08 - NEBRASKA.qxp - CBS Sports

2009 BAYLOR FOOTBALL GAME NOTES Baylor Athletic Media Relations • 1500 South University Parks Drive • Waco, TX 76706 • 254.710.2743 Football Contact: Heath Nielsen • e-mail [email protected] • office 254.710.3538 • cell 254.709.4237 Football Contact: Larry Little • e-mail [email protected] • office 254.710.4389 • cell 254.709.5147 GAME 8

SCHEDULE/RESULTS

BAYLOR (3-4, 0-3) vs. NEBRASKA (4-3, 1-2)

SEPTEMBER W 24-21 5 WAKE FOREST ABC-TV 19 CONNECTICUT RV-NR L 22-30 26 NORTHWESTERN STATE W 68-13 OCTOBER 3 KENT STATE FSSW-TV W 31-15 L 7-33 10 • at Oklahoma NR-#19 ABC-TV 17 • at Iowa State L 10-24 24 • OKLAHOMA STATE NR-#14 VERSUS-TV L 7-34 11:30 a.m. 31 • NEBRASKA VERSUS-TV NOVEMBER 7 • at Missouri TBA 14 • TEXAS TBA 21 • at Texas A&M TBA TBA 28 • vs Texas Tech [Arlington, Texas]

GAME INFORMATION Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 Kickoff: 11:32 a.m. CDT Location: Waco, Texas Stadium: Floyd Casey Stadium Capacity: 50,000 Series: Nebraska leads 10-1 Waco: Nebraska leads 3-0 Lincoln: Nebraska leads 6-1 Neutral: Never Met First Meeting: Nebraska 20-0 [Oct. 21, 1939] Last Meeting: Nebraska 32-20 [Oct. 25, 2008]

BAYLOR BEARS Record: 3-4, 0-3 Big 12 Ranking: NR/NR/NR (AP/USA/BCS) Head Coach: Art Briles Career Record: 41-40 (7th season) Baylor Record: 7-12 (2nd season) vs. Nebraska: 0-1 Statistical Leaders: Rushing: Jarred Salubi [40-247-2] Passing: Nick Florence [65-109-2-720-2] Receiving: Kendall Wright [36-399-2] Tackles: Joe Pawelek [28-38-66]

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS Record: 4-3, 1-2 Big 12 Ranking: NR/NR/NR (AP/USA/BCS) Head Coach: Bo Pelini Career Record: 13-7 (2nd season) Nebraska Record: 13-7 (2nd season) vs. Baylor: 1-0 Statistical Leaders: Rushing: Roy Helu Jr. [112-644-6] Passing: Zac Lee [118-197-6-1461-10] Receiving: Paul Niles [23-359-3] Tackles: Ndamukong Suh [25-19-44]

B

aylor returns to action Saturday, Oct. 31, hosting Nebraska for a Big 12 Conference interdivision game. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:32 a.m. CDT at Floyd Casey Stadium. This is fourth conference game this season for both teams. Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on the Versus Network. The Bears (3-4, 0-3) have dropped three straight, most recently a 34-7 loss at home against Oklahoma State last Saturday. Baylor is 2-2 at home this season with wins over Northwestern State and Kent State and losses to Connecticut and OSU. The Huskers (4-3, 1-2) have dropped two straight after a 9-7 loss at home against Iowa State last Saturday. Nebraska, which was ranked as high as 15th nationally two weeks ago, is 1-1 on the road this season with a 27-12 win at Missouri and a 16-15 loss at Virginia Tech. 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. Streaming video also is available on a delayed basis for all Baylor home games.

All times Central and Subject to change

WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITY MONDAY, OCT. 26 Big 12 Football Teleconfence - Art Briles, 11 a.m. (contact Big 12 office for dial-in information)

No Practice - no player availability

TUESDAY, OCT. 27 Baylor Media Luncheon (Simpson Center Media Room) - Joe Pawelek, 11:45 a.m. - lunch, noon - Art Briles, 12:30 p.m. - players, 12:45 p.m.

