Sept. 15, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME 4

BAYLOR (2-1) at CONNECTICUT (3-0)

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2008

Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. CDT

Location: East Hartford, Conn.

Stadium: Rentschler Field

Capacity: 40,000

Series: Never Met

Waco: Never Met

Storrs: Never Met

Neutral: Never Met

First Meeting: Never Met

Last Meeting: Never Met

BAYLOR BEARS

Record: 2-1, 0-0 Big 12

Ranking: NR/NR

Head Coach: Art Briles

Career Record: 36-29 (6th season)

Baylor Record: 2-1 (1st season)

vs. Connecticut: First Meeting

Statistical Leaders:

Rushing: Robert Griffin [32-288-4]

Passing: Robert Griffin [33-53-0-548-4]

Receiving: David Gettis [10-176-0]

Tackles: Joe Pawelek [8-27-35]

CONNECTICUTHUSKIES

Record: 3-0, 0-0 Big East

Ranking: RV/RV

Head Coach: Randy Edsall

Career Record: 53-55 (10th season)

UConn Record: 53-55 (10th season)

vs. Baylor: 0-0

Statistical Leaders:

Rushing: Donald Brown [79-566-8]

Passing: Tyler Lorenzen [37-62-4-394-1]

Receiving: Kashif Moore [8-67-0]

Tackles: Scott Lutrus [16-6-22]

Baylor returns to action Friday, Sept. 19, traveling to East Hartford, Conn., for a non-conference game against Connecticut. Kickoff between the Bears and Huskies is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT at Rentschler Stadium. This is the fourth and final non-conference game for Baylor and the fourth of five non-conference games for Connecticut.

Friday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2, the Bears' third televised game this season. Baylor has played on ESPN2 only one time previously -- a 35-14 loss at Miami-FL in 1995.

The Bears (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) have won two straight, defeating Northwestern State (51-6) and Washington State (45-17) after a season-opening loss at home to then-No. 23 Wake Forest. This is Baylor's first road game of the season. The Bears were 1-5 on the road last season and have lost four consecutive such games. Baylor has won five straight against unranked non-Big 12 opponents.

The Huskies (3-0, 0-0 Big East) defeated Virginia 45-10 at home last Saturday. Connecticut also has wins over Hofstra (35-3) and Temple (12-9 in overtime). The Huskies have won nine consecutive games at home, where they are 2-0 this season. Connecticut is among teams receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches' Poll.

All Baylor football games are broadcast live on the Baylor/ISP Sports Radio Network; Waco's 1660 ESPN Radio is the network's flagship station. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor football games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the CBS College Sports network.

BAYLOR-CONNECTICUT SERIES

Baylor and Connecticut have never met in football.

BAYLOR vs. BIG EAST CONFERENCE FOES

Baylor is 5-3 all-time against teams currently playing football as Big East Conference members. The Bears are 2-2 against Pittsburgh, 1-1 against Syracuse, 1-0 against Louisville and 1-0 against South Florida.

This is Baylor's first game against a current Big East team since defeating South Florida in 2001; however, South Florida was not a Big East member at the time. Baylor's last game against a Big East member at the time of the game was a 30-29 overtime loss at Boston College in 1999; Boston College now is an Atlantic Coast Conference member.

NON-SATURDAY GAMES

Since 1900, Baylor has played 94 non-Saturday, regular-season games, 23 of which were on Thanksgiving Day and 75 of which were played prior to the 1930 season. However, this is the Bears' second of three non-Saturday games this season and Baylor's third since the start of the 2006 season. Baylor is 50-38-6 all-time in non-Saturday, regular-season games, including a 14-7-2 mark on Thanksgiving Day.

QUICK NOTES

• Baylor is 20-13-5 all-time when 2-1. The Bears are 12-6-3 all-time when 2-1 following a victory and 3-3 all-time when 2-1 with a two-game winning streak.

• Baylor has won five consecutive non-conference games against unranked opponents.

• Baylor is 122-62-2 all-time in September.

• Baylor is 21-14 all-time on the third weekend of September, including a 7-0 mark on Sept. 19.

• Baylor's Division I FBS opponents currently have a 25-5 combined record. The NCAA ranks the Bears' schedule as the nation's third-toughest.

