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Baylor vs. Texas A&M - In-game
Saturday, November 16, 2008
Jeff Brown

6:16 p.m. -- There are still probably a couple-hundred fans milling around down on the field -- perhaps waiting for traffic to die down before heading over to tonight's men's basketball season opener vs. Paul Quinn.

Right in the middle of the field, about 10 seniors are circled up on the BU logo. A crowd of fans are giving them space but have formed a larger circle around them. I'd guess the players are either praying or sharing memories; when the huddle broke, they got a nice round of applause, and now they're headed off to do postgame media interviews.

That'll do it for me here, tonight and since this is the last home game, for the season as well. It's been fun. There's still one more game to go -- two weeks from today, in Lubbock vs. national title contender Texas Tech -- and then we'll be fully into the winter season. Look forward to seeing you at the Ferrell Center!

6:02 p.m. -- Coach Briles continued his tradition of tossing his hat into the Baylor Line after home victories, and a bit later a good number of fans (including what remained of the Line) joined the team on the field for the playing of "That Good Old Baylor Line."

Given the Bears' struggles against the Aggies in recent years, this win was fun. Baylor was favored by a touchdown, but far outplayed those expectations, and it really wasn't even as close as the final score indicated. Both A&M and Baylor got new head coaches in the offseason, and the Aggies' Mike Sherman and his long NFL pedigree got more attention. But both teams will likely finish with four wins total (two in conference), and the Bears clearly were the better team in today's head-to-head match-up. So I like where we're standing going forward.

6:02 p.m. -- Scratch that... The Bears now have a whole new offense in, including Blake Szymanski at QB. With 35 seconds left, Szymanski scrambled for the first down, and that'll end the game.

The 20-point difference in final score marks the Bears' fourth-largest margin of victory over the Aggies ever, and Baylor's biggest since a 46-7 win in 1980. The 41 points by the Bears are also the third-most ever by BU against TAMU.
FINAL: BAYLOR 41, TEXAS A&M 21

5:56 p.m. -- A&M brought the house on a Baylor punt and got the block, setting up their third score of the night, Johnson's first passing TD today.

But even with under four minutes to play, the Bears aren't letting up. Griffin is still in at QB, and Baylor will take over on A&M's half of the field after a failed onside kick.
BAYLOR 41, TEXAS A&M 21

5:46 p.m. -- You might remember A&M running back Jorvorski Lane from last year, when he ran for 123 yards and a touchdown against BU. Lane began his senior season this year as the No. 2 active TD producer in the nation, but was moved to fullback during spring drills and has only had three carries today, all on the goal line. At 6-foot-0, 270 pounds, Lane has made good on his three attempts and scored both Aggie touchdowns.

After completing the two-point conversion, the score is now:
BAYLOR 41, TEXAS A&M 15

5:33 p.m. -- It looked like the Aggies might score again there, driving into the red zone after Baylor's touchdown, but TAMU QB Johnson threw his fourth pick of the day -- this one in the end zone -- to stop the drive.

The pass was again picked off by Pawelek, giving the junior his first career two-INT game and six on the season, the most by a Bear since Michael McFarlane in 1991.

5:22 p.m. -- I can't even type fast enough to keep up with the scoring now... A&M QB Jerrod Johnson threw his third interception of the game, this time picked off by Joe Pawelek, and it led to Jacoby Jones' second touchdown of the game.

Surprisingly, the Aggies are sticking with Johnson (9-of-18, 0 TD, 3 INT) at QB as they come back out here late in the third quarter. Not as surprisingly, with A&M trailing by 34 here as we begin the fourth quarter, A&M fans are streaming out the exits. The Aggie section in the stands is now about 1/3 empty with a quarter still to go.

Before that last score, the crowd was announced at 43,549, the Bears' largest home attendance since a Floyd Casey-record 51,385 came for the TAMU-BU game two years ago.
BAYLOR 41, TEXAS A&M 7

5:13 p.m. -- Though known for his legs, true freshman QB Robert Griffin moved into the top 10 in the Baylor recordbook in single-season passing yards (8th place, now over 1,950 yards) and completions (9th with 144 as I type this).

