2011 Baylor Bears football team

The 2011 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Art Briles and played their home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. They are members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 6–3 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for third place with Oklahoma (whom they defeated during the season). The ten wins tied a school record for wins in a season while the 6–3 conference record is its best since joining the Big 12. They were invited to the Alamo Bowl where they beat Washington, 67–56, for their first bowl win since the 1992 John Hancock Bowl.

2011 Baylor Bears football
Alamo Bowl champion
Alamo Bowl, W 67–56 vs. Washington
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 13
2011 record10–3 (6–3 Big 12)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorRandy Clements (4th season)
Co-offensive coordinatorPhilip Montgomery (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorPhil Bennett (1st season)
Home stadiumFloyd Casey Stadium
(Capacity: 50,000)
2011 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Oklahoma State $  8 1     12 1  
No. 15 Kansas State  7 2     10 3  
No. 13 Baylor  6 3     10 3  
No. 16 Oklahoma  6 3     10 3  
Missouri  5 4     8 5  
Texas  4 5     8 5  
Texas A&M  4 5     7 6  
Iowa State  3 6     6 7  
Texas Tech  2 7     5 7  
Kansas  0 9     2 10  
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Junior starting quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Baylor player to win the award.

Recruiting

Baylor's recruiting class was ranked #46 by Rivals.com and #50 by Scout.com.[1][2]

Regular season

Building on the success of the previous year's team, Baylor began the season at home with a 50–48 upset of then #14 TCU, winners of the previous season's Rose Bowl.[3] The Bears won their next two games against Stephen F. Austin and Rice at home, before traveling to Kansas State where they lost a tightly contested game 35–36 to the greatly improved Bill Snyder-coached team.[4][5][6] After defeating Iowa State 49–26 at home, the Bears finished October losing two straight on the road at Texas A&M and eventual conference champion Oklahoma State.[7][8][9]

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 then #5 Oklahoma on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Griffin to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds remaining in the game.[10][11][12] 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 to lead the Bears to a 66–42 victory.[13] Baylor's win over Texas Tech was their first since 1995.[14]

The Bears finished the regular season at home with a 48–24 victory over then #22 Texas that propelled the team (9–3, 6–3 Big 12) to the Alamo Bowl with #12 and #15 BCS and AP rankings respectively.[15] The victory also propelled quarterback Robert Griffin III 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.[16]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 27:00 p.m.No. 14 TCU*ESPNW 50–4843,753
September 176:00 p.m.No. 19 (FCS) Stephen F. Austin*No. 19
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
W 48–0A43,090
September 246:00 p.m.Rice*No. 17
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
FSNW 56–3140,088
October 12:30 p.m.at Kansas StateNo. 15ABC/ESPNL 35–3649,399
October 86:00 p.m.Iowa StateNo. 25
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
FSNW 49–2641,625
October 1511:00 a.m.at No. 21 Texas A&MNo. 20FXL 28–5587,361
October 292:30 p.m.at No. 3 Oklahoma StateABC/ESPN2L 24–5958,274
November 56:00 p.m.Missouri
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
FSNW 42–3940,194
November 121:00 p.m.at KansasW 31–30 OT35,188
November 197:00 p.m.No. 5 OklahomaNo. 25
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
ABC/ESPN3W 45–3840,281
November 266:00 p.m.vs. Texas TechNo. 21
FSNW 66–4251,615
December 32:30 p.m.No. 22 TexasNo. 19
  • Floyd Casey Stadium
  • Waco, Texas
ABCW 48–2446,543
December 298:00 p.m.vs. Washington*No. 15ESPNW 67–5665,256
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[17][18]

  • ^A Game was called at the end of the 3rd quarter due to lightning.