• Baylor ranks third nationally with 10 sacks on the season.

• Baylor is fifth nationally in punting with a 41.8-yard net average.

• Baylor ranks 16th nationally with 15 touchdown drives.

• QB Robert Griffin ranks third in the Big 12 and 29th nationally with 96.0 yards rushing per game. He also ranks sixth in the conference and 13th nationally in passing efficiency (174.02) and seventh in the Big 12 and 21st nationally in total offense (278.67 ypg).

• WR Thomas White needs two touchdown receptions to move into a sixth-place tie on Baylor's career chart.

• White also needs 81 yards to become Baylor's 24th 1,000-yard receiver.

• WR David Gettis needs one kickoff returns and 24 kickoff return yards to crack Baylor's career top 10 lists in those categories.

• LB Joe Pawelek needs six tackle assists to crack Baylor's career top 10 list.

• Pawelek is tied for seventh nationally and ranks second in the Big 12 with 11.67 tackles per game.

• LB Antonio Jones is tied for eighth in the Big 12 with 8.33 tackles per game.

• DE Leon Freeman is tied for fourth in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally with 1.33 tackles for loss per game.

• P Derek Epperson ranks ninth nationally and second in the Big 12 in punting average (45.36).

• Three of Epperson's last five punts have traveled 50-plus yards. The two that did not both were downed inside the opponent's 10.

• QB Blake Szymanski needs 16 pass attempts to move into eighth place on Baylor's career list.

• With his next touchdown pass, Szymanski will move into a seventh-place tie on Baylor's career list. He needs three scoring passes to move into a fifth-place tie.

• Szymanski needs 234 yards to crack Baylor's career passing yardage top 10 chart.

• Four Bears have started at least 20 consecutive games: RT Dan Gay (25), Pawelek (24), DT Vincent Rhodes (23) and DE Jason Lamb (21).

• Three Baylor true freshmen are listed first at their respective positions: Griffin, PK Ben Parks and WR Kendall Wright.

GRIFFINNAMED BIG 12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

QB Robert Griffin was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Griffin joins Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, 2007), Josh Freeman (Kansas State, 2006), Colt McCoy (Texas, 2006), Brad Smith (Missouri, 2002), Reggie McNeal (Texas A&M, 2002), Kliff Kingsbury (Texas Tech, 1999) and Major Applewhite (Texas, 1998) as the only freshman quarterbacks so honored in the league's 13-year history. Only Griffin, Freeman and McNeal were true freshmen.

A product of Copperas Cove [Texas] High School, Griffin is 14th Bear to earn a weekly Big 12 honor and joins Jonathan Golden (2002), Shawn Bell (2006) and Blake Szymanski (2007) as the only Bears to earn offensive player of the week honors.

In just his second career start and third career game, Griffin established several Baylor and one Big 12 single-game records in the Bears' 45-17 victory over Washington State last Friday night. He rushed for a school-record 217 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in Baylor history to eclipse the 200-yard rushing plateau. Griffin became the first Baylor player with three runs of 50-plus yards in the same game, galloping 57 yards once and 58 yards twice.

More impressively, Griffin shattered the Baylor and Big 12 single-game record for yards per carry with a minimum of 10 carries. His 19.7-yard average easily eclipsed both the previous Baylor record (11.4, Walter Abercrombie) and the previous Big 12 mark (15.6, Marlon Lucky, Nebraska).

Additionally, Griffin was 7-of-15 passing for 129 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. His 346 yards of total offense was the 12th-best, single-game total in school history, second-best all-time by a Baylor freshman.

Griffin's performance also earned a helmet sticker in ESPN.com's College Gameday Final.

TRIPS EAST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER NOT RARE FOR BEARS

Friday marks Baylor's fourth trip east of the Mississippi River in the last five seasons. Trips east of the Mississippi are nothing new for Baylor, though; the Bears have played 68 games east of the river in the program's history.

Baylor is 27-40-2 all-time in games played east of the Mississippi, including a 5-3 mark in bowl games. The Bears have won each of their last two such games, winning 20-10 at Army in 2005 and 34-21 at Buffalo last season. However, this is Baylor's first-ever game in the Constitution State.

