Bears
Hope to Hook Horns
No.
18 Texas visits Floyd Casey for longest-running Baylor
football rivalry.
GAME 8
BAYLOR (3-4, 1-2) vs No. 18 TEXAS (5-2, 2-1)
Oct. 25, 2003 *
6:00 p.m. CDT
Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000)
Waco, Texas
Baylor returns home
this weekend for a Big 12 Conference showdown with No.
18 Texas. Saturday's kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT at
Floyd Casey Stadium. The Bears (3-4, 1-2) dropped a
28-21 decision at Kansas last Saturday, while the
Longhorns (5-2, 2-1) defeated Iowa State 40-19 at Ames,
Iowa. That was Texas' first game this season on an
opponent's home field. The Longhorns defeated Rice 48-7
at Houston's Reliant Stadium and lost to Oklahoma 65-13
at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Texas is ranked 19th
nationally in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and
18th nationally in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The
teams have played no common opponents this season.
SERIES
Baylor and Texas meet on the gridiron for the 93rd time
Saturday, the third-most played rivalry in Baylor
football history behind TCU (103 meetings) and Texas
A&M (100 meetings). Texas leads the all-time series
66-22-4, and the Longhorns have won the last five
meetings since a 23-21 Baylor victory Nov. 1, 1997 in
Waco. The Bears are 14-25-2 against the Horns in Waco,
12-15 at Floyd Casey Stadium. Texas' current five-game
winning streak against Baylor is the Longhorns' longest
since a 13-gamer from 1958 to 1973. That run was ended
with Baylor's 34-24 victory at Floyd Casey Stadium in
1974, dubbed the "Miracle on the Brazos." The
series dates back to a 23-0 Texas victory Oct. 29, 1901
in Waco. Baylor and Texas have played every year since
1923, making this the longest continually running
rivalry for Baylor football. Last year, Texas defeated
Baylor 41-0 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The Longhorns were 49-10 winners at Floyd Casey Stadium
two years ago.
COACHES
Guy
Morriss (TCU, 1973) is 3-4 in his initial season at
Baylor. In his third year as a collegiate head coach,
Morriss has a 12-18 career record. Prior to arriving at
Baylor, Morriss spent two seasons as head coach at
Kentucky. This is his first meeting with Texas. Mack
Brown (Florida State, 1974) is in his sixth season as
head coach at Texas with a 54-17 record. Brown, who
previously served as head coach at North Carolina,
Tulane and Appalachian State, is 140-91-1 in 20 seasons
as a collegiate head coach. He is 5-0 against Baylor.
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor's future opposition winning percentage of .778
(28-8) is second nationally behind only Texas A&M
(.800, 28-7). Colorado is fourth at .714 (25-10).
* Baylor has just two scoring drives of more than four
minutes this season.
* Baylor is 2-0 this season when rushing for two or more
TDs, 1-4 when rushing for less than two TDs.
* WR Marques
Roberts has caught TD passes in each of the last two
games after just three TD receptions his first 27 games
at Baylor.
* FS Maurice
Lane has tallied double-digit tackles in five of
seven games this season.
* QB Aaron
Karas has completed at least 10 passes in 11
consecutive games.
* QB Aaron
Karas has thrown at least one TD pass in four
consecutive games.
* WR Robert
Quiroga has caught at least one pass in 21
consecutive games.
* WR John
Martin has caught at least one pass in six
consecutive games played.
* WR Marques
Roberts has caught at least one pass in nine
consecutive games.
SEPULVEDA CATCHES
NATIONAL EYE
P Daniel
Sepulveda, who began punting last spring, has begun
to catch the national eye. The Big 12 leader in punting
average, Sepulveda, who ranks ninth nationally in that
category, has been added to the watch list for the Ray
Guy Award, given annually to the nation's top punter by
the Augusta [Ga.] Sports Council. He joins Florida's
Eric Wilbur as the only freshmen on the 38-man list,
which will be pared to 10 semifinalists in early
November. Baylor special teams' coach Mark
Nelson is no stranger to having a punter considered
for the Guy Award. Last season, Nelson's punter at
Kentucky, Glenn Pakulak, was a finalist along with
Tennessee's Dustin Colquitt and winner Mark Mariscal of
Colorado. Sepulveda has also caught the eye of Matt
Hayes, a columnist for The Sporting News. In the
publication's latest issue, Sepulveda was selected as
the punter for Hayes' Dream Team, a collection of
difference-makers this season.
SPECIAL SPECIAL
TEAMS
Baylor's special teams have been the strongest facet of
the game this season for the Bears. The special teams
have produced two scores this season, both on blocked
punts. CB James
Todd's block against UAB in the season opener
resulted in a safety. Todd also recovered CB Michael
Boyd's block in the end zone last week at Kansas.
Baylor's 1980 squad holds the school mark for blocks in
a season with 13 (punts and placements). P Daniel
Sepulveda leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth
nationally in punting average (45.3 yards per punt), and
CB Willie
Andrews is 22nd nationally with 22.6 yards per
kickoff return (fifth in the Big 12). Andrews also is
tied for fourth all-time at Baylor with 23 kickoff
returns this season, and his 589 yards on those returns
ranks third in school history.
GARRETT SACK HAPPY
With three sacks last week at Kansas, LB John
Garrett moves into a tie for seventh all-time at
Baylor with six sacks on the season. He is 4.5 sacks shy
of Matthew Pearson's school record, established in 1992.
Garrett's sack total is the best by a Bear since A.C.
Collier had a half-dozen in 2001. No Bear has
tallied seven or more sacks in a season since Scotty
Lewis had seven in 1993.
