Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys face Bears in Waco
November 17, 2005 | Cowboy Football
Oklahoma State (4-5, 1-5)
at Baylor (4-6, 1-6)
Floyd Casey Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005 • 1 p.m. [CST] • Waco, Texas • Cowboy Sports Network
Pokes Travel to Baylor
Oklahoma State plays the first of back-to-back road games that will wrap up the 2005 regular season when the Cowboys travel to Waco, Texas, this week for a Saturday afternoon battle with Baylor. OSU concludes the regular season the following weekend at Oklahoma. The Cowboys head for Waco with an overall record of 4-5 and a Big 12 mark of 1-5. Baylor will go into its final regular-season game with an overall mark of 4-6 and a league record of 1-6.
First League Win One to Remember
Oklahoma State snapped a five-game Big 12 losing streak Saturday afternoon with a 24-17 win over Texas Tech. The Cowboys not only recorded their first Big 12 win, it was the first career league victory for head coach Mike Gundy and was a win over the 13th-ranked team in the country. It was OSU's first win over a ranked opponent since the Cowboys toppled No. 3 Oklahoma 38-28 on Nov. 30, 2002.
Travel Plans
Oklahoma State will travel to Waco via air charter Friday afternoon. After a very brief walk-through at Floyd Casey Stadium, the Cowboys will spend Friday night in Temple, Texas. OSU will return to Stillwater immediately following the game.
On the Air
While there is no television for Saturday's game against Baylor, the radio broadcast is available on the Cowboy Football Network and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, channel 110. Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb and Robert Allen provide the radio description.
OSU-Baylor: Series History
Saturday's meeting between the Cowboys and Bears will be the 24th all-time between the two schools. Oklahoma State leads the series 12-11, and the Cowboys have won nine straight against the Bears. In games played in Waco, Baylor leads the series 5-4, but the Cowboys have won the last four at Floyd Casey Stadium. The first game ever played between OSU and Baylor was in 1914 with OSU winning by a 60-0 margin. That 60 point difference is still the most by either team in series history. Baylor's last win over Oklahoma State came in 1994 in Waco by a 14-10 margin.
OSU-Baylor: Looking Back
1983 — In what would turn out to be Jimmy Johnson's final game as Oklahoma State's head coach, the Cowboys turned back Baylor 24-14 in the 25th-annual Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston's Astrodome. A sellout crowd of over 50,000 watched heroic performances by Cowboy quarterback Rusty Hilger and tailback Ernest Anderson in the win over the 20th-ranked Bears. Hilger suffered a concussion just before intermission and did not play in the second half. Before he departed, however, Hilger had completed 12-of-17 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson gashed Baylor for 143 yards on 27 carries. Behind Hilger and Anderson, the Cowboys raced to a 24-7 halftime lead. OSU limited the Bears to just a fourth-quarter touchdown in securing the win. OSU's defense was outstanding, registering five sacks and two interceptions.
2002 — Oklahoma State traveled to Waco for the 11th game of the 2002 regular season needing one win to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1997. Four Josh Fields touchdown passes later, the Cowboys had disposed of the Bears 63-28 to claim their sixth win of the season. OSU would later accept an invitation to the Houston Bowl where it would defeat Southern Mississippi. Fields completed 10-of-14 passes for an efficient 243 yards and four touchdowns. All-American wide receiver Rashaun Woods was on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes and finished the game with seven catches for 134 yards. Tailback Tatum Bell carried the ball 14 times for 106 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. Oklahoma State led 14-7 after the first quarter and put the game away with 35 unanswered points in the second quarter.
OSU Last Week
Oklahoma State took a commanding early lead, watched that lead evaporate, then drove 80 yards in 13 plays to score the winning touchdown with 23 seconds remaining in a 24-17 victory over 13th-ranked Texas Tech. In a fitting home finale for 20 Oklahoma State seniors, the Cowboys held Texas Tech to just 30 net rushing yards and limited talented Tech tailback Taurean Henderson to minus-six yards on eight carries. Oklahoma State out-gained the offensive-minded Red Raiders 397 to 338, and the Cowboys overcame two fourth-quarter turnovers en route to the victory. The heroes were many on both sides of the ball. Tailback Mike Hamilton rushed for 161 yards on 23 carries. Julius Crosslin added 91 yards on 14 carries and was instrumental in OSU's game-winning drive. Quarterback Al Peña directed the final drive. Quarterback Bobby Reid returned to action for the first time in four games and completed 10-of-18 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side, Victor DeGrate had possibly the best game of his OSU career. He registered four primary tackles, two of which were quarterback sacks, and one additional tackle was also behind the line of scrimmage. DeGrate also forced a fumble.
Baylor Last Week
Baylor scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to help erase a 24-0 Missouri lead, but the Tigers used a big play from quarterback Brad Smith to escape with a 31-16 win over the Bears in Columbia. Smith scored on a 56-yard touchdown run on a 4th-and-1 play with 6:04 remaining in the game to give Missouri its sixth win. The Tigers had scored the first 24 points of the game against Baylor before the Bears rallied. A six-yard touchdown pass from Shawn Bell to Dominique Zeigler gave Baylor its first score. The Bears followed with a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Havens and a 16-yard pass from Bell to Carl Sims to pull within eight, 24-16. Bell finished the game with 209 yards on 19-of-32 passing. Brand Whitaker was Baylor's leading rusher with 82 yards on 11 carries. Baylor had five receivers with five or more receptions, including Shaun Rochon's five for 76 yards.
Head Coach Guy Morriss
Guy Morriss is in his third season as head coach of the Bears and the program has made significant improvement in each of his seasons. After back-to-back three-win seasons in 2003 and 2004, Morriss' Bears have four victories this year, including a milestone 23-13 win over Iowa State in Ames. Morriss came to Baylor from Kentucky where he led his final Wildcat squad to a 7-5 record. He is a 16 year coaching veteran who also enjoyed an 18-year career in the National Football League where he was All-Pro and played in two Super Bowls.
More on the Bears
Baylor opened the 2005 season with three-straight wins over SMU, Samford and Army and battled Texas A&M into overtime before losing 16-13 at College Station. The Bears were 4-1 on the season after a 23-13 win at Iowa State, but will head into their season finale on a five-game losing streak. Two of the five setbacks have been close calls. The Bears lost to Nebraska 23-14 in Waco, and took Oklahoma into double overtime in Norman before falling, 37-30. Baylor has been solid on both sides of the ball in 2005. Quarterback Shawn Bell is sixth in the Big 12 in passing efficiency. Cornerback C.J. Wilson is sixth in the NCAA with five interceptions. Punter Daniel Sepulveda is third in the country and leads the Big 12 with an average of 45.6 yards per punt.
