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BAYLOR
vs.
SAM HOUSTON STATE

Sept. 20, 2003
6 p.m. CDT
Floyd Casey Stadium
Waco, Texas

Baylor plays its final non-Big 12 Conference game Saturday, Sept. 20, hosting Southland Conference member Sam Houston State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium. The Bears (1-2) defeated SMU 10-7 last Saturday. The Bearkats (1-1) dropped a 38-14 decision at Montana, the nation's 12th-ranked Division I-AA team.

SERIES
This is just the second meeting between the two schools separated by 150 miles. Baylor won a 13-9 decision Sept. 22, 1990 in Waco. The Bears are 6-0 all-time against teams currently playing as members of the Southland Conference. Baylor is 3-0 against Stephen F. Austin and 2-0 against Texas State. The Bears last played SFA in 1947 and Texas State in 1988. Baylor is 2-1 all-time against Southland Conference member Lamar, which no longer fields a football team.

COACHES
Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973) is 1-2 in his initial season at Baylor. In his third year as a collegiate head coach, Morriss has a 10-16 career record. This is his first meeting with Sam Houston State. Now in his 22nd season at Sam Houston State, Ron Randleman (William Penn, 1964) owns a 119-112-3 record with the Bearkats. Randleman, second among active Division I-AA coaches in career victories, is 206-154-6 in 35 years as a collegiate head coach. He also spent time at Pittsburg State and at his alma mater.

BAYLOR-SAM HOUSTON STATE CONNECTIONS
* Baylor defensive tackles coach Tom Adams served as Sam Houston State's defensive line coach from 1985 to 1992.
* Baylor offensive line coach Chris Lancaster served as Sam Houston State's offensive line coach during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
* Baylor graduate assistant coach Joe Rauls played and coached at Sam Houston State prior to joining the Bears' staff in June. He ranks as SHSU's fifth all-time leading rusher and earned second-team all-Southland Conference honors in 2001.
* Three Sam Houston State players hail from Waco: DB Derrick Harris (Waco HS), DS Patrick Holland (Midway HS) and OL Travis Maxey (Waco HS).
* Adam Karas, younger brother of Baylor QB Aaron Karas, plays QB at Sam Houston State.

BAYLOR VS. DIVISION I-AA TEAMS
Baylor faces a Division I-AA team for the fourth straight season. The Bears defeated then-Division I-AA member South Florida 28-13 in 2000, Southern Illinois 56-12 in 2001 and Samford 50-12 last year. Prior to the Southern Illinois game, Baylor had not played a Division I-AA team since the 1990 meeting with Sam Houston State. Since the inception of the Division I-AA classification in 1978, Baylor has played played nine games against such opponents, winning all nine contests.

BEARS AIM FOR WIN NO. 500
Baylor goes for win No. 500 in the program's 101 seasons Saturday against Sam Houston State. The Bears began playing football in 1899; Baylor is 499-475-43. Through games of Sept. 13, 2003, 54 Division I-A teams have reached 500 victories. TCU and Wyoming reached the plateau earlier this year. Miami, Fla., joins the Bears with a chance at win No. 500 this weekend. North Carolina State (495), Fresno State (492) and South Carolina (492) all have a chance at win No. 500 this season. Baylor would be the eighth Big 12 school to reach 500 wins. Iowa State (459), Oklahoma State (457), Texas Tech (451) and Kansas State (419) trail the Bears in all-time victories.

GARRETT NAMED DMN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior LB John Garrett was named Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week Monday by the Dallas Morning News. Garrett spearheaded a Baylor defense that held SMU to just 204 yards of total offense in the Bears' 10-7 victory. Garrett, a third-year starter from Mart, Texas, made good use of his four tackles. He registered two sacks and another stop behind the line. Garrett's back-to-back sacks early in the fourth quarter set the stage for Baylor's defensive dominance in the final quarter. Baylor held SMU to just 47 yards in the fourth. On the season, Garrett has 10 tackles, four for losses, two sacks, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble, which also came against SMU.

ARMSTRONG AMONG NATIONAL RUSH LEADERS
RB Rashad Armstrong ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference and 28th nationally with 99.3 yards per game. With 152 yards against UAB in the season opener, Armstrong became just the fourth Bear to ever rush for at least 100 yards in three straight games. He narrowly missed becoming the first Baylor player to ever rush for 100 yards in four straight games. Armstrong had 88 yards rushing in the first half against North Texas before leaving the game with bruised ribs. Armstrong also ranks sixth in the conference and 64th nationally in all-purpose yards with 117.7 per game.

SEPULVEDA TOP BIG 12 PUNTER
P/LB Daniel Sepulveda leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks seventh nationally, averaging 45.9 yards per punt. In 18 punts, Sepulveda has tallied 826 yards. If the season ended today, Sepulveda would rank second in school history for punting average. Ty Atteberry established the standard at 46.35 in 1996.

KARAS THIRD AMONG ACTIVE BIG 12 PASSERS
QB Aaron Karas ranks third among active Big 12 signal callers in career passing yardage with 2,763 yards. Oklahoma State's Josh Fields (3,944 yards) is the active leader, followed by Missouri's Brad Smith (2,783). Karas is followed by Texas A&M QB Dustin Long (2,553). Former Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury holds the Big 12 record with 12,429 career passing yards.

BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2003 is tied for the nation's 18th toughest, according to the Sept. 15 NCAA strength of schedule report. The Bears' Division I-A opponents currently have an 20-10 overall record (.667). Colorado has the nation's toughest schedule; the Buffaloes' opponents are 27-5. Iowa State (26-5) is second, Missouri Texas A&M (25-7) is third, Texas is sixth (24-9), Kansas is seventh (23-9) and Missouri is ninth (22-9). Nebraska (22-11) is tied with Baylor at 18th.

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 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.

STREAKS...
* Rashad Armstrong has rushed for at least 50 yards in seven consecutive games.
* John Garrett has registered at least four tackles in 21 consecutive games.
* Aaron Karas has completed at least 10 passes in seven consecutive games.
* Robert Quiroga has caught at least one pass in 18 consecutive games.

RECORDS & MILESTONES WATCH
* Aaron Karas owns a career completion percentage of .598 (232-of-388), which tops Baylor's career chart (ahead of second-place Don Trull, .557).
* Aaron Karas is 10th on Baylor's career passing yardage list (2,763). He needs 925 yards to catch ninth-place Tom Muecke (3,688).
* Aaron Karas ranks 10th on Baylor's career completions list (232). Here is what Karas needs to move into:
9th - 9 completions (Tom Muecke, 240)
8th - 68 completions (Don Trull, 299)
7th - 90 completions (Neal Jeffrey, 321)
* Robert Quiroga is fifth on Baylor's career receptions list (94). Here is what Quiroga needs to move into:
4th - 5 catches (Kalief Muhammad, 98)
3rd - 52 catches (Lawrence Elkins, 144)
* Robert Quiroga ranks 15th all-time at Baylor in career receiving yards (1,022). Here is what Quiroga needs to move into:
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.

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.

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).

NEXT UP...
Baylor concludes its three-game homestand with its first Big 12 Conference game of the 2003 season. The Bears welcome Colorado to Floyd Casey Stadium for a 6 p.m. CDT kickoff Oct. 4. Colorado leads the all-time series 8-4, winning three of four contests in Waco. Baylor is 0-4 against the Buffs as Big 12 foes.