Baylor-Iowa State: Bears on the Road Again, Aim for First Big 12 Win in Ames

The Baylor Bears (3-2, 0-1) head to Iowa State (3-3, 0-2) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. for their second conference matchup of the season.

After a tough loss to Oklahoma to begin Big 12 play, Baylor aims to bounce back on Saturday in Ames, Iowa.

“[Iowa State is a] very dangerous football team; they have been playing well all year,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. “They actually went to Kent State and got their first road win in 17 games and beat them handily. [They] are coming off two real tough conference losses. They very well could be sitting at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference.

“They are really, really playing well, [and] playing with a lot of confidence. Coach [Paul] Rhoads has come in there and done a great job. You can just see them playing really hard for each other on the tape.”

For the Bears, Saturday’s game against the Cyclones is a must win in terms of getting back on track in their goal for a bowl.

“This is it,” Baylor senior center J.D. Walton said. “We have to get back to winning games, get back to our goals, and get back to being bowl eligible. It’ll be a big week for us to come out and have a good week of practice and get back on track.”

Defense will also be a key when Baylor hits the road again, as the Bears' secondary aims to continue to succeed.

“I came up here yesterday and watched [Iowa State’s] game against Kansas,” Baylor senior linebacker Joe Pawelek said. “More than any week this season so far, I think it is going to be on every man on defense playing his responsibility. They run a lot of zone read. They are going to force each guy to play his position, play his responsibility. It is going to be a huge week for us.”

Baylor has yet to name a starting quarterback for their game against Iowa State, although Coach Briles is not concerned about his two play-callers having any issues with who gets the nod to start.

“Nick [Florence] has done a really good job the last two-plus weeks,” Briles said. “I think he has been very protective with the football, very poised, very intelligent.

“And with Blake [Szymanski], I’m anxious to see him work out this week. Blake actually has not worked out the past two weeks. So I’m anxious to get him on the field, get him worked out, see how his physical matches with his mental, and get ready to go to Ames and fire away and win a football game.

“[These guys] play hard for each other, and that’s the thing I know about our guys, they’re going to rally up and they're going to fight hard. Fighting hard and playing hard. It’s okay, but you have to win. So we have to go to the next base, which is win.”

Winning would be a definite step in the right direction for the Bears, and Baylor is aiming and ready to head to Iowa State and put up a fight.

“[A win] would be huge,” Baylor freshman quarterback Florence said. “It will be a battle. They lost their first two Big 12 games and we lost our first one, and it’s a must win for both sides, so it will be a good game. It will be a battle, and we’ll be ready.”

Playing on the road, the home crowd will once again be a major factor—and senior quarterback Szymanski believes that taking the crowd out of the game early is a key to success.

“I think [with being on the road] that’s one of the biggest things, taking the crowd out of the game,” Szymanski said. “Specifically going to Oklahoma where I thought we did a pretty good job of that.

“It’s like we’re playing at neutral spots so you can somewhat take that home field advantage away from them and then after that, you have to control them. You can go there and make plays when you need to, 'cause you know, you go to opposing stadiums you’re not always going to have things go your way. You just have to be able to handle adversity the best.”

Coach Briles agrees with his senior play-caller, and he can’t wait to watch his team hit the gridiron on Saturday evening.

“As far as trying to take the Iowa State crowd out, yeah, we have to do it,” Briles said. “The fans are right on top of you there; it’s a tight stadium and they put a lot of people in it. It will be a great atmosphere. It will be a night game. The weather’s going to be fine, so it will be an exciting time.

“It will be a good chance for us to grow as a team, and that’s what we’re doing—we’re growing as a football team. We’re starting to understand ourselves a little better personnel-wise and player capability-wise.”

Although Saturday’s Baylor game against Iowa State will not be televised, fans can listen to audio of the game for free on baylorbears.com.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]

[PHOTO CREDIT: David Fuller/LSCSN.com]