Baylor has eye on bowl

WACO, Texas — In the 14-year history of the Big 12, the Baylor Bears have never played for the chance to go to a bowl game.

Their first shot at that crucial sixth victory comes today against Kansas State and Coach Bill Snyder, who knows something about rebuilding a program and looking for breakthrough victories along the way.

Snyder’s Wildcats were battling nearly a century of football futility in 1993 when they beat nationally ranked Oklahoma for their sixth victory in a 9-2-1 season that started a 12-year bowl streak.

“That has to be part of the process and part of direction,” Snyder said. “If you did not get there, it would signify that you are not capable of winning very many ball games.”

Baylor’s 16-year bowl drought is the school’s longest since the Bears started making postseason appearances in 1949. The big chance for the Bears (5-2, 2-1 Big 12) just happens to be homecoming, followed by four remaining games in which Baylor is likely to be the underdog each time.

Coach Art Briles wasn’t inclined to make any special speeches this week, though. He’s more likely to say six victories doesn’t guarantee a bowl game - it just puts his team on the list.

“We’re just trying hard for a win,” Briles said. “Sometime here at the end of the season, we’ll add them up.”

The only other year the Bears had five victories in the Big 12 era was 2005, when they won their finale against Oklahoma State. Baylor started 4-1 that year, which wasn’t unusual because the Bears generally have faded in conference play. They once had a 30-game losing streak in Big 12 games.

Fortunes have changed under quarterback Robert Griffin. He had Baylor thinking bowl game as a freshman in 2008, when the Bears went 4-8 but nearly knocked off ranked opponents Missouri and Texas Tech. He struggled in a 45-10 loss to No. 4 TCU this year after missing most of 2009 with a knee injury but now leads the Big 12 and is third nationally in total offense at 335 yards per game.

“It puts a smile on your face,” Griffin said of the Bears sniffing bowl eligibility. “But we have to hunker down, make sure we stay consistent with our preparation.”