OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

NEW ORLEANS – Baylor has taken gigantic, first-man-on-the-moon type steps over the last two years, going from 1-11 to 7-6 and now 11-2 and playing in the Sugar Bowl for the first time in 63 years.

Matt Rhule wants to see the seventh-ranked Bears take another step when they play No. 5 Georgia (11-2) at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday in a New Year's Day matchup at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Twice this season, Baylor came within one play of beating Oklahoma, losing to the Sooners 34-31 in the regular season and then 30-23 in overtime in the Big 12 Championship game.

"It's no longer about being here," Rhule said in Tuesday's media session. "Now it's about, 'hey, let's go win one of these.' Let's go find a way to make the plays it takes to do it. . . . My hope is that our program takes a step in this game. And we fight, scratch and claw, get the game down to the end, make one more play than they make, and we find a way to win the game."

Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose Bulldogs are playing in the Sugar Bowl for the second year in a row, said the turnaround that Rhule has orchestrated at Baylor has been "nothing short of incredible."

"When you turn the tape on, it really jumps out at you how well they're coached, how hard they play," said Smart, whose Bulldogs were upset by a 15^th-ranked Texas team, 28-21, in last year's Sugar Bowl. "They played in several close games this year in which they outfought, they outcompeted the other team. So, the challenge is there for our team. I'm excited to see our team go out and play."

The game features two of the premier defenses in the country. Before a 37-10 loss to LSU in the SEC Championship game, Georgia was one of only two FBS teams in the nation (Clemson) to not allow more than 20 points in a game this year.

First-year defensive coordinator Dan Lanning's unit still ranks No. 2 nationally in points allowed (12.5 per game), third against the run (75.7 yards per game) and fourth in total defense, giving up just 274.2 yards per game.

"This is by far the best defense we've faced," Rhule said. "They play so many different guys on defense. They have different packages. They rotate in and out. I told our coaches when they are game-planning and taking notes, 'Guys, you have no idea what they're going to do until the first snap of the game,' because they do something different every game. They have great, great players. They play hard, they play a lot of guys. It should be a really fun game."

The Bulldogs' depth will be tested with as many as 13 players out for various reasons, including All-American safety J.R. Reed, defensive tackle Tyler Clark, linebacker Quay Walker and defensive backs Divaad Wilson and Tyrique McGee.

"Georgia's issue is not having good players, they've got good players up and down the board," Rhule said. "You can't worry about who the other team has. You've just got to worry about yourselves. We're just going to try and identify them by number. One of the great things they do, Mark Webb can be at Sam linebacker one play, he's the Mike in their next package. It's just looking at bodies because they move around so much."

This will still be one of the biggest tests all year for the Baylor offense and junior quarterback Charlie Brewer, who missed the last 40 minutes and overtime period of the Big 12 Championship game after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit.

Brewer has passed for 2,950 yards and 20 touchdowns this season with only six interceptions and added 337 yards and 10 TDs on the ground.

"I think this is a great game for him to develop as a quarterback," Rhule said of Brewer, "because you're not going to run around back there and reverse field and all that stuff against these guys. . . . My hope is that Charlie will take a step as a quarterback, get the ball out of his hands, because that's what you have to do against these guys."

Baylor's defense made dramatic strides this year, ranking 16^th nationally in points allowed per game (19.3) and top 10 in both takeaways (30) and sacks (43). The Bears were the only FBS team in the country to force at least 30 turnovers and record 40 sacks.

During Georgia's bye week this year, Smart said Baylor was one of the teams the Bulldogs looked at to say, "Hey, what can we take from what they do to make us better?''

"I think they are the leading innovators at creating confusion about what they do," Smart said of the Baylor defensive coaches. "If they're so good at it, why isn't everybody doing it? I don't think most people in college football are comfortable with that (three-man) front and that defense. They are kind of being evolutionary in regards to what they're doing defensively, because they're doing it really well. It just jumps off the screen at you."

No pun intended, but the lynchpin of Baylor's defense is junior All-American defensive end James Lynch, who set the program's single-season (12.5) and career (21.0) sacks records.

"I think one of the things about James is he's tremendously athletic for a big man," Rhule said. "He's 300 pounds, but he runs a shuttle like a secondary player. It's really his quickness that's allowed him to have the production he's had. And he's a relentless player, really smart."

Georgia has even more missing pieces on offense, including both starting tackles (Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson), running back Brian Herrien and receivers Lawrence Cager and Dominick Blaylock. First-team All-SEC tailback D'Andre Swift is also questionable with a shoulder injury that limited him to just two carries in the SEC Championship game.

But, junior quarterback Jake Fromm led the Bulldogs to the national championship game two years ago and has passed for 2,610 yards and 22 TDs this season with only five interceptions.

"I think Jake is still the same Jake," Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley said. "I think he's done a great job with his attitude, how he comes to work every day. He's not fazed by stats. He's not fazed by production in a game that he knows he did all he could do to give us a shot. Coaching him for two years now . . . you are talking about a person that comes in with a great spirit to compete and affect other people. It's unbelievable."

Wednesday's game will be televised by ESPN, with Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe calling the action.

