2008 Baylor Bears Season

2008 Baylor Bears Season, Game Recaps, Scores and Reviews

 
Baylor Bears

Nov. 29
Texas Tech 35 … Baylor 28
Baylor pushed hard early on as Robert Griffin ran for two touchdowns and threw a one-yard scoring pass to Ernest Smith on the way to a 21-14 halftime lead. The Bears were back at it coming out of the locker room as Jacoby Jones capped off the opening drive with a one-yard run, but Texas Tech woke up and shut down the BU offense. The Tech offense became the Tech offense scoring 21 unanswered points with two short touchdown runs from Shannon Woods and Baron Batch to go along with a  four-yard Detron Lewis catch to finally give the Red Raiders the lead with just over six minutes to play. Michael Crabtree left the game with a foot injury.
Player of the game: Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell completed 41-of-50 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 12-15, 91 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jay Finley, 15-105. Receiving: Thomas White, 4-39
Texas Tech - Passing: Graham Harrell, 41-50, 309 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Shannon Woods, 11-43, 1 TD. Receiving: Detron Lewis, 9-68, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Baylor might have lost to Texas Tech, but it showed why there’s so much hope going into next year with another fantastic performance from Robert Griffin, but the defense couldn’t hold on once the Red Raider offense woke up. The team might have lost five of its final six games, but BU football is far more competitive and has a far better look on the field. To get past the bigger boys, more will be needed from the receiving corps to keep up in shootouts; Griffin needs a few more weapons to work with.

- 2008 Baylor Preview
- 2007 Baylor Season

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 1-11
2008 Record: 4-8

Aug. 30 Wake Forest L 41-13
Sept. 6 NW State W 51-6
Sept. 13 Washington St W 45-17
Sept. 19 at Connecticut L 31-28
Sept. 27 OPEN DATE
Oct. 4 Oklahoma L 49-17
Oct. 11 Iowa State W 38-10
Oct. 18 at Oklahoma State L 34-6
Oct. 25 at Nebraska L 32-20
Nov. 1 Missouri L 31-28
Nov. 8 at Texas L 45-21
Nov. 15 Texas A&M W 41-21
Nov. 22 OPEN DATE
Nov. 29 at Texas Tech L 35-28

2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2007 Record: 3-9

Sept. 1 at TCU L 27-0
Sept.8 Rice W 42-17
Sept. 15 Texas St W 34-27
Sept. 22 at Buffalo W 34-21
Sept. 29 at Texas A&M L 34-10
Oct. 6 Colorado L 43-23
Oct. 13 at Kansas L 58-10
Oct. 20 Texas L 31-10
Oct. 27 at Kansas State L 51-13
Nov. 3 Texas Tech L 38-7
Nov. 10 at Oklahoma L 52-21
Nov. 17 Oklahoma State L 52-17

Nov. 15
Baylor 41 … Texas A&M 21
Baylor took advantage of five turnovers, including two interceptions from LB Joe Pawelek, on the way to a stunning rout. Robert Griffin threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright and a 55 yarder to Thomas White, while Jay Finley and Jacoby Jones added touchdown runs in the third quarter on the way to a 41-7 lead going into the fourth. Texas A&M struggled with its consistency thanks to the turnovers, including four interceptions from Jerrod Johnson, but scored twice in the fourth quarter with a one-yard Jorvorskie Lane run and a five-yard Jeff Fuller catch.
Player of the game: Baylor QB Robert Griffin completed 13-of-23 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns, and hr ran 12 times for 56 yards
Stat Leaders: Texas A&M - Passing: Jerrod Johnson, 19-30, 244 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Jerrod Johnson 7-31. Receiving: Jamie McCoy, 4-57
Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 13-23, 241 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jay Finley, 23-116, 1 TD. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 4-71, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Beating Texas A&M might not seem like that big a deal this year, but it’s a huge step for a Baylor program that has had so many problems getting wins over Big 12 South teams over the years. Robert Griffin was once again brilliant, making several creative plays for the running game while failing to turn the ball over with the passing game. The defense swarmed over the A&M passing game even though there wasn’t much in the way of pressure. With 269 rushing yards and 241 passing, the Bears showed the type of offensive balance needed to deal with Texas Tech in two weeks. The secondary will give up yards, but it has to be as ball-hawkish like it was against A&M.

