Friday, Sept. 4 • 7 p.m. • ESPN
BAYLOR
at
SMU
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000/FieldTurf)
Dallas, Texas
Dave Flemming, Mack Brown and Allison Williams
SMU Radio - KTCK-FM 96.7 (flagship)
THE GAME
Friday’s game will be the 81st meeting between SMU and Baylor, which are located about 100 miles apart … The Bears hold a 37-36-7 series lead and have won 11 straight against the Mustangs after last year’s 45-0 win in Waco … SMU’s last win against Baylor was a 27-21 decision in 1986 … The series dates to the 1916 season.
BAYLOR
0-0
Head Coach
Art Briles (Texas Tech ’79)
55-34, eighth season at Baylor
89-62, 13th season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Baylor is enjoying its best stretch in program history as the Bears have registered back-to-back Big 12 championships … Baylor is ranked No. 4 in the 2015 USA Today preseason poll … Baylor has 18 starters back from last year and boasts 30 players who have lettered on the Bears’ back-to-back conference championship teams … The most decorated returning player is OT Spencer Drango, who was a consensus All-America selection last year … DE Shawn Oakman was a third-team All-America choice by the Associated Press … Oakman, who had 11 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss last year, leads a defensive line that returns all four starters …The offense, which has led the nation in total offense and scoring in each of the last two years, will have to replace QB Bryce Petty, who threw for 3,855 yards and 29 touchdowns last year … QB Seth Russell, who served as the primary backup last year, takes over as the starter … RB Shock Linwood rushed for 1,252 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014 … WR Corey Coleman had team highs with 64 receptions, 1,119 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches.
SMU
0-0
Head Coach
Chad Morris (Texas A&M ’92)
0-0, first season
NOTES
Friday’s game against Baylor will be the first for SMU’s Chad Morris as a collegiate head coach … Morris, a native of Dallas, spent 16 seasons as a high school coach in Texas, posting a combined 169-38 record at five schools and winning three state championships … Morris looks to rebuild a Mustang squad that went 1-11 last season, but had played in four straight bowl games between 2009 and 2012 … The last time SMU went 1-11 was in 2008, but the Mustangs went 8-5 the following season … QB Matt Davis, who transferred from Texas A&M, will have the run of the offense this season after he led SMU in rushing (613 yards) and passing (855 yards) in 2014 … Davis started the last five games of 2014 and registered the two highest rushing totals by a Mustang quarterback in program history (191 yards against UConn and 181 against Tulsa) … RB Prescott Line rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns last season … WR Darius Joseph was second in The American with 108 receptions in 2013, but had 54 catches last season … The offensive line returns all five starters from last year, who have combined 104 career starts among them … WR Deion Sanders Jr. was an all-conference selection as a return specialist in 2014.