Baylor's first game east of the Mississippi was a 48-0 loss at Louisiana State in 1907. Three of Baylor's first four such games were at Louisiana State; the other was at Tulane. In fact, Baylor has played at Louisiana State more often than any other east of the Mississippi location. The Bears are 1-6 all-time at Louisiana State and also defeated the Bayou Bengals 21-7 in the 1985 Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn. Baylor also has played at Miami-FL five times (2-3), at Georgia four times (0-4) and at Tulane four times (1-3).

The Bears lost their first eight games east of the Mississippi before an 18-0 victory at Loyola (La.) in 1932. Baylor went 12-6-1 from 1932 to 1965 in regular-season games games east of the Mississippi before sustaining a seven-game losing streak that started with a 7-0 loss at Syracuse in 1967. The Bears lost nine consecutive regular-season games east of the Mississippi from 1978 to 1993, a streak that ended with Baylor's 14-0 win at North Carolina State in 1995.

Including bowl games, Baylor has played 14 games east of the Mississippi River in Louisiana (Baton Rouge and New Orleans). The Bears have played 10 games in Florida, seven games in Georgia and five games in both Alabama and New York. Baylor also has played in Indiana and Pennsylvania four times each; in Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee three times each; in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio twice each; and in Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi and South Carolina once each.

BAYLOR IN TELEVISED GAMES

Friday's game is the 115th televised game in Baylor football history; the Bears are 38-74-2 all-time in televised games. Baylor snapped a 16-game losing streak in televised games with its 45-17 victory over Washington State last week. It was the Bears' first televised victory since the last time they played on an ESPN affiliate -- a 20-10 triumph at Army on ESPN Classic in 2005.

Baylor is 2-7 all-time on ESPN networks, going 1-6 on ESPN, 0-1 on ESPN2 and 1-0 on ESPN Classic. The only other time Baylor has played on ESPN was a 35-14 loss at Miami-FL in 1995.

FINLEY PERFORMANCE NEARLY LOST IN THE MIX

Overshadowed by QB Robert Griffin's record-setting performance last week against Washington State was the career day put together by RB Jay Finley. The Corsicana [Texas] High School product notched the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, going for 119 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown. Finley broke Walter Abercrombie's previous school record for yards per carry in a game with at least 10 carries against Washington State, only to see Griffin post an even higher average.

Finley has rushed for 232 yards on 28 carries this season with three touchdowns, already eclipsing his 2007 season total for yards and touchdowns. He is tied for seventh in Big 12 and tied for 53rd nationally with 77.3 rushing yards game. Finley also has two receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. With 101.7 all-purpose yards per game, Finley is tied for 13th in the league.

QUICK-STRIKE OFFENSE

Baylor has eight touchdown drives of five plays or less this season, tied for fifth nationally. Oklahoma State leads all teams with 11 such drives, while South Florida, Florida State and California have nine such drives each. Baylor is tied with Vanderbilt and Missouri for fifth.

Meanwhile, the Bears have seven touchdown drives of less than two minutes, tied for eighth nationally. Missouri leads that list with 11 such drives.

Baylor enjoyed four plays of 50-plus yards in the Washington State game -- three runs (57, 58, 58) and one pass (61). The Bears had five plays of 50-plus yards in 12 games last season. In fact, the four such plays in the Washington State game were more than Baylor had in 2003 (three), 2004 (two) or 2005 (three). Baylor had seven such plays in 2006.

WASHINGTONSTATE VICTORY SNAPS THREE SKIDS

Baylor's 45-17 victory over Washington State last week was the Bears' first victory over a non-Big 12 BCS opponent since defeating North Carolina State early in the 1998 season, snapping a six-game losing streak in such games. It also snapped a three-game losing streak for Baylor against Pac-10 Conference opponents; the Bears' last win against a Pac-10 team was a 42-10 victory over Oregon State in 1997.

Washington State scored the game's first points, building a 7-0 lead. Baylor had lost 13 consecutive games in which the opponent scored first. Prior to last week's game, the Bears' last victory in which the opponent scored first was a 34-31, three-overtime win at Colorado in 2006.

Baylor attempts to snap another streak this week. The Bears have lost seven straight non-conference road games against BCS opponents (including Notre Dame). Baylor's last such win was a 14-0 victory at North Carolina State in 1995, which also was the Bears' last shutout.

