GAME 12
BAYLOR at KANSAS
Nov. 30 | 2:30 p.m. CT | David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium  | Lawrence, Kan.
TV: ESPN
Game Notes: Baylor | Kansas | Big 12

STORY LINES
• BU treks to Lawrence to close out the 2019 regular season in a Thanksgiving weekend showdown with Kansas.
• Baylor is tied for first place in the Big 12 with one game remaining, and with its victory over Texas clinched its first berth in the 2019 Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
• The Bears have secured their fifth 10+ win season this decade and only the sixth in program history. An 11th victory on the season would tie the program record for wins in a season set in 2013 and 2014.
• Baylor is the first Power 5 program to win 10 games within two seasons of winning one game or less.
• James Lynch owns BU records for sacks in a Big 12 game (3.0 at K-State) and career sacks (19.0). He needs only 0.5 to tie the single-season sack record of 11.0. BU leads the nation with 20.0 sacks rushing only three.
• BU defense has allowed only six points on 11 opening drives this season - two FGs and nine punts forced.
• The Bears are first in the Big 12 with a +7 turnover margin through 11 games, after a combined turnover differential of -23 in 2017-18. Grayland Arnold leads BU with 5 interceptions, most by a player since 2016.
• Since taking over as Baylor's starting MLB, Terrel Bernard has averaged 13 tackles per game in four contests.
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense (19.5 ppg), the lowest for BU since 1995.
• Charlie Brewer has completed greater than 60% of his passes in 21 of 27 starts, including 12 of the last 13.
• BU has forced multiple turnovers in seven times in 2019 and rank second nationally with a takeaway in 13 consecutive games dating back to 2018's win over Texas Tech.
• BU has 38 sacks in 10 games, No. 2 in program history, and need two more to tie the record of 40 set in 1992.
• Baylor offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg leads the team with 39 starts, including 36 straight. Sixth-year senior wide receiver Chris Platt has played in a Baylor record 54 career games played.
• BU has blocked 9 kicks in the last 16 games, and has 14 blocks since the start of 2017, the 2nd most nationally.
• Baylor holds a 116-56-2 record all-time as a ranked team. BU is 23-30-1 as a ranked team vs. a ranked team.
• Denzel Mims is the only FBS player with at least eight receiving touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
• BU has allowed 215 points in 11 games, the fewest allowed over 11 games since they let in only 166 in 1995.

KANSAS SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor closes the 2019 regular season with a trip to Kansas on November 30. The Bears have won nine straight meetings with KU, including the last four trips to Lawrence. Ranked Baylor is 4-0 against Kansas.
• BU has outscored the Jayhawks 425-109 since 2010 with an average margin of victory of 35 ppg.
• Last season, Charlie Brewer threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns while adding another 57 yards on the ground as the Bears picked up a 26-7 win.
• Baylor's last visit to KU was Brewer's first career start, when he hit 23-of-29 passes for 315 yards and three scores, in a 38-9 victory.

NEXT UP
• Just three weeks after a heart-breaking three-point loss to the Sooners, Baylor and OU match up again in the 2019 Big 12 Championship presented by Dr Pepper at Arlington's AT&T Stadium.
• The Bears are 3-26 all-time against Oklahoma with all three wins occuring between 2011-2014. BU has lost five straight meetings with the Sooners including a 34-31 decision at McLane Stadium on Nov. 16.
• Baylor is making its first ever appearance in the Big 12 Championship game. OU appears for the third consecutive season and 11th time overall. The two programs have never met on a a neutral site.
• Against OU in his career, Denzel Mims has 28 receptions, 398 yards and six touchdowns - a BU record.

BERNARD FILLING THE GAP
• Sophomore linebacker Terrel Bernard has stepped up following the loss of Clay Johnston to a season-ending knee injury in the victory over Texas Tech.
• Bernard has averaged 13 tackles per game over the last four contests with 4.0 sacks, 7.0 TFL, one fumble recovery and one interception.
• The sophomore from La Porte has picked up a pair of Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week awards in that stretch (Oct. 21 and Nov. 11) as well as one Nagurski Trophy National Player of the Week (Nov. 11).
• Over the last four games, Bernard has posted three double-digit tackle totals including 19 against TCU on Nov. 9 - the most by a Baylor player since Sam Holl had 21 at Kansas in 2011.

