Baylor FB Ventures to Ames to Face No. 16/16 Iowa State

Mon Sep 30 12:16:21 CDT 2024

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 30, 2024

Baylor Ventures to Ames to Face No. 16/16 Iowa State
Bears to Face ISU in Matchup Against One of Best Defenses in NCAA

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 will hit the road for the first of a two-game road swing, traveling to face No. 16/16 Iowa State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Ames.

The game will be televised live on FOX, with Tim Brando (play-by-play), Devin Gardner (analyst) and Josh Sims (sideline) calling the action. The game will also be broadcast live on the Baylor Sports Radio Network, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), and former BU greats J.J. Joe (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline) on the call.

Baylor (2-3, 0-2 Big 12 Conference) will face a red-hot Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) in its second consecutive matchup against a ranked foe. Baylor’s rugged start to the schedule – including Saturday at Iowa State – that has featured three ranked opponents that have combined to go 22-6, including a 6-1 mark in Big 12 play. Including the matchup at Texas Tech next week, BU will face teams that have combined to go 26-7, and 8-1 in Big 12 play in its first seven weeks of the 2024 season.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
• Iowa State rolls into the matchup with the Bears red hot and boasting one of the nation’s best defensive units. ISU ranks No. 2 in passing defense, No. 10 in interceptions, No. 8 in first-down defense, No. 4 in scoring defense, No. 1 in team passing efficiency defense and No. 11 in total defense nationally. Offensively, ISU is allowing the 12th fewest sacks in college football.
• Overall, ISU is scoring 28.3 points and allowing 7.3 points per game, Offensively, ISU is going for 399.3 yards per game, including 236.3 passing and 163 rushing, while allowing only 255.3 yards per game, 102.5 in the air and 152.8 rushing. Rocco Becht has thrown for 896 yards on 66.4 percent completions with just two interceptions and seven TDs. Abu Sama has rushed 40 times for 225 yards and two scores. ISU boasts two of the best receivers in college football, with Jayden Higgins leading the team with 25 catches for 287 yards and four TDs, and Jaylin Noel owning 19 catches for 353 yards and two scores. One of the nation’s best tight ends is sophomore Ben Brahmer, who has five catches for 96 yards.
• The Clones are off to a 4-0 start to the season, with wins over North Dakota, at No. 21 Iowa and vs. Arkansas State, opening league play on Saturday at Houston with a dominating 20-0 defensive performance.
• Iowa State is coached by Matt Campbell, who is in his ninth year in Ames after a strong run at Toledo. Campbell set the all-time ISU wins mark with the win last weekend at Houston. He has led the Clones to winning seasons in six of eight campaigns and is coming off a7-6 season that saw ISU go 6-3 in the league and advance to the Liberty Bowl. Iowa State went 9-3 in 2020 including an 8-1 mark in league play and won the Fiesta Bowl.
• Campbell’s coordinators include DC Jon Heacock, a former head coach at Youngstown State, who also coached at YSU, Indiana, Kent State and Toledo. Offensive Coordinator Taylor Mouser also coaches TEs and is in his first year in the role. Tyler Roehl is the assistant head coach and coaches RBs.
• Jamie Pollard is the AD and is in his 20th year leading the program, making him the fourth-longest serving power-five AD in the nation. Pollard is in his final year on the NCAA D1 Men’s Basketball Committee in 2023-24 and is a two-time Sports Business Journal AD of the Year finalist. He had a hall of fame athletic career at Wisconsin-Oshkosh as a cross country and track letterwinner, earning XC All-America honors in 1986, winning the D3 Outdoor 5,000 meter title with a school record.

FACING CLONES IN 2021, 2022
• The Bears had a four-game winning streak on Homecoming snapped with a 30-18 win in 2023 vs. Iowa State at McLane.
• Baylor fell behind 27-6 midway through the third quarter but couldn’t complete a comeback bid.
• QB Blake Shapen threw for 239 yards and connected with Monaray Baldwin for 117 yards and a score. Freshman Dawson Pendergrass had 37 yards rushing and two TDs, adding 39 yards receiving on three catches.

LAST TIME TWO TIMES OUT WITH THE CLONES
• In the meeting in 2021 in Waco, the Bears posted a 31-29 win over No. 14 Iowa State.
• The win came despite Iowa State owning a 479-282 edge in total offense, a 216-123 margin in rushing yards and committing 85 fewer yards in penalties.
• It was Baylor’s fourth-consecutive win to open the season and foreshadowed a historic run to the Big 12 Championship and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• Baylor took a 21-13 lead at the half after scoring TDs on its first three series of the game. After the Cyclones narrowed the margin to 21-16 with a field goal midway through the third quarter, Trestan Ebner returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
• Gerry Bohanon threw for 159 yards and two TDs and rushed for a score, with Abram Smith owning 47 yards on 10 carries. Tyquan Thornton and Ben Sims each had TD grabs and Dillon Doyle led a defense with nine tackles and two for a loss.
• Iowa State’s Brock Purdy threw for 263 yards and a TD, with Breece Hall going for 190 yards and two TDs on 27 carries.
• Baylor rolled to a 31-24 win over Iowa State in Ames to open league play in 2022, owning a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter and using an efficient offensive attack to secure the win.
• The Bears got 238 yards and three TDs passing from Blake Shapen, and 78 yards and a rushing TD from freshman Richard Reese to pull away from the Cyclones and earn the first Baylor win in Ames since 2016.
• The Baylor defense forced two interceptions and held ISU to just 66 yards rushing, totaling four sacks, including two from linebacker Bryson Jackson.
• Shapen found Ben Sims, Dillon Doyle and Gavin Holmes for TD strikes, with Holmes going for three catches and 92 yards. His 38-yard scoring grab pushed Baylor’s lead to 31-14 with 9:37 left in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones cut the lead to 10 with a 75-play drive and added a field goal to set up an impactful on-side kick attempt in the closing seconds, which was grabbed by BU linebacker Matt Jones to clinch the win.

SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor leads the all-time series with Iowa State, 12-10, with the Bears owning a 7-4 lead in the series in Waco and ISU owning a 6-5 lead in the series in games played in Ames.
• Iowa State’s win in 2023 in Waco snapped a two-game BU win streak in the series. In the last meeting in Ames, the Bears posted a 31-24 win in 2022. Baylor has won seven of the last 11 meetings in the series.

SLUGGISH START DOOMS BEARS VS. NO. 22/22 BYU
• Baylor suffered a 34-28 loss vs. No. 22/22 BYU at McLane Stadium in a game that saw the Cougs go up 21-0 and 28-7 in the first half, scoring on each of their first four possession. Baylor fought back to cut the lead to 34-28 and had the ball with just under 90 seconds remaining but a game-clinching interception allowed the Cougs to escape with the win.
• The Bears got career-highs from Sawyer Robertson in completions (27), attempts (48), TDs (three) and yards (324), with the QB finding WR Josh Cameron for a career high 125 yards and two TDs on seven catches. Hal Presley chipped in eight catches for 82 yards. The Bears saw Bryson Washington rush 13 times for 31 yards.
• BYU QB Jake Retzlaff threw for 216 yards and two scores and Darius Lassiter had eight catches for 120 yards. Defensively, Keaton Thomas and seven stops and Treven Ma’ae had a career-high six tackles.

- BaylorBears.com -

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

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