Practice, 3:30 p.m. (Practice Field)

BAYLOR-NEBRASKA SERIES Saturday is the 12th meeting between Baylor and Nebraska in football, the eighth as Big 12 Conference opponents. The first meeting was a 20-0 Nebraska victory at Lincoln in 1939. The teams also met as non-conference opponents in 1956 (Baylor 26-7 at Lincoln), 1977 (Nebraska 31-10 at Lincoln) and 1990 (Nebraska 13-0 at Lincoln). In seven meetings as Big 12 foes, Nebraska has out-scored Baylor 299-89, scoring 48 or more points five times. However, the teams’ last two meetings were much closer. In 2005, the Huskers left Waco with a 23-14 victory, out-scoring the Bears 20-7 after the first quarter. Last season, the Huskers edged the Bears 32-20 at Lincoln, overcoming Baylor’s 20-17 halftime lead. Saturday’s game marks only the fifth time in the series’ history that Baylor has faced an unranked Nebraska squad. SERIES NOTES: Nebraska tallied 641 rushing yards against the Bears in 2001. That total is the most rushing yards ever against a Baylor squad and the second-best rushing day in Nebraska history. The Huskers toted the ball 73 times that day, attempting just nine passes. ... Two of the five highest total offense outputs surrendered by Baylor were against Nebraska (688 in 2001 and 669 in 1996). ... The 1990 Baylor-Nebraska game featured just 16 passes, eight by each team. Nebraska out-gained the Bears 335-164 in total offense that day, but the game was not put away until a Huskers’ TD with 22 seconds left. ... George Sauer, who led Baylor to a 38-21-3 record as the Bears’ head coach from 1950 to 1955, was an All-America fullback at Nebraska.

- only players requested for luncheon who did not attend available

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28 Practice, 3:30 p.m. (Practice Field) - Briles and players available to media prior to practice only

THURSDAY, OCT. 29 Practice, 3:30 p.m. (Practice Field) - Art Briles available prior to practice; no player availability

Art Briles Radio Show, 6:00 p.m. FRIDAY, OCT. 30 No Media Availability SATURDAY, OCT. 31 Baylor vs. Nebraska, 11:32 a.m. CDT Postgame press conference - Art Briles, 20 minutes after conclusion of game - players one-on-one following Briles

Baylor locker room is closed SUNDAY, NOV. 1 Art Briles teleconference, 1 p.m. No player availability

BAYLOR COACHING STAFF Art Briles, head coach Randy Clements, co-offensive coord./OL Philip Montgomery, co-offensive coord./QB/RB Brian Norwood, defensive coordinator Dino Babers, special teams coordinator/WR

Chris Achuff, defensive tackles Kendal Briles, IR/offensive recruiting coord. Larry Hoefer, linebackers Kim McCloud, DB/defensive recruiting coord. Theo Young, defensive ends

Reed Heim, graduate assistant/defense Colin Shillinglaw, director of operations Kaz Kazadi, athletic performance

OTHER - Player requests for Tuesday Media Luncheon should be submitted to Larry Little ([email protected]) no later than 2 p.m. CT Sunday. - No cameras allowed at practice after the first 20 minutes. - Art Briles phone interviews: submit requests to Heath Nielsen ([email protected]) at least 24 hours in advance.

2009 BAYLOR FOOTBALL GAME NOTES

BAYLOR ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Mailing Address: 1500 South University Parks Drive, Waco, TX 76706 Phone: 254.710.2743 Fax: 254.710.1369

MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS HEATH NIELSEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant AD / Media Relations Office: 254.710.3538 Cell: 254.709.4237 E-Mail: [email protected] LARRY LITTLE . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Director / Media Relations Office: 254.710.4389 Cell: 254.709.5147 E-Mail: [email protected] BRAD SHEFFIELD . . . . . . . . . Assistant Director / Media Relations Office: 254.710.3784 Cell: 254.640.3175 E-Mail: [email protected]

TUESDAY MEDIA LUNCHEONS Baylor’s Art Briles meets with the media every game-week Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. CT in the Simpson Center Media Room, located on the south side of the second floor. Game notes and stats for both teams will be distributed at this time. Player requests for Tuesday’s luncheon should be submitted to Baylor Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations Larry Little via e-mail ([email protected]) no later than 2 p.m. CT Sunday.

BIG 12 TELECONFERENCE Head coach Art Briles is available each Monday at 11 a.m. CT on the Big 12’s Coaches Teleconference. Contact Big 12 Media Services staff for more information, including participation phone number. A playback of the teleconference is available beginning two hours after the conclusion by calling 706.634.1618.

BAYLOR MEDIA WEBSITE An all-in-one-place media page is can be found at Baylor’s website at: http://baylorbears.cstv.com/ot/bay-media.html. Among the information available at the site are links and pdfs of statistics, game notes, quick facts and directions as well as photo/logo downloads and video FTP information.

BAYLOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FTP SITE Baylor provides broadcast-quality video of home-game postgame highlights and Tuesday press conferences via FTP download [download info below]. First-half footage is available at the start of the third quarter, second-half footage is available after the game. Tuesday presser footage is available at approximately 4:30 p.m. CT. Contact Baylor Athletic Media Relations for more information.

ART BRILES CALL-IN SHOW Coach Briles’ weekly call-in show airs Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. CT on KRZI 1660AM in Waco, on KZNX 1530AM in Austin and KCUB 98.5FM in Stephenville. The Central National Bank Art Briles Call-In show will air each Thursday throughout the season.

PLAYER INTERVIEWS All player interviews must be requested through the Baylor Athletic Media Relations office. Please coordinate all requests with the Baylor Athletic Media Relations office. Players are available to meet with the media at the Tuesday press luncheon and prior to practice Wednesday only.

PRACTICE COVERAGE Baylor’s practices are closed to the media and the general public. Media are allowed to attend the first 20 minutes of practice; still and video photography are allowed during this time.

GAME EIGHT

BAYLOR vs. NEBRASKA

QUICK NOTES • Baylor’s schedule is the nation’s 19th toughest according to the NCAA, based upon FBS opponents’ cumulative winning percentage against FBS competition (39-28, .582). • Baylor is 7-0 in the Art Briles era when allowing 21 points or fewer and 0-12 when allowing more than 21 points. • Baylor has lost 22 consecutive games when trailing at halftime. • Baylor has produced only one turnover in its first three Big 12 games. • The Bears are 0-5 in the Briles era when losing the turnover battle, including an 0-4 mark this year. • Baylor is 3-0 this season when winning the turnover battle. • Baylor is 3-1 this season when holding opponent to less than 50 percent on third-down conversions. • Nine true freshmen have seen action for Baylor this season; three have logged starts. • Baylor’s 68 points last month against Northwestern State was the third-highest point total by an FBS team in a game this season. • Five different Baylor players have thrown touchdown passes this season: QBs Nick Florence, Robert Griffin III and Blake Szymanski, TE Jerod Monk and IR Ernest Smith. The last time more than four Bears had touchdown passes in one season was 2003 when six Bears had TD passes. • IR Kendall Wright ranks seventh in the Big 12 and tied for 56th nationally with 5.1 receptions per game. Wright is 14th in the conference with 57.0 receiving yards per game. • Wright became Baylor’s 25th player to amass at least 1,000 career receiving yards earlier this season and now has 1,048 career yards. • Pawelek will start his 41st consecutive game Saturday against Nebraska, the longest such streak by a Baylor player (non-special teams) since Maurice Lane ended his career in 2005 with a school-record 45 consecutive starts. • Pawelek enters the Oklahoma State game with 379 career tackles, most among active FBS players. He also leads the nation with 210 career assisted tackles, and he is eighth nationally with 8.8 tackles per game on his career. • Pawelek ranks 27th on the NCAA career tackles list (since 2000). • Pawelek ranks second in the Big 12 and tied for 31st nationally with 9.4 tackles per game. • Pawelek needs one interception to become the 13th player in Baylor history to amass at least 10 career interceptions. • Pawelek had 21 tackles last month against Connecticut. That was the second-best, single-game total by an FBS player this season. • LB Antonio Jones had 17 tackles in that Connecticut game, tied for the 12th-best, single-game total by an FBS player this season. • Jones ranks sixth in the league with 8.1 tackles per game. • Lake is tied for seventh in the Big 12 with 7.7 tackles per game. • Lake is tied for eighth nationally among active FBS players with seven career forced fumbles. He ranks also ranks fifth nationally with 4.9 career solo tackles per game 13th nationally with 7.9 total tackles per game. • LB Antonio Johnson ranks 10th in the conference with 7.5 tackles per game. • Epperson leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 46.1 yards per punt. • Epperson’s career punting average (42.3 ypp) ranks eighth nationally among active FBS players. • RB Jay Finley needs 186 yards to become the 15th player in Baylor history to reach 1,500 career rushing yards. • QB Blake Szymanski needs 108 passing yards to become Baylor’s eighth player to reach 4,000 career passing yards. • Epperson was named first-team midseason All-America by CBSSports.com. • Pawelek and Taylor both earned second-team midseason All-America honors from Phil Steele. • Eight Bears earned midseason All-Big 12 honors from Phil Steele: Lake, Pawelek, DT Phil Taylor (first team); Epperson, Jones, DE Jason Lamb, Walton, Wright (third team). TRACKING BAYLOR’S 2009 OPPONENTS OPPONENT (DATE VS. BU) WAKE FOREST (Sept. 5) CONNECTICUT (Sept. 19) NORTHWESTERN STATE (Sept. 26) KENT STATE (Oct. 3) at Oklahoma (Oct. 10) at Iowa State (Oct. 17) OKLAHOMA STATE (Oct. 24) NEBRASKA (Oct. 31) at Missouri (Nov. 7) TEXAS (Nov. 14) at Texas A&M (Nov. 21) vs. Texas Tech (Nov. 28)

