07-27-2004, 12:46 PM
Fast start a priority for Baylor
The Bears are emphasizing success in their three nonconference games.
BY JEFFREY PARSON
The Wichita Eagle
After it was over, Baylor coach Guy Morriss and his staff reflected on their first season in Waco, Texas.
The Bears went 3-9 last year, getting outscored by more than a 2-to-1 margin. It was nothing unexpected in a massive rebuilding project.
Still, a mystery was eating at the coaches. They searched to identify something other than talent or schemes that held the Bears back. They found what they were looking for, and it happened in August.
In Morriss' first game, visiting Alabama-Birmingham threw a 50-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to beat Baylor 24-19. Even when the Bears lost to North Texas 52-14 seven days later, Morriss said he didn't realize how much the heartbreaking opener stung his new team.
"While we're looking back at it, one of our coaches finally said, 'Maybe that just affected our players more than we thought,' " Morriss said last week. "We realized that last-second loss really took something out of us. I think we just came to the conclusion it whacked us pretty hard."
It's another reason the Bears are putting everything into this season's first three games. Baylor opens at UAB, then hosts Texas State and North Texas.
They are winnable games by design, and Morriss is imploring his team to take advantage.
"We have to go 3-0 before conference," linebacker Justin Crooks said. "We have to get a little bit of momentum going down to Texas. So we just have to get off to a fast start."
<a href='http://http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/9249706.htm' target='_blank'>Wichita Eagle Story</a>
The Bears are emphasizing success in their three nonconference games.
BY JEFFREY PARSON
The Wichita Eagle
After it was over, Baylor coach Guy Morriss and his staff reflected on their first season in Waco, Texas.
The Bears went 3-9 last year, getting outscored by more than a 2-to-1 margin. It was nothing unexpected in a massive rebuilding project.
Still, a mystery was eating at the coaches. They searched to identify something other than talent or schemes that held the Bears back. They found what they were looking for, and it happened in August.
In Morriss' first game, visiting Alabama-Birmingham threw a 50-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to beat Baylor 24-19. Even when the Bears lost to North Texas 52-14 seven days later, Morriss said he didn't realize how much the heartbreaking opener stung his new team.
"While we're looking back at it, one of our coaches finally said, 'Maybe that just affected our players more than we thought,' " Morriss said last week. "We realized that last-second loss really took something out of us. I think we just came to the conclusion it whacked us pretty hard."
It's another reason the Bears are putting everything into this season's first three games. Baylor opens at UAB, then hosts Texas State and North Texas.
They are winnable games by design, and Morriss is imploring his team to take advantage.
"We have to go 3-0 before conference," linebacker Justin Crooks said. "We have to get a little bit of momentum going down to Texas. So we just have to get off to a fast start."
<a href='http://http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/9249706.htm' target='_blank'>Wichita Eagle Story</a>