Sept. 23, 2007

The Baylor football team puts its three-game win streak on the line when the Bears travel to College Station, Texas, for Saturday's Big 12 opener at historic Kyle Field. The 104th Battle of the Brazos will be televised nationally on Versus with kickoff set for 11:37 a.m. (Central). Here are Baylor head coach Guy Morriss' thoughts on Baylor's 34-21 win at Buffalo yesterday and its Big 12 opener this week against the Aggies:

Why do you think you were able to run so well against Buffalo?

Morriss: "We felt like we should be able to run on these people. We felt like going in we were going to try and run it a little bit more in hopes that Jay Finley was going to be the catalyst. He had a pretty good night, and then Blake decided to get into the act. I guess the other competition at the tailback spot got Brandon Whitaker kind of fired up. He responded too with a pretty good evening. So it just worked out for the best I guess."

Why did Brandon Whitaker get so many carries in the second half?

Morriss: "I think Jay (Finley) got hit in the back or the ribs in the third quarter, and he was out for a little while. That's when Whitaker got most of his carries. He did a pretty good job as well."

How much of the success of the running game came from the offensive line?

Morriss: "Quite a bit of it. You have got to give those guys a seam, and we did that. With Finley (Jay) back there, he gets through that hole in a hurry. There were a couple of runs where he was just a hair away from breaking it for that big run... A couple of those could have gone to the house."

Was it part of your game plan to let Blake Szymanski run?

Morriss: "We knew that their ends were chasing really hard from the backside, and he has that option of reading that backside end. If he feels like that guy is not staying at home like he should, then he can pull that ball anytime and go. And I guess he just felt like last night was the time for it. I haven't really had a chance to talk to him about it and why he decided to do it last night because he has that option anytime."

It looks like Blake Szymanski is smarter when it comes to running the ball this season. What have you told him?

Morriss: "We've talked to him about that. He doesn't have to prove his manhood to anyone around here or any of that stuff. He's smart. I noticed a couple times I think when he slid in. Just know when your journey is over, slow down, and don't take that kind of punishment."

Did you ever consider taking Szymanski out?

Morriss: "I don't think so. Right now, Blake needs every snap that he can get. We considered that, but I thought at that time, it was best to let him play."

Why did you struggle in the first half?

Morriss: "The first two drives we ended with dropped balls. The third series we got a false start and a holding call and ended up taking a field goal. It just seemed like that all first half. The next time we get it, we fumbled the ball, but recover it and score. We got it together enough in the second half, took advantage of the turnovers and put some points up."

Does Jason Smith come back this week?

Morriss: "Jason will be back on Tuesday. I think he will help us a lot. He has as much experience as anyone we can put up there other than Chad Smith. But he is our best offensive lineman. If his knee holds up like we think it will, then he will man the left side. I don't know what we'll do just yet. I think Dan Gay might play some more at right tackle. We'll just have to put our heads together on that one to see which is the best five to match up against Texas A&M this week. Somebody mentioned to me that Thad Boatner might have a chance to play, but I'm not sure. So, we have a couple options."

How does it feel to be building some depth at offensive line?

Morriss: "It's very nice, actually. That's a luxury we haven't had very much here."

What does running the ball like you did against Buffalo help confidence?

Morriss: "I think it builds up their confidence, and it helps our confidence in them as coaches to keep dialing the run. We're going to keep using. We've got to keep working on it and keep repping it. It's going to be a little harder this week than last week because we're playing some better folks. That's one of the reasons we have to keep working it in order to have production this week as well."

Talk about what the defense did through the first three quarters.

Morriss: "They got to Buffalo pretty good. I think Larry Hoefer and the staff had a good plan together. It seemed to me like a few times we got ourselves in trouble because of gap control and getting out of our gaps. I think Joe Pawelek, Nick Moore and Jake La Mar had good games. And of course Jordan Lake. They all played well. The turnovers really helped, and it was good to see them have a big night. We really work on that, it really paid off last night."

Do you think you got some pressure on their quarterback?

Morriss: "We used a lot of three-man line. We actually rushed two. When we did rushed four, we bothered him a little bit. Vincent Rhodes got himself a sack, and that was good that he continues to show up in that category. I thought Lamb played good again this week. Those quarterbacks feel that pressure."

Is the defensive front getting closer to how you want them to play?