Nov. 8
Texas 45 … Baylor 21
Colt McCoy threw five touchdown passes including two to Quan Cosby from 35 and 26 yards out, and Ryan Palmer took a Robert Griffin pass 22 yards for a touchdown as Texas had to battle early on. Griffin ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and hit Kendall Wright for a 55-yard score to tie it at 14, and then came the Griffin pick six to spark a run of 31 straight points until Jay Finley tore off a 40-yard touchdown run late in the fourth. Texas held the ball for 38:19 and outgained the Bears 494 yards to 272.
Player of the game: Texas QB Colt McCoy completed 26-of-37 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions, and he ran eight times for 21 yards.
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 6-19, 71 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Robert Griffin, 13-101, 1 TD. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 3-50, 1 TD
Texas - Passing: Colt McCoy, 36-37, 300 yds, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Foswhitt Whittaker, 15-77. Receiving: Quan Cosby, 8-111, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Baylor has become way too reliant on Robert Griffin. He’s the team’s best weapon, by far, but against a team like Texas, the offense needs several players from several places to step up and produce. That didn’t happen, and the close game in the first half turned into a blowout. There was nothing happening with the passing game, Griffin was under tremendous pressure, and while he was able to tear of a few big runs, he wasn’t able to give his defense any help by moving the chains. It’s a road game against Texas, there isn’t anything to be too upset about, but the Texas A&M game next week is winnable.

Nov. 1
Missouri 31 … Baylor 28
Missouri wasn’t having much of a problem early on as Chase Daniel threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Chase Coffman and a 19-yarder to Tommy Saunders, but the offense took its foot off the gas, lost three turnovers, including two interceptions, and Baylor almost pulled off the shocker. The Bears got a four-yard Robert Griffin touchdown run in the second quarter and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brad Taylor and a 36-yarder to Jay Finley to tie it at 28 with less than 10 minutes to play. But Daniel would bounce back leading the Tigers to a late scoring drive with Jeff Wolfert hitting a 34-yard field goal. Baylor would have one last shot, but Griffin, who had established the NCAA D-I record with 209 straight passes to start his career without an interception, threw a pick on his final pass attempt. Missouri finished with 490 yards of total offense while Baylor ended up with 438.
Player of the game: Missouri QB Chase Daniel completed 30-of-38 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 26-35, 283 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jay Finley, 14-73. Receiving: Thomas White, 7-58
Missouri - Passing: Chase Daniel, 30-38, 318 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Derrick Washington, 14-97. Receiving: Chase Coffman, 10-75, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... A more experienced team would’ve won this game. The Bears had Missouri on the ropes, with Robert Griffin giving the Tiger defense fits by coming up with fourth down plays and rallying in the second half, but the defense couldn’t come up with the one late stop needed and Griffin threw his first pick of the year. It’s a plus for the program that it’s such a heartbreaker to lose a game like this against a top team like the Tigers. Baylor now thinks it should be able to play with, and beat, the better teams, and it’ll get its chance with Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech still to play.

Oct. 25
Nebraska 32 … Baylor 20
Baylor got up 14-7 early on a Jay Finley 43-yard touchdown run and a Robert Griffin 47-yard scoring dash, and then it was all Nebraska as Marlon Lucky ran for an 18-yard touchdown and Nate Swift caught touchdown passes from nine and 53 yards out. Baylor ran for 216 yards, but it couldn’t keep the chains moving as the offense failed to convert on any of the ten third down chances.
Player of the game: Nebraska WR Nate Swift caught 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and became the school’s all-time leading receiver
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 9-20, 134 yds
Rushing: Robert Griffin, 16-121, 1 TD. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 3-60
Nebraska - Passing: Joe Ganz, 32-46, 336 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Marlon Lucky, 16-83, 1 TD. Receiving: Nate Swift, 11-121, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... 0-of-10 on third down chances, Nebraska was 11-of-17 on its third down tries. That was Baylor’s problem. There were some big runs, and Robert Griffin kept his poise under fire and didn’t throw any interceptions, but there weren’t any big pass plays to get things moving and the defense couldn’t hold up. Against the better Big 12 teams, trying to keep up is going to be a problem. Oh great; Missouri, Texas and Texas Tech are still on the slate.

