Sept. 21, 2015

vs.

5/4 BAYLOR (2-0) vs. NR/NR Rice (2-1) Sept. 26, 2015 | 2 p.m. CT Waco, Texas | McLane Stadium (45,140) TV: FSN

Listen | | Notes | Tickets

MEDIA INFORMATION Date Saturday, Sept. 26 | 2 p.m. CT Location Waco, Texas | McLane Stadium (45,140) TV FSN TV Talent Brendan Burke (pxp), Ben Leber (analyst), Christian Steckel (sideline) Radio ESPN Central Texas | Sirius/XM 112/206 Online Audio Listen Online Live Stats Ticket Info Purchase Tickets Game Notes Baylor Notes | Rice Notes Twitter @BUFootball BAYLOR-RICE SERIES Series Baylor leads, 47-30-2 In Waco Tied, 1-1 In Beaumont Baylor leads, 1-0 First Meeting Nov. 20, 1914 - Rice, 14-13 Last Meeting Sept. 24, 2011 - Baylor, 56-31 5/4 BAYLOR BEARS Record 2-0, 0-0 Big 12 Ranking 5 (AP), 4 (Coaches) Last Game Sept. 12, 2015 (won vs. Lamar, 66-31) Head Coach Art Briles (Texas Tech, 1979) Career: 91-62 (13th season) BU Record: 57-34 (8th season) NR/NR RICE OWLS Record 2-1 Ranking NR (AP), NR (Coaches) Last Game Sept. 19, 2015 (won at North Texas, 38-24) Head Coach David Bailiff (Texas State, 1981) Career: 71-69 (12th season) RU Record: 50-54 (9th season)

STORY LINES
• Baylor hosts Rice Saturday on FSN in the 80th meeting between the former Southwest Conference rivals.
• Baylor is coming off its first off-week of 2015, but is 2-0 for 6th-straight year after beating Lamar, 66-31, Sept. 12.
• Baylor owns the FBS's best home win streak (17 games) & has not lost in Waco since Oct. 13, 2012, vs. TCU.
• Baylor is looking to start a season 3-0 for the 5th-straight year, which would be a program first.
• #AmericasTopOffense leads the NCAA with 754.0 yards per game and is 2nd with 61.0 points per contest.
• Baylor is the only school in FBS to be top-5 in both passing (3rd, 398.0) and rushing offense (4th, 356.0).
• Baylor is 7-0 in the year-old $266 million McLane Stadium, with an average margin of victory of + 32.1 points.
• Baylor is averaging 55.6 points per game and 670.4 yards per game at McLane Stadium.
• Baylor has the nation's best home record since 2011 at 26-1.
• In home games, Baylor is 30-3 over the last 4+ seasons and 36-10 in the Art Briles era.
• Baylor is 17-3 vs. in-state schools over the last 4+ seasons and has won 10 straight vs. Texas opponents.
• BU has won 23 of its last 24 games played in Texas and is 34-4 in the Lone Star State over last 4+ years.
• Baylor is the most successful Texas team since 2011 with a win percentage of .778 (42-12).
• BU leads the all-time series against Rice 47-30-2 and is 21-10 in Waco.
• BU €ˆhas beaten Rice in 6-straight meetings and not lost to the Owls since 1992.
• Baylor moved back up to No. 4 in Amway Coaches Poll and stayed at No. 5 in the AP Top 25.
• Baylor's been ranked in a school-record 37 straight AP Polls, FBS' 5th-best streak (Top 10 in 27 of last 30).
• Baylor is 31-8 when ranked under Briles, including an 18-0 mark in home games.
• QB Seth Russell leads FBS in pts. responsible for per game (30), is 2nd in passing yds. per comp. (18.89) €ˆ& 4th in passing yards per contest (359.0). His total offense of 435 ypg. is also 3rd-best nationally.
• WR Corey Coleman leads the country in TD €ˆcatches (5) and receiving yards per game (180.0).
• Baylor RBs Terence Williams (8.82) €ˆ& Shock Linwood (7.88) are 3rd and 10th in rush yds. per carry.
• Jamal Palmer and Andrew Billings are 11th nationally with 2.0 TFLs per game for #GangGreenBU.
• Baylor's coaches will be wearing Coach to Cure MD patches to raise awareness for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. Donate online at www.CoachtoCureMD.org or donate $5 by texting CURE to 90999.

