GAME 5
BAYLOR at OKLAHOMA STATE
Oct. 19 | 3 p.m. CT | Boone Pickens Stadium | Stillwater, Okla.
TV: FOX
Game Notes: Baylor | Oklahoma State | Big 12

STORY LINES
• The 18th-ranked Bears make a trip to Stillwater to meet Oklahoma State. Last season, BU secured a thrilling 35-31 homecoming victory over the Cowboys on a Denzel Mims TD from Charlie Brewer with :07 seconds left.
• Baylor is one of 12 remaining undefeated teams in FBS and one of only eight among Power 5 programs.
• BU is 6-0 for the 5th time this decade, the fourth-most in FBS behind only Clemson, Alabama and Ohio St. (7 each).
• The Bears had 5+ sacks for the second straight game and rank eighth nationally with 23.0 on the season.
• James Lynch set a new BU record for sacks in a Big 12 game with 3.0 at K-State. Lynch, with 17.0 career sacks, needs only 0.5 to tie the program record. He ranks 2nd nationally with 8.5 sacks and 3rd in TFL (11.5).
• Baylor ranks third in the Big 12 in both yards per carry (5.58) and defensive yards allowed per carry allowed (3.18).
• Saturday's overtime win over Texas Tech was the first overtime game of Matt Rhule's career, the first overtime game at McLane Stadium and Baylor's first overtime victory since a 2012 52-45 win over Tech at AT&T Stadium.
• The Baylor defense has forced a punt on the opponent's first possession of the game in all six games in 2019.
• Baylor has out-scored its first four opponents a combined 111-19 in the first half. Thirteen different BU players have scored a touchdown, the eighth most among all FBS programs.
• BU has blocked seven kicks in the last 11 games, and have 12 blocked kicks in 31 games under Rhule.
• Through six games, the Bears have held opponents to only 19 first-half points and an average of 4.79 yards per play (26th, NCAA).
• Baylor holds a 112-55-2 record all-time as a ranked team.
• The Bears' rank of No. 18 this week is their highest since checking in at No. 13 on Oct. 30, 2016.
• Baylor offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg leads the team with 31 consecutive starts. Sixth-year senior wide receiver Chris Platt leads the roster with 49 career games played.
• Denzel Mims ranks eighth in BU history with 2,408 receiving yards, and has a catch in 30 straight games.
• Baylor's current eight game winning streak dating back to last season is the fifth-longest in program history.
• Matt Rhule coached teams have won 38 straight games when leading entering the fourth quarter.

OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
• The Bears hit the road again for a visit to Oklahoma State. BU is 17-20 all-time against the Cowboys, including a 6-13 mark in Stillwater.
• Baylor has won five of its last seven meetings with OSU, including breaking a 76-year drought in Stillwater with a 45-35 victory in 2015. The Bears' most recent win in Stillwater prior to 2015 was 1939.
• Last season, Baylor secured a thrilling, come-from-behind 35-31 win with a 14-straight points in the fourth quarter capped by Denzel Mims' touchdown catch from Charlie Brewer with seven seconds remaining.

NEXT UP
• Baylor is idle on October 26 before hosting West Virginia in a nationally-televised game on Halloween at McLane Stadium. The game will be broadcast by ESPN. BU has won 2-of-3 meetings in Waco.
• The Bears hold a 2-5 all-time mark against West Virginia and have lost the last three meetings. Last year, BU got behind early in Morgantown in another Thursday night match-up and never recovered falling 58-14.
• In 2017, Baylor entered the fourth quarter trailing No. 23 WVU 38-13 but scored 23 unanswered points behind freshman QB Charlie Brewer and narrowly missed a game-typing two-point conversion with 17 seconds left.

OCTOBER DEFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION
• Baylor's defensive line is clicking on all cylinders over the last two games. The Bears have tallied a combined total of 11.0 sacks and 26.0 tackles for loss over the last 2 games - wins over K-State & Texas Tech.
• Texas Tech entered the Oct. 12 matchup having allowed only 4.0 sacks in five games, but the Bears totaled 5.0 sacks lead by 2.5 from James Lynch.
• Lynch and Bravvion Roy became the first teammates in BU's Big 12 history to each record 3.5 TFL or more in a Big 12 game in the win at K-State.
• The Bears totaled 15.0 tackles for loss at K-State, the most in a Big 12 or FBS game since at least 2000. The total equals the overall program best during that time set against FCS members Wofford (2013) and Northwestern State (2016).

