GAME 13
BAYLOR vs. OKLAHOMA
Dec. 7 | 11 a.m. CT | AT&T Stadium  | Arlington, Texas
TV: ABC
Game Notes: Baylor | Oklahoma | Big 12

STORY LINES
• Baylor, tied for the best record in the Big 12, makes its first-ever appearance in the Big 12 title game.
• BU is the first Power 5 program to win 11 games within two seasons of losing 11 games.
• The Bears stand No. 7 in last week's CFP rankings, their highest mark since it held the No. 7 spot on Nov. 24, 2015.
• Baylor's Matt Rhule, the Big 12 Coach of the Year, and his staff are playing in their 3rd conference title game in 7 years together.
• The Bears lead the Big 12 with a +12 turnover margin, after a combined turnover differential of -23 in 2017-18. BU's jump of +21 from 2018 to 2019 is the largest among all Power 5 teams and 2nd in FBS (FAU, +26).
• 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 ('10-19) after winning only 83 games from '90-09.
• Baylor joins Clemson and Ohio State as the only three Power 5 teams to rank in the top 15 of scoring offense (15th, 36.2 ppg) and scoring defense (13th, 18.4 ppg). BU is allowing 13.3 ppg less in 2019 - 4th 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) 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 3.
• BU defense has allowed only 6 points on 12 opening drives this season - 2 FGs, 9 punts and 1 TO on downs.
• The Bears are third nationally with 16 interceptions, led by Grayland Arnold with 6 (most by BU player since 2016).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally in scoring defense (18.4 ppg), the lowest for BU since 1995.
• Charlie Brewer has completed greater than 60% of his passes in 21 of 28 starts, including 12 of the last 14.
• Baylor 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).
• BU has 40 sacks in 12 games, tying the school record set in 1992. That total is tied for 16th in Big 12 history.
• With six takeaways against Kansas, Baylor has now had 31 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last 14 games after only six in the prior 14 contests. BU ranks second nationally with a takeaway in 14 straight games.
• BU has blocked 9 kicks in the last 17 games, and has 14 blocks since the start of 2017, the 2nd most nationally.

MORE STORYLINES
• Baylor holds a 117-56-2 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.
• Baylor's triple OT win over TCU tied for the longest game in program history ('06, Colorado and '96, Mizzou).
• Denzel Mims ranks sixth in BU history with 2,850 receiving yards, and has a catch in 36 straight games.
• Baylor is 81-16 since 2008 when scoring 30 points or more.
• Baylor offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg leads the team with 40 starts, including 37 straight. Sixth-year wide receiver Chris Platt has played in a Baylor record 55 career games played (t-2nd most active FBS).
• Baylor has 14 graduates on its 2019 roster, including 10 student-athletes enrolled in graduate school.

OU SERIES HISTORY
• Just three weeks after a heart-breaking narrow 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 occurring 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.

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 28 total takeaways as a team including 12 fumble recoveries (No. 8 in FBS) and 16 interceptions (No. 3 in FBS). BU is No. 5 nationally in turnover margin (+12).
• The Bears joined Ohio State (25 takaways, 49 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.

JAMES LYNCH CRUSHING RECORDS
• Junior defensive lineman James Lynch ranks first in the Big 12 and 13th nationally with 10.5 sacks in 2019. He is third in the conference with 15.5 tackles for loss, a total that ranks 21st nationally.
• According to SportsInfoSolutions, Lynch leads all of FBS with 62 total quarterback pressures on the year.
• The Round Rock native is 14th 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. 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's Matt Rhule has proven to be one of the top program builders in the country.
• After a 2-10 mark in 2013 at Temple, 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 posted a 11-1 regular season in 2019 with a Big 12 Championship appearance.
• In years 2-3-4 at both Temple and Baylor, Rhule holds a record of 44-20.

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 six takeaways against Kansas, Baylor has now had 31 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last 14 games after only six in the prior 14 contests.
• Through 12 games, the Bears have held opponents to only 54 first-half points (4.5 ppg) and an average of 352.8 yards per game (3rd, B12). BU ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in pass defense (209.1).
• Baylor has allowed only 33 plays of 20 or more yards, the fewest in the Big 12 and the fourth fewest in FBS.
• BU leads the Big 12 with a +12 turnover margin (5th, NCAA) through 12 games.
• After only 10 interceptions in the first 25 games of the Rhule era, BU now has 16 interceptions in 2019 (15 in last nine games). Grayland Arnold has six interceptions in 2019, 2x more than Baylor's team in 2017 (3).
• Arnold's six 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.

SACK RECORD ON DECK
• Baylor opened 2019 with a goal of 40 sacks on the season and the Bears reached that landmark in the win at Kansas, equaling the BU program record. BU has had at least three sacks in nine of 12 games in 2019.
• The Bears' 40 sacks on the season ranks 16th in Big 12 history, just five away from the top five all-time.

DEFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION
• Baylor's defensive line was clicking on all cylinders since the start of October. BU tallied a combined total of 28.0 sacks and 62.0 tackles for loss over the last eight games, where the Bears hold a 7-1 record.
• With 2.0 sacks against Oklahoma State, Baylor equaled their 2018 season total of 25.0 in only seven games. The 40.0 sacks in 12 games is tied for the Baylor program record.
• 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 Iowa State, Texas Tech and UAB each with 13.0.

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.

COMPLETE NOTES