Oct. 18
Oklahoma State 34 … Baylor 6
Oklahoma State got down 6-0 on a one-yard Jacoby Jones touchdown run, and then following a blocked extra point, came back roaring with 34 unanswered points as Dez Bryant caught touchdown passes from 37 and nine yards out in the second quarter and Keith Toston ran for touchdown from four and two yards out. Dan Bailey hit two second half field goals for the Cowboys. Baylor QB Robert Griffin set the D-I record for the most passes in a row without an interception to start a career going 155 throws without a pick.
Player of the game: Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant caught 11 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and returned two punts for 24 yards
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 15-27, 162 yds
Rushing: Jay Finley, 9-13. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 7-80 
Oklahoma State - Passing: Zac Robinson, 13-20, 238 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Kendall Hunter, 26-93. Receiving: Dez Bryant, 11-212, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Oklahoma State is really, really good, so there can’t too much to get angry about in the loss. However, as the game showed, the Bears need to own the running game. The offensive line struggled to get a push against the OSU defensive front and ended up only holding on to the ball for 23:45. Robert Griffin was fine, but he couldn’t get on the loose and he couldn’t get the running game going. However, he has still started his passing career flawlessly failing to throw a pick so far. 

Oct. 11
Baylor 38 … Iowa State 10
Baylor QB Robert Griffin set a team record by completing .875% of his passes with one going to Kendall Wright for a 34-yard first quarter touchdown and a 51-yarder to Wright in the fourth on the way to a 38-3 lead. Griffin and Jay Finley each ran for scores, and Mikail Baker took the opening kickoff of the second half 93 yards for a score. Iowa State wasn’t able to get into the end zone until late in the fourth on a nine-yard Sedrick Johnson catch.
Player of the game: Baylor QB Robert Griffin completed 21-of-24 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for a score
Stat Leaders: Iowa State - Passing: Austen Arnaud, 21-41, 176 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: J.J. Bass, 6-36. Receiving: Darius Darks, 5-18
Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 21-24, 278 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jeremy Sanders, 10-33. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 7-132, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Robert Griffin is a tremendous runner, but the offense goes to another level when he’s comfortable throwing the ball. He picked apart the Iowa State secondary with big plays, short throws, and everything in between. Jay Finley is providing a little bit of a running game, and the defense came through with a nice performance against the Cyclones. With three road games in the next four, starting at Oklahoma State, the offense will have to ramp things up to a whole other level. If Griffin plays like he did this week, it’s possible.

Oct. 4
Oklahoma 49 ... Baylor 14
Oklahoma had no problems on the road against the Bears as the offense rolled up 594 yards. Sam Bradford threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Manuel Johnson and a 42-yard scoring pass to Juaquin Iglesias, and he ran for a one-yard score. DeMarco Murray added two short scores and Chris Brown and Mossis Madu each had a short scoring run. For Baylor, it was all Robert Griffin. The freshman quarterback struggled with the passing game, but he ran for 102 yards and two short touchdowns. It wasn't nearly enough as OU's 28-point first quarter lead was too tough to overcome.
Player of the game: Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford completed 23-of-31 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He also ran for a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Oklahoma - Passing: Sam Bradford, 23-31, 372 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: DeMarco Murray, 26-96, 2 TD. Receiving: Juaquin Iglesias, 6-133, 1 TD
Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 11-26, 75 yds
Rushing: Robert Griffin, 21-102, 2 TD. Receiving: Kendall Wright, 4-16
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Call this a measuring stick game. Baylor wasn't going to beat Oklahoma, and it got blown out of the water in the first quarter, but it kept on battling and Robert Griffin had yet another fantastic game. He didn't throw well, but he was fantastic on the move. Defensively, LB Joe Pawelek might seem a step slow compared to the Sooners, but he was in on seemingly every play with 13 tackles. Now the team has to put this in the past and come up with a win against a decent but beatable Iowa State.

Sept. 19
Connecticut 31 ... Baylor 28
In an entertaining, see-saw game, Connecticut took the lead for good on a three-yard Donald Brown touchdown run with just over six minutes to play, and Baylor couldn't answer. Robert Griffin had a great day for Baylor, throwing thee touchdown passes, but he couldn't get the Bears into field goal range, stalling at the UConn 39 in the final minute. The two teams trades scores in the second half including a two-yard touchdown run from Griffin, answered by a 34-yard touchdown dash from UConn QB Tyler Lorenzen. In the dead-even battle, Baylor outgained Connecticut 377 yards to 350.
Player of the game:  Connecticut RB Donald Brown ran 34 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 14-25, 208 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Jay Finley. 11-85  Receiving: Kendall Wright, 6-114, 1 TD
Connecticut - Passing: Tyler Lorenzen, 13-23, 125 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Donald Brown, 34-150, 2 TD. Receiving: Brad Kanuch, 4-30
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Is Baylor past the point of the moral victory? The offense was clicking so well at times against Connecticut that a tough road loss doesn't quite mean the same thing anymore for a program used to getting popped by everyone. The defense wasn't bad, especially against the pass, and the running game was solid even when Robert Griffin wasn't the one taking off. Yes, this was a tough loss, but there's still a lot to be excited about. At least there is until Oklahoma comes to Waco in two weeks.