JAMES LYNCH CRUSHING RECORDS
• Junior defensive lineman James Lynch has totaled 5.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss int he last two games - both Big 12 victories for Baylor.
• Lynch ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally with 8.5 sacks in 2019. He is tied for the Big 12 lead with 11.5 tackles for loss, a total that ranks second nationally.
• The Round Rock native is 12th among active FBS players (2nd, Big 12) with 17.0 career sacks.
• Lynch set a new Baylor record for sacks in a Big 12 game with 3.0 sacks at K-State. He was named the Bednarik Award National Player of the Week for his performance against the Wildcats.
• He is closing in on a pair of Baylor records for both career sacks and tackles for loss. He is also moving up the single-season lists for both categories just six games into the season.

FACTS ABOUT THE 6-0 START
• Baylor is 6-0 for the fifth time this decade, the fourth-most in FBS behind only Clemson, Alabama and Ohio St. that have each reached that total seven times in the time period.
• BU last started 6-0 in 2016. The Bears are one of only 12 remaining undefeated teams as of October 13.
• Baylor has started 3-0 in Big 12 play for only the fourth time in program history.
• BU has won eight straight games dating back to 2018, the fifth-best in program history. The streak is fourth-longest active streak among FBS teams.

SACKS A PLENTY IN MANHATTAN
• Baylor finished the Kansas State win with 6.0 sacks, the most for the program since 2015. The Bears followed that up with 5.0 sacks against Texas Tech, two of hte top seven sack totals in the Big 12 era.
• The Bears tied their Big 12 record with six sacks against K-State, the most in a game since tallying 6.0 at No.4 Oklahoma State in 2015.

BREWER THE CARDIAC KID
• In his time as Baylor's starting quarterback, Charlie Brewer has led the Bears on four game-winning drives, including this season's victory over Iowa State. He also led a drive to tie the game before ultimately winning in double overtime vs. Texas Tech.

NOTING THE DEFENSE
• The Bears lead the Big 12 and rank 8th nationally with 23.0 sacks on the season. BU had only 25.0 sacks in 13 games in 2018. BU is also tops in the Big 12 with 52.0 TFL in 2019, that total ranks 9th in the FBS.
• Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 in Yards Per Play Differential (O-D) at +2.19 behind only Oklahoma (+4.35).
• The last time Baylor had 20 or more sacks in the first six games was 2014 (20). With 52.0 tackles for loss, the Bears have the third-most TFL over the first six games behind only 2013 (55.0) and 2016 (53.0).
• Baylor allowed 21 points or less in five-straight games to open a season for the first time since 1991 when it allowed 21 or less in the first six games.
• Baylor is the only team in the Big 12 that is yet to allow more than 21 points in a regulation game, and leads the conference in scoring defense (17.8 ppg).
• Jordan Williams (7) and Clay Johnston (6) rank 1-2 in passes defended among Big 12 linebackers. No other linebacker has more than three.

NEW-LOOK DEFENSE TRENDING UP
• Transitioning to an odd front with three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs, Baylor believed adding more speed to the back end would translate to results. So far they have been right.
• Through six games, the Bears have held opponents to only 19 first-half points and an average of 340.2 yards per game (3rd, B12 / 39th, NCAA). BU ranks 28th in rushing defense (113.5).
• With three takeaways against Texas Tech, Baylor has now had 13 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last eight games after only six in the prior 14 contests.
• Baylor has allowed only 18 plays of 20 or more yards, the fewest in the Big 12.
• BU is tied for second in the Big 12 with a +4 turnover margin through six games.
• The Bears held Iowa State scoreless through the first three quarters, the first time a Baylor team has held an opponent scoreless through three quarters since a 28-7 win at Texas on Oct. 4, 2014.

RUN GAME SUCCESS
• Nine different players have scored a rushing touchdown for Baylor in 2019, and junior running back John Lovett leads the team with 398 total rushing yards to lead five rushers with more than 100 rushing yards.
• BU's 368 rushing yards on only 39 carries against UTSA set a new program record for yards on less than 40 carries. BU had only rushed for 350+ yards on fewer than 50 carries once before, 426 on 42 carries vs. Washington State in 2008.
• Baylor opened the 2019 season with a strong effort on the ground, posting 268 rushing yards against SFA - the third-best opening week total in the Big 12. Three different players recorded a rushing touchdown and John Lovett (108 yards) recorded his fourth career 100-yard performance.
• BU is averaging 217.3 rushing ypg at home since the start of 2018 and holds an 8-2 record in those contests. In the eight victories the average is 237.9 ypg and in the two losses it was 135.0 ypg.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES