No. 11/10 Football Treks to Fort Worth

GAME 9
BAYLOR at TCU
Nov. 9 | 11 a.m. CT | Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth, Texas
TV: FS1
Game Notes: Baylor | TCU | Big 12

STORY LINES
• Baylor travels north up I-35 to Ft. Worth for a rivalry matchup with TCU. Saturday is the 115th all-time meeting between the two programs, the most-played series for both schools.
• The Bears are one of seven remaining undefeated teams in FBS and the only unbeaten team in the Big 12.
• Baylor is only the second FBS program since 1937 to start 8-0 within two seasons of going 0-8 to begin a campaign. UCF also accomplished the feat in 2015 and 2017.
• The Baylor defense has forced a punt on the opponent's first possession of the game in all 8 games in 2019.
• Baylor is 8-0 for the third time this decade, and only the third time in program history (2013 & 2015). BU's two 8-0 starts this decade is the most among Big 12 programs (OSU, 2; TCU, 2; K-State, 1).
• BU's 17-14 win over WVU broke a 30-game streak of losses dating back to 2006 when scoring less than 20 points.
• The Bears' current 10-game win streak dating back to 2018 is the second longest in program history and tied for the third longest active streak in FBS (Clemson - 24, Ohio St. - 14, Minnesota - 10).
• Baylor offensive lineman Sam Tecklenburg leads the team with 36 starts, including 33 straight. Sixth-year senior wide receiver Chris Platt leads the roster with 51 career games played, sixth most in BU history.
• James Lynch set a new BU record for sacks in a Big 12 game with 3.0 at K-State. Lynch, with 17.0 career sacks, needs only 0.5 to tie the program record. He ranks 9th nationally with 8.5 sacks and 24th in TFL (11.5).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense (18.5 ppg).
• BU has blocked 9 kicks in the last 13 games, and has 14 blocks since the start of 2017, the 2nd most nationally.
• Baylor holds a 114-55-2 record all-time as a ranked team.
• The Bears' rank of No. 11 this week is their highest since checking in at No. 8 on Oct. 16, 2016.
• Baylor held West Virginia to 219 total yards, the fewest yards the Bears have allowed any opponent in 2019.
• BU has allowed only 148 points overall and 18 touchdowns in eight games, the fewest points allowed over the first eight games since they let in only 123 points in a 8-0 start to 2013.
• The Bears have three wins over teams with a +.500 record, second most nationally behind only Notre Dame (4).

TCU SERIES HISTORY
• The Bears head north up I-35 to face TCU at Amon G. Carter Stadium on Nov. 9. BU is 52-55-7 all-time against the Horned Frogs, including a 18-23-1 mark in Ft. Worth. Baylor has lost four straight to TCU following 2014's 61-58 thriller. With 114 all-time meetings, TCU is Baylor's most played opponent all-time.
• Last season, Baylor dropped a 16-9 game at McLane Stadium that saw the Bears total only 303 yards of total offense and commit three turnovers.
• Baylor's last victory in Ft. Worth was a 41-38 win in 2013 behind a pair of pick-sixes from Orion Stewart and Eddie Lackey that helped the Bears to a 7-1 Big 12 record and set the stage for Baylor's first conference title since 1980.

NEXT UP
• Baylor hosts Oklahoma for a likely Big 12 Conference No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at McLane Stadium on November 16. Baylor is is 2-12 against OU in Waco.
• The Bears are 3-24 all-time against Oklahoma with all three wins occuring between 2011-2014. BU has lost four straight meetings with the Sooners.
• In Waco, Baylor has wins in 2011 and 2013. The Bears put a score in OU in the 2017 meeting with a 49-41 thriller that included Baylor closing within one score with 2:45 remaining 3Q and 1:41 left in the game.
• Last season, Baylor piled up nearly 500 yards of offense, but allowed 607 and dropped a 66-33 contest in Norman. Charlie Brewer passed for 400 yards, two scores and completed 38-of-60 passes.
• Against OU in his career, Denzel Mims has 22 receptions, 306 yards and four touchdowns, a BU record.

OCTOBER DEFENSIVE LINE DOMINATION
• Baylor's defensive line was clicking on all cylinders in the month of October. The Bears tallied a combined total of 14.0 sacks and 34.0 tackles for loss over the last 4 games - wins over K-State, Texas Tech, OSU and WVU.
• With 2.0 sacks against Oklahoma State, Baylor equaled their 2018 season total of 25.0 in only seven games. The 26.0 sacks in eight games is the most for Baylor to open a season since at least 2000.
• Texas Tech entered the Oct. 12 matchup having allowed only 4.0 sacks in five games, but the Bears totaled 5.0 sacks lead by 2.5 from James Lynch.
• Lynch and Bravvion Roy became the first teammates in BU's Big 12 history to each record 3.5 TFL or more in a Big 12 game in the win at K-State.
• The Bears totaled 15.0 tackles for loss at K-State, the most in a Big 12 or FBS game since at least 2000. The total equals the overall program best during that time set against FCS members Wofford (2013) and Northwestern State (2016).

JAMES LYNCH CRUSHING RECORDS
• Junior defensive lineman James Lynch has totaled 5.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss in the last four games - all Big 12 victories for Baylor.
• Lynch ranks first in the Big 12 and ninth nationally with 8.5 sacks in 2019. He is fourth in the conference with 11.5 tackles for loss, a total that ranks 24th nationally.
• The Round Rock native is 13th among active FBS players (2nd, Big 12) with 17.0 career sacks.
• Lynch set a new Baylor record for sacks in a Big 12 game with 3.0 sacks at K-State. He was named the Bednarik Award National Player of the Week for his performance against the Wildcats.
• He is closing in on a pair of Baylor records for both career sacks and tackles

FACTS ABOUT THE 8-0 START
• Baylor is 8-0 for the third time this decade, and only the third time in program history (2013 & 2015). BU's three 8-0 starts this decade are the third-most in FBS behind only Alabama (6), Clemson (4) and Ohio State (t-3).
• BU last started 8-0 in 2015. The Bears are one of only seven remaining undefeated teams as of Nov. 3.
• Baylor has started 5-0 in Big 12 play for only the third time in program history (2013 and 2015).
• The Bears have won 10 straight games dating back to 2018, the second-longest streak in program history. The streak is third-longest active streak among FBS teams (Clemson, 24; Ohio St., 14; Minnesota, 10).

SACKS A PLENTY IN MANHATTAN
• Baylor finished the Kansas State win with 6.0 sacks, the most for the program since 2015. The Bears followed that up with 5.0 sacks against Texas Tech, two of hte top seven sack totals in the Big 12 era.
• The Bears tied their Big 12 record with six sacks against K-State, the most in a game since tallying 6.0 at No.4 Oklahoma State in 2015.

BREWER THE CARDIAC KID
• In his time as Baylor's starting quarterback, Charlie Brewer has led the Bears on five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter, including this season's victories over Iowa State and OSU. He also led a drive to tie the game before ultimately winning in double overtime vs. Texas Tech.
• Baylor is tied with Florida for the national lead with six fourth-quarter comebacks since the start of 2018.

NOTING THE DEFENSE
• Baylor has held eight straight conference opponents to less than 30 points for the first time in its Big 12 history.
• The Bears lead the Big 12 and rank 18th nationally with 26.0 sacks on the season. BU had only 25.0 sacks in 13 games in 2018. BU is second in the Big 12 with 60.0 TFL in 2019, that total is top 30 in FBS.
• Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 in Yards Per Play Differential (O-D) at +2.32 behind only Oklahoma (+4.42).
• BU has had 26.0 sacks in the first 8 games of a season only once before (2014). With 60 tackles for loss, the Bears have the 5th-most TFL over the first 8 games behind only 2013 (71), 2016 (66), 2014 (64) and 2015 (62).
• Baylor allowed 21 points or less in five-straight games to open a season for the first time since 1991 when it allowed 21 or less in the first six games.
• Baylor is the only Big 12 team yet to allow 28 points in a regulation game. BU leads the conference and ranks 19th nationally in scoring defense (19.1 ppg). Against P5 teams, Baylor is only allowing 18.7 ppg.
• Jordan Williams leads Big 12 linebackers with 8 passes defended. No other linebacker has more than 4.

NEW-LOOK DEFENSE TRENDING UP
• Transitioning to an odd front with three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs, Baylor believed adding more speed to the back end would translate to results. So far they have been right.
• With two takeaways against West Virginia, Baylor has now had 18 interceptions or fumble recoveries in the last 10 games after only six in the prior 14 contests.
• Through eight games, the Bears have held opponents to only 32 first-half points and an average of 341.1 yards per game (3rd, B12 / 31st, NCAA). BU ranks 29th in rushing defense nationally and 2nd in Big 12 (122.0).
• Baylor has allowed only 24 plays of 20 or more yards, the fewest in the Big 12.
• BU leads the Big 12 with a +5 turnover margin through eight games.
• After totaling 10 interceptions in the first 25 games of the Rhule era, Baylor now has seven interceptions in 2019, including six in the last five games.
• The Bears held Iowa State scoreless through the first three quarters, the first time a Baylor team has held an opponent scoreless through three quarters since a 28-7 win at Texas on Oct. 4, 2014.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

No. 11/10 Football Treks to Fort Worth

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Players Mentioned

Charlie Brewer

James Lynch

Denzel Mims

Chris Platt

Bravvion Roy

Sam Tecklenburg

Jordan Williams

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