W-L 4-3 4-3 0-7 4-4 4-3 5-3 6-1 4-3 4-3 7-0 4-3 5-3 51-36

LAST WEEK lost at Navy 14-10 lost at West Virginia 28-24 lost to Texas State 20-17 won at Ohio 20-0 won at Kansas 35-13 won at Nebraska 9-7 won at Baylor 34-7 lost to Iowa State 9-7 lost to Texas 41-7 won at Missouri 41-7 won at Texas Tech 52-30 lost to Texas A&M 52-30

THIS WEEK MIAMI-FL RUTGERS at Sam Houston State WESTERN MICHIGAN KANSAS STATE at Texas A&M TEXAS at Baylor at Colorado at Oklahoma State IOWA STATE KANSAS


GAME EIGHT

LAST TIME vs. NEBRASKA

LAST MEETING NEBRASKA 32, BAYLOR 20

NEBRASKA 32, BAYLOR 20 OCT. 25, 2008 • MEMORIAL STADIUM • LINCOLN, NEB.

OCT. 25, 2008 • MEMORIAL STADIUM • LINCOLN, NEB.

A goal-line stand and a large disparity on third downs helped Nebraska overcome a halftime deficit en route to a 32-20 over Baylor. It was the Bears’ eighth consecutive loss in a road game and its ninth straight against Nebraska. Jacoby Jones found the end zone on a 1-yard run with 17 seconds remaining in the second half to give Baylor a 20-17 lead at the break. However, the Bears failed to score in the second half for the second straight game. That score remained until late in the third quarter. Baylor faced a third-and-goal from the Nebraska 3-yard-line but lost lost two yards on a rush. The Bears attempted a 20-yard field goal, but Ben Parks’ attempt hit the left upright and fell to the side. Nebraska answered with a 12play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 9-yard Joe Ganz touchdown pass to Nate Swift. The Huskers never trailed again. Ganz and Swift again connected with 12:11 remaining in the game on a 53-yard touchdown pass, but the extra point failed to keep the Bears’ deficit at 10 points. However, that gap was pushed to 12 with just under seven minutes remaining when Jay Finley was stuffed in the end zone for a safety. That capped the scoring at 32-20. The game was won, though, on third downs. Nebraska was 11-of-17 on third downs, including six of five yards or more and two of 10 yards ar more. Meanwhile, Baylor failed to convert on any of its 10 third-down plays. The result was Nebraska controlling the ball for more than 38 mintues and running 69 offensive plays to Baylor’s 53. Nebraska took the game’s first lead on a Ryan Hill 6-yard run midway through the first quarter. Baylor quickly answered on Finley’s 43-yard touchdown run just 39 seconds later. The Bears took their first lead with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter on Robert Griffin’s 47-yard touchdown gallop. The Huskers reclaimed the lead thanks to Alex Henery’s 27-yard field goal and Marlon Lucky’s 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Baylor rushed for 216 yards, its first 200-yard rushing game in Big 12 play since the 2003 against Colorado and its first in a Big 12 road game since 1997 at Texas A&M. Griffin led the way, gaining 121 yards on 16 carries

BAYLOR-NEBRASKA COMPARISONS BAYLOR (3-4, 0-3 Big 12) Team Statistics BU Scoring 24.1 First Downs 16.9 Rushing Offense 131.9 Passing Offense 223.7 Total Offense 355.6 Turnovers 12 Penalties 56-69.1 Punts-Net 34-36.4 Punt Returns 9-7.8 Kickoff Returns 29-23.4 Third Downs 34.8% Sacks-Yards 12-69 Field Goals 3/6 Time of Possession 25:01 Rushing Salubi Finley Sims Passing Florence Receiving Wright Gettis Smith Salubi

ATT 40 34 32

NEBRASKA (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) Team Statistics NU Scoring 28.7 First Downs 19.0 Rushing Offense 146.3 Passing Offense 235.1 Total Offense 381.4 Turnovers 15 Penalties 54-66.9 Punts-Net 32-34.2 Punt Returns 26-9.8 Kickoff Returns 18-22.2 Third Downs 44.8% Sacks-Yards 18-135 Field Goals 9/11 Time of Possession 29:17