TEAM QUICK €ˆHITS
• In the Briles era, BU €ˆis 7-4 after an off-week, but has won its last 5 such games by average of 29.6 pts.
• Baylor has appeared in 5-straight bowl games for the 1st time in school history.
• Baylor won a school-record 11 games, claimed its second-straight Big 12 title and earned a second-consecutive trip to a BCS/New Year's Six bowl game in 2014.
• Baylor returned 51 lettermen and 18 starters (8 o; 9 d; 1 st) from last season's squad.
• Baylor has led the FBS €ˆin total offense and scoring offense each of the past 2 years, averaging 581.5 yards and 48.2 points a season ago.
• Baylor is playing its 8th season under head coach Art Briles and its 114th season in program history.
• Baylor is only the 2nd school to repeat as Big 12 champions - OU in `06-08.
• Baylor is 28-4 over its last 32 games.
• Baylor's 4 losses in its last 32 games were all away from home; three vs. top-15 teams.
• BU is 1 of only 2 schools (Alabama) in the country to have wins over top 10 teams in each of past 4 seasons.
• Baylor is 12-5 in games decided by 7 points or less in the last 5 seasons.
• Baylor is 8-0 vs. AP Top 25 opponents at home over last 4 seasons.
• Baylor secured its first-ever back-to-back conference championships and the eighth conference title in school history (Southwest Conference: 1915, 1922, 1924, 1974, 1980, 1994; Big 12 Conference: 2013, 2014).
• Baylor won 11 games in back-to-back seasons for first time in school history.
• BU tied a school-record with 8 conference victories in 2014. BU had 8 league wins in two other seasons: 1980 & 2013.
• Baylor is 38-3 over the last 5 seasons when leading at halftime.
• Baylor is 37-1 when leading by 10+ points at the half during the Briles era.
• Art Briles earned his 55th win at BU €ˆvs. K-State in 2014 to become the 3rd-winningest coach in BU history.
• The Bears have now been ranked in 5 straight seasons for the 1st time since being ranked in 5 straight from 1953-57.

OFFENSE
• Baylor recorded the second-most yards in school history vs. Lamar with 785.
• Baylor set a school record for yards per play vs. SMU in the season opener €ˆwith 10.48.
• BU's 18.51 yards per completion ranks 3rd in FBS and leads the conference.
• The Bears have played both Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham at QB and the pair combined for a 192.66 passing efficiency, which ranks 4th in the FBS and 2nd in the Big 12.
• Baylor has 3 RBs that rank in the top-10 in the Big 12 in rushing- Shock Linwood (2nd with 102.5), Terence Williams (3rd with 97.0) and Johnny Jefferson (10th with 74.5). No other league school has more than 1 in top 10.
• Baylor tied with Oregon for the FBS lead in 2014 with 41 touchdown drives of 2 min. or less & has 10 already in 2015.
• #AmericasTopOffense ranks in 2014: No. 1 nationally in scoring (48.2), total offense (581.5) and first downs (30.1) and 4th in passing (365.9 ypg).
• Baylor boasts the nation's only returning 1,000-yard receiving duo in 2015: Corey Coleman (64-1,119-11) and KD €ˆCannon €ˆ(58-1,030-8). So far in 2015 the duo has combined for 16 catches and 481 yards with 6 TDs.
• BU €ˆreturns its entire starting O-line from the Cotton Bowl Classic, entire backfield & 10 of 13 receivers from 2014.
• Baylor's O-line has 6 players that have 10 or more career starts.
• Baylor has scored 60+ points in 9 of its last 14 home games.
• Baylor has totaled 500 or more yards of offense in 16 of its last 17 home games.
• Baylor has scored at least 20 points in the 1st halves in 14 of 15 games since 2014.
• Baylor has gained 500+ yards in 22 of 28 games since 2013, including 14 games with 600+ yards in that span.
• Baylor has topped 400 yards of offense 51 times in the 54 games since 2011 -- that mark leads the nation.
• Baylor has scored 30+ points in 42 of its last 47 contests and 40+ points in 37 of its last 47 games.
• Baylor has scored 50+ points 13 times since 2013, and 22 times since 2011, both the most among all FBS teams in those spans.
• Baylor has scored in 102 straight games -- previous school record was 89 games from €ˆDec. 31, 1979 - Oct. 23, 1987.
• Baylor reached 600 yards of offense in 5 games in 2014 and has done so in its first 2 games of 2015. BU has 34 such games in its history (29 in Briles era).
• Baylor has topped 700 yards of total offense in both of its first two games (SMU, 723 & LU, 785. BU has accomplished the feat 10 times in program history.
• Baylor is 19-1 since the start of 2012 when attempting 50 or more rushes.
• Baylor set an NCAA record in 2013 with 681 pts. in 13 games. BU's 52.4 points/game were tied for fourth-most all-time.

