[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] Baylor Hosts No. 23/22 Kansas State on Saturday at McLane

Mon Nov 7 10:41:11 CST 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Nov. 7, 2022

Baylor Hosts No. 23/22 Kansas State on Saturday at McLane
Bears enter on a three-game winning streak

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>

WACO, Texas -- Winners of three consecutive games, Baylor football will return to action on Saturday, playing host to No. 23/22 Kansas State at McLane Stadium, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.

The game will be televised live on FS1 with Adam Alexander (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst) on the call. The tilt will also be broadcast live on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield, with John Morris (play-by-play), J.J. Joe (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline) on the call. Fans can also hear the game on national radio from Learfield, with Sloane Martin (play-by-play) and Mike Golic Jr. (analyst) voicing the action.

STORY LINES

• Baylor won its third consecutive game with a 38-35 win at Oklahoma on Saturday, marking the second all-time win for the Bears in Norman and the second consecutive win over the Sooners.

• BU used three first-half interceptions and 281 rushing yards - including five rushing TDs - to roll over the Sooners, who took a lead on the first drive of the game before the Bears answered and never trailed.

• Junior RB Craig “Sqwirl” Williams rushed 25 times for 192 yards and two TDs, including taking a knee after escaping the OU defense for a 43-yard scamper to clinch the game, allowing the Bears to run out the clock.

• BU is under the direction of third-year head coach Dave Aranda, the 2021 George Munger and Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year. Aranda took over prior to the 2020 season after a historic run for four years as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator at LSU, helping the Tigers to the 2019 National Championship and 2019 Southeastern Conference Championship.

• Running back Richard Reese leads the nation’s freshman with 13 rushing TDs. Reese has 798 rushing yards on the year and sits 83 yards shy of tying the program’s record for rushing yards by a freshman, currently held by Shock Linwood (881 yards, 2013).

• Aranda is off to the best 32-game start to a Baylor head coaching career since George Sauer won 20 in his first 32 games from 1950-52.

• Senior TE Ben Sims is the all-time leader in TD grabs (11) among Baylor tight ends.

• Baylor returns the second-most games played among its four returning starting offensive linemen in the nation. The Bears are led on the front five by preseason All-America selections in Connor Galvin and Jacob Gall.

• Defensive lineman Siaki Ika is a preseason All-American by five outlets, including Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, Associated Press, Pro Football Network and Pick Six Preview. Ika was the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2021.

SERIES HISTORY

• Baylor leads the all-time series with Kansas State, 10-9, including a 6-4 mark in games played in Waco.

• The Bears have won four-consecutive meetings in the series with the last Kansas State win coming in 2017 in Manhattan, Kan. The Wildcats last won in Waco in 2016, 42-21.

• Baylor won last year on the road, posting a 20-10 result, getting a strong performance from QB Blake Shapen off the bench to help the Bears to a 9-2 record.

LAST MEETING

• Baylor posted a 20-10 win last year in Manhattan, improving to 9-2 and 6-2 in league with the win over Kansas State.

• The Bears got a strong performance from QB Blake Shapen off the bench as the freshman stepped right in for injured Gerry Bohanon and threw for 137 yards and rushed for 44 to help No. 11 BU to a pair of key field goals in the win. Bohanon strained his hamstring with 59 seconds left in the first half after going 9 of 14 for 76 yards and a TD, also rushing for 38 yards. Shapen came in and threw passes in five of his first six plays, connecting on a 32-yarder to Drew Estrada that led to an Isaiah Hankins 21-yard field goal to end the half with a 17-7 lead.

• After getting a key fourth-down stop to open the second half, K-State went 43 yards on five plays to make it a three-point game with 8:24 left in the third. Shapen then went to work on the ensuing drive, connecting on 6 of 9 passes for 32 yards, including a 28-yard run, that capped a 13-play, 72-yard drive with a Hankins field goal for a 20-10 lead.

• Al Walcott picked off a fourth-quarter pass in BU territory, and the Bears ran out the last three minutes to secure the win.

BAYLOR POWERS PAST OU IN NORMAN

• Baylor used a defense that forced three first-half interceptions and a rushing offense that rolled to 281 yards and five TDs to post a 38-35 win at Oklahoma, marking its second-consecutive win over the Sooners and its second all-time win in Norman.

• The Bears trailed after an opening TD drive from the Sooners and after answering to even the game, never trailed again, getting a heroic performance from junior Craig Williams, who set new career highs in carries (25), yards (192) and TDs (two), while filling in for freshman standout Richard Reese, who was one of many Bears hit with a stomach bug.