OPP 11.4 14.9 102.3 164.1 266.4 10 44-52.3 48-35.6 13-8.5 24-20.3 33.9% 10-55 6/10 30:43

YPG 35.3 60.5 17.7

Rushing Helu Jr. Burkhead Green

ATT NET AVG TD 112 644 5.8 6 23 118 5.1 1 8 80 10.0 2

C-A-I PCT TD YPG 65-109-2 59.6 2 144.0

Passing Lee

C-A-I PCT TD YPG 118-197-6 59.9 10 208.7

Receiving Paul Gilleylen McNeill Holt

REC 23 16 16 15

REC 36 24 24 15

NET AVG TD 247 6.2 2 242 7.1 1 124 3.9 3

OPP 24.3 23.3 184.4 216.7 401.1 12 58-70.7 26-33.2 14-15.4 30-21.1 45.9% 11-64 12/18 34:59

YDS 399 302 259 139

AVG TD 11.1 2 12.6 3 10.8 0 9.3 0

YPG 57.0 43.1 37.0 19.9

YDS 359 299 182 175

AVG TD 15.6 3 18.7 1 11.4 3 11.7 1

BAYLOR vs. NEBRASKA

YPG 92.0 23.6 20.0

YPG 51.3 42.7 26.0 25.0

NCAA TEAM STATISTICS RANKINGS Category BU NU Rushing Offense 77 61 Passing Offense 53 42 Total Offense 75 58 Scoring Offense 83 48 Rushing Defense 100 22 Pass Efficiency Defense 43 11 Total Defense 91 8 Scoring Defense 66 5 Net Punting 51 88 Punt Returns 77 51 Kickoff Returns 41 57 Turnover Margin 64 t-96 Pass Defense 63 13 Passing Efficiency 73 56 Sacks t-75 31 Tackles for Loss 100 t-36 Sacks Allowed 46 t-39

BAYLOR . . . . . . . . . 14 6 Nebraska . . . . . . . . 7 10

1st 7:42 1st 7:03 1st 2:26 2nd 5:41 2nd 2:06 2nd 0:17 3rd 1:15 4th 12:11 4th 6:59

NU BU BU NU NU BU NU NU NU

0 7

0 — 20 8 — 32

Hill 6 pass from Gantz (Henery kick) Finley 43 run (Parks kick) Griffin 47 run (Parks kick) Henery 27 FG Lucky 18 run (Henery kick) J. Jones 1 run (kick blocked) Swift 9 pass from Ganz (Henery kick) Swift 53 pass from Ganz (kick failed) TEAM safety

First Downs Rushing Passing Penalty Rushing Att.-Yards Average Passing Yards Passing (C-A-I) Average Total Offense Average Punts-Avg. Net Average Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards 3rd-Down Conversions 4th-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Touchdowns Field Goals Sacks-Yards Time of Possession

BU 16 8 5 3 33-216 6.5 134 9-20-0 6.7 350 6.6 6-44.5 36.3 1-0 6-39 0-of-10 1-of-2 1-2 1 0 2-5 21:23

0-7 7-7 14-7 14-10 14-17 20-17 20-24 20-30 20-32

NU 26 9 17 0 37-161 4.4 366 32-46-0 7.3 497 6.0 3-43.3 43.3 3-1 6-70 11-of-17 0-of-1 4-5 3 1 3-22 38:37

RUSHING: (BU) Griffin 16-121 1 TD, Finley 14-88 1 TD, Wright 2-6, J. Jones 1-1 1 TD; (NU) Lucky 16-83 1 TD, Ganz 11-47, Castille 7-31, Helu Jr. 2-6, TEAM 1-(-1). PASSING: (BU) Griffin 9-20-0-134; (NU) Ganz 32-46-0-336 3 TD. RECEIVING: (BU) Wright 3-60, White 3-18, Fenty 2-21, E. Smith 135; (NU) Swift 11-121 2 TD, Peterson 6-57, Paul 5-34, McNeill 4-24, Lucky 3-82, Holt 1-8, Hill 1-6 1 TD, Young 1-4. PUNTING: (BU) Epperson 6-44.5 65; (NU) Titchener 3-43.3 47. MISSED FIELD GOALS: (BU) Parks 19; (OSU) Henery 52 (blocked). DEFENSE: (BU) Lake 9-6-15 1 FF, Johnson 2-9-11, Pawelek 5-5-10 1 FF 1 FR, Patin 7-1-8 2.0 SACK 1 FF, A. Jones 4-4-8 1.0 TFL 1 PBU, J. La Mar 2-4-6, Williams 1-5-6, Atchison 2-3-5, Lamb 1-3-4 1 BLK; (NU) Asante 4-3-7 1.5 TFL 1.0 SACK, Suh 3-4-7 0.5 TFL 1 BLK 1 QBH, Potter 14-5 0.5 TFL 1 QBH, Dillard 4-0-4 1 PBU, Hagg 2-2-4 1 QBH, Glenn 2-2-4 1.5 TFL 1 QBH, Amukamara 2-1-3 1.0 SACK.


