Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Most teams would dread playing in Lawrence this weekend. After all, a crowd of around 50,000 fans will fill Memorial Stadium eager to welcome a newly ranked Kansas team home.
But after what happened to Baylor at its stadium last Saturday during a 43-23 defeat to Colorado, the change of scenery may be encouraging. Not many fans attended the thrashing at Floyd Casey Stadium, only 32,276, but they were more than loud enough in voicing their frustration by booing the Bears in the final half.
“It’s just a sign of the times these days,” Baylor coach Guy Morriss said. “When you’re a paid professional and get booed, it’s one thing. But when you’re a college kid, let’s not forget these are nothing but big kids.”
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It’s a combination of all that stuff: false starts, holding, poor throws, dropped passes, dumb penalties. We seem so intent on beating ourselves and we have to get them through that. We certainly aren’t teaching that stuff by any means.
-Baylor coach Guy Morriss
In defense of the fans, Baylor really hasn’t shown much to cheer about in 2007. Two Big 12 opponents in a row have left the Bears behind en route to massive victories. Baylor’s three wins have come against teams with a combined record of 4-12.
Years of pent-up dissatisfaction also reside in Baylor fans. The Bears haven’t appeared in a bowl game in 13 years, the longest streak in the conference by 11 years. Morriss was hired to make instances like booing a thing of the past. But not much has changed five years into his tenure.
“Nobody likes to get booed, it’s just human nature,” Morriss said. “They were probably booing me more than the kids, I guess, but the kids hear and it affects them.”
Baylor’s offense has amassed enough yards to make it competitive. Junior quarterback Blake Szymanski ranks ninth in the nation in total offense with 324 yards per game.
But it’s the details that have haunted the Bears. They’ve given away more turnovers than they’ve forced, committed more than six penalties a game and aren’t particularly efficient on special teams.
“It’s a combination of all that stuff: false starts, holding, poor throws, dropped passes, dumb penalties,” Morriss said. “We seem so intent on beating ourselves and we have to get them through that. We certainly aren’t teaching that stuff by any means.”
Morriss said there would be extra emphasis on limiting penalties in practice this week. He also said if the Bears can improve on those things, he feels they have enough firepower to play with anyone in the Big 12.
He doesn’t need to convince Kansas coach Mark Mangino. Despite the turmoil brewing in Waco, Mangino said that viewing Baylor’s game films made it obvious that the Bears are capable of better results through the rest of the year.
“Baylor is a very, very good offensive football team,” Mangino said. “They are a formidable team and better than their 3-3 record shows.”
The Bears may not have appreciated their fans’ display of disgust last weekend. But if the Kansas fans are booing them in the second half on Saturday, it should be good news because it would mean they are still in the game.
— Edited by Luke Morris
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