Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1988, the Bears opened the new on-campus McLane Stadium for the 2014 season.
History
Early history
Baylor University's football team has seen a wide variation in its success through the years, including an undefeated 3–0 perfect record in 1900.Initially, starting in the year 1898, the university played its home games on an unnamed field near the university campus. Beginning in 1905, the team's home games were played at Carroll Field, between the Carroll Science Building and Waco Creek. Baylor did not adopt a mascot until December 14, 1914 after the completion of the 1914 football season. Additionally, Baylor did not join an athletic conference until 1914 after the conclusion of the football season, when it became a founding member of the Southwest Conference. Baylor played its first home game against Toby's Business College in 1899, its first away game on 4 November 1900, at Austin College, and its first neutral-site game against Texas A&M in 1901.
For the 1899 and 1900 seasons, the team was coached by R.H. Hamilton, whose 5–1–1 record was distinguished with never having a losing record; in 1899, Baylor played, and lost, its first game against Texas A&M, which would become a rivalry, the Battle of the Brazos, with over 100 games played in the series by 2003. W.J. Ritchie coached the 1901 team, leading it to a 5–3 record; in this year, the first games of the Baylor-Texas and Baylor-TCU series were played. Texas Christian University was located in Waco from 1895 to 1910 and was one of Baylor's greatest football rivals until the dissolution of the Southwest Conference in 1995. The 1901 season also welcomed Baylor's first Thanksgiving Day football game, with a 28–0 win over St. Edward's University. J.C. Ewing took control of the team in 1902, and led it to its first losing season, with a 3–4–2 record. R.N. Watts restored Baylor's winning tradition in 1903, with a record of 4–3–1.
No team was fielded in 1906 following a ban opposing the violence of football; along with 1943 and 1944, 1906 is one of three seasons since 1899 that Baylor has not competed in varsity football. Luther Burleson headed the restored football team in 1907, and managed a 4–3–1 record. E.J. Mills led the team for the 1908 and 1909 seasons; their 3–5–0 and 5–3–0 records were notable for the 1908 loss to LSU, and for the world's first "Homecoming" at the 1909 Thanksgiving Day game, which included a concert, parade, and bonfire. To this day, Baylor claims the honor of having the largest homecoming parade in the world.
Baylor has many traditions such as the Baylor-TCU rivalry game which is one of the most played in all of college football, the Battle of the Brazos, membership in the historic Southwest Conference, a live bear mascot since 1915 and the Baylor Line.
In 1966, John Hill Westbrook of Elgin, Texas became the first African American to play varsity football in the Southwest Conference when he joined the Baylor team.
Early SWC Championships and Bowl success
Baylor won the SWC Championship in 1915, 1916, 1922 and again in 1924. In 1956 Baylor came close to the SWC title again but finished second and was sent to face the undefeated No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers in the 1957 Sugar Bowl. Baylor defeated Johnny Majors and the No. 2 Volunteers 13–7. This was the highest ranked opponent Baylor had ever defeated until defeating No. 1 ranked Kansas State in 2012. The 1924 SWC Championship would be the last for many decades until Baylor won the conference again in 1974 under the leadership of third year head coach Grant Teaff. From the late 1940s until the mid-1960s, Baylor also played in the 1952 Orange Bowl, twice in the Gator Bowl, and the Bluebonnet, Dixie and Gotham Bowl.Miracle on the Brazos
Baylor had finished in last place in 4 of the last 7 seasons including the year before and had not won the conference championship in 50 years. Also, prior to this season, they had never appeared in the Cotton Bowl. Furthermore, coming into the 1974 season Baylor had lost 16 consecutive games to the Texas Longhorns. The 1974 Texas vs Baylor game looked like another easy win for Texas as the Longhorns took quick control of the game and went into halftime leading 24–7. Baylor was energized starting the 2nd half however, sparked by a blocked punt early in the 3rd quarter. The Bears rallied to a thrilling 34–24 victory over the Longhorns. Baylor went on to win the conference title that year and a first ever trip to the Cotton Bowl. The entire 1974 Baylor football season was dubbed the "Miracle on the Brazos" by many sports writers at the time. The win over Texas and the SWC championship have thus become a special part of Baylor's athletic history.Grant Teaff era (1972–1992)
One of the most successful coaches in Baylor football history was Grant Teaff. He led the Bears to conference titles in 1974, his third year in the program, and again in 1980 when he led the Bears to the Cotton Bowl to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Grant Teaff recruited famous players such as Mike Singletary, Thomas Everett, Walter Abercrombie and James Francis to play football at Baylor University. Teaff was also named National Coach of the Year after the 1974 season. He would go on to serve until 1992 leading Baylor to eight bowl games as well as the aforementioned Southwest Conference championships in his 21 years as head coach.Chuck Reedy era (1993–1996)
was coach for four seasons and compiled a record of 23–22. His 1994 team was part of a 5-way co-championship of the Southwest Conference, though an ineligible Texas A&M held a better conference record. In 1996 Baylor joined Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M, along with the Big 8 conference schools, to form the Big 12 Conference.Roberts, Steele, and Morriss era (1997–2007)
Baylor was led by a succession of coaches with mediocre results. Dave Roberts was coach from 1997 to 1998 and compiled a 4–18 record.Kevin Steele followed from 1999 to 2002 and posted a 9–36 record. He was succeeded by Guy Morriss from 2003 to 2007 who compiled an 18–40 record.
