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Oklahoma State 34, Baylor 6 (FINAL)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Larry Little

5:05 p.m. -- The blocked extra point was the beginning of the end for the Bears. After taking a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Baylor could not convert on the point-after try. From there, the game was all OSU.

We'll do like the Bears must do and quickly put this one in the past. Another Big 12 road game is right around the corner as Baylor travels to Lincoln, Neb., for an 11:40 a.m. CDT kickoff next Saturday at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium. The game we'll be televised nationally of FSN. We'll see you then.

Sic 'Em.

4:45 p.m. -- Give Oklahoma State credit: the Cowboys were very well prepared for this game. Virtually everything that has worked for the Bears offensively this season has not worked today. OSU put a stamp on its defensive performance with a goal-line stand of its own midway through the fourth quarter. Robert Griffin took quite a shot on the fourth-down play.

Sic 'Em.

4:30 p.m. -- If there is a bright spot for the Bears today, it's the two goal-line stands by the defense here in the third quarter. Nonetheless, another OSU field goal pushes the Cowboys' lead to 34-6. Since the end of the first quarter, Baylor has run 17 offensive plays compared to OSU's 48 offensive plays. Hard to win a football game that way.

Sic 'Em.

4:15 p.m. -- Credit Baylor's defense for holding the Cowboys to a field goal on that last drive. After the 51-yard pass that immediately followed the turnover, the Bears defense could have folded. Jordan Lake and Joe Pawelek both have reached double figures in tackles. It's the sixth such game this season for Pawelek and the 11th such game of his career. Lake now has seven double-digit tackle games in his career; this is his first such game this season.

Sic 'Em.

4:05 p.m. -- Baylor's turnover-free streak was bound to end at some point. Robert Griffin's fumble, which was recovered by OSU, was the Bears' first turnover since the season's second game (Northwestern State). The Cowboys quickly took advantage of the momentum change as Zac Robinson hit Dez Bryant on a 51-yard pass play to set up first and 10 at the Baylor 12.

Sic 'Em.

3:40 p.m. -- Back-breaker. That's not to say Baylor can't rally from a 28-6 halftime deficit, but allowing a team to overcome a third-and-29 situation has to dampen the spirits. Zac Robinson's 23-yard scramble, an offsides penalty and a Robinson eight-yard run allowed the Cowboys to sustain a drive that eventually resulted in another OSU touchdown 19 ticks before the break.

If that sounds familiar... In 2005, Texas Tech faced a third-and-30 from its own 2 at Floyd Casey Stadium. Cody Hodges completed a 29-yard pass to Jarrett Hicks to set up fourth-and-1. Taurean Henderson followed with an five-yard run for a first down. Baylor eventually forced a punt on the drive, but Tech's ability to overcome third-and-long from its 2 completely flipped the field and cost the Bears a chance to get great field position in what  at the time was a 6-0 game late in the third quarter.

Back to the present... Baylor trails by 22 points at halftime, one point more than its halftime deficit two weeks ago against Oklahoma. If the Bears are going to get back into this game, they have to get more production from the offense, which managed only 16 yards of offense and gained no first downs in the second quarter. Sure, the defense gave up three second-quarter touchdowns, but the Bears' lack of a second-quarter first down allowed OSU to run 27 offensive plays in the period.

Baylor's lone score today came as a result of a forced turnover. The Bears must get more breaks - many more breaks - in the second half if they are going to pull off the largest comeback in the program's history.

Sic 'Em.

3:10 p.m. -- Baylor is missing on several first-tackle opportunities, allowing OSU a plethora of extra yardage. So far, the second quarter is all Cowboys. Baylor out-gained OSU 82-67 in the first quarter, but so far the Cowboys have out-gained the Bears 128-14 in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Robert Griffin has etched his name in the NCAA Records Book. Griffin has now attempted 138 passes without throwing an interception. That ties the NCAA Division I FBS record for consecutive attempts without an interception to start a career by a freshman. The record previously belonged to none other than current Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy.

Sic 'Em.

2:45 p.m. -- After the first two drives were dominated by the defenses, both offenses marched for touchdowns on their third drives. That is more of what was expected: an offensive shootout.

So far, OSU has bottled Griffin pretty well running the ball. In past games when that has been the case (Connecticut, Iowa State), Griffin has burned the opponent with his arm. Through the first quarter play, Griffin is 5-of-8 for 72 yards.

The second quarter has been the difference maker each of the past three times these teams have met. Last year, OSU pushed a 7-0 lead after the first quarter to 28-14 lead at the half. In 2006, OSU scored 28 second-quarter points to take a 38-3 halftime lead. In 2005, Baylor outscored the Cowboys 24-7 in the second to take a 38-7 halftime edge.

Sic 'Em.

2:33 p.m. -- Touchdown Jacoby Jones; however, the extra point was blocked. Nonetheless, the Bears struck first, and Baylor is 5-2 over the last two seasons when scoring first (including a 2-1 mark this year).

Sic 'Em.

2:25 p.m. -- From the "for what it's worth" department, offensive lineman Chris Griesenbeck has donned #89 for today's game and has lined up at tight end on a few plays. We'll see if he gets a chance for his first career catch.

Sic 'Em.

2:20 p.m. -- So far, the defenses are winning. Baylor couldn't muster much yardage in its first two possessions, going three-and-out on both. Oklahoma State was three-and-out on its first drive. However, the Cowboys are winning the field position battle. Baylor has started on its 22 and its 15. OSU has started on its 46 and the Baylor 46.