JAMES LYNCH CRUSHING RECORDS
• Junior defensive lineman James Lynch ranks first in the Big 12 and 8th nationally with 10.5 sacks in 2019. He is third in the conference with 14.5 tackles for loss, a total that ranks 21st nationally.
• The Round Rock native is 10th among active FBS players (1st, Big 12) with 19.0 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.
• With two sacks against Texas, Lynch claimed Baylor's career sack record. He is also closing in on the program's single-season sack record. Lynch also stands just outside the tackles for loss career list.
• Lynch needs 2.5 sacks to reach 10th on the Big 12 single-season top 10 list (E. Ogbah, OSU - 13.0).

RHULE TEAMS IN YEAR THREE
• Baylor head coach Matt Rhule has experienced rebuilding projects in his career before and his time at Temple is very similar to the beginning of his tenure in Waco.
• After a 2-10 mark in 2013 with the Owls, Rhule guided the program to a 6-6 mark & bowl eligibility in 2014.
• Baylor finished 2017 with a 1-11 mark, made a big jump in year two finishing 7-6 with a bowl win.
• In his third season at Temple, Rhule led the Owls to a 10-4 record, an AAC Championship berth and a bowl.
• Baylor opened 2019 with nine consecutive wins, currently stands at 10-1 and has secured a Big 12 Championship spot.
• In years 2-3-4 at both Temple and Baylor, Rhule holds a record of 43-20.

SACK RECORD ON DECK
• Baylor opened 2019 with a goal of 40 sacks on the season and the Bears are closing in on that landmark, that would equal the BU program record. BU has had at least three sacks in nine of 11 games in 2019.

DEFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION
• Baylor's defensive line was clicking on all cylinders since the start of October. BU tallied a combined total of 26.0 sacks and 55.0 tackles for loss over the last seven games, where the Bears hold a 6-1 record.
• With 2.0 sacks against Oklahoma State, Baylor equaled their 2018 season total of 25.0 in only seven games. The 38.0 sacks in 11 games is the second largest season sack total in Baylor history.
• 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.
• Baylor leads FBS in sacks (20.0) when rushing no more than three. The next closest teams are Texas Tech and UAB both with 12.0.

BREWER THE CARDIAC KID
• In his time as Baylor's starting quarterback, Charlie Brewer has led the Bears on five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter, including this season's victories over Iowa State and OSU. He also led drives to tie the game before ultimately winning in overtime vs. Texas Tech and TCU.
• Baylor holds the national lead with seven 4th-quarter comebacks since the start of 2018.

NOTING THE DEFENSE
• The Bears lead the Big 12 and rank fifth nationally with 38.0 sacks on the season. BU had only 25.0 sacks in 13 games in 2018. BU is also tops in the Big 12 with 81.0 TFL in 2019, that total is 19th in FBS.
• Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 in Yards Per Play Differential (O-D) at +1.77 behind only Oklahoma (+3.12).
• BU has had 38.0 sacks in the first 11 games of a season, a first in the Big 12 era. With 81 tackles for loss, the Bears have the 8th best TFL total in program history. The record is 99 in 2013.
• 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.
• The Bears lead the Big 12 and ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense (19.5 ppg), the lowest for BU since 1995 when it allowed only 15.1 ppg (166 points) in 11 games.

NEW-LOOK DEFENSE LEADING THE CHARGE
• Transitioning to a 3-3-5 odd front, Baylor believed adding more speed to the back end would translate to results. That hypothesis was correct.
• With one takeaway against Texas, Baylor has now had 25 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last 13 games after only six in the prior 14 contests.
• Through 11 games, the Bears have held opponents to only 54 first-half points (4.9 ppg) and an average of 359.4 yards per game (3rd, B12). BU ranks 4th in Big 12 in rush defense (142.1) and pass defense (217.3).
• Baylor has allowed only 32 plays of 20 or more yards, the fewest in the Big 12. Next lowest is WVU with 42.
• BU leads the Big 12 with a +7 turnover margin through 11 games.
• After only 10 interceptions in the first 25 games of the Rhule era, BU now has 12 interceptions in 2019 (11 in last eight games). Grayland Arnold has five interceptions in 2019, more than Baylor's team in 2017 (3).
• Arnold's five interceptions is the most for a BU player since Orion Stewart had six in 2016.
• Baylor held Oklahoma to only 10 first half points, equaling the Sooners' season low set vs. Texas.
• The Bears' win over TCU was their first game with neither team scoring a touchdown in regulation since November 18, 1989 - a 6-3 loss to Rice.

COMPLETE NOTES