• Baylor also got rushing TDs from Qualan Jones, Jordan Nabors and Reese - who was limited to four carries - and got a career game from WR Josh Cameron, who had five grabs for 72 yards, both career highs.

• Defensively, Dillon Doyle had a career-high tying 15 tackles and picked off his second pass of the year. The Bears also got interceptions from freshman safety Devin Lemear and senior safety Christian Morgan.

MOST INTERCEPTIONS IN TWO-GAME SPAN IN 42 YEARS

• Baylor picked off five passes in a win over Texas Tech in Lubbock and then picked off three passes - in the first half - at Oklahoma. It marked the most interceptions in a two-game span since 1980, when the Bears had four interceptions each in consecutive games vs. TCU and San Jose State.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Kansas State enters the game coming off a loss vs. Texas in Manhattan on Saturday. The Wildcats have won four of their last six games, which included a 48-0 rout of Oklahoma State on Oct. 29, and wins at Oklahoma, vs. Texas Tech and at Iowa State.

• The Wildcats are led by head coach Chris Klieman, who is in his fourth year after taking over the program from legendary head coach Bill Snyder. Klieman came to K-State after a decorated career at the FCS level, leading North Dakota State from 2014-18, which included four FCS national titles in his five years at the established powerhouse school. He led K-State to the 2019 Liberty Bowl and the 2022 Texas Bowl. His career began at his alma matter, Northern Iowa, in 1991 and has seen him coach at Western Illinois, Kansas, Missouri State, Loras College (Iowa), Northern Iowa a second time and North Dakota State, where he was the DB coach and defensive coordinator for three years before taking over the helm.

• Klieman is assisted by assistant head coach Van Malone, who is the cornerbacks and passing-game coordinator. He served as the SMU defensive coordinator from 2015-17, also working at Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Texas A&M, Western Michigan and North Dakota State. Joe Klanderman is the defensive coordinator, who came with Klieman from North Dakota State, where he coached DBs from 2014-18 after opening his career at Minnesota State. Collin Klein is the offensive coordinator/QB coach and he coached QBs in 2017 and was co-offensive coordinator under Snyder in 2018 before staying on with Klieman.

• Kansas State is powered by one of the best running backs in college football, Deuce Vaughn, who has 975 yards rushing on 173 carries, good for 108.3 yards per game with five TDs. Nebraska transfer QB Adrian Martinez is a force with the football, carrying it for 617 yards on 106 totes, with 10 TDs and 77.1 yards per game. He has thrown for 1,236 yards with six TDs and only one interception. Will Howard has also thrown for 621 yards and six TDs with one interception.

• Malik Knowles leads the team with 35 catches and 540 yards, with Vaughn chipping in 216 yards receiving and Phillip Brooks owning 402 yards on 27 catches. Kade Warner leads the team with five TD grabs.

• Josh Hayes leads the team with 48 tackles and 5.5 TFLs, while Felix Anudike-Uzomah has a team-leading 7.5 sacks.

• K-State averages 30.6 points per game and surrenders only 19.1, going for 419.2 yards of total offense (218.1 rushing and 201.1 passing), while allowing 367.2 yards of offense per game (218.9 passing and 148.3 rushing).

FRESHMAN RUSHING RECORD TARGETED

• Baylor running back Richard Reese sits 83 yards shy of tying the program standard for rushing yards by a freshman.

• Shock Linwood owns the current record of 881 yards in 2013.

FOURTH-DOWN AGGRESSIVENESS

• Baylor under Coach Dave Aranda is one of the most aggressive teams in college football on fourth down. The Bears rank second nationally in fourth-down conversions (21), trailing only Texas Tech (25).

• The Bears have converted 70.0 percent of their fourth-down attempts, which ranks sixth among teams that have attempted 15+ fourth-down tries.

BEARS IN NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS

• Baylor ranks among the nation’s top 30 leaders in 16 categories, including checking in No. 19 in rushing offense, No. 14 in scoring offense and No. 26 in total offense. Defensively, BU ranks 11th in passes intercepted.

• Individually, Richard Reese ranks fifth in rushing TDs and 28th in rushing yards.

REESE EMERGES

• Baylor freshman running back Richard Reese is off to a hot start to his collegiate career, leading the Bears in rushing through his first nine NCAA games.

• Reese has 798 yards rushing over 156 carries with 13 TDs, averaging 5.1 yards per carry and 88.7 yards per game.