RUSHING GAME PICKS UP STEAM

Baylor rushed for 426 yards on 42 carries last week against Washington State. It was Baylor's third 400-yard rushing game ever and its first since the Bears rushed for a school-record 482 yards at SMU in 1993, a game in which Baylor did not throw a pass.

After a 207-yard rushing game against Northwestern State two weeks ago, Baylor has eclipsed the 200-yard plateau in consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run in 1997 (Texas, Texas A&M and Missouri). In fact, it was the first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for Baylor since 2005 (Texas Tech, Texas). The Bears have not rushed for 100 yards in three straight games since a five-game run to open the 2005 season.

Baylor has rushed for 727 yards in this season's first three games, needing only 208 yards to eclipse last year's 12-game total (934). Furthermore, the Bears matched last season's rushing touchdown total (five) in the Washington State game alone and now have 10 rushing touchdowns on the season. Baylor has not eclipsed 10 rushing touchdowns in a season since logging 16 rushing scores in 2002.

The Bears' five touchdowns against Washington State were their most in a game since scoring five against Samford in 2002. It was Baylor's most rushing touchdowns against a Division I FBS opponent since a five-touchdown game against SMU in 1995.

WHITE CRACKS TOUCHDOWN RECPTION CHART

WR Thomas White's third-quarter touchdown reception against Northwestern State two weeks ago was the 11th of his career. He moved into a an eighth-place tie on Baylor's career chart, matching Stanley Williams (1949-51), George Cheshire (1965-67) and Marques Roberts (2001-04). Seven of White's touchdown receptions have come in his last seven games.

White needs two touchdown receptions to tie Bruce Davis (1980-83) and Dominique Zeigler (2003-06) for sixth all-time at Baylor. Lawrence Elkins (1962-64) and Melvin Bonner (1989-92) hold Baylor's career record; each had 19 touchdown receptions.

SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST

Baylor's 2008 schedule ranks among the nation's most difficult as the Bears face eight opponents who participated in bowl games last season. The Bears' schedule ranks as the nation's fifth-toughest, according to ESPN.com, and Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine ranks the Bears' schedule as the nation's seventh-toughest. Both outlets have Baylor's slate as the Big 12 Conference's toughest.

In fact, Baylor is one of only three schools from BCS conferences to play at least three non-conference games against other teams from BCS conferences. Coincidentally, the Bears play both of the other such teams -- Connecticut and Wake Forest (Washington State is the Bears' other BCS non-conference opponent).

Five of Baylor's 12 opponents are ranked nationally to start the season: Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. Baylor has not played more than four opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 at time of game in one season since facing five such teams in 1998.

Baylor's 2008 opponents currently tout a 26-6 combined record. One of those losses was to another Baylor opponent as Oklahoma State defeated Washington State. Take away Baylor's opponents' three games against the Bears, and Baylor's adjusted opponents' winning percentage is .893 (25-3).

The NCAA, which factors a team's schedule based on its Division I FBS opponents' record in games not against that team, ranks Baylor's schedule as the nation's third-toughest at .826 (18-4).

BEARS MAKE GOOD USE OF COMPLETIONS

Baylor has completed 42 passes this season, 26 of which have resulted in first downs (61.9 percent). Two weeks ago against Northwestern State, 14 of the Bears' 20 completions moved the chains (70.0 percent). Last season, Baylor established a school record with 280 completions; however, only 148 resulted in first downs (52.9 percent).

Furthermore, Baylor completions have resulted in touchdowns 11.9 percent of the time this season (5-of-42). Last season, only 7.5 percent the Bears' completions resulted in touchdowns (21-of-280).

NOTES FROM THE WASHINGTON STATE GAME

• Largest margin of victory against an NCAA Division FBS team since a 49-21 victory over Iowa State in 1996.

• Baylor scored 40-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1994 when the Bears accomplished the feat at TCU and at home against SMU.

• Baylor scored at least 28 first-half points in consecutive games for the first time in the program's modern history (since 1946).

• Baylor's first game with at least 300 yards rushing since 1997 (319 yards vs. Fresno State).

• Baylor's first game with two 100-yard rushers since 2005 season opener at SMU.