Art Briles era (2008–2015)
The 2010 season marked a breakthrough for the Baylor Bears football program. The team concluded the regular season with a 7–5 record, securing an invitation to the Texas Bowl in Houston—their first bowl appearance since 1995. During the regular season, Baylor recorded Big 12 Conference victories over Kansas and Kansas State, along with road wins against Colorado and Texas.Building on the success of the 2010 team, Baylor began the 2011 season at home with an upset of No. 14 TCU, winners of the previous season's Rose Bowl. The Bears also won their next two games before traveling to Kansas State where they lost a tightly contested game by a single point. Baylor then defeated Iowa State 49–26 for the first conference win of the year before finishing October by losing two straight on the road, to A&M and eventual conference champion No. 3 Oklahoma State. The Bears rebounded to finish the regular season, with five straight victories including a Homecoming win over Missouri, a 31–30 overtime victory at Kansas in which Baylor tied a school record by overcoming a 21-point deficit in the 4th quarter, and the program's first win over No. 5 Oklahoma on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds remaining in the game. Baylor concluded November in Dallas playing against Texas Tech in Cowboys Stadium; although Griffin left the game due to a concussion at the half, backup Nick Florence entered the game and led the Bears to a 66–42 victory. The Bears finished the regular season at home with a 48–24 victory over No. 22 Texas that propelled the team to the Alamo Bowl with No. 12 and No. 15 BCS and AP rankings respectively, and propelled Griffin to the top of the Heisman Trophy voting; he became the first Baylor player to win the award and the first Baylor player since Don Trull in 1963 to factor significantly in the voting. In the Alamo Bowl, the Bears faced the Washington Huskies in what became the second-highest scoring bowl game in history, and the highest-scoring regulation bowl game ever. Baylor went up 21–7 early in the game, with Griffin throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another. The Huskies roared back with 28 unanswered points, and the teams finished the half with Washington leading 35–24. In the second half, with the defenses showing limited ability to cope with the high-powered offenses led by Griffin and Husky QB Keith Price, the teams traded scores. The Bears overcame the halftime deficit, going ahead for good 60–56 halfway in the 4th quarter, and Baylor RB Terrance Ganaway tacked on a final 43-yard touchdown run. Ganaway finished with 21 carries for 200 yards and 5 TDs and was recognized as the game's offensive MVP.
The 2012 season opened in Waco with Baylor defeating SMU 59–24 behind senior quarterback Nick Florence, who had taken over for Robert Griffin III the previous year. Two weeks later, a home win over No. 2 FCS Sam Houston State featured the debut of Oregon transfer running back Lache Seastrunk, who sealed the victory with a late touchdown. Baylor extended its winning streak to nine games with a 47–42 road win over Louisiana-Monroe, which had already upset No. 8 Arkansas earlier in the season, earning the Bears a No. 24 national ranking. The streak ended with a 70–63 loss at No. 7 West Virginia in the Mountaineers’ first Big 12 game, a contest that set multiple conference records, including a single-game receiving record of 314 yards by Baylor’s Terrance Williams. The loss initiated a four-game skid with defeats to TCU, Texas, and Iowa State, before the Bears returned to form with a win over Kansas. Following a loss at No. 12 Oklahoma, Baylor upset No. 1 Kansas State 52–24 in Waco, the program’s first victory over a top-ranked opponent. The Bears’ defense intercepted Collin Klein three times, and Seastrunk secured the win with an 80-yard touchdown run. Baylor closed the season with victories over Texas Tech and No. 23 Oklahoma State, highlighted by another long touchdown run from Seastrunk. The Bears finished the regular season 7–5, achieving three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1949–51, and earned their third straight bowl appearance. On December 27, 2012, Baylor defeated No. 17 UCLA 49–26 in the Holiday Bowl, with Seastrunk and Chris McAllister named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Game, respectively..
In 2013, Baylor had arguably its best regular season in school history. A best-ever 9–0 start propelled the Bears to a No. 3 national ranking in the AP Poll. However, after an on-the-road loss to Oklahoma State, the Bears needed victories in their last two games and an Oklahoma State loss to have an opportunity to clinch the outright Big 12 title. With the Cowboys' loss, Baylor's season-closing game against Texas — the final game at Floyd Casey Stadium — became a de facto Big 12 championship game. Baylor defeated the Longhorns, 30–10, to notch a school-record 11th win and its first outright conference title since 1980. It also assured the team a Fiesta Bowl berth, the Bears' first-ever BCS bowl appearance and their first major bowl in 33 years. Baylor was defeated in the Fiesta Bowl by the University of Central Florida 52–42. Bryce Petty, the Bears' quarterback, placed 7th in the overall 2013–14 Heisman race in New York, the second Heisman Trophy candidate set forth by Baylor in the last three record-breaking seasons. Petty was voted Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year following the season.