HEAD COACH

ART BRILES

Art Briles assumed Baylor’s head coaching post Nov. 28, 2007, ushering in a new era and a new attitude to the storied Bears football program. In his first season on the sidelines in Waco it was quickly evident that the Briles Era was underway at Baylor; from the innovative offense, the reintroduction of a solid running game and a record-setting quarterback, to competitive games and no acceptance of moral victories. Briles’ 2008 Bears finished with a 4-8 record, but six of eight defeats were at the hands of ranked opponents (four in top 10) and three losses came by a touchown or less. Highlights of Briles’ first season at Baylor included the emergence of sensational true freshman quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Big 12’s top newcomer and freshman All-American, a rushing attack that ranked 21st nationally and third in the Big 12 with 195.8 yards per game (2,349 yards, most since 1981) and 29 touchdowns, and a memorable 41-21 home win over Texas A&M. Baylor’s 1.33 turnover margin ranked fourth nationally and junior linebacker Joe Pawelek ranked seventh nationally in tackles (10.7) and interceptions (.50). Briles is a proven developer of professional talent, evidenced over the last three NFL drafts where his proteges include the first lineman selected in 2009 (second overall pick Jason Smith from Baylor), the first receiver selected in 2008 (33rd pick Donnie Avery of Houston) and the third quarterback selected in 2007 (36th pick Kevin Kolb of Houston). A native of West Texas, Briles became Baylor’s 25th head football coach after resurrecting the University of Houston’s football program in a five-year stretch from 2003 to 2007. Briles, who inherited a Houston program that was just two years removed from an 0-11 season and won eight total games from 2000 to 2003, posted a 34-28 record with the Cougars and guided them to four bowl games. He ranks as the program’s third-winningest head coach behind College Football Hall of Famer Bill Yeoman (160 wins in 26 seasons) and Clyde Lee (37 victories in seven seasons). Briles arrived to Houston from Texas Tech, where he spent three years (2000-02) as the Red Raiders’ running backs coach. The Tech ground game flourished under Briles’ direction, increasing its production every year and producing a 2001 first-team All-Big 12 performer in Ricky Williams. The Red Raiders won seven or more games each season Briles was on Mike Leach’s staff and went bowling every year. Prior to moving into the collegiate coaching ranks at Texas Tech, Briles spent 12 seasons (1988-99) as head coach and athletic director at Stephenville [Texas] High School. His Yellowjacket teams won four state championships, capturing back-to-back crowns in 1993 and 1994 and repeating that feat in 1998 and 1999. Briles, a former Texas High School Coaches Association president, has spent his entire coaching career in the state of Texas. Following in his father’s footsteps, Briles began his coaching career as an assistant at Sundown [Texas] High School in 1979 before moving to Sweetwater [Texas] High School as an assistant from 1980-83. At age 28, he landed his first head coaching job at Hamlin [Texas] High School (1984-86), where he also served as athletic director. From Hamlin, Briles went to Georgetown [Texas] High School as head coach and athletic director for two seasons (1986-87) before moving to Stephenville in 1988. While coaching in the high school ranks, Briles developed six Division I quarterbacks and had five signal callers throw for over 3,000 yards in a season. A former wide receiver for the Cougars from 1974 to 1977, Briles was a member of the 1976 Cougar squad that captured the Southwest Conference championship in UH’s first season in the league. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech in 1979 and a Masters of Education degree from Abilene Christian in 1984. A Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame inductee for his West Texas exploits, Briles and his wife, Jan, have three children: Jancy, a graduate of the University of Houston who works in the Dallas Cowboys Public Relations office; Kendal, a Cougar letterman and UH graduate who serves as an assistant coach on Baylor’s staff; and Staley, a UH graduate. Briles was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in April 2008.

GAME EIGHT

BAYLOR vs. NEBRASKA

BAYLOR IN TELEVISED GAMES Saturday’s game is the 126th televised game in Baylor football history; the Bears are 41-82-2 all-time in televised games, including a 2-2 mark last season. Baylor defeated Wake Forest on ABC in the season opener and knocked off Kent State on FOX Sports Southwest in late September. The Bears lost at Oklahoma on ABC earlier this month at home against Oklahoma State on the Versus Network last week. This is Baylor’s sixth all-time game on Versus and its second this season. The Bears are 0-5 on the network, falling to at Texas A&M and at home to Texas in 2007, at Nebraska and at Texas Tech last season, and at home against Oklahoma State last week.

