Baylor FB Hosts No. 22/22 BYU on Saturday at McLane Stadium

[Ingram, Brent]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 23, 2024

Baylor FB Hosts No. 22/22 BYU on Saturday at McLane Stadium
Bears Welcome Red-Hot Cougars to McLane Stadium

For more information contact: Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651, brent_ingram at baylor.edu<mailto:brent_ingram at baylor.edu>  or Max Calderone; 254-265-1639, max_calderone at baylor.edu<mailto:max_calderone at baylor.edu> or Josie Hutton; 254-709-7720,  josie_hutton at baylor.edu<mailto:josie_hutton at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas -- Baylor football returns to McLane Stadium on Saturday to host No. 22/22 BYU at 11 a.m. on FS1.

The FS1 telecast will feature Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst) on the call. The game will also be broadcast live on the Baylor Sports Media Network, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), and BU greats J.J. Joe (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline) on the call.
Baylor (2-2, 0-1 Big 12 Conference) is coming off a 38-31 overtime loss at Colorado, while BYU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) is coming off a 38-9 thrashing of conference-front runner No. 14 Kansas State in Provo last weekend.

SCOUTING THE COUGS
• BYU is led by Kilani Sitaki, a 2000 alum of the program who played in 1994, 1997-2000, who is in his ninth year leading the Cougs. Sitaki took over in 2016 after spending the 2015 season as the Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Oregon State. He previously worked in the same role at Utah from 2005-14, which followed two years at Southern Utah - working on the offensive side of the ball - and a year as the graduate assistant at BYU and working with DBs at Eastern Arizona in 2001. Sitake played for legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards as a running back. He has led BYUU to winning seasons in six of his eight previous seasons, including an 11-1 mark in 2020 and a 10-3 record in 2021. The Cougs have four bowl wins under Sitaki.
• Jay Hill is the BYU Associate Head Coach, DC and safeties coach and came to BYU after serving as the head coach at Weber State from 2014-22. He previously was at Utah from 2005-13, which featured time as the tight ends, running backs and cornerbacks coach. Aaron Roderick is the OC and QB coach since 2021, is a former BYU WR that saw him serve as the passing game coordinator in 2018-20. Fesi Sitake is the passing game coordinator and WR coach, Kelly Poppinga is the special teams coordinator and coaches the DEs and TJ Woods coaches the offensive line and coordinates the run game.
• Tom Holmoe has been the BYU AD since 2005 and has led the Cougs to an average Directors’ Cup finish of 36 during his 17 years. The 2020-21 NACDA AD of the Year, Holmoe played defensive back for BYU from 1978-82 and returned to BYU as Associate AD for Development in 2001. A native of La Crescenta, Calif., he was an All-WAC player who went in the fourth round of the 1983 NFL Draft to the 49ers, playing seven years in the NFL with three Super Bowl Championships. He worked as a graduate assistant coach under Edwards in 1990-91, then went on to coach the defensive backs for Bill Walsh at Stanford for two seasons and the 49ers for two seasons. He was the defensive coordinator at Cal and later was the head coach from 1997-2001. Brian Santiago is the BYU Deputy AD, overseeing game management for football and basketball and marketing, communications and camps. He is the sport program admin for basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis and golf.
• BYU opened its conference schedule with a matchup at No. 13 Kansas State on Saturday in Provo. The Cougs opened up a 31-6 lead after a fumble and punt return for a touchdown midway through the third quarter, totaling 14 first downs, 92 rushing yards, 149 passing yards and 241 yards of total offense.
• The Cougs started the season strong with a 41-13 win over Southern Illinois, an 18-15 win over SMU and a 34-14 win at Wyoming.
• QB Jake Retzlaff has thrown for 990 yards with nine TDs and three interceptions, while former BU QB Gerry Bohanon has thrown for 27 yards off the bench. Retzlaff leads the team with 103 rushing yards, with Sione I Moa ranking second with 93 yards. Chase Roberts has caught 17 balls for 310 yards and a score. Defensively, Harrison Taggart has 25 tackles, Jack Kelly has three sacks and five Cougs have an interception each.
• As a team, BYU is averaging 32.8 points per game, allowing only 12.8. BYU averages 390.5 yards of total offense, 254.3 yards passing and 136.3 rushing. Opponents are only gathering 269 yards of offense, with 136.3 on the ground and 132.8 passing.

