Inside Baylor Sports' Texas Bowl preview show will air tonight on KCEN after the local 10 p.m. news, which will air after its normal time due to NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast (moved to Tuesday). Fans can also watch the Texas Bowl preview show on KCEN's alternate channel, MYTX.

MYTX can be found over-the-air on channel 12.3, Time Warner cable channel 15 and channel 870 in high definition, DirecTV channel 43 and CMA cable channel 55. MYTX is also located on digital channel 6.2. Inside Baylor Sports' Texas Bowl preview show will air three times tonight on MYTX: 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS' TEXAS BOWL PREVIEW CHANNEL LIST
KCEN-HD: tonight after late local news (following NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast)
MYTX: 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m. (Channels: digital 6.2, over-the-air 12.3, Time Warner channel 15, Time Warner channel 870 in HD, DirecTV channel 43 and CMA cable channel 55)

KRZI-1660: Waco (106.9FM)
KESN-103.3: Dallas
KNTH-1070: Houston
KSLI-1280: Abilene
KTXX-104.9: Austin
KYBI-100.1: Lufkin
KPXI-100.7: Tyler
KJAK-92.7: Lubbock
Sirius 120

Baylor senior offensive tackle Danny Watkins has been named an honorable mention All-American by Pro Football Weekly. PFW distinguishes itself from other All-America teams by placing extra emphasis on a student-athletes NFL prospects. Here's what PFW has to say about its selection process:

"PFW's All-America team annually honors the most talented players in college football and is determined based on considerable feedback from NFL evaluators taking into consideration a player's pure talent and contribution to his team. Unlike many other teams rewarding the best college football players, PFW places an extra premium on true talent and draft value in the selection process."

Watkins is one of seven offensive tackles named by PFW. Nate Solder (Colorado), Anthony Castonzo (Boston College), Marcus Cannon (TCU), Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin), Lee Ziemba (Auburn) and Ben Ijalana (Villanova) were also honored.

A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Watkins started all 12 games at left tackle during the 2010 season. He totalled 122 knockdowns and averaged a coach's grade of 90.3 on his way to earning first-team All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press, Austin American-Statesman, ESPN.com and Kansas City Star.

Watkins joins Jay Finley as Bears honored as All-Americans in 2010. Finley was named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated last week.

Epperson One of 23 Academic All-Americans in Bowl Game
11:19 A.M., SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics

Led by Penn State, which has a trio of ESPN Academic All-America® University Division first team selections, 23 members of the 2010 Academic All-America® University Division first and second teams will be competing in bowl games during the coming weeks as the 2010 college football season comes to a conclusion.

An ESPN Academic All-America® second-team punter, graduate student Derek Epperson helped Baylor earn its first bowl berth in 16 seasons; the Bears will face Illinois in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 29. Epperson, who graduated with a 3.62 GPA in management, is a three-time All-Big 12 selection. An honorable mention All-American as a junior, he ranks 19th in the nation with a 44.2 yards-per-punt average. Of his 49 punts, 11 of them have been longer than 50 yards and he has placed 13 inside the 20-yard line.

The Bears' punter for four years, he has punted 218 times in his career, averaging 42.8 yards-per-kick. A native of Southlake, Texas, he has 49 career punts of 50 yards or more.

Epperson is the only ESPN Academic All-America® playing in the Texas Bowl later this month. Here's the complete list of ESPN Academic All-America® selections competing in the 2010 bowl season.

Finley, Four Freshmen Reel in More Honors
11:17 A.M., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics

Last Thursday, we recapped Baylor's laundry list of All-Big 12 honors. With kickoff of the 2010 Texas Bowl two weeks away, five more Baylor players raked in Big 12 or national honors, including four freshmen.

Senior RB Jay Finley, who enters the Texas Bowl needing 33 yards to break Walter Abercrombie's single-season rushing record at Baylor, was named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated.

Redshirt freshmen Tevin Elliott and Aaron Jones were both named to the Big 12 All-Freshman teams by ESPN.com and Rivals.com. True freshman Tyler Stephenson was also named to the Rivals.com Big 12 All-Freshman team. Jones (2nd team) and Elliott (3rd team) both earned Postseason All-Freshman recognition from Phil Steele.

Elliott and Jones represented Baylor on CollegeFootballNews.com's Freshman All-American teams; Elliott was named second-team DE, while Jones was named honorable mention PK.

TEVIN ELLIOTT, DE
Big 12 All-Freshman (ESPN.com)
Big 12 All-Freshman (Rivals.com)
Postseason All-Freshman, 3rd team (Phil Steele)
Freshman All-American, 2nd team (CollegeFootballNews.com)

AARON JONES, PK
Big 12 All-Freshman (ESPN.com)
Big 12 All-Freshman (Rivals.com)
Postseason All-Freshman, 2nd team (Phil Steele)
Freshman All-American, honorable mention (CollegeFootballNews.com)

CYRIL RICHARDSON, OL
Big 12 All-Freshman (ESPN.com)
Postseason All-Freshman, 5th team (Phil Steele)

TYLER STEPHENSON, CB
Big 12 All-Freshman (Rivals.com)

Back in September, Baylor junior C Philip Blake was rated as the No. 1 prospect by the Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau. Three months later, Blake is again the top-rated prospect eligible for the 2011 CFL Canadian Draft according to its Scouting Bureau's December edition of Top 15 prospects (complete list here).

Blake, a native of Toronto, Ontario, is one of three offensive linemen among the top five prospects, including University of Connecticut center Moe Petrus (St. Laurent, Quebec) and Rice University tackle Scott Mitchell (Ottawa, Ontario).

The next top 15 prospects list will be published in April 2011 prior to the draft and after the 2011 Evaluation Camp, which is to be held March 4-6 in Toronto.

Carolina Panthers WR David Gettis and Denver Broncos C J.D. Walton are continuing to have outstanding rookie seasons in 2010. Gettis caught two passes for 22 yards in Sunday's 31-10 loss at Atlanta; for the season, Gettis has hauled in 29 receptions for 438 yards and three touchdowns. Walton has started all 13 games at center this season for the Broncos.

Two-time NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Matt Bryant is now 25-of-28 on FG attempts and a perfect 34-of-34 on point-after tries for the 11-2 Atlanta Falcons in 2010.

	Player	Week 14 Update	Season Update
	Colin Allred, LB Tennessee Titans (5-7) NFL Experience: 3rd season Lettered at Baylor: 2001-05	DID NOT PLAY	Injured Reserve 5 GP; 5 tackles
	Josh Bell, DB Green Bay Packers (7-5) NFL Experience: 3rd season Lettered at Baylor: 2005-07	DID NOT PLAY	HAS NOT PLAYED Injured Reserve
	Matt Bryant, PK Atlanta Falcons (11-2) NFL Experience: 8th season Lettered at Baylor: 1997-98	Played W, 31-10 at CAR 1/1 FG 4/4 PAT	13 GP 25/28 FG 34/34 PAT Long 51
	David Gettis, WR Carolina Panthers (1-12) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2006-09	Started L, 10-31 vs. ATL 2 rec., 22 yards	12 GP, 11 GS 29 rec., 438 yards 3 TD
	Daniel Sepulveda, P Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) NFL Experience: 4th season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	DID NOT PLAY	Injured Reserve 12 GP 56 punts 45.5 Avg Long 62
	Jason Smith, RT St. Louis Rams (6-7) NFL Experience: 2nd season Lettered at Baylor: 2005-08	Started L, 13-31 at NO No stats	12 GS No stats
	Justin Snow, LS Indianapolis Colts (7-6) NFL Experience: 11th season Lettered at Baylor: 1996-99	Played W, 30-28 at TEN No stats	13 GP No stats
	J.D. Walton, C Denver Broncos (3-10) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2007-09	Started L, 13-43 at ARI No stats	13 GS No stats
	Jonathan Weeks, LS Houston Texans (5-8) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2004-07	Played L, 28-34 vs. BAL No stats	12 GP No stats
	C.J. Wilson, DB Carolina Panthers (1-12) NFL Experience: 4th season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	Played L, 10-31 vs. ATL No stats	5 GP 4 tackles
	Dominique Zeigler, WR San Francisco 49ers (5-7) NFL Experience: 2nd season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	DID NOT PLAY	Injured Reserve 11 GP 9 rec., 98 yards 1 blocked punt

With countdown to kickoff of the 2010 Texas Bowl less than three weeks away, "This is Bear Country" will preview Baylor's bowl opponent, the Illinois Fighting Illini. In the first installment of Countdown to Kickoff, TIBC will preview Illinois' offense.

Illinois and Baylor possess many similarities on the offensive side of the ball. The Fighting Illini are led by a dual-threat QB and a powerful, record-setting RB. If you look at the stats alone, Illinois is led by the 1-2 offensive punch of redshirt freshman QB Nathan Scheelhaase and junior RB Mikel Leshoure. In his first season with the Illini, Scheelhaase broke Juice Williams' school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a season; Scheelhaase enters the Texas Bowl with 815 rushing yards, topping Williams' 755 rushing yards in 2007.

RUSHING

• Leshoure, a third-team All-American by Rivals.com, has rushed for 1,513 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Champaign, Ill., native ranks second on Illinois' single-season rushing list behind Rashard Mendenhall's 1,681 yards. Leshoure's 14 rushing TDs are third on Illinois' single-season list.
• Both Leshoure and Baylor senior RB Jay Finley established new single-game rushing records in 2010. Leshoure ran for a school-record 330 yards and added two touchdowns in Illinois' 48-27 win over Northwestern at Wrigley Field last month.
• Leshoure ranks eighth nationally in rushing yards per game (126.1) and 26th nationally in all-purpose yards per game (140.7). Finley ranks 26th nationally in rushing (96.3) and 92nd overall in all-purpose yards (102.6).
• Leshoure and Scheelhaase have combined to rush for 2,328 of Illinois' 2,908 rushing yards (80.1 percent of the Illini's total rushing production. Compare that to Baylor: Finley and QB Robert Griffin III have rushed for 1,746 of Baylor's 2,406 rushing yards (72.6 percent).

PASSING

• In his rookie season under center, Scheelhaase threw for 1,583 yards (season-high 229 yards vs. Southern Illinois, Sept. 11) and 17 TDs (season-hour four scores vs. Purdue, Oct. 30). Illinois hasn't had a 2,000-yard passer in eight of the 11 seasons.
• Scheelhaase, who has four 100-yard rushing games to his credit in 2010, threw for 200+ yards in only two games as a redshirt freshman. By comparison, RG3 had one 100-yard rushing game, but threw for 200+ yards in 10 of 12 games, including three 300-yard passing performances.

RECEIVING

• Junior WR A.J. Jenkins has Illinois' only two 100-yard receiving games in 2010 - 137 vs. Minnesota (Nov. 13) and 114 vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 11). Jenkins leads all Illinois receivers in receptions (50), yards (694) and touchdowns (seven).
• By comparison, Baylor has seven 100-yard receiving games; junior IR Kendall Wright has four 100-yard games this season.

SCORING

• To put it mildly: both teams can score in bunches. Baylor ranks 29th nationally in scoring offense (32.6), while Illinois ranks 34th (32.1); in fact, Baylor has scored six more points than Illinois in 2010. 
• Illinois has scored 30+ points in seven games this season, including a season-high 65 points in a 67-65 three-OT loss at Michigan. Illinois' 65 points were the most scored by an opponent in Michigan Stadium, surpassing the previous mark of 51 by Florida State in 1991.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

TEAM COMPARISON

We will preview Illinois' defense next week. For daily updates as Baylor prepares for the 2010 Texas Bowl, be sure to visit the Daily Updates section of BaylorBears.com's 2010 Texas Bowl Central.

Baylor's All-Big 12 Rundown
11:05 A.M., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics
BOWL CENTRAL: Daily Updates

We are 20 days from kickoff of Baylor's triumphant return to the Bowl Seasonwhen the Bears face the Illinois Fighting Illini on Dec. 29 for the Texas Bowl in Houston. On Wednesday, head coach Art Briles and Illinois head coach Ron Zook met with members of the Houston media at the Texas Bowl Press Conference. And early projections have Reliant Stadium being dominated by green and gold as Texas Bowl ticket sales are surging.

Media outlets have released their respective all-Big 12 teams, which have been flooded with Baylor representatives, headlined by senior OT Danny Watkins, senior S Byron Landor, senior DT Phil Taylor and sophomore QB Robert Griffin III.

Here's a look at some of the all-Big 12 teams by media outlet: ESPN.com, Rivals.com, San Antonio Express-News, Phil Steele, Kansas City Star, Austin American-Statesman and Dallas Morning News.

Here's a list of Baylor's all-Big 12 honors as of Thursday morning:

Bears in the NFL: Week 13
10:12 A.M., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics

Week 13 of the 2010 NFL season saw another former Baylor player's year come to an end. Former Baylor All-American and fourth-year Pittsburgh Steelers P Daniel Sepulvedais out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Sepulveda is the fourth former Bear to be placed on injured reserve this season, joining Tennessee Titans LB Colin Allred, Green Bay Packers CB Josh Bell and San Francisco 49ers WR Dominique Zeigler.

Reigning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Matt Bryant continues to have an outstanding season for the Atlanta Falcons; the eighth-year PK is 24-of-27 on FG attempts and a perfect 30-of-30 on PATs this season.

Indianpolis Colts LS Justin Snow appeared his 172nd consecutive game Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at Lucas Oil Stadium. He is the third-longest tenured Colt behind QB Peyton Manning and C Jeff Saturday. Snow has a master's degree in speech pathology and, if it weren't for the Colts, he'd be helping others rehab. Indianapolis Star's Mike Chappell explains.

	Player	Week 13 Update	Season Update
	Colin Allred, LB Tennessee Titans (5-6) NFL Experience: 3rd season Lettered at Baylor: 2001-05	DID NOT PLAY	Injured Reserve 5 GP; 5 tackles
	Josh Bell, DB Green Bay Packers (7-4) NFL Experience: 3rd season Lettered at Baylor: 2005-07	DID NOT PLAY	HAS NOT PLAYED Injured Reserve
	Matt Bryant, PK Atlanta Falcons (10-2) NFL Experience: 8th season Lettered at Baylor: 1997-98	Played W, 28-24 at TB 0/0 FG 4/4 PAT	12 GP 24/27 FG 30/30 PAT Long 51
	David Gettis, WR Carolina Panthers (1-11) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2006-09	Started L, 14-31 at SEA 2 rec., 16 yards	11 GP, 10 GS 27 rec., 416 yards 3 TD
	Daniel Sepulveda, P Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) NFL Experience: 4th season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	Played W, 13-10 at BAL 3 punts 44.3 Avg Long 53	Injured Reserve 12 GP 56 punts 45.5 Avg Long 62
	Jason Smith, RT St. Louis Rams (6-6) NFL Experience: 2nd season Lettered at Baylor: 2005-08	Started W, 19-6 at ARI No stats	11 GS No stats
	Justin Snow, LS Indianapolis Colts (6-6) NFL Experience: 11th season Lettered at Baylor: 1996-99	Played L, 35-38 vs. DAL No stats	12 GP No stats
	J.D. Walton, C Denver Broncos (3-9) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2007-09	Started L, 6-10 at KC No stats	12 GS No stats
	Jonathan Weeks, LS Houston Texans (5-7) NFL Experience: Rookie Lettered at Baylor: 2004-07	Played L, 24-34 at PHI No stats	12 GP No stats
	C.J. Wilson, DB Carolina Panthers (1-11) NFL Experience: 4th season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	Played L, 14-31 at SEA No stats	4 GP 4 tackles
	Dominique Zeigler, WR San Francisco 49ers (4-7) NFL Experience: 2nd season Lettered at Baylor: 2003-06	Played W, 27-6 at ARI 1 rec., 10 yds	Injured Reserve 11 GP 9 rec., 98 yards 1 blocked punt

Day-After Reaction: Baylor's Texas Bowl-Bound
2:33 P.M., MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics

The long wait Baylor Nation has endured is finally over. On Sunday, Baylor accepted an invitation to play Illinois in the 2010 Texas Bowl, snapping a 16-year bowl drought for the Bears football program. After the Bears accepted the Texas Bowl invitation, AD Ian McCaw, head coach Art Briles and players (QB Robert Griffin III, OT Danny Watkins and S Byron Landor) held a press conference Sunday evening at the Simpson Center.

Here's a look at day-after reaction following Baylor's invitation to play Illinois in the 2010 Texas Bowl:

• Baylor bound for Texas Bowl against Illinois (Dwain Price, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
• Baylor ends long postseason drought with Texas Bowl invite (Terrance Harris, FanHouse.com)
• Baylor glad to be back (Jose De Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle)
• Illinois heads to Houston for Texas Bowl (Anthony Zilis, The Daily Illini)
• Illini set to face Baylor in Texas Bowl (John Supinie, Peoria Journal Star)
• Illini to face Baylor in 'road' game (Herb Gould, Chicago Sun-Times)
• Illini to play Baylor in Texas Bowl (Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Illini face speedy challenge with Baylor, Griffin III (John Supinie, blog.sj-r.com)

More All-Conference Honors
5:47 P.M., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: Twitter: @BUFootball, @BaylorAthletics | Facebook: Baylor Athletics

Byron Landor has been named All-Big 12 by five different media outlets.

On Thursday, 10 Baylor football players were named All-Big 12 by the Associated Press, including a pair of first-teamers - S Byron Landor and OT Danny Watkins. On Friday, four more outlets unveiled their respective All-Big 12 teams and there were plenty of Baylor Bears recognized...

IR Kendall Wright, Watkins, Landor and P Derek Epperson all earned All-Big 12 second-team honors from the Dallas Morning News. Landor and DT Phil Taylor also earned second-team accolades from the Columbia Daily Tribune in Columbia, Mo. Watkins and Landor picked up first-team honors from the Kansas City Star, while Taylor and RB Jay Finley were named to the second team.

Five Baylor players were named to the All-Big 12 second team by Phil Steele: QB Robert Griffin III, Wright, Watkins, Taylor and Landor. WR Josh Gordon was Baylor's lone third-team All-Big 12 representative.

2010 BAYLOR ALL-BIG 12 SELECTIONS
C Philip Blake
Coaches (honorable mention)
AP (honorable mention)

HC Art Briles
Coaches (honorable mention Coach of the Year)

DE Tevin Elliott
AP (honorable mention)

P Derek Epperson
Dallas Morning News (second team)
Coaches (honorable mention)
AP (honorable mention)

RB Jay Finley
Kansas City Star (second team)
Coaches (honorable mention)
AP (honorable mention)

WR Josh Gordon
Phil Steele (third team)

QB Robert Griffin III
Coaches (second team)
Coaches (honorable mention Offensive Player of the Year)
Phil Steele (second team)
AP (honorable mention)

LB Antonio Johnson
Coaches (honorable mention)
AP (honorable mention)

PK Aaron Jones
Coaches (honorable mention)

S Byron Landor
AP (first team)
Kansas City Star (first team)
Dallas Morning News (second team)
Columbia Daily Tribune (second team)
Phil Steele (second team)
Coaches (honorable mention)

DT Phil Taylor
AP (second team)
Coaches (second team)
Columbia Daily Tribune (second team)
Kansas City Star (second team)
Phil Steele (second team)

OT Danny Watkins
AP (first team)
Kansas City Star (first team)
Coaches (second team)
Dallas Morning News (second team)
Phil Steele (second team)

IR Kendall Wright
Phil Steele (second team)
Coaches (second team)
Dallas Morning News (second team)
AP (honorable mention)

Bears in the NFL: Week 12
11:45 A.M., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010

Atlanta Falcons PK Matt Bryant made his third game-winning kick of the 2010 season when he kicked a 47-yard FG with nine seconds remaining to lift the Falcons to a 20-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Bryant was named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday.

Former Baylor teammates Jason Smith (St. Louis) and J.D. Walton (Denver) squared off in Denver last Sunday with the Rams defeating the Broncos, 36-33. San Francisco 49ers WR Dominique Zeigler caught one pass for 10 yards at Arizona, but was placed on injured reserve after tearing the ACL in his left knee.