BAYLOR vs. BIG 12 NORTH Most of Baylor’s success in the Big 12 Conference has come against teams from the North Division. The Bears are 9-31 against teams from the North with only four victories (Texas, 1997; Texas A&M, 2004; Oklahoma State, 2005; Texas A&M, 2008) against teams from the South (4-61). Baylor’s nine victories are as follows: Iowa State (1996), Kansas (1998), Kansas (2002), Colorado (2003), Iowa State (2005), Kansas State (2006), Colorado (2006), Kansas (2006) and Iowa State (2008). Baylor has won five of its last 12 against Big 12 North opponents.

LACK OF TURNOVERS AFFECTING BEARS Baylor is tied for 71st nationally with 12 turnovers gained this season; furthermore, the Bears have produced only one turnover in their first three conference games. Last season, Baylor averaged 2.3 takeaways per game; this season, that average has dipped to 1.7 per game. The Bears won the turnover battle in 10 of 12 games last season, losing the edge once and breaking even once. This season, the Bears have won the turnover battle in three of seven games, going 3-0 in those games. Baylor defense produced at least one turnover in each game of the 2008 season; however, the Bears have failed to produce a turnover in three games this season, going 0-3 in those contests. Baylor is 0-5 in the Art Briles era when losing the turnover battle, including an 0-4 mark this season.

GETTIS, WRIGHT CLIMBING BAYLOR RECEIVER CHARTS WR David Gettis became the 24th player in Baylor history to amass 1,000 career receiving yards earlier this season during the Northwestern State game. Gettis is the first Bear to accomplish the feat since 2005 when Trent Shelton and Dominique Zeigler both reached the 1,000-yard plateau. Gettis enters the Nebraska game with 88 career receptions, tied for 11th place on Baylor’s career list. With 12 receptions, he would become the eighth 100-reception player in Baylor history and the program’s first since Brandon Whitaker reached the plateau in 2007. Meanwhile, IR Kendall Wright is right on Gettis’ heals with 86 receptions in just 19 career games. Wright has at least one reception in each game of his career, averaging 4.5 catches per contest. He also became Baylor’s 25th player to reach 1,000 career receiving yards earlier this season and now has 1,048 career receiving yards. CAREER RECEPTIONS PLAYER SEASONS 1. Reggie Newhouse 1999-02 2. Dominique Zeigler 2003-06 3. Gerald McNeil 1980-83 4. Trent Shelton 2003-06 5. Lawrence Elkins 1962-64 6. Robert Quiroga 2000-03 7. Brandon Whitaker 2003-07 8. Kalief Muhammad 1993-96 9. Melvin Bonner 1989-92 10. Marques Roberts 2001-04 11. Harlan Lane 1964-65 Tommy Davidson 1974-77 David Gettis 2006-present 14. Charles Dancer 1972-73 15. Kendall Wright 2008-present 16. Morris Anderson 1995-98 Andra Fuller 1998-01 18. George Cheshire 1965-67 Matt Clark 1984-87 20. Derrius Thompson 1996-98

YDS 2,552 1,923 2,651 1,978 2,094 1,478 782 1,300 1,984 1,222 1,036 1,121 1,182 1,390 1,048 1,173 840 1,034 1,480 1,088

AVG 13.95 11.58 16.26 12.76 14.54 11.28 6.52 13.27 21.57 13.43 11.77 12.74 13.43 15.98 12.19 14.13 10.12 12.77 18.27 13.95

REC 183 166 163 155 144 131 120 98 92 91 88 88 88 87 86 83 83 81 81 78


GAME EIGHT

PAWELEK NEARS NCAA TACKLES MILESTONE Senior LB Joe Pawelek needs 30 tackles to crack the NCAA top-20 list for career tackles. He currently ranks 27th on the list with 379 career stops, most among active FBS players. The NCAA began tracking tackles for its records book in 2000. Since then, 21 players have reached 400 career tackles. Tim McGarigle of Northwestern holds the recognized NCAA career tackles record, making 545 career stops from 2002 to 2005. Due to the fact that the NCAA did not begin recognizing tackles records until 2000, two former Baylor All-Americans are not on the list. Ray Berry had 380 career tackles from 1983 to 1986. Mike Singletary is the unofficial all-time tackles leader in Division I history; he made 662 stops from 1977 to 1980.

