<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;
panose-1:2 11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:11.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Dec. 8, 2024<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Bears to Face LSU in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl on Dec. 31<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Baylor to Matchup with LSU at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN on New Year’s Eve<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>For more information contact: </b>Brent Ingram; 210-845-8651,
<a href="mailto:brent_ingram@baylor.edu">brent_ingram@baylor.edu</a><u> </u> or Max Calderone; 254-265-1639,
<a href="mailto:max_calderone@baylor.edu">max_calderone@baylor.edu</a> or Josie Hutton; 254-709-7720,
<a href="mailto:josie_hutton@baylor.edu">josie_hutton@baylor.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>WACO, Texas --</b> Baylor football – having just completed the longest winning streak to conclude a regular season in program history – have advanced to its 27<sup>th</sup> all-time bowl and its 12<sup>th</sup> in the last 15 years,
and will face off with LSU at the Kinder’s Texas Bowl on Dec. 31, live on ESPN at 2:30 p.m. and the Baylor Sports Media Network.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baylor (8-4, 6-3 Big 12 Conference) will be facing off with LSU for the first time since the 1985 Liberty Bowl and will be venturing to Houston for a bowl game for the first time since besting Vanderbilt in the 2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors
Houston Bowl. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LSU (8-4, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) leads the all-time series with the Bears, 8-3 and Baylor leads the series 3-1 all-time in neutral site games, also facing the Tigers in bowl games in 1985, and the 1963 Bluebonnet Bowl.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baylor has advanced to three bowl games in five years under Coach Dave Aranda, including the 2021 Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss, a berth in the 2022 Armed Forces Bowl and the 2024 berth. The Bears have been to a bowl game in 12 of the last
15 years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Bears have been in 27 prior bowl games, owning a 14-13 record. BU’s first bowl came in the Dixie Bowl in 1948, a 20-7 win over Wake Forest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bear Foundation members can take advantage of a BBF Presale by
<a href="https://baylorbears.evenue.net/signin?continue=%2Flist%2FGS">requesting tickets</a> before they go on sale to the public. The BBF Presale deadline is Tuesday at Noon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baylor's general public ticket allotment goes on sale Tuesday at 5 p.m. Fans in need of tickets can visit the official ticketing site of the Kinder’s Texas Bowl. To purchase tickets through the Texas Bowl,
<a href="https://www.kinderstexasbowl.com/tickets/">click here</a>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Baylor will be designated the visiting team, will wear white and will occupy the east sideline.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All tickets for the Kinder's Texas Bowl will be digital. Fans will need to use a Ticketmaster account, download the Houston Texans app, and use their mobile phone to scan their tickets when entering the stadium. Tickets will be distributed
on or around Friday, Dec. 27.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>SCOUTING THE TIGERS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• LSU comes into the game with the Bears owning an 8-4 record and posting a 5-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers have won two straight, going 6-1 at Tiger Stadium and 2-2 in road games. LSU owned a ranking as high as No.
8, which followed a 29-26 overtime win over No. 9 Ole Miss. The Tigers were ranked in 10 of their 12 games in 2024.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• LSU wrapped up its regular season with a 37-17 beatdown of Oklahoma in Baton Rouge, La., on Nov. 30, which followed a 24-17 win over upstart Vanderbilt. LSU suffered losses vs. Florida, No. 11 Alabama, No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 23 USC,
earning wins over Nicholls, South Carolina, UCLA, South Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Vanderbilt at OU.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• LSU is under the direction of third-year head coach Brian Kelly, a decorated winner who has served as a successful head coach at Grand Valley State (1991-2003), Central Michigan (2004-06), Cincinnati (2006-09), Notre Dame (2010-21) and
LSU (2022-24). Including all stops, Kelly owns a 291-107-2 all-time record and has gone 28-11 in his three years at LSU, helping the Tigers to a 10-4 season in 2022 - including a Citrus Bowl win - a 10-3 mark in 2023 - including a ReliaQuest Bowl win - and
an 8-4 mark in 2024. Kelly went 92-39 in his tenure in South Bend, Ind.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Kelly is assisted by associate head coach and running backs coach Frank Wilson, the former head coach at UTSA and McNeese, defensive coordinator Blake Baker and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Cortez Hankton serves as the co-offensive
coordinator. A native of Houston, Baker is in his first year as the DC, after serving as Missouri’s DC from 2022-23 and previously serving as the LB coach at LSU in 2021. He was the DC at Miami from 2019-20 and Louisiana Tech from 2015-18. Sloan coached QBs
at LSU from 2022-23 before taking over as the OC in 2024. He was on the staff at Louisiana Tech from 2013-21, including time as the OC from 2020-21.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The Tigers average 431.9 yards per game, including 315.3 passing and 116.6 rushing. Defensively, LSU allows 352.5 yards per game, including 205.9 passing and 146.6 rushing. LSU averages 29.3 points per game and allows 23.7. QB Garrett
Nussmeier has thrown for 3,739 yards with 26 TDs and 11 interceptions. Caden Durham has rushed for 693 yards with six TDs on 127 carries, while Josh Williams has added 108 rushes for 440 yards and five TDs. Kyren Lacey has hauled in a tea-leading 58 catches