ARMSTRONG CLIMBS
BAYLOR RUSHING CHARTS
With 80 yards rushing last week at Kansas, RB Rashad
Armstrong moved into 18th place all-time at Baylor
in single-season rushing yardage. He now has 691 yards
on the season, the most by a Bear back since Darrell
Bush scampered for 693 yards in 1997. With three
more yards rushing, Armstrong will have rushed for more
yards than any Baylor player in a decade (Brandell
Jackson, 899 in 1993). In just 19 games and 12 starts,
Armstrong has rushed for 1,338 yards in his Baylor
career. That ranks 19th in school history, and he needs
just 216 yards to crack the top 10. Armstrong and CB Willie
Andrews are also poised to crack Baylor's
single-season all-purpose yardage top 10. Through seven
games, Armstrong has 838 all-purpose yards, while
Andrews has 822. Kalief Muhammad had 1,166 yards in 1996
and currently ranks 10th in Baylor history.
ARMSTRONG AMONG
NATIONAL RUSH LEADERS
RB Rashad
Armstrong ranks third in the Big 12 Conference and
23rd nationally with 98.7 yards rushing per game. He
also leads the conference with 159 carries, and Baylor
is 3-1 this season when he rushes for at least 100 yards
and/or scores a rushing touchdown. Here are some other
key notes on Armstrong: * Rushed for 100-plus yards in
five of last nine games ... * Rushed for 100-plus yards
in three of last five Big 12 games ... * 166 yards vs.
Colorado ranks 13th all-time at Baylor, most since 1995
... * 37 carries vs. Colorado ties for second all-time
at Baylor, most since 1975 ... * Tied for eighth
all-time at Baylor with five career 100-yard rushing
games ...
YOUNGER SEPULVEDA
KEEPS BOOMING 'EM
P Daniel
Sepulveda leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks
ninth nationally, averaging 45.3 yards per punt. In 49
punts, Sepulveda has tallied 2,221 yards with 14 punts
going 50-plus yards and two punts going 60-plus yards.
He has also placed 13 punts inside the 20 and three
punts inside the five with two coffins. Sepulveda's
average is just off the school record of 46.35,
established by Ty Atteberry in 1996. Against Texas
A&M, Sepulveda punted nine times for an average of
47.8 yards per punt. He posted a net average of 47.1
yards per punt with four inside the 20 and three of
50-plus yards, including a game-high 55-yarder. Against
Kansas, Sepulveda had punts of 60 and 61 yards, the last
of which was a career long. Sepulveda's punting has made
Baylor the Big 12's top-ranked punting team in terms of
net yards per punt. The Bears average 40.1 net yards per
punt, 13th nationally.
BAYLOR BIG 12'S
YOUNGEST TEAM
Baylor's depth chart features nine true freshmen for the
Texas game, including starters RT Nick
Pace and DT Quincy
Jenkins. No team in the Big 12 has more true
freshmen on its depth chart than Baylor. Including
redshirts, Baylor's two-deep roster features 16
freshmen, also tops in the conference. In all, the Bears
have 25 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep.
KARAS FOURTH AMONG
ACTIVE BIG 12 PASSERS
QB Aaron
Karas ranks fifth among active Big 12 signal callers
in career passing yardage with 3,473 yards. Oklahoma
State's Josh Fields (5,004 yards) is the active leader
and ranks 10th all-time in the Big 12. Fields is
followed by Texas Tech's B.J. Symons (4,051), Kansas
State's Ell Roberson (3,699), Kansas' Bill Whittemore
(3,549) and Karas. Former Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury
holds the Big 12 record with 12,429 career passing
yards.
QUIROGA ALSO AMONG
ACTIVE LEADERS
WR Robert
Quiroga is seventh among active Big 12 receivers
with 116 career receptions. Oklahoma State's Rashaun
Woods is the active and overall leader with 248 snags,
an all-time Big 12 record.
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
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. 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.
FIELDS, JOHNSON
SELECTED AS CAPTAINS
Senior C Cedric
Fields and senior CB Matt
Johnson were selected as team captains for the
season. Fields is a three-year letterman from Corsicana,
Texas. Johnson hails from Pearland, Texas, and has
earned three letters.
BEARS CLAIM WIN
NO. 500
Baylor captured win No. 500 in the program's 101-season
history with its 27-6 victory over Sam Houston State.
The Bears began playing football in 1899; Baylor is
501-475-43 all-time. Through games of Sept. 20, 2003, 56
Division I-A teams have reached 500 victories. TCU and
Wyoming reached the plateau earlier this year. Miami,
Fla., and Baylor reached the plateau Sept. 27. North
Carolina State (497), Fresno State (494) and South
Carolina (493) all have a chance at win No. 500 this
season. Baylor is the eighth Big 12 school to reach 500
wins. Iowa State (459), Oklahoma State (460), Texas Tech
(453) and Kansas State (420) trail the Bears in all-time
victories.
BU LEADS BIG 12 IN
GRADUATION RATES
According to the June 2003 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 ninth season.
Former Baylor football standouts Walter Abercrombie and
Ricky Thompson are in their fourth 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). IBS also airs Wednesdays on College Sports
TV; check local listings for time.
NEXT UP...
Baylor returns to the Sunflower State next weekend for a
showdown with Kansas State at KSU Stadium in Manhattan.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two schools,
the fourth as Big 12 Conference foes. Kansas State has
won all four meetings, including a 45-15 decision at
Waco in 1969. The Wildcats were 44-10 winners last
season at Floyd Casey Stadium. Baylor's lone previous
trip to Manhattan resulted in a 48-7 K-State victory in
1999