Sept. 4, 2008
By Taylor Eastman, Media Relations Student Assistant
On September 4, 1993, in front of a crowd of more than 36,000, Chuck Reedy made his debut as Baylor head football coach.
Reedy had spent the previous three years as the Bears offensive coordinator under College Football Hall of Fame coach Grant Teaff. Teaff was not an easy act to follow. In 21 seasons at Baylor, he led the Bears to eight bowl games and 128 wins.
However, Reedy did not let the pressure get to him as he coached the Bears to a 42-39 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs in his debut.
The season-opening win did not come easily for the Bears. They got off to a rocky start and were down 20-0 midway through of the second quarter.
"At first, we seemed to have early season jitters, but the offense started moving the ball and scoring points," explained Baylor wide receiver John Stanley.
The Bears overcame those jitters with a 71-yard touchdown run by tailback John Henry.
It did not take the Bulldogs long to answer back with a 65-yard touchdown by Ron Rivers. But Bradford Lewis kept the Bears in the game with an 80-yard run.
The Bears went into the half down 33-14, but they did not let it get them down. With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Baylor scored to cut the deficit to 33-21. Three minutes later, Fresno State responded with a 26-yard field goal for a 15-point cushion. Little did the Bulldogs know, it would not last for long.
"You work so hard and put so much blood, sweat and tears into it that you just refuse to let yourself lose," Coach Chuck Reedy said. "I believe his team proved just that."
John Henry scored his second touchdown of the night on a six-play drive with less than two minutes to go in the third. It was obvious the Bears were not going down without a fight.
Fresno State wasted no time and kicked a 24- yard field goal giving it an 11-point lead.
Baylor fullback Robert Strait then scored a touchdown on an 80-yard drive. This critical touchdown not only put the Bears within four points of the Bulldogs, but it also moved Strait into eighth place in the Baylor record book with 1,550 career rushing yards.
Just when it seemed that the Bears had lost the first game of the 1993 season, Marvin Callies scored on a 65-yard pass from quarterback J.J. Joe.
"At the half, Coach Reedy told us he was going to see what kind of team we were," Joe said. "And tonight, we showed that we are a team that is never going to give up."
