Game 7: Baylor 59, Kansas 14

Back to Kansas, for the second time in three weeks!  Last time Baylor played in Lawrence, RG3 had to lead the Bears in an OT win after being down by 21 in the fourth quarter.  For this game, I was hoping it would be a high-scoring romp for Baylor, against a Kansas team that hasn't won a Big 12 game in years.

Zippy didn't want to go back to Kansas this time, and I had 4 tickets, so my dad and my nephew Drew came along.  We left Saturday morning for the now-familiar drive to Kansas.

We got to Lawrence in time to attend the Baylor "tailgate" party.  Not really at a tailgate, but rather a catered affair on the roof of a hotel a couple blocks from the stadium.  Here's the view:

It's always fun to run into Baylor friends at these events.  Here's Dale Connally, one of my favorite Baylor professors.  He was director of Baylor Camp when I was there as a camper and a counselor, but he still seems to like me.  I know, I can't believe it either. 

It's always fun to see the game day traditions of the other schools.  The band marched through KU's version of Touchdown Alley, then sang under the stands, I guess their school song.  (By the way, it's "The University of Kansas,"but it's KU.  Why?)  Like K-State, the KU stadium is right on campus.  Even though the new Baylor stadium is across the river, rather than in the heart of campus, it will be nice being walking distance from campus.

We had really good seats for the game.  I waited too late to order tickets through Baylor, so I got on Stubhub and found some on row 12 around midfield.  We enjoyed a great view.  Of course, there were lots of empty seats.  Once Baylor got up 28-0 early in the second quarter, people starting leaving.  After halftime, it started to seem like Baylor fans were in the majority.  Baylor fans know how it feels.  We've been on the losing end of these games plenty of times.

The first kickoff.

Great view of the action.  It was fun, too, watching the Baylor players having fun on the sidelines.

Drew and Elliot wanted to get even closer, moving down to the second row.

A modestly respectable crowd early in the game.

Plenty of empty seats in the third quarter.

Well, they kept us under 70.  My prediction was 63-17.  I almost got the spread right!  I never get tired of seeing the scoreboard with Baylor on top.  We're 7-0; here's hoping for 6 more wins!  Baylor had an unusually slow start tonight, but got rolling after a couple of series.  KU ran the ball a lot.  I suspect future opponents will use that strategy as well.  Our powerful offense can't score if they're not on the field.

It's been fun to be on top.  Now we're ranked 5 in the AP and coaches poll and 6 in the BCS rankings.  We will need to win convincingly in the next 5 games.  We have already beaten 6, 8, 9, and 10 in the current Big 12 standings.  Obviously, these last 5 conference games promise to be tougher than the first 4.  If we can take care of business in the Big 12, and get some help with upsets above us in the national rankings, who knows where Baylor will end up.  Dare we dream of moving up a couple of spots?  Ending the season in the top 2?

No matter where we end up, it's been a fun ride so far.  Elliot and could not have chosen a better season to go to Every Baylor Game!!

Sic 'em!

Game 6: Baylor 71, Iowa State 7

Another game at Floyd Casey Stadium, another record-setting blowout!  Baylor fans, we are getting spoiled--and loving it!  Sure, the pollsters put us at 5 or 6, and the computers don't love us, putting us at 8 in the first BCS rankings, but Baylor fans know this is a championship quality team.  There is no team in the country that Baylor couldn't beat.  Every week, more people are coming to realize that.

This was a great night for Baylor football!  The crowd was reported to be the largest ever at which the opponent was not Texas, Texas A&M, or Arkansas.  Given the tiny group of ISU fans present, that tells me this was the largest attendance of Baylor fans ever!  Pretty cool.  It was also reported that students were turned away at the gate--no more student tickets!  Way to go Baylor students!  Love the school spirit!

I loved the recognitions tonight, too.  The 1963 football team was recognized.  They were one of the best ever, finishing at 8-3, and beating LSU in the Bluebonnet Bowl.  Here is a picture of some Baylor greats together.  Legendary Baylor coach Grant Teaff; Don Trull, QB of that 1963 team; and Ian McCaw, Baylor's AD who took over a struggling athletic department in 2003 and under whose leadership Baylor has enjoyed unprecedented success.  Trull is being recognized here for his recent induction to the College Football Hall of Fame.

It was Homecoming, which, of course, accounts for the crowd.  For Homecoming and as a part of the last season at Floyd Casey, there was a card section!  My first year in Chamber was, as I recall, the last year of the card section in the student seating area.  Baylor students from that era will remember looking through the hole reading "This is Bear Country"on the press box across the field.

Here the fans in the south end zone are reading the same, only on the north end zone tarp.  From this perspective it's not too easy to read, but I think these say "Homecoming 2013"and "The Case 1950-2013."  I remember what a logistical challenge it was to get the card out and to get all the fans to cooperate and make this happen.  Kudos to whoever put this together, and the fans who made it work!

So I guess I'm not up on my pop culture.  My sister-in-law was shocked that I didn't know who this singer was.  I was supposed to have been thrilled to hear a live performance from the one, the only, Lorena's own Holly Tucker!!!  Apparently she had a successful run on one of those TV singing competitions.  I would say I can't stand those shows, but to say that I would have to have actually watched on.  So I'll just say I can't stand the promo spots for those shows and leave it at that.  In any case, congratulations Holly, good luck in your music career, and thanks for coming out to support the Bears!

Oh, but what about the game?  Ah, the game.  What a game it was!  Baylor punted on their first drive; that was discouraging.  But then they dominated from start to finish.  This was the best defensive performance Baylor has had all year.  No defensive scores, but 2 interceptions, 5 sacks, a forced fumble, and 174 (!!!) total yards allowed kept this game all in the hands of Baylor.  The offense had plenty of ammo, racking up over 700 yards.  It was a shut out until ISU scored a TD with under a minute left in the game.  But the game didn't end on a down note; Corey Coleman returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown!

This was total dominance by Baylor over a team that lost to Texas Tech by 7 last week, and to Texas by 1 the week before (and if you saw that game, you know ISU really won . . . .).  In fact, although ISU had 4 losses coming in, the largest margin had been by 8.  This 64 point margin was the largest margin of victory ever for Baylor against a conference foe, SWC or Big 12.

This team just keeps on getting better.  I know, like many Baylor fans, I'm feeling greedy, but I would love to see the Bears score 70 on the road next week in Kansas!  And here is the all important scoreboard:

Sic 'em!