 |
|
| Sunday, August 12 Updated: August 13, 10:43 PM ET With 18 starters returning, Bears hope to reach .500 By Todd Cooper Special to ESPN.com |
||||||||||
|
Baylor Bears 2000 record: 2-9 (0-8). Coach: Kevin Steele (3rd year, 3-19). Returning starters: 9 offense, 7 defense, 2 kickers. Outlook: The Bears are bound to continue several streaks, most of them bad. If the Bears don't beat Iowa State or Texas A&M in their first two conference games, they'll extend their Big 12 losing streak to 24 games. And they could be on the cusp of their fifth consecutive season of two wins or less. But Baylor has a sliver of hope of winning a conference game -- especially against rebuilding Missouri or Oklahoma State in the last two games of the season. Offensively, the good news for the Bears is that quarterback Greg Cicero is back after missing most of last year with a broken collarbone. The bad news? So is his offensive line. Baylor finished last in the nation in total offense and near the bottom in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense. Steele tried to help his two solid lineman -- center Joe Jackson and guard-tackle Jon Erickson -- by adding junior college transfers Matt Bickel, Charles Bungert and Antoine Murphy. Defensively, the Bears need headhunters to step up at linebacker and they have to shore up their line. The front line, which returns intact, helped (if you can call it that) the Bears' defense finish last in the league and 109th in the nation a year ago. Keep an eye on: Junior wide receiver Reggie Newhouse. Last year, Newhouse became the first Baylor receiver in 17 years to catch 40 passes in a season. And that was with three quarterbacks who were more concerned about completing a game than completing a pass. The return of Cicero could mean new heights for Newhouse. Key game: at Iowa State (Sept. 29). The Bears could sneak up on the Cyclones, who are rebuilding after a bowl season. If they're competitive in that game, they could set the stage for future upsets. If not, it'll be more woe in Waco. It's a good year if... The Bears have enough players to field a team after playing Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks. It's an even better year if they win a conference game. Unfortunately, the Bears' best chance of doing that is against Oklahoma State in their last game of the year. Todd Cooper is a staff writer for the Omaha World-Herald. |
| |||||||||
