By ROBERT CESSNATurnovers and breakdowns in the kicking game have contributed to some ugly losses for Baylor and Texas A&M. The team that excels in those areas in Saturday's Big 12 South football game at Kyle Field figures to stand a good chance of winning.
Baylor (4-6, 1-5) has lost every game when it's lost the turnover battle. Opponents have scored 34 points off Baylor mistakes in the six losses. That's only 26 points less than Baylor has scored in those games. The Bears also have had three punts and a field goal blocked.
Baylor's sporadic play started in the home opener which Connecticut won 30-22. UConn built on a 13-7 halftime lead by scoring touchdowns after back-to-back Baylor fumbles, the first occurring on the second-half kickoff.
A&M's failure to execute in the kicking game has contributed to its last two losses. The Aggies (5-5, 2-4) muffed a punt and fumbled a kickoff that led to 14 points in Oklahoma's 65-10 victory last week. A&M muffed a punt and missed a 48-yard field goal in a 35-34 loss to Colorado two weeks ago.
Twice this season A&M has had more than two turnovers, and both games turned into lopsided losses. Kansas State, which won 62-14, and Oklahoma each scored 28 points off A&M turnovers.
A turnover also helped Arkansas pull away for a 47-19 victory. Arkansas returned a fumble 85 yards for a score to go up 21-10, part of 30 unanswered points. It was the first of three times the Aggies have allowed an opponent to dominate play for long stretches. Kansas State scored the game's first 59 points and Oklahoma scored 51 unanswered points.
"The maturity level and being able to handle those negatives is something that we are constantly trying to manage in the context of the game," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said.
Baylor, despite starting 12 seniors, has been just as fragile at times.
The Bears' victory over Missouri ended an 11-game road losing streak in Big 12 play. And it also was the program's first victory after trailing at halftime in 24 games.
Baylor might not want to fall behind by too much this week. Kyle Field had been the toughest venue for the Bears in the last two decades. Baylor hasn't won at A&M since 1984.
"The atmosphere and environment at [A&M] shouldn't affect us because we have been to a couple of venues on the road that are pretty good venues," said Baylor head coach Art Briles, who will be leading a team onto the field at Kyle for the first time Saturday.
*
Former SMU running back to sign books at MSC: College football analyst Craig James will be signing copies of his new book Game Day: A Rollicking Journey to the Heart of College Football on Nov. 26 from 3:30-5 p.m. at the MSC Bookstore.
James, a former SMU and New England Patriots running back who know works for ABC and ESPN, will be in College Station covering the Texas A&M vs. Texas game on Thanksgiving.
TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL
* Saturday's game: Baylor (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) at Texas A&M (5-5, 2-4), 2:30 p.m.
* TV/radio: None/WTAW, 1620 AM and Sirius Ch. 154
* Tickets: $35-$70
Here are Baylor's records at Big 12 South venues starting with the 1996 season:
Texas 2-10-0
Texas Tech 2-10-0
Oklahoma 0-7-0
Oklahoma St. 0-7-0
A&M 0-10-1
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.