DEFENSE
• Baylor's 10.0 tackles for loss per game is 5th-most in the country and leads the Big 12.
• Baylor's pass defense, which is giving up just 166.5 yards per game is 2nd-best in the Big 12.
• Phil Bennett's D has forced multiple turnovers in 35 of 54 games.
• Baylor's defense is 30-5 under Bennett when recording 2+ takeaways.
• Baylor's defense has forced at least 1 turnover in 18 straight games. (15-3 in that stretch)
• Baylor has recorded three or more sacks in 9 of the last 15 games.
• Bennett's defense has forced multiple turnovers in 24 of its last 35 games (29-6 record in that span).
• Baylor's D has 3 or more turnovers in 11 games since 2013 & has won 23 of its last 24 with 3+ takeaways.
• Baylor is 19-1 when forcing 3+ turnovers during the Briles era.
• 3 defensive starters (Beau Blackshear, Andrew Billings & Orion Stewart) are Waco natives.

INDIVIDUAL QUICK €ˆHITS
OFFENSE
• QB Seth €ˆRussell leads the Big 12 (4th nationally) with 359.0 passing yards per game and is 2nd (6th nationally) with passing efficiency of 187.5.
• Russell in 3 starts has 3 300-yard passing games, tying Neal Jeffrey & Blake Szymanski for 4th-most in BU history.
• Russell also has at least 4 TD passes in all 3 career starts.
• WR Jay Lee is ranked 12th nationally and 2nd in the Big 12 behind teammate Corey Coleman (5) with 3 TD grabs. He also ranked 26th nationally and 2nd in the league with 6.0 receptions per contest.
• Shock Linwood set the BU freshman and sophomore rushing records & gave BU a 5th-straight season with a 1,000-yard rusher. He needs just 87 yards to move into sole possesion of 4th on BU's career rushing chart.
• OL Spencer Drango was named a 2014 consensus All-America, Big 12 Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year and Outland Trophy semifinalist.

DEFENSE
• DE €ˆShawn Oakman ranked 10th nationally in TFL €ˆ(1.5/gm) & 15th in sacks €ˆ(.85/gm) in 2014. He led BU with 19.5 TFLs and 11.0 sacks in 2014. He needs just 1 sack to tie the BU €ˆschool record (Daryl Gardener, 15.0).
• LB €ˆGrant Campbell is 7th in the Big 12 with 8.0 tackles per game.
• DB €ˆXavien Howard is averaging 1.50 passes defended per game, which is 2nd-best in the league.

SPECIAL €ˆTEAMS
• Sophomore PK Chris Callahan made 18 of his last 21 FGs, after starting his career 1-of-6. He has also made 49-straight extra points.
• P €ˆDrew Galitz, a freshman, has only punted 4 times on the season, including a 53 yarder.
• With that effort BU €ˆis 6th in the country and 2nd in the conference in net punting at 43.75 yards.

BRILES' UNIQUE SYSTEM IS AMERICA'S TOP OFFENSE
Art Briles' unique, record-breaking offense is leading the nation in total offense (754.0) and is second in scoring (61.0) through two games, after having led in each category each of the past two seasons - total offense (581.5 ypg 2014, 618.8 ypg 2013) and scoring (48.2 ppg 2014, 52.4 ppg 2013). Baylor's offense is the only one in the country to rank among the top-four in total offense each of the last four years.

THE BRILES OFFENSE: €ˆA unique, up-tempo spread attack with origins in Bill Yeoman's `Houston Veer' (perhaps most identifiable by wide splits of receivers and a power running game), Art Briles has honed his offensive system over the past four decades as a high school and collegiate coach; it's a balanced offense, not to be confused with more common pass-heavy spread attacks. The Briles offense is also in use at Bowling Green (head coach Dino Babers) and Tulsa (head coach Philip Montgomery) under former Briles assistants. In the latest NCAA €ˆstatistics, those three programs, Baylor (754.0), Bowling Green (609.3) and Tulsa (607.0) are the top three teams in the country in total offense.

HOME WINNING STREAK IS €ˆNATION'S BEST
The Bears' 17-game home win streak is a school record and is the nation's best active string. The streak started on Nov. 3, 2012 and haven't lost at home since Oct. 13, 2012 - a streak of 1,078 days as of Saturday's kickoff. During its home win streak, BU €ˆis averaging 55.7 points, while limiting foes to 19.4 points. The Bears are racking up 668.3 yards per game and holding opponents to 316.2 during the streak.