Sept. 12
Baylor 45 ... Washington State 17
Played a day early thanks to Hurricane Ike, Baylor rumbled for 426 yards on the ground and took advantage of five Wazzu turnovers to win easily. Robert Griffin ran for 217 yards with scored from one yard out in the first quarter and 58 yards away to put the game away in the third. Washington State tied it at 14 midway through the second quarter on an eight-yard Kevin Lopina run, but the Bears ripped off 28 straight points. Baylor LB Joe Pawelek made 10 tackles with an interception, a fumble recovery, and two broken up passes.
Player of the game:  Baylor QB Robert Griffin completed 7-of-15 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, and ran 11 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 7-15, 129 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Robert Griffin, 11-217, 2 TD  Receiving: David Gettis, 3-75
Washington State - Passing: Kevin Lopina, 17-26, 174 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Dwight Tardy, 11-44. Receiving: Brandon Gibson, 8-128
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Baylor running the ball? One of the nation's worst rushing teams over the last two seasons ripped up Washington State for 426 yards on the ground and 555 yards overall. After a blowout win over a real, live BCS conference team, and with the way Robert Griffin directed the attack to near perfection from the second quarter on, this really appears to be a new era under head coach Art Briles. Now the team has to prove that this week wasn't a fluke with a win at Connecticut next week.

Sept. 6
Baylor 51 ... Northwestern State 6
Art Briles got his first win as the Baylor head coach thanks to freshman QB Robert Griffin, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for a three-yard score. The Bears were never threatened with Northwestern State not getting on the board until midway through the first half with two field goals after getting down 30-0. BU rolled up 537 yards of total offense.
Player of the game:  Baylor QB Robert Griffin completed 15-of-19 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns and ran 10 times for 42 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 15-19, 294 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Jay Finley, 8-91, 2 TD  Receiving: Kendall Wright, 5-42
Northwestern State - Passing: John Hundley, 16-28, 127 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: William Griffin, 19-68. Receiving: James Swanson, 4-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The Bears needed a blowout win over a team like Northwestern State just to get the offense moving with 537 yards while converting 8-of-11 third down chances. Robert Griffin was fantastic as he showed what he could do with time to operate. Blake Szymanski and Kirby Freeman weren’t bad either as the BU quarterbacks combined to complete 20-of-26 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns. The young team could use a few more of these tune-up games, but it’s time to hit the ground running.

Aug. 28
Wake Forest 41 ... Baylor 13
Riley Skinner threw three touchdown passes including two to Chip Brinkman on the way to a 34-6 Demon Deacon lead going into the fourth quarter. Baylor's offense sputtered and struggled throughout, only managing one touchdown drive coming in the fourth quarter with QB Robert Griffin closing it out with a five-yard scoring run. BU LB Joe Pawelek made 15 tackles, but Wake Forest ran for 156 yards and took advantage of five BU turnovers to pull away.
Player of the game: Wake Forest QB Riley Skinner completed 27 of 36 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for nine yards.
Stat Leaders: Baylor - Passing: Robert Griffin, 11-19, 125 yds
Rushing: Robert Griffin, 11-29, 1 TD. Receiving: David Gettis, 5-46
Wake Forest - Passing: Riley Skinner, 27-36, 220 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: C.J. Washington, 2-63. Receiving: D.J. Boldin, 7-33
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... It's obviously not going to happen overnight. Wake Forest was the wrong team for BU to face right away considering it doesn't make too many mistakes, capitalizes on everything, and has a strong ground game. True freshman Robert Griffin has a long was to go before he turns into a steady playmaker, but he didn't have much of a chance with little help coming from the other skill players. After a rough first week, Northwestern State will be a breath of fresh air next week.

