroga during the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons ... P Daniel Sepulveda extended his school record for career punts of 60-plus yards with his 18th. He also has 83 career punts of at least 50 yards ... DE Corey Ford's second-quarter interception was the first of his career ... Ford's interception was the first by a Baylor lineman since M.T. Robinson recorded a pick at Texas A&M in 2005 ... K Ryan Havens' second-quarter field goal was the 22nd of his career; he moves into sole possession of sixth place all-time at Baylor, passing current Tampa Bay Buccaneers K Matt Bryant ... F-back Brandon Whitaker's 42-yard third-quarter run was the longest Baylor rush of the season and the longest by a Baylor player since Whitaker's 44-yard jaunt at Missouri in 2005 ... F-back Paul Mosley tallied the most yards (85 on 20 carries) rushing by a Baylor running back since he had 133 yards at Texas A&M in 2005 ... Mosley now has 1,431 career rushing yards, good for 17th on Baylor's all-time list ...IR Justin Fenty recorded a career high with seven receptions (for 52 yards) ... LB Joe Pawelek had a career-high 14 tackles (11 solos), including one for loss, a pass breakup and his first career interception which sealed the Bears' 34-31 3OT win at Colorado ... LB Nick Moore had 10 tackles (six solos) at Colorado to record his second double-digit outing in his last three games ... FS Dwain Crawford had a career-high 11 tackles (five solos) vs. Colorado.