• Baylor did not commit a turnover for the first time since the 2006 Army game.

• WR Kyle Mitchell made the first start of his career.

• WR David Gettis saw his 10-game starting streak end.

• LT Jason Smith made his 30th career start.

• QB Robert Griffin's 346 yards of total offense raned 12th in school history.

• Griffin is the first Baylor player to eclipse the 150-yard rushing plateau since Rashad Armstrong rushed for 166 yards against Colorado in 2003.

• Griffin's second-quarter, 61-yard pass to WR David Gettis was the longest pass of Griffin's career and Baylor's longest play from scrimmage this season.

• LB Joe Pawelek recorded double-digit tackles for the eighth time in his career and in the third consecutive game.

• CB Dwain Crawford's first-quarter interception was his first since a two-interception game against Kansas State in 2006. It was his fifth career interception.

• P Derek Epperson's third-quarter, 62-yard punt was his second this season of 60-plus yards. It also was the third such punt of his career, moving into sole possession of ninth place on Baylor's all-time list.

THOSE GOOD OLD BAYLOR LINES

For the first time in several years, Baylor fields veteran units on both the offensive and defensive lines. The Bears' five starting offensive linemen have combined for 86 career starts; LT Jason Smith leads the way with 30 career starts, followed by RT Dan Gay with 25 starts. Meanwhile, the Bears four starting defensive linemen have combined for 67 career starts; DT Vincent Rhodes leads the way with 25 career starts, while DE Jason Lamb has 23 career starts.

All nine of those players had started at least one game prior to this season. In fact, only DE Leon Freeman (one start prior to this season) and LG Jordan Hearvey (six starts prior to this season) had fewer than 12 starts under their belts entering the 2008 campaign. Six of Baylor's nine starting linemen have started every game since the start of last season.

NICKNAME GAME

Baylor head coach Art Briles has a penchant for giving his players nicknames. Virtually every player on the Bears' roster has a nickname. Some came to Baylor with their nickname, and some have been given nicknames by Briles. Some of the more commonly heard nicknames from Briles are Shazam (QB Blake Szymanski), Romeo (IR Romie Blaylock), All-Star (PK Ben Parks), Diego (BS Larry Washington), Motown (RB Jeremy Sanders), Swerve (LG Jordan Hearvey) J-Willy (S Jeremy Williams), Yosemite Sam or Yo-Yo (RB Ray Sims) and Marty Akins (TE Justin Akers).

HOME SWEET HOME

Baylor plays seven home games this season for only the sixth time since Floyd Casey Stadium opened in 1950. The Bears open with three straight home games for the first time since 1992 and only the second time since 1945.

In all, Baylor has played at least three straight home games to open a season 13 times: 1899 (all four games that season were at home), 1904 (first six and seven of eight games that season were at home), 1909 (first six and seven of eight games that season were at home), 1913 (three), 1918 (three), 1919 (three), 1923 (three), 1928 (three), 1929 (four), 1935 (three), 1945 (three), 1992 (three) and 2008 (three).

TRADING PLACES

During spring practice, 10 Baylor players changed positions from last season. An 11th player made a position change during preseason drills as Jeremy Sanders moved from quarterback to running back.

Position changes made during the spring were as follows: Mikail Baker (wide receiver to inside receiver), Krys Buerck (wide receiver to cornerback), Elliott Coffey (safety to linebacker), Dwain Crawford (rover to cornerback), Antonio Johnson (defensive end to linebacker), V.J. McElroy (cornerback to inside receiver), Ray Sims (outside safety to running back), Matt Singletary (defensive end to inside receiver), Sam Sledge (offensive line to defensive line) and John David Weed (quarterback to inside receiver).

TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR

Baylor's 2008 roster features six student-athletes who began their collegiate careers at other NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision universities: LS Casey Cooper (Alabama), QB Kirby Freeman (Miami-FL), DE Adam Geib (Air Force), CB Drew Kerr (Houston), DT Phillip Taylor (Penn State) and C J.D. Walton (Arizona State). Freeman and Walton both started in the Wake Forest game; it was Walton's 13th consecutive start for the Bears. Taylor will be eligible next season.

