Football Hosts Oklahoma State for Homecoming

GAME 9
BAYLOR vs. Oklahoma State
Nov. 3 | 11 a.m. CT | McLane Stadium | Waco, Texas
TV: FS1 / FoxSportsGo
Game Notes: Baylor | Oklahoma State | Big 12

MEDIA INFORMATION
TV: FS1 / FoxSportsGo
Talent: Aaron Goldsmith (pxp), Evan Moore (analyst)
Radio: Baylor IMG Sports Network / ESPN Central Texas
Talent: John Morris (pxp), J.J. Joe (analyst),
Ricky Thompson (sideline)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 111 / XM 199 / Internet 953
Live Stats: Baylor.StatBroadcast.com
Twitter: @BUFootball | #SicOSU

MATCHUP
BAYLOR
4-4, 2-3 Big 12
Ranking: NR - AP, NR - Coaches
Head Coach: Matt Rhule (Penn State, '97)
Career Record: 33-38 (6th season)
BU Record: 5-15 (2nd season)
vs. OSU: 0-1

OKLAHOMA STATE
5-3, 2-3 Big 12
Ranking: RV - AP, RV - Coaches
Head Coach: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State, '90)
Career Record: 119-56 (14th season)
OSU Record: 119-56 (14th season)
vs. BU: 8-5

STORY LINES
• Baylor is back at McLane Stadium after nearly a month to host Oklahoma State for homecoming. The Bears are 46-43-4 all-time in homecoming games and had a streak of seven straight wins snapped in 2017.
• Jalen Hurd ranks sixth nationally in both first down receptions (39) and receptions of 10+ yards (35).
• BU ranks third in the Big 12 and 19th nationally converting 46.7 percent (56-of-120) of its third downs.
• The Bears have allowed only 10 touchdowns in the red zone, tops in Big 12 and 11th-best nationally.
• Among active FBS players, Jalen Hurd ranks 10th with 3,935 all-purpose yards and 12th with 32 TDs in his career.
• Baylor ranks 20th among Power 5 schools in total offense (451.5 ypg) & 10th among P5 in passing (299.8 ypg).
• With three blocks on the year, Baylor ranks 1st in the Big 12 and 5th nationally. BU has five blocks since start of '17.
• The Bears have won time of possession in 6-of-8 in 2018 & are averaging 33:04 in TOP (13th, FBS/1st, B12).
• BU's second half shutout at Texas was its first since 2016 vs. Rice and first in a B12 game since 2015 at TCU.
• Baylor running backs have 43 receptions in eight games after totaling 58 in 2017. BU rushers had only 40 catches from 2013-16 combined. JaMycal Hasty leads all Big 12 running backs with 22 receptions.
• Baylor's 38 first downs against K-State tied for the 11th most in Big 12 history and 2nd most in BU history.
• Baylor is averaging 451.5 ypg and has out-gained its opponents offensively in five of eight games in 2018.
• The Baylor offense ranks 8th nationally (2nd, Big 12) with 25.3 first downs per game (202 total).
• Charlie Brewer is averaging 200.8 ypg with a 65.37 completion percentage & 18 total TD in nine career B12 starts.
• BU offensive linemen Pat Lawrence and Blake Blackmar have started 33 & 32 straight games, respectfully.
• Punter Drew Galitz (43.3) ranks 2nd in the league & was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week on 9/24.
• The Baylor defense has held opponents under 200 yards passing four times in 2018 and six times in the last 11 games.
• Denzel Mims became on the 18th player in program history to record 100 career catches with three rec. at Texas.
• Baylor has 14 graduates on its 2018 roster, the most in the Big 12 and fifth-largest total in the nation.
• Matt Rhule coached teams have won 30 straight games when leading entering the fourth quarter.
• Baylor has had 28 players make their first appearance in a BU jersey this season, including 20 freshmen (10 true).
• Baylor has scored in a school-record 145 straight games — the previous school record was 89 games from Dec. 31, 1979 - Oct. 23, 1987.

OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
• OSU leads the all-time series 20-16, but Baylor has won four of the last six meetings dating back to 2012.
• BU leads the series 8-6 all-time in Waco and has won both visits by the Cowboys to McLane Stadium (49-28 in 2014 and 35-24 in 2016).
• Baylor has hosted OSU for homecoming only one other time, a 34-7 loss in 2009 at Floyd Casey Stadium.

BAYLOR SET FOR 95TH HOMECOMING CELEBRATION
• Baylor plays its 95th Homecoming game Saturday, marking the 109th anniversary of its first Homecoming in 1909. Baylor's Homecoming Parade is the nation's largest, and Baylor is among the first five schools nationally ever to celebrate Homecoming. The event became annual in 1924 when the name was changed from "Good Will Week" to Homecoming.
• The Bears are 46-44-4 in Homecoming contests, including an 10-12 record in the Big 12 era. Baylor's first Homecoming game was a 6-3 win over TCU in 1909, however, it would not play another such game until 1915, when it beat TCU on Thanksgiving Day, 51-0.
• From 1916 thru 1923, there again was a gap in Homecoming festivities until 1924. Baylor has played a Homecoming game every season since 1924, with the exception of two years during World War II (1943-44) when the Bears didn't field a team.

PLENTY OF BAYLOR DEBUTS IN '18
• After ranking among the top teams in the country to feature freshmen in 2017, Baylor has continued to introduce new players into its lineups in 2018.
• Through eight games, Baylor has had 28 players make their first appearances in a Bears' uniform. That total includes 10 true freshmen (Kalon Barnes, Josh Fleeks, Connor Galvin, BJ Hanspard, Christoph Henle, Christian Morgan, Tyquan Thornton, Marje Smith, Craig 'Sqwirl' Williams and JT Woods).
• The Bears have had 10 redshirt freshmen, one sophomore, two juniors, two seniors and three graduate transfers appear in a Baylor uniform for the first time. There have been 15 first time starters (five true freshmen).

REDZONE SUCCESS RATE
• Baylor has been impressive when venturing inside the opponent's 20-yard line in 2018, after struggling to score touchdowns in the red zone last season with only 18 touchdowns in 31 trips (45%). That percentage ranked 124th in FBS and last in the Big 12.
• The Bears are fourth in the Big 12 with a red zone touchdown percentage mark of 66.67% with 20 touchdowns on 30 red zone trips. The Bears have also kicked seven field goals for a near perfect 90% scoring tally that ranks 23rd in FBS.
• On the flip side, the Baylor defense has allowed the fewest red zone touchdowns (10) in the Big 12 and ranks third in opponent red zone TD conversion percentage (50%; 10-of-20). 10 TDs allowed ranks 11th nationally.

UP NEXT
• Baylor plays its final true road game of 2018 when it makes the trip to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames for a date with Iowa State. The Bears and ISU have split eight games in Ames with BU winning the last two visits.
• Last season, ISU came into McLane Stadium and came away with a 23-13 victory to snap Baylor's four-game winning streak in the series.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK
• One staple of Matt Rhule coached teams is controlling time of possession. After holding the ball for an average of 29:48 in 2017 (6th, Big 12), the Bears have put a great emphasis on possession in 2018.
• BU lead the Big 12 and rank 13th nationally with an average time of possession of 33:04 this season.
• Baylor had won the time of possession battle in five straight games until UT, and six of eight times in 2018. Baylor has controlled the ball 35+ minutes six times in last 20 games.
• The only two games in 2018 where BU has not won the time of possession was against ACU and Texas.
• The Bears have 13 scoring drives of 10 or more plays in 2018, the 13th-most nationally.

Football Hosts Oklahoma State for Homecoming

Players Mentioned

Kalon Barnes

Blake Blackmar

Charlie Brewer

Josh Fleeks

Drew Galitz

Connor Galvin

JaMycal Hasty

Christoph Henle

Jalen Hurd

Denzel Mims

Christian Morgan

Marje Smith

Tyquan Thornton

JT Woods

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