Oct. 1, 2001
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Game 4: BAYLOR at TEXAS A&M
Kyle Field (80,650)
College Station, Texas
October 6, 2001 * 1:00 p.m. (CDT)
The Skinny
Following a 41-0 loss at Iowa State, Baylor (2-1, 0-1 Big 12) continues its two-game road swing with a visit to Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at Kyle Field (80,650) in the Battle of the Brazos ... The Aggies improved to 4-0 last week with a 24-3 home win over Notre Dame ... A&M is ranked 22nd in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and 24th by Associated Press ... This marks the 98th meeting between Baylor and Texas A&M ... The Bears and Aggies have met every year since World War II.
Coaches
Kevin Steele (Tennessee, 1981) is 5-20 in his third season at Baylor. He is 0-2 against Texas A&M.
Texas A&M's R.C. Slocum (McNeese State, 1967) is 113-37-2 in his 13th season as the Aggies' head coach. He is 11-0-1 against Baylor.
BU Adds U.S. Decals To Helmet
Baylor has added two decals - one of the U.S. flag and another of a black cross - to the back of its helmet in remembrance of the terrorist attacks upon America.
Series
Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 59-29-9, since winning its first meeting against Baylor in 1899, 33-0. The two have met 40 times in College Station, with the Aggies leading in those games, 27-10-3.
Baylor's last win over A&M was in 1985 (20-15) in Waco. Since then, the Aggies have posted a 14-0-1 record against the Bears, including 10-straight wins.
Texas A&M is Baylor's second most-played opponent with 97 all-time meetings. The Bears have played TCU 103 times.
The Ball Is In The Air
Baylor's offense has taken to the passing game in an unprecedented manner. With 40 pass attempts last week at Iowa State, along with the 47 passes the week before against New Mexico, Baylor has attempted 40-or-more passes on consecutive games for the first time in school history.
Also, the Bears have notched two of the school's top five pass completion totals against ISU and UNM. The 27 completions against the Cyclones is the third-highest total in Baylor history, while the 25 catches versus the Lobos is tied for the fifth-highest total ever.
BU Single-Game Pass Attempts
Rk Att Opponent (Season) 1. 56 TCU (1984) 2. 54 Texas (1983) 3. 50 SMU (1966) 4. 47 New Mexico (2001) 47 Texas (1965)BU Single-Game Completions Rk Cmp Opponent (Season) 1. 29 TCU (1994) 29 SMU (1966) 3. 27 Iowa State (2001) 4. 26 Houston (1987) 5. 25 New Mexico (2001) 25 Miami, Fla. (1997) 25 Texas (1966)
Baylor Sack Happy
In just three games, the Bear defense has already exceeded its sack total from a year ago (nine) with 10. Sophomore DE Aaron Lard has recorded a sack in both of Baylor's first two games and leads the team with two.
Newhouse Catching On
Junior WR Reggie Newhouse leads Baylor and is among the Big 12 leaders in receptions with 18 for 216 yards through three games. Two weeks ago against New Mexico, Newhouse grabbed a career-high eight passes, the most receptions in a game by a Bear in three years.
The son of former Dallas Cowboy Robert Newhouse now needs just 78 more yards to become the 19th player in Baylor history with 1,000 yards career receiving.
Baylor-Iowa State Tidbits
* For the third time in 2001, Baylor held a highly-touted running back below his season average. ISU's Ennis Haywood came into the game second in the nation with a 163.0 ypg average, but was held to 71 yards on 18 carries by the Bears.
* QBs Greg Cicero (8-of-12) and Josh Zachry (19-of-28) combined to complete nearly 68 percent of the Bears' 40 passes.
* DE A.C. Collier and MLB Michael Tolbert both made their first career starts against ISU.
* Punters Adam Stiles (59 yards) and Ryan Chapdelaine (49 yards) both had career-long kicks against the Cyclones.
Turnovers Key BU Wins
Under Head Coach Kevin Steele, Baylor is 5-0 when winning the turnover battle. The Bears have a +4 turnover margin this season in their two wins, but were -2 in their loss at Iowa State.
Bears Getting In Their Snaps
Baylor has averaged nearly 76 snaps a game during its 2-1 start, thanks in large part to its new hurry-up offensive attack.
The Bears' 84 offensive snaps against New Mexico were the most by Baylor since 1997, and the three-game total of 227 is the highest since 1997.
Baylor Injury List
Here's an updated list at Baylor's injuries heading into the Texas A&M game:
Player, Pos., Injury, Status
Matt Amendola, DB, Knee (r), Out indefinitely
Kerry Dixon, WR, Shoulder (r), Out indefinitely
John Garrett, LB, Leg (r), Probable
Ryan Gillenwater, DL, Knee (r), Probable
Jamaal Harper, LB, Knee (r), Out for season
Charles Mann, DE, Ankle (l), Questionable
Andrew Obriotti, TE, Back, Probable
Ironmen On The O-Line
C Joe Jackson has started 28-straight games and 32 total in his career. Fellow senior, RT Greg Jerman, has 30 career starts on the Baylor offensive line.
You Gotta Have Hart
Sophomore CB Bobby Hart continues to make big plays, both in the Baylor secondary and as the Bears' punt returner.
Hart currently ranks 14th nationally and is third in the Big 12 with a 14.0 average on punt returns. Against New Mexico, Hart set up a key Baylor field goal with a career-long 41-yard return in the fourth quarter.
The Waco-native also grabbed his first career interception against the Lobos. He leads the Bears with five passes defended.
BU Leads Big 12 In Grad Rates
According to the latest NCAA graduation rates, Baylor's football team has posted an 82 percent success rate in this category, far higher than the rest of the Big 12 and the NCAA division I average (48 percent).