DEGREE IN HAND

Five members of Baylor's 2008 football squad already have received their undergraduate degrees: QB Kirby Freeman, LB Ben Hixson, DT Vincent Rhodes, QB Ryan Roberts and LT Jason Smith. That leads the Big 12 Conference and ties for 13th nationally along with Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, Syracuse and UCF. Miami-FL leads all schools with 13 such players, followed by Boston College and Virginia Tech -- each with 10 such players. Maryland has nine, while Auburn, Clemson and Pittsburgh each have eight. Arizona State, Memphis, Ohio State and Penn State each have seven, and Northwestern has six.

FORMER SIGNAL CALLERS FIND NEW HOMES

Baylor's 2008 roster features 10 student-athletes who were starting quarterbacks in high school, including two former signal callers who played quarterback beyond high school.

Inside receiver John David Weed was on Baylor's depth chart at quarterback last fall and saw action in three games during the 2007 season; he also was the starting quarterback at Tyler [Texas] Junior College during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Another junior college transfer -- running back Jeremy Sanders -- made the move to another position after playing quarterback beyond high school. Sanders, a product of Marlin [Texas] High School, spent two seasons as the starting quarterback at Navarro [Texas] College before transferring to Baylor this season.

The most interesting position change was that of Zac Scotton, who now plays defensive end. The six-foot-six, 255-pound Scotton made the switch away from quarterback prior to his junior season at Houston's Cypress Creek High School after out-growing the position.

SEVERAL BEARS EARN PRESEASON ACCOLADES

Four Baylor student-athletes were named preseason All-Big 12 Conference by various outlets: wide receiver David Gettis, free safety Jordan Lake, linebacker Joe Pawelek and left tackle Jason Smith.

Lake was the most highly decorated, also earning honorable mention All-America honors from The Sporting News. He was named all-conference by the league's coaches, and he was a first-team all-conference selection by Lindy's, The Sporting News, Blue Ribbon Yearbook and CollegeFootballNews. Lake also earned second-team all-Big 12 honors from Athlon and Phil Steele.

Pawelek, who joined Lake on the coaches' preseason All-Big 12 team, was a first-team all-conference selection by Athlon, Lindy's, The Sporting News and CollegeFootballNews. He was tabbed second-team all-league by Phil Steele.

Smith earned second-team all-Big 12 honors from Athlon and Lindy's, while he was a fourth-team all-conference pick by Phil Steele. Gettis was named third-team all-Big 12 by Phil Steele.

LAKENAMED TO THORPE AWARD WATCH LIST

Jordan Lake is one of 40 student-athletes included on the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. The award is given annually to the nation's best defensive back.

A consensus second-team All-Big 12 honoree as a sophomore in 2007, Lake registered six double-digit tackle games a year ago and finished the season with 120 total tackles, the most by a Baylor player since 2003. He ranked third in the Big 12 (first among defensive backs) and 30th nationally with 10.0 tackles per game last season.

A screening committee will meet Oct. 3 to narrow the field to 10 or 12 semifinalists. Three finalists will be selected Nov. 24. The names of these finalists will be submitted to a national panel of sports writers, sportscasters, coaches and former players who vote to determine the winner. The winner will be announced at the ESPN College Football Awards Show.

Formal presentation of the Jim Thorpe Award takes place at ceremonies in Oklahoma City on the first Tuesday in February following the national signing date for college football recruits.

PAWELEK ON BUTKUS AWARD WATCH LIST

Joe Pawelek was named to the 2008 Butkus Award Watch List; the award is given annually to the nation's top collegiate linebacker. Pawelek, a 2006 Freshman All-American, is one of 66 student-athletes on the initial watch list, including 2007 winner James Laurinaitis.

A product of Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas, Pawelek has been among Baylor's leaders in tackles each of the past two seasons. He led the Bears with 86 stops as a freshman in 2006 and was second on the team with 99 tackles last year. A 2007 All-Big 12 Conference selection, Pawelek tallied eight tackles for loss, including two sacks, forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and had one interception last season.

Pawelek is one of only four linebackers from the Big 12 on the Butkus Award Watch List, joining Joe Mortensen of Kansas, Ryan Reynolds of Oklahoma and Sean Witherspoon of Missouri.

