[BAYLOR FOOTBALL] No. 16/14 Baylor Football hosts No. 9/7 Oklahoma State

Mon Sep 26 15:04:54 CDT 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – Sept. 26, 2022

No. 16/14 Baylor hosts No. 9/7 Oklahoma State
Baylor hosts Cowboys on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

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>

Football Media Materials<https://baylor.app.box.com/s/kmivkwskpgdkj2u6v7ixn774v5634pjf>

WACO, Texas -- Fresh off a league-opening win at Iowa State last week, No. 16/14 Baylor will play host to No. 9/7 Oklahoma State, with kickoff on Saturday slated for 2:30 p.m. at McLane Stadium. The game will be televised live on FOX, with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Brock Huard (analyst) calling the action, and will also be on the Baylor Radio Network, with John Morris (play-by-play), J.J. Joe (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline) on the call.

The game will also be live on Westwood One, with Mike Watts (play-by-play) and Ryan Harris (analyst) voicing the contest.

Fans are encouraged to wear gold for Baylor’s “Go Gold” game, gold pom-poms will be available for the first 20,000 fans at gates A, C, and D, and fans can receive giveaway items at Touchdown Alley while supplies last.

Baylor (3-1, 1-0 Big 12 Conference) will look to extend a nine-game home winning streak, the 12th-longest active streak in college football, when it faces off with Oklahoma State (3-0, 0-0 Big 12). The Bears will be facing the Cowboys for the third time in the last two years as the two teams squared off in a pair of classics last year, including Baylor’s win in the 2021 Big 12 Conference Championship game in Arlington, Texas.

SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma State owns a 22-19 all-time lead in the series with the Bears, with Baylor owning a 9-7 lead in games played in Waco.

• The two teams met twice last year, with the Cowboys winning the regular-season meeting in Stillwater, Okla., before the Bears sprung the Big 12 Conference title-game win over the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, 21-16.

• Baylor has won three of the last five meetings in the series and six of the last nine. In Waco, Oklahoma State has won just once over the last 12 years, a 43-3 win in 2020.

LAST MEETING

• Baylor posted a thrilling 21-16 win over Oklahoma State to win the Big 12 Conference Championship game in 2021 in Arlington.

• The Bears - ranked No. 9 - edged the 11-win Cowboys, ranked No. 5, in a heart-racing affair that saw OSU get four shots at the go-ahead score in the final seconds of the game from the two-yard line. OSU’s final attempt saw Jairon McVea make a TD-saving tackle of Dezmon Jackson, inches from the goal line to secure the win.

• Baylor intercepted all-conference QB Spencer Sanders four times in the game - after forcing Sanders into three picks in the regular-season meeting - and held the Cowboys to three short-range field goals in three other trips inside the 10-yard line as a defense stiffened when needed.

• Then-freshman QB Blake Shapen turned in a performance for the ages in relief of injured starter Gerry Bohanon, setting a Big 12 Championship record by completing his first 17 pass attempts. He was named the Most Outstanding Player after going 23 for 28 with 180 yards and three TDs, also featuring a 28-yard scamper in the third quarter.

• The Bears owned a 21-3 lead midway in the second quarter after TD passes from Shapen to Ben Sims, Drew Estrada and Tyquan Thornton. The Cowboys chipped away with a second and third field goal and a TD run from Dominic Richardson with the game coming down to the fourth-down stop on the goalline from McVea.

• Abram Smith carried it 17 times for 63 yards, with Trestan Ebner toting it five times for 17 yards. Thornton had six catches for 71 yards.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS

• Oklahoma State comes into the matchup in Waco ranked No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the USA TODAY Coaches poll after opening up its season with convincing wins over Central Michigan, Arizona State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home before an idle week last week.

• The Cowboys are coached by 18th-year head coach Mike Gundy, who led OSU to the Big 12 Conference Championship game against Baylor a year ago. Gundy is assisted by offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn and Derek Mason, the defensive coordinator and former head coach at Vanderbilt.

• Oklahoma State is coming off a 12-2 season that only saw losses to Iowa State and Baylor in the league title game. The Cowboys earned a 37-35 win over Notre Dame in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl.

• OSU has averaged 51.7 points and allowed only 22.7 points per game in 2022, sporting 511.3 yards per game, 163.3 on the ground and 348 through the air. Defensively, OSU allows 376.7 yards per game, including 265.3 passing and 111.3 rushing. The Cowboys have forced two turnovers, an interception and fumble.

• Veteran QB Spencer Sanders has thrown for 305.3 yards per game, completing 65.3 percent of his passes with 10 TDs and just one interception. Braydon Johnson has caught 14 passes for 300 yards and three TDs, with Brennan Presley owning 12 catches for 166 yards. On the ground, Dominic Richardson has carried it 43 times for 215 yards and two TDs, with Sanders also rushing for three scores.

• Defensively, Mason Cobb has 24 tackles, including six for a loss and two sacks, adding five QB hurries.

BAYLOR CLAIMS LEAGUE OPENER IN AMES

• Baylor rolled to a 31-24 win over Iowa State in Ames to open league play, 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.

BAYLOR IN BIG 12 OPENERS

• Baylor has gone 8-1 in Big 12 openers since 2013. In the 17 prior Big 12 openers from 1996-2012, the Bears went 4-13 and were outscored by an average of 32-23.

• This was the fifth time Baylor has opened Big 12 Conference play with Iowa State, facing the Cyclones in 2022, 2019, 2014, 2001 and 2000, going 3-2 in those meetings.

HOLDING SERVE AT McLANE

• Baylor owns an 11-2 record at McLane Stadium under the direction of Coach Dave Aranda, which includes nine-consecutive wins, dating back to a 7-0 record in 2021.

• The Bears rank among the national leaders with nine-consecutive home wins, with Clemson (36 straight), Cincinnati (29), Oregon (21), Alabama (16), Miami of Ohio (15), Georgia (14), NC State (13), Ole Miss (12), Louisiana-Lafayette (11), Michigan (11), Utah (10), Ohio State (10) and Kent State (10) ahead of Baylor.

BEARS IN NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS

• Baylor ranks among the nation’s top 30 leaders in 12 major categories, including checking in No. 26 in rushing offense and No. 22 in scoring offense.

• Defensively, BU ranks ninth nationally in rushing defense, 23rd in scoring defense and 24th in total defense.

• Individually, Richard Reese ranks seventh in rushing TDs and 49th 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 four NCAA games.

• Reese has 315 yards rushing over 55 carries with six TDs through four games, averaging 5.7 yards per carry and 78.8 yards per game.

• A native of Bellville, Texas, Reese had 156 yards on the ground in a rout of Texas State and scored three TDs. Among NCAA freshmen, Reese ranks tied for first in rushing TDs and fifth in rushing yards.

NEXT UP

• The Bears will return to action on Thursday, Oct. 13 at West Virginia in a game televised live on FS1 from Morgantown. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.

For the latest news and information on Baylor football, follow @BUFootball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

www.BaylorBears.com

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

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