Morriss: "I think they've gotten better each week. I think their confidence is growing. Damien Taylor went in and started for Geoff Nelson and he played pretty well. We got to see some of our young guys. Rex McDougald went in and held up pretty good. Connor Redfearn played quite a bit. Adam Geib got some snaps, and Jameon Hardeman got snaps. It's good when you get into a situation where you can get quite a few guys into the ball game and get them some experience. I think that will be very valuable down the road."

How big was Jordan Lake's game with two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery?

Morriss: "You know, I don't think that surprised anyone on the sidelines because we've seen him do that all camp long and during practice. He's a guy that plays wide open and good things happen to people that play that way. It couldn't have come at a better time because we were kind of struggling. That interception in the second half really helped keep our momentum going."

What is the status of Brad Taylor, Antonio Jones, and Jacoby Jones?

Morriss: "Those guys should be back on Tuesday, and I think probably be ready to travel to Texas A&M. Maybe with the exception of Jacoby Jones, but we might even have him back."

Why did Damien Taylor start ahead of Geoff Nelson?

Morriss: "I can't remember what Geoff had, but it was something that was nagging him the last week. I think coach Don Wnek felt like he wasn't quite full speed, so we just held him to be cautious. I think Geoff will be back as well by A&M."

How ready are you to get into conference play?

Morriss: "We better be. We are going to have to be ready. There are some things that need to be corrected. There are some things that plagued us in the opener. As long as our kids are playing hard and executing better and better each week, then I think that gives us a chance. That gives us the opportunity to match up with people and get after them."

Do you think you might face an angry Texas A&M team after their loss to Miami?

Morriss:"I don't know. I usually don't worry too much about the other guys. Hopefully we will be a little angry when we go to College Station as well. That's what we have to worry about is us."

What have you seen from Texas A&M, and what do you expect?

Morriss: "Well I think that they will rebound. They are a good football program. There's a lot of tradition. Coach Franchione will have them ready to play, and they are playing at home where most every college football plays better at home. It's the nature of things. We have our work cut out for us."

Baylor Football Sunday Notes: Baylor reported no serious injuries from Saturday's win at Buffalo and expects to get junior OT Jason Smith (knee), freshman IR Brad Taylor (knee), junior WR Thomas White (ankle) and sophomore LB Antonio Jones (ankle) back for Saturday's game at Texas A&M ... After dropping its season-opener at No. 22 TCU, the Baylor football team has put together a three-game win string with victories over Rice, Texas State and Buffalo, its longest since a three-game streak to open the 2005 season and the third time in Morriss' five seasons that the Bears have fashioned a three-game win streak (Baylor also won three straight games in Morriss' rookie season, 2003) ... A win over Texas A&M would give Baylor its first four-game win string since a five-game streak to begin the 1991 season ... In its first seven seasons of Big 12 membership (1996-2002), Baylor won a total of 17 games overall, but over the last five seasons under Guy Morriss the Bears have won 18 games overall ... Morriss' 18 all-time wins ranks ninth all-time at Baylor, one shy of tying No. 8 Bob Woodruff, totaled 19 wins in three seasons from 1947-49 ... Baylor rushed for 229 yards at Buffalo, the highest total ever for a Morriss-coached Baylor team, and the Bears' best performance on the ground since a 280-yard day vs. Samford in 2002 ... Baylor is 3-0 all-time under Morriss when it rushes for 200-plus yards ... Sophomore QB Blake Szymanski had 3 touchdown passes against Buffalo to push his season total to 14, which places him in a tie for fourth-place on Baylor's single-season list with Adrian Burke (1949) and J.J. Joe (1992) and just five shy of tying Shawn Bell's 2006 one-season school record of 19 ... Junior IR Joe Bennett had a career-long 43-yard punt return in the third quarter which set up the Bears' second TD of the quarter ... The Baylor defense had three sacks against the Bulls to push its season total to 12, one more than it recorded in 2006 ... Junior LB Joe Pawelek was credited with a season-high nine tackles (six solos) at Buffalo while senior LB Nick Moore also had a season-best nine stops (four solos) and senior SS Brandon Stiggers had a season-best eight tackles (five solos) ... Since registering a 20-16 victory at Kyle Field in 1984, Baylor is 0-9-1 in College Station, but in its last visit, dropped a 16-13 OT decision .. The Bears and Aggies are playing in September for the first time since the 1979 season, when Baylor registered a 17-7 victory at Waco, on Sept. 15.