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Baylor vs. Iowa State, In-Game
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Jeff Brown

9:25 p.m. -- I have to admit, I thought this one would be a lot closer. Iowa State came in at 2-3 on the year, but all three losses were close: 17-5 at Iowa, 34-31 in OT at UNLV, and 35-33 vs. #16 Kansas last week. The Bears may not be at the top of the Big 12 yet (a tough task, considering even No. 5 Texas was ranked third in the conference coming into this week), but to be able to put this kind of distance between themselves and a struggling ISU team shows that they're not at the bottom any more, either.

This was Art Briles' first Big 12 conference win, and it was a fun one. Now the Bears hit the REALLY tough portion of their schedule, with four of their six remaining games on the road. Four of those six teams are ranked this week, including three in the top 10.

That'll do it for me here tonight. Join us again next week as the Bears travel to #17 Oklahoma State. Gametime is set for 2 p.m. The happy final, one more time:
BAYLOR 38, IOWA STATE 10

9:19 p.m. -- So Art Briles picks up his first Big 12 conference win. Robert Griffin finished the night 21-of-24 for 278 yards, just shy of the career-best 294 he put up against Northwestern State. The 21 completions were a personal record for Griffin, and his 87.5 completion percentage was his best so far, as well.

Griffin moved the ball around pretty well, too. Kendall Wright led the team with seven receptions for 132 yards, both career highs for Wright and the best by any BU receiver this year. David Gettis pulled in five catches for 73 yards, and Thomas White had four catches for 26 yards (all in the first quarter, I believe).

9:12 p.m. -- And this one's a final -- 38-10, Baylor. The final tally ties the Bears' largest-ever margin of victory in a Big 12 game. Baylor beat these same Iowa State Cyclones 49-21 on Homecoming back in the league's first season, 1996.

It's also the fourth-most points the Bears have tallied in a Big 12 game. The 49 vs. ISU in '96 is the record, and Baylor scored 44 against Oklahoma State in '05 and 42 against Colorado in '03.
FINAL: BAYLOR 38, IOWA STATE 10

9:06 p.m. -- Looks like the Bears have their second-team defense in now, with under six minutes ago. The Cyclones completed a long pass downfield for about 40 yards, but an interception by true freshman Trentson Hill -- the first of his career -- on the next play ended that drive and should wrap this one up.

As the Bears take the field on offense, Blake Szymanski is in at QB, making his third appearance of the year.

8:48 p.m. -- I can't describe that touchdown; you're just gonna have to see the replay on SportsCenter or Inside Baylor Sports.

Here's my best effort: a lateral pass from Griffin to fellow true freshman Kendall Wright at the 50-yard-line. Wright makes it about 10 yards upfield, stops on a dime, and cuts back towards the other sideline. He crosses the entire field, eventually cuts back up field and simply outran the Cyclone defense to the end zone.

Even the replay on the videoboard drew a round of applause from the crowd. I'm a young one and have only been around Baylor football since 1996, but I've never seen guys who could make plays like this. Griffin, Wright, Finley ... the list goes on. You really owe it yourself to get out here and see these guys play. Better hurry, too; after today, the Bears only have two home games remaining.
BAYLOR 38, IOWA STATE 3

8:38 p.m. -- It's Parents Weekend here, which no doubt brought a few extra folks (moms, dads and siblings) out to the game tonight. But Iowa State didn't bring too many folks, and it looks like maybe the Heart of Texas Fair (which wraps up tonight) has sapped attendance here among the locals just a little tonight.

The good news is that the crowd has been loud, and they've stuck around (particularly well for a night game). Announced attendance: 30,548.

8:30 p.m. -- Yet another fourth-down conversion led directly to yet another Baylor score. Facing 4th and 1 at the Cyclones' 32, Griffin picked up 12 yards on the ground for the first down. The Bears could only pick up one more yard, but a career-best 36-yard field goal by Ben Parks increased the Baylor lead to four touchdowns.
BAYLOR 31, IOWA STATE 3

8:24 p.m. -- Overheard some folks talking here in the press box, making note that before this season is done, senior Jake La Mar -- a former walk-on -- will likely be the Bears' all-time leader in career games played.

La Mar, who just happens to the be the subject of the cover feature in today's GameDay Program here at the stadium, found a spot on special teams after redshirting his first year and has appeared in every game for the Bears since 2003. Tonight is his 41st career game. The media guide doesn't list Baylor's career leaders for games played, but I think some lucky media relations student will get to do a little digging on that one this week.

8:05 p.m. -- That's what they call a costly penalty.

ISU was called for offsides on their kickoff to open the second half; the Bears would have had the ball around the 25. Instead, the Cyclones had to re-kick, and Mikhail Baker took the ball to the house for a 93-yard touchdown. The play was the 10th-longest kickoff return in Baylor history and the first time Baker has returned one for a touchdown.
BAYLOR 28, IOWA STATE 3

7:58 p.m. -- Congratulations to Lori Fogleman, who was honored during halftime with the Moon Mullins Award, given annually to a member of Baylor's faculty or staff who "unselfishly gives of his or her time, talent and financial support to Baylor's total academic-athletic program."

In addition to serving as Baylor's director of media communications, Lori most visibly serves as color analyst for Lady Bear basketball games on the radio and as co-host of Inside Baylor Sports.

I've known Lori for over a decade, and in my day job, her office is just around the corner from mine. I can personally speak to her attitude of service to the University and the Athletics Department; she is definitely one Baylor should be proud of.

7:44 p.m. -- A nice round of applause for the Bears as they took a knee and headed to the locker room at halftime. And what do you know? Robert Griffin is the star of the show again.