LAST MEETING
• Baylor hit the road for its first test away from McLane Stadium in 2022 and fell in a two-overtime thriller at No. 21/25 BYU, in front of 63,470 at a rocking LaVell Edwards Stadium.
• The Bears battled the Cougars in a matchup of two future Big 12 Conference foes in an electric atmosphere in Provo. BU took its first lead on a Qualan Jones TD rush - his first of two on the night - but after a missed PAT, the Cougars used an eight-play, 75-yard drive to conclude the half with a 10-6 lead. BU answered with a second-half opening drive of 77 yards for a 13-10 lead, and the teams traded TDs in the third and fourth quarters to take a 20-20 game into the final seconds, where BYU kicker Jakye Oldroyd missed a potential game-winning field goal.
• Both teams missed field goals - including the potential walk-off winner from Oldroyd - in the first OT period and BYU punched it in to open the second OT but missed the two-point conversion try. Baylor then used 11 plays in its game-tying or game-winning bid on its possession, with Blake Shapen’s fourth-down throw sailing high to allow the Cougars to escape with the win.
• BYU threw for 283 yards and rushed for 83, while Baylor rushed for 152 yards and threw for 137 in the loss but were handcuffed by 14 penalties for 117 yards. Craig Williams totaled 68 yards rushing on 17 carries, Jones had 67 yards on 16 carries and Shapen threw for 137 yards and a score to Ben Sims.

LAST MEETING IN WACO
• In the matchup in 2021, the Bears posted a 38-24 win over No. 19/20 BYU in Waco to improve to 6-1 on the year, earning bowl eligibility for the 10th time in the last 12 years. BU owned a 31-14 lead after three quarters, rolling to 534 yards of total offense, including 303 on the ground and 231 through the air. The Bears fell behind 7-3 before scoring 14 straight to take an advantage that wouldn’t be relinquished.
• Baylor was led by a unique game from linebacker Dillon Doyle, who came in on offense to catch and rush for a touchdown, while also recording a sack, becoming the first player in program history to accomplish that feat. BU also got 231 yards passing from now-BYU QB Gerry Bohanon, 188 yards over 17 carries from Abram Smith and 95 yards on 11 carries from Trestan Ebner. Jaren Hall threw for 342 yards and rushed for 25 yards on eight carries for BYU.
• Baylor did not have a penalty that was accepted for the first time in program history, stretched its win streak to six games in non-conference play and totaled five sacks for a second straight game.

SERIES HISTORY
• The series with BYU and Baylor has been played four times, with the teams splitting the series and Baylor owning both of its win in Waco.
• The Bears will be facing BYU for the fifth time in program history and for the third time in the last four years, with the 2024 meeting coming as the first as Big 12 foes. Baylor has won two of the four meetings, which started in 1983 with a 40-36 win by the Bears, resumed in 1984 with a 47-13 win by BYU in Provo, Utah, and in 2022 picked back up with a 38-24 win for BU in Waco. The 2023 meeting was in an electric atmosphere in Provo and saw the game go to double overtime, before BYU held off the Bears, then ranked No. 9 and BYU ranked No. 21, earning a field-storming win.

BAYLOR FALLS AT COLORADO
• Baylor fell in an overtime thriller at Colorado in its Big 12 opener, 38-31 in a wild game that saw the Buffs tie the game on a hail mary as regulation expired and then win it after a game-tying touchdown attempt saw BU fumble while crossing the goal line out of the endzone.
• Baylor opened up a 24-10 lead and was poised for a 31-10 lead but a dropped potential touchdown kept the Buffs in the game before half and cut the lead to 24-17. The Bears saw Colorado even the game late in the third quarter at 24-24 before responding on a 61-yard drive that finished with a Sawyer Robertson TD pass to Hal Presley with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter, owning a 31-24 lead. The Bears forced a key stop and took over at the Colorado 24-yard line with just over three minutes remaining but couldn’t connect on the game-clinching field goal, with the Buffs then driving as time expired for the hail mary attempt to force overtime. After scoring on their first possession, the Bears fumbled while crossing the endzone, with the ball skidding out of the back of the endzone and the Colorado fans rushing the field.
• Baylor totaled eight sacks, its most since the 2021 Sugar Bowl, and finished with 314 total yards of offense with Colorado throwing for 341 yards and totaling 432 yards of offense. Robertson threw two TDs on 148 yards passing, one to Presley and Monaray Baldwin. Shedeur Sanders threw for 341 yards and two scores and Travis Hunter caught seven balls for 130 yards.

BAYLOR VS. TOP-25 FOES
• Baylor will be facing BYU in its second ranked matchup of the year and is poised to be the first of two consecutive ranked games for the Bears, who travel to No. 18/19 Iowa State next week.
• BU is 59-198-6 against ranked foes all-time. In 2021, Baylor went 5-1 against ranked teams, including wins in four-straight chances, and three straight against top-eight foes.
• Under Coach Dave Aranda, the Bears are 5-13 vs. AP top-25 ranked foes.
• By comparison, former coach Art Briles lost 14 straight games against ranked foes to open his career, going 11-22 against ranked opponents in his career. Jim Grobe went 0-2 in his season in Waco, and Matt Rhule went 0-11 against ranked opponents at Baylor

- BaylorBears.com -


--
Brent Ingram | Associate AD for Communications
Baseball Sport Program Administrator
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

[signature_1049805336]


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20240923/6c73c0d6/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 20341 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20240923/6c73c0d6/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BU FB Game_Notes BYU PRELIM RUN.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 2303794 bytes
Desc: BU FB Game_Notes BYU PRELIM RUN.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/bumedia/attachments/20240923/6c73c0d6/attachment-0001.pdf>