• A native of Bellville, Texas, Reese has three games with 100+ yards, including consecutive games vs. Kansas and at Texas Tech. Among NCAA freshmen, Reese ranks first in rushing TDs and second rushing yards.

BAYLOR LEADS NATION IN FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL WINS

• Baylor athletics is in the midst of a historic run of success, including recent national titles in men’s and women’s basketball, and football coming off a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2021 and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.

• Since 2011, and as of Sept. 28, 2022, no other school can compete with Baylor’s run, as the Bears lead the nation in wins combined among football, and men’s and women’s basketball. Baylor has 56 more wins than the next closest school, Notre Dame. The next Big 12 Conference team on the list is West Virginia at No. 22 and Texas at No. 25.

HISTORIC TIME OF POSSESSION IN KANSAS, TECH WINS

• The Bears held the football for 40 minutes and 10 seconds in the win over Kansas, including for 12 minutes in the second quarter.

• In the following game, BU held the football for 40 minutes and 17 seconds in a win at Texas Tech, including over 22 minutes in the first 30 ticks.

• It marked the longest time of possessions for Baylor in a game since a 14-0 win over NC State in 1995, when the Bears held it for 41:31. Baylor also held the football for 40:01 in a tilt with SMU in 1993.

MOST WINS IN TEXAS IN LAST 10+ YEARS

• As of Nov. 5, Baylor has won 96 games since 2011, the most among the state of Texas’ 12 FBS teams.

• BU’s 96 wins in the last 10+ years are just ahead of Texas A&M (95) and Houston (95), and ahead of TCU (94), Texas (84), SMU (69), Texas Tech (67), UTSA (67), North Texas (65), Rice (54), UTEP (42) and Texas State (38).

KHALIL KEITH IMPACTS OFFENSIVE ATTACK

• Baylor entered the season with the expectation that its offensive line would be one of the top units in college football. After working to find its footing early in the year, the offensive line unit - led by assistant coach Eric Mateos - has blossomed into a physical weapon, paving the way for emerging running back forces in Richard Reese, Craig Williams and Qualan Jones.

• One key ingredient to the play of the offensive line over a three-week span has been the return from injury for sixth-year senior right tackle Khalil Keith. A 6-foot-5, 314-pound force, Keith missed the first six games of the year while recovering from injury, with Gavin Byers starting the first seven games at right tackle. Now that Keith has returned - playing off the bench vs. Kansas and starting vs. Texas Tech and Oklahoma - the offensive attack has improved. Baylor is averaging 261.7 yards per game on the ground with Keith after averaging 184.7 yards per game without him.

HOLDING SERVE AT McLANE

• Baylor owns a 12-3 record at McLane Stadium under the direction of Coach Dave Aranda, including an 8-1 mark over the last two years. The Bears had a nine-game winning streak at home snapped in a loss to Oklahoma State.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE

• Baylor has forced considerably more turnovers than it has allowed in 32 games under head coach Dave Aranda.

• BU has 61 takeaways (44 INTs, 17 FR) and 37 giveaways (22 INTs, 15 FL) in 32 games under Aranda.

• Baylor has scored 10 non-offensive touchdowns in 32 games under Aranda – three kickoff returns (Ebner x 3), five interception returns (Pitre x 2, McCarty, Walcott, Woods), one punt return (Holmes) and one fumble return (Woods).

RANKED IN 10 OF LAST 13 SEASONS

• Baylor has been ranked or receiving votes in 10 of 11 polls in 2022 and is currently receiving votes in the AP Top-25 and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

• Baylor has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 10 of 13 seasons since 2010, after going 17 years between national rankings (1993-2010). BU has been ranked in 23 of 25 spots since 2013 (exceptions No. 1 and No. 23).

SPREADING IT AROUND

• The Bears have spread the football around in the passing game in 2022. Baylor ranks tied for third in the nation as of Oct. 28, with completions to 18 different players. Only Tulane and Michigan (20) and NC State, Penn State, Oregon and Colorado (19) have been more diversified.

ARANDA THROUGH 32 GAMES IN BAYLOR HISTORY

• Dave Aranda is 20-12 in his first 32 games as the Baylor head coach, which is the most since George Sauer (1950-55) won 20 through the same span in program history. Only Frank Bridges (1920-22) has more wins through the first 32 games of his BU head coaching career.

NEXT UP

• Baylor will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 19, hosting No. 4/4 TCU at McLane Stadium.

- BaylorBears.com -

--
Brent Ingram | Assistant AD for Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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