2008 Baylor Bears football team

2008 Baylor Bears football
Conference Big 12 Conference South
2008 record 4–8 (2–6 Big 12)
Head coach Art Briles
Offensive scheme Spread[1]
Home stadium Floyd Casey Stadium
Seasons
« 2007 2009 »

The 2008 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the college football season of 2007-2008. The team was led by head coach Art Briles in his first year in the position. They played their home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

Contents

Preseason

Two Baylor players, linebacker Joe Pawelek and defensive back Jordan Lake, made the preseason All-Big 12 team.[2] Pawelek made at least 86 tackles in each of the previous two seasons, while Lake posted 120 tackles, two interceptions, forced two fumbles, and recovered two in 2007. Lake was Baylor's only all-Big 12 postseason selection in 2007.[3]

The Bears returned 15 starters, including 9 on offense, and 6 on defense.[4]

In their preseason countdown, Rivals.com ranked the Bears' 2008 squad 92nd out of all 120 Division I FBS teams.[3] The official Big 12 media preseason poll picked the Bears to finish last in the Big 12 South.[5]

Coaching staff

2008 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
North
#19 Missouri xy   5 3         10 4  
Nebraska x   5 3         9 4  
Kansas   4 4         8 5  
Colorado   2 6         5 7  
Kansas State   2 6         5 7  
Iowa State   0 8         2 10  
South
#5 Oklahoma xy   7 1         12 2  
#4 Texas x   7 1         12 1  
#12 Texas Tech x   7 1         11 2  
#16 Oklahoma State   5 3         9 4  
Baylor   2 6         4 8  
Texas A&M   2 6         4 8  

Championship: Oklahoma 62, Missouri 21
† – BCS representative as champion
‡ – BCS at-large representative
x – Division champion/co-champions
y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

[6][7]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 30 7:00 p.m. #23 Wake Forest* Floyd Casey StadiumWaco, TX FSN L 41–13   30,633
September 6 6:00 p.m. Northwestern State* Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX W 51–6   36,258
September 12 7:30 p.m. Washington State* Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX FSN W 45–17   25,595
September 19 11:00 p.m. at Connecticut* Rentschler FieldEast Hartford, CT ESPN2 L 31–28   38,870
October 4 11:30 a.m. #1 Oklahoma Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX FSN L 49–17   47,107
October 11 6:00 p.m. Iowa State Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX FCS W 38–10   30,528
October 18 2:00 p.m. at #10 Oklahoma State Boone Pickens StadiumStillwater, OK L 34–6   50,080
October 25 11:30 a.m. at Nebraska Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE Versus L 32–20   85,104
November 1 3:00 p.m. #14 Missouri Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX L 31–28   35,142
November 8 11:00 a.m. at #7 Texas Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX FSN L 45–21   97,715
November 15 3:05 p.m. Texas A&M Floyd Casey Stadium • Waco, TX (Battle of the Brazos) W 41–21   43,549
November 29 2:30 p.m. at #7 Texas Tech Jones AT&T StadiumLubbock, TX Versus L 35–28   53,470
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Postseason

Three Baylor players—Jason Smith, Jordan Lake, and Joe Pawelek—made the All-Big 12 first team. Derek Epperson and Dan Gay received honorable mention, while Robert Griffin III was named Offensive Freshman of the Year. Griffin became Baylor's second Big 12 individual award winner, joining Daniel Sepulveda, who won Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006.[8]

References