FINLEY RUSHING UP BAYLOR CAREER YARDAGE LIST RB Jay Finley recorded the fourth 100-yard game of his career earlier this season against Connecticut, going for a career-high 121 yards on eight carries for a 15.1-yards-per-carry average. It was his fourth consecutive game with at least 90 rushing yards and his third 100-yard game in that stretch. Finley enters the Nebraska game with 1,314 career rushing yards, the 23rd-best career total in Baylor history. He needs 186 yards to become the 15th player in school history to amass at least 1,500 career rushing yards. With 686 yards, he would become the program’s seventh 2,000-yard rusher and Baylor’s first since Darrell Bush (1997-2000). BAYLOR CAREER RUSHING LEADERS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

PLAYER Walter Abercrombie Jerod Douglas Alfred Anderson Darrell Bush Dennis Gentry David Mims Eldwin Raphel Robert Strait Rashad Armstrong Paul Mosley Larry Hickman Pinkie Palmer Cleveland Franklin Jerry Coody Brandell Jackson Pat McNeil Steve Beaird L.G. Dupre John Henry Ronnie Bull Del Shofner Gary Lacy Jay Finley

SEASONS 1978-81 1994-97 1980-83 1997-00 1977, 79-81 1989-92 1987-90 1990-93 2002-03 2003-06 1956-58 1966-68 1973-76 1951-53 1992-94 1973-75 1973-74 1952-54 1990-93 1959-61 1954-56 1972-73 2007-present

ATT 732 522 554 503 414 364 435 428 417 408 388 444 303 345 290 277 335 311 285 295 220 314 228

AVG 5.01 5.39 4.38 4.47 5.39 5.66 4.42 4.34 4.13 4.21 4.41 3.50 5.08 4.45 5.11 5.28 4.33 4.58 4.82 4.59 6.12 4.25 5.63

YDS 3,665 2,811 2,424 2,249 2,231 2,060 1,921 1,856 1,721 1,718 1,713 1,554 1,538 1,536 1,482 1,462 1,449 1,423 1,375 1,354 1,346 1,335 1,314

BEARS THROW BLOCK PARTY Baylor has blocked four kicks this season — three field goals and one extra point. DE Jason Lamb and DT Phil Taylor are responsible for the four blocks, each claiming two. Lamb had a blocked two field goals last week against Kent State, while Taylor also had a blocked extra point against the Golden Flashes. Baylor’s single-season record for team blocked kicks is 13, established in 1980.

YOUNG GUNS Nine true freshmen have seen time for Baylor this season: DB Chance Casey, QB Nick Florence, WR Josh Gordon, S Mike Hicks, WR Willie Jefferson, LB Logan Lanier, S Anthony Moore and IR Michael Valdez and OG Ivory Wade. Casey, Florence and Wade all have garnered starts.

BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION’S TOUGHEST After playing eight teams that went to bowl games in each of the last two seasons, Baylor is again slated to face eight returning bowl teams on its 2009 schedule, including five of its eight Big 12 opponents. Baylor’s 2009 schedule currently ranks as the nation’s 19th toughest based upon cumulative opponents’ winning percentage (39-28, .582). That factors only FBS opponents and games against FBS teams. The Bears’ schedule ranks third among Big 12 teams; Oklahoma’s schedule ranks as the nation’s second toughest (43-23, .652), and Colorado’s is 15th (43-29, .697). Another Baylor opponent — Connecticut — has the nation’s 11th-toughest schedule (36-24, .600).

BAYLOR vs. NEBRASKA

RECORD BREAKDOWN Current Streak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 3 Current Home Streak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 1 Current Road Streak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lost 2 Last Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-15 vs. Kent State (10/3/09) Last Road Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-21 at Wake Forest (9/5/09) Last Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-7 vs. Oklahoma State (10/24/09) Last Road Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-10 at Iowa State (10/17/09) 2009 BRILES ERA Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 . . . . . . . . . . 6-5 Away. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 . . . . . . . . . . 1-7 Natural Grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-2 . . . . . . . . . . 0-4 Artificial Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 Day Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 . . . . . . . . . . 2-9 Night Games. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Televised Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 . . . . . . . . . . 4-8 vs. Ranked Opponents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-2 . . . . . . . . . . 0-8 August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . . . . . . 0-1 September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 November. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 Leading at Halftime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-0 . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Trailing at Halftime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-4 . . . . . . . . . . 0-9 Tied at Halftime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . . . . . . 0-1 Scoring First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Opponent Scoring First. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 Score < 20 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 . . . . . . . . . . 0-6 Score 20+ Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 . . . . . . . . . . 7-6 Score 30+ Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-0 . . . . . . . . . . 6-0 Score 40+ Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-0 . . . . . . . . . . 4-0 Opp. Scores < 20 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-0 . . . . . . . . . . 5-0 Opp. Scores 20+ Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4 . . . . . . . . . . 2-12 Opp. Scores 30+ Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 . . . . . . . . . . 0-11 Opp. Scores 40+ Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-0 . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 Gain