But the first turnover goes Baylor's way as Jeremy Williams recovers a fumble at the Baylor 35.

Sic 'Em.

2:15 p.m. -- Wow! What a missed opportunity. David Gettis streaked down the right sideline on a third-and-11 play and had a five-yard edge on the defensive back. Robert Griffin's pass was perfectly placed, but Gettis dropped the pass. That potentially took six points off the board for the Bears.

Sic 'Em.

Plenty of Seats Still Available
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Larry Little

1:50 p.m. -- Word in the press box at Boone Pickens Stadium is the game will not be a sellout. With about 15 minutes remaining on the pregame countdown clock, the stadium is about 70 percent full at best. Three of the upper corners are completely barren.

Tickets for this game were priced at a minimum of $85. That's $35 more than Baylor's most expensive ticket of the season.

Sic 'Em.

Things Have Changed
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Larry Little

1:15 p.m. -- The American Heritage Dictionary defines "boon" as "a benefit bestowed, especially one bestowed in a response to a request; a timely blessing or benefit."

Oklahoma State's boon is Boone Pickens; but for the OSU athletic facilities, his definition is much the same. The Oklahoma oil man has donated opulent amounts of money to OSU in recent years, and the dividends of such has been a vast upgrade in the school's athletic facilities. The football stadium, which now Bears (sic 'em) his name, is a far cry from what it was as recently as eight years ago. The west end zone is now closed, raising capacity to 60,000.

Speaking of west, Boone Pickens Stadium has one unique characteristic: the field runs east-west rather than the traditional east-west layout. So at OSU, when people say "We need to run more north and south," they acutally mean east and west.

However, this is not as unique as you might suspect. Nine NFL stadiums have east-west fields, including Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. In the college ranks, Washington's Husky Stadium, the and Georgia's Sanford Stadium all lay east-west.

Anyway, the Bears are on the field now, going through position pregame drills. Fans are beginning to fill the stadium with a sea of orange. It makes me envision a day when Floyd Casey Stadium is packed to the brim with 50,000-plus Championship Gold shirts. Nothing looks better than a mass of people dressed in unity at a sporting event ... unless its maroon.

Sic 'Em.

12:20 p.m. -- Baylor's assignment for the day: impersonate Wyatt Earp. Back in the 1880s, Earp had the charge of breaking up the Cowboys gang. Today, the Bears face an eight-ranked Oklahoma State that was the nation's biggest jumper in the national polls this week after upsetting then-No. 3 Missouri at Columbia, Mo., last Saturday.

The buzz word (phrase) around today's contest is "trap game." Oklahoma State has a date with top-ranked Texas next Saturday at Austin - a game that could go a long way toward deciding the Big 12 South champion (then again, in this division virtually every game does that). OSU plays today as a top-10 team for the first time since 1988 when Barry Sanders' crew was No. 10 following a 4-0 start.

ESPN College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit picked today's Baylor-OSU game as his "upset special" this morning. Herbstreit's desk mate Lee Corso said OSU will win the game but that it will be "very close." The show's host, Chris Fowler, offered: "Beware of Robert Griffin III."

All that aside, though, Baylor's chances to rid the Cowboys today reside in the same basic things the Bears have done well most of the season and extremely well in its three wins: take care of the ball, play sound defense against the run, avoid the big play on defense, move the ball on offense and get an electifying performance from RG3.

The most difficult of those realms likely will be the second. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally with 293.8 rushing yards per game. Tailback Kendall Hunter is rolling as the league's top rusher (143.7 ypg) and has nine touchdowns to his credit. Baylor ranks 58th nationally against the run (134.7 ypg), but Oklahoma State is not much better against the run (52nd, 129.2 ypg).

Both teams have protected the ball well this season; Baylor is tied for 11th nationally in turnover margin (plus-1.2 per game), while OSU ranks 26th (plus-0.8).

However, the difference maker in this game very well could turn out to be special teams. Mikail Baker has been the Bears' huckleberry since resuming his role as kickoff return specialist, and Derek Epperson continues to be right as the mail in net punting. Oklahoma State's return game has been blistering in both kickoff and punt returns. The Bears must do all they can to not allow OSU a short field in post-kick situations.

The Bears have completed their early individual stretching and have returned to the locker room for the time being. It looks as though Baylor will wear all white today, the same uniform combination the Bears donned at Connecticut. Here's hoping today's shootout at Boone Pickens' OK Corral results in another 31-28 final, but this time in favor of the Green and Gold.

Sic 'Em.

Baylor returns to action Saturday, Oct. 18, traveling to Stillwater, Okla., for a Big 12 Conference South Division contest at No. 8/10 Oklahoma State. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CDT at Boone Pickens Stadium on the OSU campus. Saturday's game is part of homecoming festivities at Oklahoma State.

The Bears (3-3, 1-1 Big 12) snapped a 13-game conference losing streak last Saturday with a 38-10 victory over Iowa State at home. Baylor is 0-1 on the road this season, falling 31-28 at Connecticut. The Bears have lost seven straight Big 12 road games since a 34-31, triple-overtime victory at Colorado in 2006.

The Cowboys (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) are coming off a 28-23 upset at then-No. 3 Missouri last Saturday. Oklahoma State is off to its best start since opening 6-0 in 1997 before falling to Missouri 51-50 at home in two overtimes. The Cowboys are 4-0 at home this season with victories over Houston, Missouri State, Troy and Texas A&M. Baylor and OSU have played one common opponent; both teams defeated Washington State.