With two passing TDs today, Griffin has also set a new BU single-season record as he has been responsible for 25 touchdowns (14 passing, 11 rushing). He's also second all-time in single-season total yards with almost 2,700; a good finish today and an average game next week should break the school record set by Blake Szymanski last year.

After the Aggies downed a punt at the Baylor one-yard line, Griffin engineered a nine-play, 99-yard drive that concluded with a Jay Finley touchdown run.
BAYLOR 34, TEXAS A&M 7

4:50 p.m. -- The A&M game is almost like a second Homecoming for a lot of Baylor fans when the game is in Waco. I had barely finished saying hello to some old friends in the press box, and the Bears had already scored on their first drive of the second half. On a busted play, Griffin hit Thomas White for a 55-yard touchdown barely a minute and a half into the third quarter. The Aggie cornerback looked to have a play on the ball, but came up empty and White had an easy path into the endzone.
BAYLOR 27, TEXAS A&M 7

4:29 p.m. -- The stands are packed today, and official attendance should easily pass 40,000. And while the stands usually empty during halftime as fans head to the concession stands, I don't think anyone has moved yet, as they are all hanging around to see the performance of the Texas A&M band.

Even among reporters with decades of experience who have covered countless college football games, the halftime performance of Texas A&M's marching band captures attention every time -- which is a little surprising, given that the performance is the same every week. If you're curious, do a search on YouTube for "Aggie marching band." Then enjoy this performance (which mocks the Aggie band) from the combined Baylor and UT bands as the Southwest Conference neared its end.

4:22 p.m. -- An interesting match-up for today is the freshman receivers in both teams. TAMU came in with two rookie receivers among the top 10 freshman nationally in receptions and receiving yards, while Baylor frosh Kendall Wright is 7th among all freshman receivers and 10 in yards per game.

Wright put the Bears up by 13 with a touchdown catch late in the first half and has three receptions for a team-best 54 yards and two carries for 16 yards rushing. The A&M freshmen, meanwhile, have combined for just two catches and 19 yards.

After the score, A&M looked to be driving until a vicious hit on a receiver by safety Tim Atchison led to an interception by Jordan Lake. Two plays later, it's halftime.
HALFTIME: BAYLOR 20, TEXAS A&M 7

4:13 p.m. -- Going with the wind, Johnson completed a 51-yard pass to tailback Mike Goodson who fell down just short of the goalline. On third and goal, the Aggies pushed it across for the touchdown.

The Aggie cheering was drowned out a moment later, when the Apache crew that did the pre-game flyover was introduced. After being introduced, each member of the crew unzipped their fleeces to reveal Gold Rush shirts underneath, drawing a great cheer from the crowd.
BAYLOR 13, TEXAS A&M 7

4:03 p.m. -- Given that TAMU's rushing defense has struggled so much this year (see earlier note) while the passing defense is second in the Big 12, I expected the Bears to run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball some more. But so far, Baylor has really aired it out. One play after a deep ball down the far side hit David Gettis in the hands but fell incomplete, Robert Griffin again went long, this time hitting Ernest Smith for a 49-yard completion. The long pass play set up the option to Jacoby Jones, who took it in for Baylor's first touchdown of the day.
BAYLOR 13, TEXAS A&M 0

3:50 p.m. -- Yet again, unforced errors held what might have been a touchdown scoring drive to a field goal. After the Bears recovered a fumble around the TAMU 25-yard line, Baylor moved to first-and-goal at the 10, but a fumbled snap on second down cost the Bears a down and led to yet another Ben Parks field goal. Parks, this time kicking into the wind, nailed the 28-yard field goal for his first multiple-score game.
BAYLOR 6, TEXAS A&M 0

3:38 p.m. -- Quick first quarter there, as both teams kept the clock rolling. With TAMU's defense ranked last in the Big 12 in scoring (allowing 35.9 points per game) and rushing defense (allowing 214.6 yards per game on the ground), the Bears will likely keep on running the ball today. Jay Finley already has six carries for 48 yards.

3:25 p.m. -- A sack and a holding penalty stalled the Bears' first drive, but with the wind at his back, freshman Ben Parks nailed a career-best 42-yard field goal to give the Bears the early lead. Parks' previous career-long was 36 yards at Iowa State, and this 42-yard make was the longest attempt of the season for Baylor.
BAYLOR 3, TEXAS A&M 0

3:16 p.m. -- Perhaps because it's Senior Day, the Bears started former QB John David Weed at tight end - his second start of the year. Griffin's first pass attempt of the day was intended for Weed but fell incomplete.

3:13 p.m. -- Though A&M's media notes still promote senior Stephen McGee as a strong NFL prospect, the Aggies started sophomore Jerrod Johnson at QB over McGee for the eighth straight game. McGee missed several games due to injury but came in off the bench to complete 10 of 19 attempts last week vs. Oklahoma. Johnson was 3-of-3 on the Aggies' first drive before the Bears stopped them just past midfield.

Baylor vs. Texas A&M - Pregame
Saturday, November 16, 2008
Jeff Brown

3:03 p.m. -- Following the national anthem, a pair of Apache helicopters flew by the stadium to strong effect. Today's game may be between two teams that only have seven combined wins, but it's still an important rivalry -- Baylor's most played, and TAMU's second-most played. A Baylor win today would likely keep the Aggies from a bowl game, and may Bear fans are treating today's game as Baylor's bowl game this year.

Following the usual Baylor Line run, most of the players came in through the tunnel -- all accept the seniors, who came down through the stands near the 50-yard line to much applause.

2:46 p.m. -- Baylor's 20 seniors are being recognized on the field right now along with their parents and other family members before this, their final home game. Dan Gay -- a native of Lafayette, La. -- gave Coach Briles green and gold Mardi Gras beads when he came by.

After having celebrated Veterans Day earlier this week, PA announcer Rick May made note of senior Leon Freeman's military experience when he was introduced during the ceremony. (Freeman spent six months with the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2003; look for more on his story in the next issue of Baylor Magazine, coming later this month.) Freeman and likely NFL first-round pick Jason Smith received the two loudest ovations from the crowd.

2:40 p.m. -- As Baylor's band marches in, it's something of a surprise to see the BUGWB looking like the group with military precision while the A&M Corps members in the stands are not even uniformly dressed -- some in the usual khaki, others wearing a black sweatshirt.

There's a good deal of maroon in the stands already, though, while the usual popular Gold Rush t-shirts are buried under jackets and sweatshirts today -- many green, but also a variety of other colors. Crowd shots from today are excellent evidence in the argument for the Baylor Gold Rush shirts; the green just blends in with other colors too much.

2:28 p.m. -- Though sunny, today's game is easily the coldest of the year at Floyd Casey. We're at today's high of 57 degrees, with a strong North wind gusting to 30 mph. The cold will affect the fans (who are bundled up) more than the players, but we'll see how that wind affects things on the field. The Aggies and Bears have two of the top punters in the nation, but those weapons could be neutralized by the wind.

Since it's reasonably chilly out, the windows in the press box are closed right now (though they will likely be opened by kickoff). Even still, the Aggie band still comes through loud and clear as they play away with 40 minutes still to go 'til kickoff.

Friday, November 14, 2008
Brad Sheffield

The Bears (3-7, 1-5 Big 12) look to snap a four-game losing streak after falling 45-21 at then-No. 5 Texas at Austin last Saturday. The Bears are 3-3 at home this season, including a 1-2 mark in Big 12 play.

The Aggies (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) lost to then-No. 6 Oklahoma 66-28 at home last Saturday, ending a modest two-game winning streak. Texas A&M is 2-1 on the road this season, winning at New Mexico (28-22) and at Iowa State (49-35) and losing at Oklahoma State (56-28).

Baylor and Texas A&M have played two common opponents this season; both teams lost at Oklahoma State and at home to Oklahoma.