2008 Recruiting Class

Star of the Class

Robert Griffin QB  6-3  195 Copperas Cove, Texas (Copperas Cove)
Griffin graduated from Copperas Cove [Texas] High School in December 2007, enrolled at Baylor in January 2008 and will go through spring ball with the Bears ... Listed 62nd on SuperPrep's Texas 110 list ... Also a 4-star Scout.com recruit who was rated the state's 67-best player overall and the nation's 12th-best prep signal caller ... Houston Chronicle Texas Top 100 recruit ... No. 54 on the San Antonio Express-News Texas Top 100 ... Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Fab 44 ... No. 55 on Austin American-Statesman's Fab 55 ... Fort Worth Star-Telegram Texas Top 100 member ... Waco Tribune-Herald Top 100 selection ranks No. 2 on publication's Central Texas Top 25 list and among its Top 50 recruits overall ... In two seasons as the Bulldawgs' starting quarterback, posted a 25-4 record ... Earned first-team 2007 Waco Tribune-Herald Super Centex honors as a utility player and honorable mention Class 4A all-state honors from The Associated Press ... Was the first-team All-District 16-4A quarterback ... A member of the 2007 Texas Top 300, selected by Texas Football Magazine, was ranked among the state's top 20 quarterbacks prior to his senior season by the same publication ... Rushed for 1,285 yards and 24 touchdowns while passing for 1,356 yards and 16 touchdowns with seven interceptions in leading coach Jack Welch's 2007 Bulldawgs to a 13-2 record and a runner-up finish in the Class 4A Division I playoffs ... Averaged 7.3 yards per rush as a senior ... As a junior, passed for 2,001 yards and 25 TDs with just two interceptions, while rushing 876 times and eight TDs en route to first-team All-District 16-4A honors ... All-told in final two prep seasons, rushed for 2,161 yards and 32 touchdowns and threw for 3,357 yards and 41 scores with just nine picks ... One of the nation's top high school sprinters,, received the 2007 Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year award after setting state records in both the 110-meter (13.55 seconds with a personal best of 13.3) and the 300-meter (35.33 seconds) hurdles ... His 300 hurdles time was one-hundredth of a second off the national prep record ... Also owns a 46.9 400 meter PR

Potential Instant Impact Players

Rodney Brisbon  OL 6-6 330 Wetumpka, Ala. (Robert E. Lee/Northwest Mississippi Community College)
The first signee of the Art Briles era at Baylor, was an All-American junior college offensive lineman at Northwest Mississippi Community College ... 3-star Scout.com ranking ... Brisbon signed with the Bears in December 2007, will enroll at Baylor in the summer of 2008 with two years of eligibility remaining ... Earned first-team All-America honors as an offensive tackle in 2006 at Northwest Mississippi Community College and second-team recognition from JC Gridwire ... Helped Northwest Mississippi Community College to a 6-4 record and the 2006 North Division title ... Also received All-Region XXIII accolades for coach Randy Pippin ... Was a first-team Mississippi Association Community/Junior College all-state selection as well as the MACJC's most valuable offensive lineman ... Originally signed a National Letter of Intent in 2007 to attend the University of Houston and play for Briles' Cougars, but never enrolled at the school ... Selected as team's offensive MVP as a senior at Robert E. Lee High School in Montgomery, Ala., Brisbon earned first-team all-state and all-metro honors for the Generals ... He was also selected as a team captain and was tabbed to play in the state all-star game ... Was recruited by Alabama, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Miami [Fla.], and Ole Miss coming out of high school.