A couple of sacks have the freshman QB at 8 carries for -27 yards, but his passing numbers so far are the best he's put up yet: 14-of-15 for 161 yards and a TD. He also has the one rushing touchdown, giving him six straight games that he's scored on the ground. That matches Jerod Douglas' school record (set in 1995) for consecutive games with a rushing touchdown.
HALFTIME: BAYLOR 21, IOWA STATE 3

P.S. Not-so-classy move during halftime, as what looked to be an ISU coach ran through the Baylor band during their performance on his way to the locker room. (Three other guys with him ran around the band and got to the ramp the same time he did.)

7:34 p.m. -- Yet another 4th-down attempt for the Bears, as Briles' team went for it on 4th-and-4 from the ISU 19 and once again converted, this time thanks to a clear pass interference penalty on the Cyclones. On the very next play, Griffin ran it in for a touchdown.

7:20 p.m. -- Penalties galore with ISU in the red zone. Back-to-back false starts on the Cyclones pushed Iowa State back outside the 20 on third down after a first-and-goal; ISU picked up about 10 on third down and kicked the field goal on 4th down -- but there was a flag. (ISU's cheerleaders didn't notice and ran around the end zone with the I-S-U flags.)

The flag was a personal foul on Baylor for roughing the kicker, giving ISU 1st and goal from the 2. BUT -- the Cyclones false started again, pushing them back five yards, and two plays later, a delay of game knocked Iowa State back even further. Yet another flag (a block in the back) cost the Cyclones several more yards and led to a 34-yard field goal attempt, which was good.

I'm sitting next to a guy who has been working in athletics for over 20 years, and he says this might be the ugliest possession he's ever seen. A combined nine penalties on the drive took an extra 1:52 off the clock, and ended with the exact same result.
BAYLOR 14, IOWA STATE 3

7:01 p.m. -- Griffin was 9-for-9 in the first quarter until his final pass attempt of the period hit off Justin Akers' hands, and that ball certainly could have been caught.

Former BU QB Brad Goebel would certainly approve. Goebel, tonight's Baylor legend, was honored during the break between quarters. The four-year letterwinner (1987-90) still ranks among the Bears' career leaders in completions (3rd) and passing yards (5th) and only just misses the top 10 in completion percentage.

Two plays into the second quarter, Jay Finley broke free up the middle for a touchdown run.
BAYLOR 14, IOWA STATE 0

6:41 p.m. -- Another fourth-down try, and this time, it worked out even better for the Bears. After a couple of busted plays led to 3rd and 25 from the Baylor side of the 50, the Bears picked up about 10 on third down, then went long as ISU blitzed on 4th and 12.

Just before he was nailed by an ISU defender, Griffin let one go deep, and KendaLl Wright hauled it in at the back of the end zone. A quick referee review confirmed the call on the field: Wright hauled in the ball and had one foot (and perhaps a knee) down, which meant touchdown, Bears!
BAYLOR 7, IOWA STATE 0

6:31 p.m. -- Smart play there by Joe Bennett, who was receiving the ISU punt. Bennett was steamrolled by an ISU special teams player a couple of seconds before receiving the ball, drawing flags from all over the field. Bennett, however, popped up quickly, fielded the still-rolling ball and picked up about 15 yards.

Unfortunately, a block-in-the-back call against the Bears negated the play, and when ISU rekicked, the penalty ended up costing the Bears at least 15 yards in field position. It took the refs several minutes to sort it all out before announcing the call, which drew loud boos from the crowd.

6:18 p.m. -- An early gamble here tonight, as the Bears went for it on 4th and 1 at their own 46 yard line on their first possession. After a sneak by Griffin came up short on 3rd and 1 the previous play, Griffin and the Bears ran it again and this time got the first down.

I'm told that head coach Art Briles loved to go for it on 4th down while he was at Houston, too. The Bears were 3 of 7 on fourth down coming into tonight, while opponents are (unfortunately) 8 of 10.

Baylor vs. Iowa State, Pre-Game
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Jeff Brown

5:52 p.m. -- The obvious storyline tonight is Baylor's offense vs. Iowa State's defense. The Cyclone defense has forced 17 turnovers, tied for tops in the nation, while the Baylor offense has been stingy. After turning the ball over five times in the season opener and once in week two, the Bears have gone three straight games without a turnover -- the team's longest such streak since 1999-00. Even top-ranked Oklahoma failed to force a Baylor turnover last week.

True freshman QB Robert Griffin is one of only two D-IA starting quarterbacks to have not yet thrown an interception this year. As a team, the Bears have yet to put together four straight games without a turnover in the modern era (since 1946).

Both teams are among the leaders in turnover margin; ISU is third nationally, while BU is tied for 12th. The two squads rank 1-2 in the Big 12 in that category.

We'll see what happens tonight. 15 minutes 'til kickoff; stay tuned!

5:28 p.m. -- We're about 45 minutes from kickoff here, but the buzz in the press box is about the other Big 12 action already completed today. After watching Nebraska score a game-tying touchdown with less than 30 seconds left to force overtime at No. 7 Texas Tech, a collective "oooh" went up in the press box when the Red Raiders scored first but had their extra point attempt blocked. Tech came away with the win, however, when Nebraska's QB threw a game-ending interception while trying to simply avoid a sack.

And if you're a college football fan, you've probably already heard about No. 5 Texas upsetting No. 1 Oklahoma earlier today in the Metroplex. After seeing how solid the Sooners were last week, I'm even more impressed to see the Longhorns come away with the win today -- a victory that will likely gain them at least a few first place votes when the new polls come out this week.

Hopefully we'll see some more great play tonight here at Floyd Casey. Tune in on Fox College Sports, listen in along the Baylor Radio Network or at BaylorBears.com, and follow along on the GameTracker and this In-Game Blog. Sic 'em, Bears!