GAME 14
BAYLOR vs. GEORGIA
Jan. 1 | 7:45 p.m. CT | Mercedes Benz Superdome | New Orleans, La.
TV: ESPN
Game Notes: Baylor | Georgia | Big 12

STORY LINES
• Baylor is making its 25th bowl appearance all-time and is playing in the second Sugar Bowl in program history. BU defeated Tennessee 13-7 in the 1957 Sugar Bowl. The Bears are 13-11 all-time in bowl appearances.
• Defensive end James Lynch was voted a unanimous All-American, the 10th in BU history and the first since 2015.
• Baylor is the first Power 5 program to win 11 games within two seasons of losing 11 games.
• A Baylor victory over Georgia would guarantee the program an AP final ranking inside the top 10 for the fifth time in school history and the first time since 2014 (8th).
• Baylor head coach Matt Rhule was voted the Big 12 Coach of the Year and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year.
• Rhule is the first Baylor coach in program history to lead his team to a bowl twice in his first three seasons.
• The Bears lead the Big 12 with a +14 turnover margin, after a combined turnover differential of -23 in 2017-18. BU's jump of +23 from 2018 to 2019 is the largest among all Power 5 teams and 2nd in FBS (FAU, +27).
• BU has secured their third 11-win season this decade and the third in program history. A 12th victory on the year would establish a new Baylor record. Baylor has 83 wins this decade (2010-19) after winning only 83 games from 1990-2009.
• Baylor is one of six programs (Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oregon) to rank in the top 16 of both scoring offense and scoring defense. BU is allowing 12.4 ppg less in 2019 - 6th best in FBS.
• Defensive coordinator Phil Snow was named a finalist for the 2019 Broyles Award given to the nation's top assistant coach.
• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year James Lynch owns BU records for sacks in a Big 12 game (3.0 at K-State), single-season sacks (12.5) & career sacks (21.0). Baylor leads the nation with 23.0 sacks rushing only three.
• BU defense has allowed only 6 points on 13 opening drives this season - 2 FGs, 10 punts and 1 TO on downs.
• The Bears are third nationally with 17 interceptions, led by All-American Grayland Arnold with 6 (most by BU player since 2016).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.3 ppg), the lowest for BU since 1995.
• BU had 16 players named to the All-Big 12 teams including James Lynch, Bravvion Roy and Denzel Mims each earning first team honors. Lynch became the second BU player to earn DPOY and DLineOY (Billings, 2016).

MORE STORYLINES
• Baylor has 16 graduates on its Sugar Bowl roster, including 10 student-athletes enrolled in graduate school.
• Charlie Brewer has completed greater than 60% of his passes in 21 of 29 starts, including 12 of the last 15.
• BU has 43 sacks in 13 games, a new school record. That total is tied for 8th most in Big 12 history.
• With two takeaways against OU, Baylor has now had 33 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last 15 games after only six in the prior 14 contests.
• The Bears rank second nationally with a takeaway in 15 straight games trailing only Louisiana Tech (16).
• BU has blocked nine kicks in the last 18 games, and has 14 blocks since the start of 2017, the tied for the second most nationally (Northern Illinois, 16 and Texas A&M, 14).
• Baylor holds a 117-57-2 record all-time as a ranked team. BU is 23-31-1 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.
• Baylor is 81-16 since 2008 when scoring 30 points or more.
• BU is playing its 118th season of football. BU holds a 607-576-44 (.511) record all-time. Baylor has scored in a school-record 163 straight games — the previous record was 89 games from Dec. 31, 1979 - Oct. 23, 1987.

GEORGIA SERIES/SUGAR BOWL HISTORY
• The 2020 Sugar Bowl is the fifth all-time meeting between Georgia and Baylor. The Bulldogs have won all four meetings by an average of just 6.8 points and all four were played in Athens.
• The teams' first match-up was a 24-14 decision in 1972 while the last meeting was a 15-3 Georgia win in 1989. The Bulldogs also won 16-14 in 1978 and 17-14 in 1985.
• The Sugar Bowl is Baylor's eighth bowl matchup with current members of the SEC. The Bears defeated Vanderbilt 45-38 in the 2018 Texas Bowl. BU is 4-3 all-time in postseason meetings with the SEC.
• Baylor will be making its second Sugar Bowl appearance – the Bears upended Tennessee in the 1957 Sugar Bowl as Baylor legend Del Shofner earned Most Outstanding Player recognition.

SNOW ORCHESTRATING ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP DEFENSES
• For his efforts leading the Baylor unit, defensive coordinator Phil Snow was named a finalist for the Broyles Trophy given to the nation's top assistant coach. It was Snow's third nomination.
• Baylor has totaled 30 total takeaways as a team including 13 fumble recoveries (No. 3 in FBS) and 17 interceptions (No. 3 in FBS). BU is No. 5 nationally in turnover margin (+14).
• Baylor's 30 takeaways on the season are the second most nationally behind Florida Atlantic's 31.
• The Bears (30 takeaways, 43 sacks) joined Ohio State (25 takeaways, 51 sacks) as the only two programs in the country that have forced 25 or more turnovers and collected 40 or more sacks.
• Baylor's defense held every Big 12 offense below their season scoring average, including holding Texas, K-State, Kansas, Iowa State and OU 10+ ppg below their averages.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

OPPORTUNITY IS KNOCKING

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Players Mentioned

Grayland Arnold

Charlie Brewer

James Lynch

Denzel Mims

Bravvion Roy

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