Jeremy Sanders QB 6-2 210 Marlin, Texas (Marlin/Navarro College)
Sanders originally signed with Baylor following his senior year at Marlin [Texas] High School and renewed his Baylor pledge following a highly successful two-year career at Navarro [Texas] College ... 3-star ranking by Scout.com ... Will enroll at Baylor in May 2008 ... In two seasons at Navarro, completed 183-of-361 passes for 2,252 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions ... Ranks third all-time in pass completions, attempts and completion percentage (.507), fifth in career passing yards ... Also rushed 155 times in career for 827 yards and 12 touchdowns ... Accounted for 3,079 total-offense yards and 23 touchdowns in two-year Navarro career ... As a sophomore, completed 123-of-224 passes for 1,624 yards and 10 touchdowns with eight interceptions ... Ranks fifth on Navarro's single-season list for pass completions, sixth in both passing yards and attempts ... Produced four, 200-yard passing games as a sophomore ... Also rushed 95 times for 483 yards and five touchdowns in final season at Navarro ... Earned honorable mention All- Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) honors as a sophomore ... Led coach Ray Woodward's Bulldogs to a 9-3 record, the 2007 SWJCFC title and a No. 4 final national ranking ... Tabbed MVP of Pilgrim's Pride Bowl after leading Navarro to a 24-21 victory over Georgia Military Academy ... Navarro finished No. 2 nationally in total offense in 2007 (428 yards per game) and produced the highest-scoring offense in school history (42.8 ppg) ... Selected Baylor for the second time after receiving offers from Missouri, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Tulsa and Utah State ... The three-year starter at quarterback for Marlin High School earned first-team 2005 Waco Tribune-Herald Super Centex honors ... Rated one of the state's top 15 signal callers in Dave Campbell's 2005 Texas Football Texas Top 300 ... Completed 148-of-217 passes for 2,540 yards and 27 touchdowns with only one interception as a senior while leading the Bulldogs to an 8-2-1 record and the playoffs ... Also rushed 126 times for 882 yards and 16 touchdowns ... Earned 2005 District 18-3A offensive MVP honors ... Honorable mention 2005 all-state selection by the Texas Sports Writers Association ... As a junior, received first-team Tribune-Herald Super Centex honors after totaling more than 3,000 total-offense yards ... Rushed for 1,391 yards and 21 touchdowns while throwing for 1,954 yards and 14 more scores ... Runs a 4.6 40

Rest of the Class

Romie Blaylock	IR	5-10	170	Cedar Hill, Texas (Cedar Hill)
Rodney Chadwick	LB	6-2	190	Carthage, Texas (Carthage)
Jared Edwards	DL	6-4	250	Mansfield, Texas (Timberview)
Nick Florence	QB	6-2	175	Garland, Texas (South Garland)
Kirby Freeman	QB	6-3	214	Brownwood, Texas (Brownwood/Miami, Fla.)
Brandon Garrett	OL	6-7	290	La Marque, Texas (La Marque)
Trentson Hill	DB	6-0	175	Mount Pleasant, Texas (Mount Pleasant)
Jake Jackson	OL	6-4	280	Southlake, Texas (Southlake Carroll)
Kaeron Johnson	DT	6-2	265	Cuero, Texas (Cuero)
Cameron Kaufhold	OL	6-5	275	Friendswood, Texas (Friendswood)
Gary Mason Jr.	DE	6-5	211	Waxahachie, Texas (Waxahachie)
Ben Parks	PK	6-2	195	Argyle, Texas (Argyle)
Tracy Robertson	DL	6-4	230	Houston, Texas (Lamar)
Jarred Salubi	RB	5-10	191	Waco, Texas (Waco)
Lanear Sampson	WR	6-0	190	Mesquite, Texas (North Mesquite)
Jeremy Sanders	QB	6-2	210	Marlin, Texas (Marlin/Navarro College)
T.J. Scranton	WR	5-10	180	Hitchcock, Texas (Hitchcock/Kilgore College)
Michael Williams	CB	6-1	180	Beaumont, Texas (West Brook)
Terrance Williams	WR	6-3	190	Dallas, Texas (W.T. White)
Kendall Wright	ATH	6-0	180	Pittsburg, Texas (Pittsburg)

2007 Recap

Recap: Once again, the Big 12’s most predictable program couldn’t stray from its time-tested script, finishing below .500 for the 12^th straight season, and running its conference losing streak to 12 games.  Beyond just the mounting losses, Baylor was never even competitive once the non-league portion of the schedule ended, a key factor in head coach Guy Morriss’ ouster after five seasons in Waco.  The Bears became effective at winging the ball all over the field, but turnovers too often stalled promising drives in enemy territory.

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Blake Szymanski

Defensive Player of the Year: S Jordan Lake

Biggest Surprise: The Bears peaked in Week 4, nabbing a rare road victory at Buffalo, 34-21.  Getting to 3-1 behind the passing and running of Szymanski, Baylor gave a brief hint of hope to those long-suffering fans pining for a postseason game.

Biggest Disappointment: Baylor should have been more competitive when it traveled to Manhattan to face a reeling Kansas State team, but instead, got hammered by 38 points.  Seven turnovers, a year-long problem, nixed any hopes the Bears had of snapping a four-game losing streak that would reach eight games when the regular season ended.

Looking Ahead: Next in line to try and stop the bleeding at Baylor is Art Briles, who did a nice job at Houston, and is a respected figure in the state of Texas.  Although he’ll be aiming to supercharge the offense, the young defense offers more short term stability with improving players, such as Lake, LB Joe Pawelek, and DE Jason Lamb.