Football Preview: Bears look to Mean Green

Baylor leads all-time series with North Texas 11-0.

GAME 2
BAYLOR (0-1)
at
NORTH TEXAS (0-1)

Sept. 6, 2003 * 7:05 p.m. CST
Fouts Field (30,500)
Denton, Texas

RADIO
Baylor Radio Network
KRZI-AM * KLRK-FM * Waco
John Morris, play-by-play
Walter Abercrombie, color
Ricky Thompson, sideline

TELEVISION
None

Baylor hits the road for the first time this season Saturday, traveling north on Interstate-35 to Denton, Texas, for a showdown with North Texas. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at Fouts Stadium on the UNT campus. Both teams enter at 0-1 on the young season. Baylor dropped a 24-19 decision at home to UAB last Saturday, while North Texas fell 37-3 at top-ranked Oklahoma that same night.

SERIES
This is the 12th meeting between Baylor and North Texas and the first since a 20-7 Bear victory in Denton. Baylor has won each of the previous 11 contests. The closest game in the series was a 21-17 Baylor triumph Sept. 4, 1982 in Waco. Saturday's game marks the third meeting between Baylor and UNT since 1999 and the second straight meeting at Denton. Each of the first 10 meetings were in Waco. The series dates back to Sept. 30, 1922 when the Bears blanked UNT 55-0. The schools played eight times through the 1940 season, but they did not tangle again until 1982, the last meeting before 1999.

COACHES
Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973) is 0-1 in his initial season at Baylor. In his third year as a collegiate head coach, Morriss has a 9-15 career record. This is his first meeting with North Texas. UNT's Darrell Dickey (Kansas State, 1982) owns a 21-38 career record in six seasons as a collegiate head coach, all coming at North Texas. Both Morriss and Brown have Mississippi State backgrounds. Morriss was an assistant coach on Jackie Sherrill's MSU staff in 1996, while Dickey served as an assistant coach on Rocky Felker's MSU staff in 1990.

OTHER CONNECTIONS
* UNT offensive coordinator Ramon Flanigan played at SMU while Baylor assistant coach Tom Adams was on the Mustangs' staff.
* UNT assistant coach Mike Bugar was an assistant at Baylor from 1994 to 1996.
* UNT assistant coach Sam McElroy served as a graduate assistant on Grant Teaff's staff in 1989 and 1990, and he earned his master's degree from Baylor.
* UNT assistant coach Mike Bugar was an assistant at Baylor from 1994 to 1996.

BAYLOR VS. SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Baylor is 15-0 all-time against teams currently playing as members of the Sun Belt Conference. Along with an 11-0 mark against North Texas, the Bears are 3-0 against Utah State and 1-0 against Arkansas State. Guy Morriss is 1-0 against Sun Belt teams. His Kentucky squad defeated Middle Tennessee 44-22 last season.

BEARS LOOK TO OVERCOME ROAD WOES
Baylor seeks to end a 14-game road losing streak Saturday at North Texas. Ironically, Baylor's last victory away from Floyd Casey Stadium was a 20-7 triumph Aug. 31, 2000 at North Texas. That victory ended a 16-game road losing streak, dating back to a 37-35 win Sept. 6, 1997 at Fresno State.

ARMSTRONG RUNS WILD AGAINST UAB
With 152 yards on 25 totes against UAB, RB Rashad Armstrong became the first Bear to rush for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games since Darrell Bush pulled the feat in 1997. Armstrong tallied 103 yards last season against Oklahoma, followed by a 112-yard performance against Oklahoma State. Armstrong's 152-yard was the best rushing performance by a Baylor back since Bush scooted for 164 yards against North Texas in 1999. It ties for the 19th-best single-game performance in Baylor history.

OTHER ARMSTRONG TIDBITS
RB Rashad Armstrong joins Darrell Bush, Ron Francis (at Texas Tech, Houston, SMU in 1984) and Walter Abercrombie (Texas A&M, TCU, Arkansas in 1981; Houston, SMU, Texas A&M in 1980) as the only Bears to tally three straight 100-yard rushing games. No Baylor player has ever rushed for 100 yards in four straight games. Armstrong has a chance Saturday to join Abercrombie as the only Bears to ever rush for 150-plus yards in back-to-back games. Abercrombie accomplished the feat against Texas A&M (207 yards) and TCU (167 yards) in 1978.

KARAS THIRD AMONG ACTIVE BIG 12 PASSERS
QB Aaron Karas ranks third among active Big 12 signal callers in career passing yardage; with 2,545 yards, Karas is just eight yards out of second. Oklahoma State's Josh Fields (3,936 yards) is the active leader, followed by Texas A&M QB Dustin Long (2,553). Missouri's Brad Smith (2,435) is fourth. Former Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury holds the Big 12 record with 12,429 career passing yards.

KARAS CONTINUES HOT HAND
QB Aaron Karas, currently Baylor's career record holder in completion percentage, continues to complete passes as a record pace after a 20-of-33 night against UAB. Karas has now completed 61.1 percent of his passes (206-of-337) at Baylor. Karas has completed at least 50 percent of his passes in nine consecutive games, going 140-of-229 (61.1 percent) during that time, and in all but one game during his collegiate career. The UAB game marked the fifth time in his career that Karas has thrown at least 30 passes. In those five contests, Karas has completed 65.2 percent of his tosses (105-of-161).

FIELDS, JOHNSON SELECTED AS CAPTAINS
Senior C Cedric Fields and senior CB Matt Johnson were selected as team captains earlier this week. Fields is a three-year letterman from Corsicana, Texas. Johnson hails from Pearland, Texas, and has earned three letters.

BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2003 is tied for the nation's 31st toughest, according to the Sept. 1 NCAA strength of schedule report. The Bears' opponents currently have an 8-4 overall record. Iowa State's schedule currently ranks as the toughest in the Big 12 and in the nation; the Cyclones' opponents are 10-1. Kansas is third nationally (10-2), Colorado is tied for 14th (9-3) along with Missouri (9-3), and Texas Tech is tied for 20th (8-3).

OTHER SCHEDULE FACTS
Seven of Baylor's 12 2003 opponents (North Texas, Colorado, Texas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) participated in bowl games last season. Eight of the Bears' 2003 opponents (including Texas A&M) finished at or above .500. Baylor's 2003 opponents went a combined 88-53 (.624) in 2002. Five of the Bears' 12 opponents are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Furthermore, the Big 12 boasted three teams in the top five spots of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. Baylor and Iowa State both have all three - Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas - on their respective schedules. The Bears and the Cyclones are the only teams in the nation to have three preseason top-five teams on their schedules.

STREAKS...
* Rashad Armstrong has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games.
* Rashad Armstrong has rushed for at least 50 yards in five consecutive games.
* John Garrett has registered at least four tackles in 19 consecutive games.
* Aaron Karas has completed at least 10 passes in five consecutive games.
* Robert Quiroga has caught at least one pass in 16 consecutive games.

BEARS CLOSE IN ON WIN NO. 500
Baylor needs two more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 498-473-44 since beginning football play in 1899.

RECORDS & MILESTONES WATCH
* Aaron Karas owns a career completion percentage of .611 (206-of-337), which tops Baylor's career chart (ahead of second-place Don Trull, .557).
* Aaron Karas currently ranks third on the school's career yards-per-attempt listing with a 7.552 mark, trailing J.J. Joe (9.015) and Cody Carlson (7.675).
* Aaron Karas is 12th on Baylor's career passing yardage list (2,545). Here is what Karas needs to move into:
11th - 106 yards (Larry Isbell, 2,650)
10th - 195 yards (Jay Jeffrey, 2,739)
9th - 1,144 yards (Tom Muecke, 3,688)
* Aaron Karas ranks 10th on Baylors career completions list (208) Here is what Karas needs to move into:
9th - 33 completions (Tom Muecke, 240)
8th - 92 completions (Don Trull, 299)
7th - 114 completions (Neal Jeffrey, 321)
* Robert Quiroga stands sixth on Baylor's career receptions list (91). Here is what Quiroga needs to move into:
5th - 2 catches (Melvin Bonner, 92)
4th - 8 catches (Kalief Muhammad, 98)
3rd - 54 catches (Lawrence Elkins, 144)
* With 34 yards receiving against UAB, Robert Quiroga became the 20th Baylor receiver to reach the 1,000-yard plateau for his career (now at 1,022). Here is what Quiroga needs to move into:
18th - 8 yards (Stan Williams, 1,029)
17th - 12 yards (Greg Anderson, 1,033)
16th - 13 yards (George Cheshire, 1,034)
15th - 15 yards (Harlan Lane, 1,036)
14th - 43 yards (Robert Holt, 1,064)
13th - 67 yards (Derrius Thompson, 1,088)
12th - 80 yards (Harold Riley, 1,102)
11th - 84 yards (Derek Davis, 1,106)
10th - 99 yards (Tommy Davidson, 1,121)
* Derrick Cash is fifth on Baylor's career interception return yardage list with 189 yards, 5 yards shy of fourth-place Thomas Everett (194) and 28 yards back of third-place Del Shofner (217).
* Derrick Cash has a career yards-per-interception-return average of 25.8, ranking seventh in school history.

FAMILY TIES
* The father of FB Jonathan Evans, Dr. Tony Evans, is the host of a nationally syndicated daily radio program which can be heard on 250 stations in the U.S. and in 40 countries. He is founder and president of The Urban Alternative, a national organization seeking spiritual renewal in urban America through the church. He also serves as chaplain for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.
* WR John Martin is the son of Dave Martin, current associate AD at Oklahoma State and one-time interim commissioner of the Big 12.
* CB Michael Boyd is the cousin of former Baylor standout Thomas Everett, a two-time All-SWC performer and winner of the inaugural Thorpe Award in 1986.
* DL Lorenzo Davis is the cousin of 14-year NBA veteran Derrick McKey.
* LB Jamaal Harper is a cousin of Kenyon Martin, who plays for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.
* Freshman TE Iris Williams has a pair of notable family members. Uncle Elvis Patterson won a pair of Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, while cousin and former Baylor standout Fred Miller is a starting offensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans.
* Freshman WR Trent Shelton is the nephew of the Atlanta Falcons' receivers coach George Stewart.
* Freshman CB Jason Reaux is the son of Tommy Reaux, who lettered for Baylor's football team from 1967 to 1969.

BU LEADS BIG 12 IN GRADUATION RATES
According to the latest NCAA graduation rates, Baylor's football team has posted a 77 percent success rate in this category, the best figure in the Big 12 and far above the NCAA division I average (52 percent). Texas Tech was second among Big 12 football programs with a 73 percent graduation rate, followed by Nebraska (67), Texas A&M (59), Iowa State (50), Missouri (50), Texas (50), Oklahoma State (48), Kansas State (44), Kansas (43), Colorado (38) and Oklahoma (6).

OVER THE AIR
Bear football games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The network includes 18 affiliates across Texas, including flagship stations KRZI-AM (1660/1580) and KLRK-FM (92.9) in Waco. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his eighth season. Former Baylor football standouts Walter Abercrombie and Ricky Thompson are in their third season providing analysis.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE INTERNET
The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard live on the internet on Baylor's official online website, www.BaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.

BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the Official College Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable 18).