Nebraska was second among Big 12 football programs with a 50 percent graduation rate, while Baylor's fellow Big 12 South foes came in at 46 (Texas Tech), 45 (Oklahoma State), 42 (Texas), 38 (Texas A&M) and 17 percent (Oklahoma).
AFCA Recognizes BU Academics
For the fifth time in six years, the American Football Coaches Association recognized Baylor for producing one of the top football teams in America in terms of academic performance.
The Bears were one of 28 schools nationally to receive the AFCA's award for graduating over 70 percent of its players.
Steele Gets Neighborly Visit
Baylor's Kevin Steele got a chance to visit with his high-profile neighbor, President George W. Bush, on Aug. 30th.
Steele lives near Crawford, Texas, where Bush owns a ranch. A friend in the Secret Service arranged a meeting between the two, part of which took place at the Western White House and part aboard Air Force One shortly before Bush returned to Washington following his August vacation.
Capers Speaks To Bears
Houston Texans' head coach Dom Capers addressed the Baylor football team two days before the Bears opened the 2001 season with a 24-3 win over Arkansas State.
Capers, who was in town as the featured speaker at Waco's annual Kickoff Luncheon, is a close friend of Baylor's Kevin Steele. Steele and Capers were both assistants at the University of Tennesse in the 1980s and Steele coached linebackers under Capers at the NFL's Carolina Panthers.
Bear Captains Named
A pair of seniors, SS Samir Al-min and C Joe Jackson, have been selected by teammates as captains for the 2001 season.
Gold Rush
Floyd Casey Stadium was awash in gold during Baylor's season-opening win over Arkansas State, thanks in large part to the efforts of two local women.
More than 17,000 "Gold Rush" shirts were sold through the work of Debbie Sartain and Nell Hawkins, who organized the athletic department's goal of encouraging the Baylor faithful to wear bright yellow shirts to Bear athletic events.
Bears Close in on Win No. 500
Baylor needs five more wins to join the 500-win club all-time. The Bears are 495-458-43 since beginning football play in 1899.
Entering the 2001 season, 48 schools have reached the 500-win plateau.
Starting At Home
2001 marked the first time since 1997, and just the second since 1994, that Baylor had opened a season at home. The Bears began the 1998 season at Oregon State, the 1999 season at Boston College and the 2000 campaign at North Texas.
BU Walk-on Program Strong
Two current scholarship Bears, starting left tackle Jon Erickson and second-team quarterback Josh Zachry, were former walk-ons who earned their scholarships.
Baylor currently has nearly 60 walk-ons in its non-scholarship program. In the last two years alone, seven walk-on student-athletes have earned athletic scholarships. The Bears even have a specific scholarship, the Williams M. Harman III Memorial Scholarship, that is designated for a former non-scholarship player.
Bears Face Tough Schedule
Seven of Baylor's 11 2001 opponents (Iowa State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Nebraska) participated in bowl games last season.
Penalties Down Under Steele
One sign of the discipline Kevin Steele has brought to the Bear football program is the low penalty numbers. Baylor has committed just 128 penalties in the last two seasons combined, its lowest two-season penalty total since 1973-74 (112). The Bears finished 1999 with its lowest penalty total (57) in nearly 30 years.
BU has been flagged four times or less in 9-of-24 games under Steele.
Family Ties
A number of Bears have noteworthy family connections:
- WR Reggie Newhouse is the son of former Dallas Cowboy RB Robert Newhouse.
- 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.
- QB Josh Zachry is the son of Pat Zachry, a 10-year major league veteran who as a member of the 1976 World Champion Cincinnati Reds won the National League's Rookie of the Year award.
- Freshman 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.
- Freshman DL Lorenzo Davis is the cousin of 14-year NBA veteran Derrick McKey.
- Freshman LB Jamaal Harper is a cousin of Kenyon Martin, who plays for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.
Preseason BU Honors
LB John Garrett and WR Reggie Newhouse were named honorable mention All-America by Street & Smith.
DL Kevin Stevenson (Lindy's)and P Adam Stiles (The Sporting News) were both named second-team All-Big 12.
Teaff To Join Hall Of Fame
Former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, who became the Bears' winningest coach from 1972-92, has been selected to join the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame in December.
Teaff compiled a 128-105-6 record while leading the Bears to a pair of Southwest Conference championships and eight bowl games. While posting 12 winning seasons, Teaff, who still resides in Waco and currently serves as the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, guided six of his Baylor squads to season-ending national rankings.
Teaff joins sixth previous Baylor additions to the Hall of Fame: Barton Koch, Jim Ray Smith, Lawrence Elkins, Bill Glass, Morley Jennings and Mike Singletary.
Baylor Football on the Air
The Baylor Radio Network provides Bear broadcasts to 18 stations throughout the state of Texas. Click here for a list of affiliates.
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.GoBaylorBears.com, or at www.yahoo.broadcast.com.
Inside BU Sports TV Show
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other regional outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox SportsNet Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18).
Late Starters
After opening the 2000 season on Aug. 31, Baylor didn't start its 2001 season until Sept. 8. It was the Bears' latest opener since starting the 1998 season on Sept. 12.
Bears in the NFL
Nine former Baylor players made opening day NFL rosters, including 2000 Bear defensive back Gary Baxter (Baltimore Ravens).
Player, Pos., NFL Team
Gary Baxter, DB*, Baltimore Ravens
Ray Crockett, DB, Kansas City Chiefs
Santana Dotson, DT, Green Bay Packers
Albert Fontenot, DE, San Diego Chargers
Daryl Gardener, DT, Miami Dolphins
Kelvin Garmon, OL, Dallas Cowboys
Fred Miller, OT, Tennessee Titans
Justin Snow, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Derrius Thompson, WR, Washington Redskins
* - 2000 Baylor letterman