NCAA FBS ACTIVE HOME WINNING STREAKS
Baylor -- 17
Boise St. -- 16
Florida St. -- 16
Clemson -- 11
Utah State -- 10

RICE SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Rice will meet for the 80th time Saturday. Winners of six straight against Rice, Baylor leads the series 47-30-2. Rice is the second former Southwest Conference rival on Baylor's 2015 schedule (Baylor defeated SMU, 56-21, in season opener). Prior to Baylor and Rice leaving the Southwest Conference in 1996, the series with the Owls had been played continuously for 71 years (with the exception of World War II) as conference rivals.
• Since moving into the Big 12 Conference in 1996, Baylor is 8-0 in non-conference games against former Southwestern Conference (non-Big 12) rivals -- 5-0 vs. SMU and 3-0 vs. Rice.
• Saturday will be just the fourth series meeting since the Southwest Conference disbanded.
• In 2011's last series meeting in Waco, Robert Griffin III passed for 338 yards and four touchdowns to lead Baylor to a 56-31 win over Rice as the 56 points were the most scored by either team in the series history.
• Baylor's coaching connections with Rice also run deep as former defensive coach Larry Hoeffer (2003-10), former director of operations Jerry Pickle (1986-2007) and Sam Bennett, son of DC €ˆPhil Bennett, are all on the Owls' staff.

SERIES NOTES: Baylor is 21-10 at home vs. Rice and has won four straight series meetings in Waco ... Since 1974, Baylor holds an 20-5 series advantage over Rice ... Baylor is 9-4 vs. Rice when ranked, winning eight of the last nine such meetings with the lone loss in that stretch coming in Waco during the 1991 season, 20-17 (last Owl victory in Waco). The first meeting in the series was in 1914 (a 14-13 Rice victory).

THE €ˆNATION'S MOST €ˆBALANCED €ˆOFFENSE
Currently, Baylor is the only team in the nation to be ranked in the top five in both passing (3rd, 398.0) and rushing offense (4th, 356.0). Baylor has ranked among the nation's top 15 in both rushing and passing yards in three of the past four years. Additionally, BU has rushed on more than 54 percent of plays over the last four seasons.

OWNING €ˆTHE €ˆLONE €ˆSTAR €ˆSTATE
Baylor has racked up a 17-3 record vs. in-state foes over the last four-plus years, including victories in its last 10 meetings with other Texas schools. The Bears have also been successful against any opponent when the game has been played in the Lone Star State, boasting a 23-1 record over its last 24 games and a 34-4 mark in contests over the last four-plus years in Texas.

BAYLOR'S RETURN TO PROMINENCE UNDER BRILES
It's no secret that Art Briles has rebuilt Baylor's football program back to national prominence, but most impressive is how quickly and pronounced the transformation happened (Briles is third on the BU €ˆcareer wins list).

NEW QUARTERBACK, SAME RESULTS
With two-time Big 12 champion quarterback Bryce Petty taking his talents to the NFL, fourth-year junior Seth Russell was handed the keys to America's top offense and he has shown he is more than apt to handle the responsibility. The Garland, Texas, product has put up sensational numbers through his first two starts of 2015.

BU €ˆLEADING €ˆNATION IN €ˆ50-POINT €ˆGAMES €ˆSINCE €ˆ2013
With its 56 points against SMU and 61 against Lamar, the Bears continued to lead the nation in 50-point outings since 2013.

MOST €ˆ50-Point Games Since 2013
Baylor 14
Oregon 13
Ohio State 11
Texas A&M 10
Arizona State, Florida State 9

COLEMAN €ˆNAMED €ˆBIG €ˆ12 OFFENSIVE €ˆPLAYER €ˆOF €ˆTHE €ˆWEEK
After Corey Coleman had six catches for 182 yards and a school-record four touchdown grabs in the victory over Lamar, he was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. His touchdown receptions covered 42, 21, 61 and 34 yards. Coleman now leads the country in receiving yards (180 ypg) and touchdown catches (5). The junior posted his sixth-career 100-yard receiving game, which is the ninth-most in program history. His 182 receiving yards tied for the 12th-most in a game in BU history and were the second-highest in his career (224 yards at Oklahoma in 2014).

