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GAME 3
BAYLOR (0-2)
vs.
SMU (0-1)

Sept. 13, 2003
6:00 p.m. CST
Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000)
Waco, Texas

Baylor begins a three-game homestand Saturday, hosting former Southwest Conference foe SMU. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium. The Baylor-SMU game is part of Parents' Weekend festivities on the Baylor campus. The Bears (0-2) suffered a 52-14 loss last Saturday at North Texas, while SMU (0-1) was idle last weekend after a 58-10 loss at Texas Tech in its opener.

SERIES
This is the 77th meeting between Baylor and SMU but the first since the final season of the Southwest Conference (1995). The Bears won that contest 48-7 at Dallas to extend their winning streak over the Mustangs to seven games, the longest Baylor winning streak in the series. Baylor and SMU first met Oct. 7, 1916 at Dallas with the Bears taking a 62-0 triumph. Neither team won more than three consecutive meetings until the Mustangs won five straight from 1937 to 1941. A Baylor win Saturday would match SMU's 1966 to 1973 eight-game winning streak, the longest by either team in the series' history. SMU leads the all-time series in Waco 18-16-3. Baylor is 11-12 against SMU at Floyd Casey Stadium. This is Baylor's first game against a former SWC foe.

COACHES
Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973) is 0-2 in his initial season at Baylor. In his third year as a collegiate head coach, Morriss has a 9-16 career record. This is his first meeting with SMU. Now in his second season as head coach at SMU, Phil Bennett (Texas A&M, 1978) owns a 3-10 career record. Bennett is a former Kansas State and Texas A&M assistant coach.

BAYLOR-SMU CONNECTIONS
* SMU linebackers coach Darrell Patterson is a former Baylor assistant coach. He also was a member of Kentucky's coaching staff while Baylor head coach Guy Morriss was an assistant with the Wildcats.
* Baylor defensive tackles coach Tom Adams served in the same capacity at SMU from 1993 to 1996.

BAYLOR VS. WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Baylor is 90-74-9 all-time against teams currently playing as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Bears have won 13 consecutive games against current WAC members, although only the last two games were against teams who were WAC members at game time. Baylor defeated Tulsa 37-25 in Waco last season, and the Bears won a 37-35 nail-biter at Fresno State in 1997. The last time a current WAC member defeated Baylor was Nov. 14, 1992 when Rice upended the Green and Gold 34-31 at Houston. The Bears were 1-2 against current WAC teams that season, also losing to Louisiana Tech and defeating SMU; however none of those three teams were members of the WAC at that time. Baylor's last loss to a then-WAC member was in the 1984 season opener. The Bears dropped a 47-13 decision at eventual national champion BYU, which is now a member of the Mountain West Conference. Baylor has never lost to a current WAC member while that school was a member of the WAC.

ARMSTRONG AMONG NATIONAL RUSH LEADERS
RB Rashad Armstrong ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and 18th nationally with 120.5 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 47th nationally in all-purpose yards with 139.5 per game.

KARAS SECOND AMONG ACTIVE BIG 12 PASSERS
QB Aaron Karas ranks second among active Big 12 signal callers in career passing yardage with 2,661 yards. Oklahoma State's Josh Fields (3,944 yards) is the active leader; Karas is followed by Texas A&M QB Dustin Long (2,553) and Missouri's Brad Smith (2,547). 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 fifth toughest, according to the Sept. 8 NCAA strength of schedule report. The Bears' Division I-A opponents currently have a 16-5 overall record (.762). Iowa State has the nation's toughest schedule; the Cyclones' opponents are 20-2. Colorado (18-4) and Missouri (18-4) are tied at second, followed by Florida (16-4). Other Big 12 schools in the top 30 are Kansas (t-8th, 17-6), Nebraska (t-11th, 16-6), Texas A&M (t-11th, 16-6), Oklahoma (t-17th, 15-7), Texas Tech (t-17th, 15-7) and Oklahoma State (t-29th, 13-7).

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 50 yards in six consecutive games.
* John Garrett has registered at least four tackles in 20 consecutive games.
* Aaron Karas has completed at least 10 passes in six consecutive games.
* Robert Quiroga has caught at least one pass in 17 consecutive games.

RECORDS & MILESTONES WATCH
* Aaron Karas owns a career completion percentage of .609 (220-of-361), which tops Baylor's career chart (ahead of second-place Don Trull, .557).
* Aaron Karas is 11th on Baylor's career passing yardage list (2,661). Here is what Karas needs to move into:
10th - 79 yards (Jay Jeffrey, 2,739)
9th - 1,027 yards (Tom Muecke, 3,688)
* Aaron Karas ranks 10th on Baylor's career completions list (220). Here is what Karas needs to move into:
9th - 21 completions (Tom Muecke, 240)
8th - 80 completions (Don Trull, 299)
7th - 102 completions (Neal Jeffrey, 321)
* Robert Quiroga is tied for fifth on Baylor's career receptions list (92). Here is what Quiroga needs to move into:
5th - 1 catch (Melvin Bonner, 92)
4th - 7 catches (Kalief Muhammad, 98)
3rd - 53 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.

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.

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.
* 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.
* WR Trent Shelton is the nephew of the Atlanta Falcons' receivers coach George Stewart.
* 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 continues its three-game home stand Sept. 13 with its final non-conference game of the season, hosting Sam Houston State at 6 p.m. CDT. The Bears and the Bearkats have met just once, a 13-9 Baylor victory in Waco during the 1990 season.