Game summaries

Missouri

Missouri at Baylor
1 234Total
Missouri 7 7025 39
Baylor 0 131514 42

[19]

Oklahoma

#5 Oklahoma at #22 Baylor
1 234Total
Oklahoma 3 71414 38
Baylor 3 141414 45

Baylor's first victory over Oklahoma in school history.[20]

Texas Tech

Texas Tech vs. #18 Baylor
1 234Total
Texas Tech 7 2177 42
Baylor 10 212114 66

Robert Griffin III was knocked out just before halftime with a concussion.[21]

Texas

Texas at #19 Baylor
1 234Total
Texas 7 1430 24
Baylor 14 10177 48

[22]

2011 Alamo Bowl

Washington vs. #15 Baylor
1 234Total
Washington 7 28147 56
Baylor 21 32914 67

On December 4, 2011, Baylor accepted an invite to represent the Big-12 in the 2011 Alamo Bowl. Their opponents were the Washington Huskies of the Pac-12.[23] The game was played at the Alamodome. The crowd of 65,256 represented the 5th largest attendance in the history of the bowl game. A very good showing since the highest ever attendance at an Alamo bowl was only 66,100 which was set several years before. The Bowl officials stated it was also the most exciting college football game ever witnessed at the Bowl.

The contest 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 with 2:28 left to play. Ganaway finished with 21 carries for 200 yards and 5 TDs, and was recognized as the game's offensive MVP. The victory represented Baylor's first bowl win since a victory in the John Hancock (Sun) Bowl in 1992. With the win, Baylor had their first 10-win season since 1980.[24]

Awards and honors

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP NR 20 19 17 15 25 20 RV RV NR RV 25 21 19 15 13 
Coaches NR RV 24 19 16 RV 24 RV RV NR RV RV 20 18 16 12 
Harris Not released 21 RV RV NR RV 25 20 18 16 Not released 
BCS Not released NR NR NR 25 22 18 17 12 Not released

References

  1. Rivals.com 2011 Team Recruiting Rankings. Rivals.com Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  2. Football Recruiting 2011. Scout.com. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  3. "Baylor Blows 24-Point Lead but Recovers to Edge No. 14 TCU". ESPN. September 2, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  4. "Baylor Romps in Game Halted in 3rd Quarter by Lightning". ESPN. September 17, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  5. "Robert Griffin III Accounts for 6 TDs in Baylor's Beating of Rice". ESPN. September 24, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  6. "Kansas State Picks off Robert Griffin III, No. 15 Baylor in Fourth Quarter". ESPN. October 1, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  7. "Robert Griffin III, Terrance Ganaway Help No. 25 Baylor Run Over Iowa State". ESPN. October 8, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  8. "Ryan Tannehill Tosses 6 TDs as Texas A&M Leaves Past Collapses Behind". ESPN. October 15, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  9. "Joseph Randle Runs for 4 TDs as No. 3 Oklahoma State Whips Baylor". ESPN. October 29, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  10. "Baylor Rides School-Best 697 Yards Past Mizzou". ESPN. November 5, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  11. "Kansas Misses 2-Point Conversion in OT as Baylor Rallies for Victory". ESPN. November 12, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  12. "Robert Griffin III Shocks Sooners on TD Pass with 8 Seconds Left". ESPN. November 19, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  13. "Baylor Pummels Texas Tech Even After Robert Griffin III Leaves Game". ESPN. November 26, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  14. Miller, Jeff (November 26, 2011). "Baylor 66, Texas Tech 42". USA Today. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  15. "Griffin Accounts for 4 TDs as Baylor Trounces Texas". ESPN. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  16. Dufresne, Chris (December 10, 2011). "Robert Griffin III Wins the Heisman Trophy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  17. "Baylor Bears Schedule – 2011". ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  18. "NCAA Football TV Listings". NCAA Football. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  19. "Baylor Rides School-Best 697 Yards Past Mizzou". ESPN. November 5, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  20. "Robert Griffin III Shocks Sooners on TD Pass with 8 Seconds Left". ESPN. November 19, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  21. "Baylor Pummels Texas Tech Even After Robert Griffin III Leaves Game". ESPN. November 26, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  22. "Griffin Accounts for 4 TDs as Baylor Trounces Texas". ESPN. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  23. "Washington, Baylor To Play in 2011 Valero Alamo Bowl". Alamo Bowl. December 4, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-12-06. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  24. "Baylor Wins Alamo Bowl Shootout". USA Today. December 30, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
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