TWO-TIME CHAMPS RETURN ROSTER LOADED WITH VETERANS
Baylor's experience was on display in the opening win against SMU €ˆas only 3 of 22 starters logged their first career start. Every member of the starting offense had a least one start to his credit. Not only does Baylor boast a veteran-laden roster in 2015, it's a squad full of players wearing multiple Big 12 championship rings. The Bears return 30 veterans who have lettered on back-to-back Big 12 championship teams (and another 22 who lettered on a single championship team in 2014). That's 52 lettermen with at least one ring. Baylor's powerful offensive machine, which has led the nation in total offense and scoring each of the past two seasons, returns its entire starting offensive line from the 2015 Cotton Bowl, its entire backfield and 10 of 13 receivers from 2014.

BAYLOR D-LINE: "SCARY GOOD"
Baylor's defensive line is loaded with talented veterans and features a five-man rotation that Phil Steele termed, €ˆ"one of the best defensive lines in the country." The quintet, of which ESPN said, "has the potential to be scary good -- and also just plain scary," is made up of senior All-American Shawn Oakman, a trio of All-Big 12 honorees in junior Andrew Billings and seniors Beau Blackshear and Jamal Palmer, and 2014 Freshman All-American K.J. Smith, and has combined for 137 career games, 371 tackles, 100.5 TFL and 35.5 sacks. The line ranked seventh nationally in rushing yards-per-play allowed in 2014, giving up just 3.15 per-rush. The 2015 edition is ranked third nationally by Lindy's, fourth by Athlon and fifth by Phil Steele. "This is a unit loaded with size, speed and experience," according to ESPN.com.

NATION'S TOP RECEIVING DUO
Baylor's potent 1-2 receiving punch of junior All-American Corey Coleman and sophomore KD €ˆCannon €ˆ(2014 Freshman All-American) is the nation's only returning 1,000-yard receiving duo in 2015. Last season Coleman totaled 64 catches, 1,119 yards and 11 TDs in just 10 games (111.9 yards/game) and Cannon (described by Sporting News as "the next great receiver in the college game") had 58 for 1,030 and 8 TDs. Coleman was named "College Football's Most Freakish Athlete" by NFL.com, and the duo was listed 1-2 on "College Football's Most Explosive Player" listing by NFL.com.

VETERAN O-LINE PROTECTING NEW QB
Baylor's offensive line has six linemen with 10 or more career starts (Spencer Drango 37, Desmine Hilliard 18, Kyle Fuller 15, Blake Muir 14, Jarell Broxton 10, Pat Colbert 10). The line allowed just 1.54 sacks-per-game during its 2014 championship run [see chart below]. The 2015 line is ranked the nation's No. 2 unit by Lindy's, No. 4 by Athlon and No. 6 by Phil Steele.

SACKS-PER-GAME ALLOWED:
2015: 2.00 (4 for 21 yds in 2 games)
2014: 1.85 (24 for 152 yds in 13 games)
2013: 1.69 (22 for 113 yds in 13 games)
2012: 1.46 (19 for 92 yds in 13 games)
2011: 2.23 (29 for 175 yds in 13 games)

BIG €ˆ12'S TOP €ˆTEAM €ˆSINCE €ˆ2013
En route to back-to-back Big 12 titles, the Bears racked up matching 8-1 league records. That combined record of 16-2 is far and away tops in the Big 12 since the start of 2013.

`WIDE RECEIVER U' RANKED NATION'S TOP CORPS
Art Briles' offense continues to attract and develop standout receivers that produce eye-popping results. Over the last five years (2010-2014), Wide Receiver U has graduated eight receivers to the NFL, produced four All-Americans and 19 All-Big 12 honors and totaled five 1,000-yard seasons. Prominent alums include Antwan Goodley (Cowboys), Josh Gordon (Browns), Tevin Reese (Bengals), Terrance Williams (Cowboys) and Kendall Wright (Titans), and the current corps boasts All-American Corey Coleman and 2014 Freshman All-America KD €ˆCannon.

The 2015 edition of #WRU, labeled €ˆ"the deepest, most terrifying receiving corps in the country" by SB Nation, is ranked the nation's top receiving unit by Athlon, Lindy's and SportsOnEarth (second by Phil Steele).

OPPORTUNISTIC €ˆDEFENSE
Baylor's defense under coordinator Phil Bennett has demonstrated a knack for making big plays at key moments to contribute to the Bears' winning ways over the past four-plus seasons. In four-plus years under Bennett, Baylor's D has recorded at least one takeaway in 49 of 54 games - a total of 113 takeaways (69 interceptions, 44 fumbles recovered). Overall under Bennett, Baylor is 30-5 when recording two or more takeaways.