Baylor Football: Bears Knock Off Kansas State 47-42, Garner Bowl Eligibility

For the Baylor Bears football team, nothing can replace the present.

Forget the past.

Erase those awful memories of a BU team that was destroyed time and time again after the Big 12 Conference officially convened in the late '90s.

It’s a new year and a new season.

And 2010 belongs to the Bears.

After over a decade of rebuilding and waiting, Baylor can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, Bears QB Robert Griffin III was just six years old when the Big 12 was first established.

Fifteen years later, Griffin III has led the Bears out of the cellar and into a bowl—officially signifying the resurrection of the program with a dominating 47-42 win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

Sadly, the final score doesn't even come close to telling you how things played out on the gridiron on a cool, damp day at Waco’s Floyd Casey Stadium.

Yet happily, the Bears are one of the hottest sports topics in the news and on the web heading into Week 9 of the college football season.

En route to Baylor’s sixth win, and third Big 12 victory, Jay Finley rushed for a school-record 250 yards while Griffin III threw for a career-high 404 yards and four touchdowns.

Pretty solid for a 20-year-old play-caller and a BU football team that went completely under the radar heading into the season.

Although I’m fairly certain Baylor has begun to turn some heads with the team’s latest win in Waco.

Bowl eligible for the first time since 1995, these Bears are on a mission.

And they won’t stop until they get there.

“The smile says it all," Griffin III told Baylor’s official athletic site following Saturday’s homecoming win. "It’s a big moment for the university and our football team. We’ll enjoy it tonight but get back to work tomorrow.”

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