WALTON IN RUNNING FOR RIMINGTON TROPHY

J.D. Walton is one of 42 players on the Rimington Trophy's 2008 watch list. He is one of seven Big 12 Conference student-athletes on the list. The Rimington Trophy annually recognizes the nation's top center.

One of three Baylor offensive linemen to start every 2007 game, Walton was a key cog along a Bears' line which yielded just 21 sacks (on a school-record 561 pass attempts), the program's fewest since 1995. He shared the team's 2007 Best Offensive Lineman Award with tackle Jason Smith.

Walton saw action on 65 or more plays in 10 games with a high of 97 at Buffalo. For the season, he played 911 snaps, most by a Baylor offensive performer in 2007, and second-most overall behind free safety Jordan Lake's 974.

Included on the 2008 Spring Watch List are two finalists from the 2007 Watch List, as well as the award's 2007 winner in Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs. The 2008 winner will be honored at the Rimington Trophy presentation banquet Jan. 17 at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Neb.

BAYLOR AMONG TOP UNIVERSITIES

In a recent Forbes Magazine study, Baylor ranked as the nation's 34th-best university and the top university in the Big 12 Conference. The Forbes list ranked 127 universities. Baylor ranked as the third-best university in the state of Texas behind only SMU (13th) and Rice (24th). Baylor was the 19th-ranked non-Ivy League private university in the nation, sixth among schools with religious affiliations.

Other Big 12 schools in the Forbes rankings were Texas (44th), Texas A&M (49th), Missouri (53rd), Colorado (62nd), Kansas (67th), Oklahoma (73rd), Kansas State (108th), Iowa State (120th) and Nebraska (123rd). Oklahoma State and Texas Tech were not ranked.

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Baylor at No. 76 -- only one point from tying five other universities at No. 71 -- among the nation's top national doctoral-granting universities. The ranking in the magazine's 2009 edition of "America's Best Colleges" represents Baylor's second-highest overall U.S. News ranking, just behind last year's ranking at No. 75. The magazine evaluated more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools.

Universities in the state of Texas continue to lead the Big 12 among the publication's "Best National Universities." Among Big 12 schools, Baylor is the third highest-ranked university behind only Texas (47th) and Texas A&M (64th). Other Big 12 schools ranked were Colorado (77th); Iowa State, Kansas and Nebraska (tied for 89th); Missouri (96th); Oklahoma (108th); and Kansas State (130th). Oklahoma State and Texas Tech both are in the third tier.

FORMER WALK-ONS EARN SCHOLARSHIPS

Seven former walk-ons have been awarded scholarships for the 2008-09 academic year: Joe Bennett, Carter Brunelle, Ty Findley, Chris Greisenbeck, Ryan Roberts, Sam Sledge and Larry Washington. Baylor has awarded 37 former walk-ons with scholarships since 2003. Most notable of that group was punter Daniel Sepulveda, who was the first two-time winner of the Ray Guy Award and was drafted in fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007.

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 CBS College Sports network. CBS College Sports currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including five Big 12 schools.

BAYLOR GAMES ON THE INTERNET

The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard free of charge live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW

"Inside Baylor Sports," the award winning weekly TV show that covers all aspects of Baylor athletics, returns for its 10th season during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Senior Producer Robert Shiekh and Producer Kyle Lewis provide viewers an inside look at Baylor athletics with thorough highlights, in-depth interviews and imaginative features on all 18 sports presented in a fast-paced, entertaining style. Co-hosts John Morris and Lori Fogleman guide viewers through the best coverage of Baylor athletics on television.

"Inside Baylor Sports" airs Sundays, Aug. 24, 2008 through June 7, 2009, at 10:30 p.m. CT on KCEN-TV in Central Texas. The program also airs weekly throughout the region on FSN Southwest at 1 p.m. each Wednesday beginning Aug. 27 and is archived on the web at www.BaylorTV.com. "Inside Baylor Sports" also may been seen nationally on CBS' College Sports Television.

NEXT WEEK

After concluding the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend at Connecticut, Baylor has its first of two open weekends this season. The Bears return to action Saturday, Oct. 4, hosting Oklahoma at Floyd Casey Stadium. Kickoff time has not yet been scheduled due to television broadcast potential.