for 866 yards and nine TDs, while Aaron Anderson has caught 53 balls for 784 yards with five TDs and Mason Taylor owns 55 grabs for 546 yards and two scores. Defensively, White Weeks has 119 tackles, 10 for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Greg Penn III has 80 tackles,
Bradyn Swinson has 8.5 sacks and 12 QB hurries and Zy Alexander owns two interceptions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>SERIES HISTORY<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor will be meeting LSU for the 12th time in series history and the first time since facing LSU in the 1985 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., a 21-7 Baylor win. LSU leads the all-time series, 8-3 and the Bears lead 2-1 in neutral site
games. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• LSU has won three of the last four meetings and opened the series with wins in five straight games from 1907-1959. the Bears won in 1960, 1963 and 1985.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>LAST MEETING<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor will be facing LSU for the firs time since the 1985 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., which saw the Bears post a 21-7 win, using a second-quarter field goal and a fourth-quarter TD and two-point conversion to earn the win.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The Bears used a strong defensive effort in the win, holding LSU to just nine first downs and 192 yards of total offense. Baylor totaled 26 first downs, 489 yards of offense, including 274 passing and 215 yards rushing. QB Cody Carlson
threw for 161 yards and two TDs and Tom Muecke had 113 yards passing. Nine Bears rushed it at least twice. John Simpson had three catches for 117 yards and a score and Matt Clark had three catches and a TD. Alan Jamison led the Bears with 11 tackles, with
Thomas Everett chipping in eight stops. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The Bears concluded the 1985 season with a 9-3 mark, going 6-2 in the Southwest Conference, earning a No. 17 ranking in the final AP poll.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>CONNECTING THE TEAMS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor has several immediate connections to LSU, most notably the four seasons (2016-19) Baylor head coach Dave Aranda spent as the defensive coordinator for the Tigers, where he was considered the top defensive play caller in college
football. Aranda helped lead the Bears to the 2019 SEC Championships and the 2019 CFP National Championship before taking over in Waco for the 2020 season.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Also on the defensive staff is outside linebackers coach Caleb Collins, who was a defensive graduate assistant at LSU in 2018 and an analyst in 2019, before coming with Aranda for the 2020 season. In addition, Baylor Chief of Staff Jeff
Grigus is a veteran of the LSU Athletics Department, serving as the assistant director of football operations at LSU from 2017-19, which followed a tenure from 2011-17 as an equipment manager. He earned his bachelor’s of science in 2010 from LSU and met his
wife, Samantha at LSU. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor’s Associate AD for NIL Administration and Professional Relations, Keava Soil-Cormier, spent eight seasons at LSU as the assistant director of recruiting operations and earned her bachelor’s from LSU in 2011 and her law degree in
2014. BU’s Senior Director of On-Campus Recruiting, Taylor Halsey, worked at LSU as a recruiting student assistant from 2019-22 and as a LSU marketing intern from 2021-22, earning her degree from LSU in 2021 and her graduate degree in 2022. Earl Chevalier
is the Director of Football Player Development and Operations Assistant and is in his first year after moving over from LSU, where he previously served as an assistant strength & conditioning coach, also graduating from LSU in 2004. Also, former LSU safety
Ed Paris is in his first year as the assistant director of player personnel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>BOWL HISTORY: BEARS MAKE 12TH APPEARANCE IN LAST 15 YEARS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• For the 12th time in the last 15 years, the Baylor Bears are making a post-season bowl appearance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• It marks the first trip to Houston for Baylor since besting Vanderbilt in the Academy Sports Houston Bowl in 2018.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor has advanced to 27 prior bowl games in its history (going 14-13) and has made three bowl trips under Coach Dave Aranda, also claiming the Sugar Bowl Title in 2021 in New Orleans, topping Ole Miss 21-7 and facing off with Air Force
in the Armed Forces Bowl. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The Bears first went to a bowl game in 1948, the Dixie Bowl which featured a 20-7 win over Wake Forest. Over the next 61 years, the Bears attended 16 bowl games, before starting a stretch of success in the program in 2010 that has seen
Baylor attend bowls in 12 of 15 years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>BAYLOR ON NEW YEAR’S EVE <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Baylor will be playing its first game on New Year’s Eve since 1994, a 10-3 loss vs. Washington State in the Alamo Bowl.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• The Bears are 3-5 all-time on New Year’s Eve, with each game on NYE coming in the form of a bowl game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>- BaylorBears.com -<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">-- <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#385623;mso-ligatures:none">Brent Ingram</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#385623;mso-ligatures:none"> </span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">|
Associate AD for Communications</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Baseball Sport Program Administrator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">C: 210-845-8651</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><img border="0" width="160" height="44" style="width:1.6666in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DB4983.F5723E50" alt="signature_1049805336"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>