Baylor Football

Former Baylor president Kenneth Starr, who resigned as a law professor at the university in August, spoke out to defend the school's former head football coach, Art Briles.  

In an interview during the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday (via ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach), Starr said he believes Briles has been getting unfair criticism from the media.

"Briles has devoted his life to molding the lives of young men," Starr said. "A grave injustice was done to Art Briles. Coach Briles has been calumnied...it's completely unfair. I have great confidence to this day in Coach Briles. I believe he's an honorable person."   

Starr went on to say that he disagrees "with the sense that there was a fundamental failure. I love Title IX. It has been an instrument of great, great reform...[but] the pendulum has swung much too far in one direction."

In May, the school announced it had suspended Briles with the intent to terminate after an independent investigation into numerous sexual assault allegations against Baylor football players. It found that, among other things, football coaches did not report complaints of misconduct.

The following month, Briles and Baylor agreed to terms on a contract settlement that officially ended his eight-year stint as head coach of the football team. 

In an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi earlier this month, Briles said there were "some bad things that went on under my watch. I was the captain of this ship. The captain of the ship goes down with it."

Starr served as president at Baylor from 2010 to 2016 before transitioning into his role as a law professor following the independent investigation. The school hired Jim Grobe as interim football coach in May. 

The Baylor Bears continue to run into a problem that can plague the best teams in college football: They're so often favored by so much, that even when they win, they can't cover the spread.

Baylor is 7-3 straight up over its last 10 games, stretching back into last season, but only 2-8 against the spread. The Bears will give at least a touchdown on the spread when they host Oklahoma State in a big game in the Big 12 on Saturday night in Waco. 

Point spread: The Bears opened as 9.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 45.6-31.6 Bears (college football picks on every game)

   

Why the Oklahoma State Cowboys can cover the spread 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB78CwOPj50

These Cowboys are 2-1 both SU and ATS on the season, following their 45-38 victory over Pittsburgh last week. Oklahoma State, as a three-point favorite, scored on the first play from scrimmage with a 91-yard Mason Rudolph-to-James Washington connection. It later led by two touchdowns and then allowed the Panthers to tie the game late in the third quarter, but it won on Rennie Childs' one-yard plunge with just over a minute to go.

On the day, OSU racked up 640 yards of offense, and the junior quarterback Rudolph threw for a school-record 540 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

Oklahoma State opened this season with a 61-7 win over Southeastern Louisiana, covering as a seven-touchdown favorite, then lost at home to Central Michigan 30-27. But that defeat to the Chippewas should not have come down to a blown call by the refs; the Cowboys led that game 14-0 out of the gate.

   

Why the Baylor Bears can cover the spread

Baylor is 3-0 on the season after last week's 38-10 victory at Rice. The Bears spotted the Owls an early 3-0 lead and only led 14-10 late into the second quarter, but they scored the last 24 points of the game to lock down the win.

On the night, Baylor outgained Rice 638-265, rushing for 296 yards and passing for 342 more.

The Bears opened this season with a 55-7 walkthrough against Northwestern State and a 40-13 socking of SMU.

Finally, Baylor has beaten the Cowboys each of the last two seasons, putting up 49 and 45 points and piling up almost 1,300 yards of offense in the two games combined.

    

Smart pick

The Bears are once again piling up yardage and the points, but they're not quite the team from a couple of seasons ago that was just clobbering opponents. They actually struggled a bit with SMU, and even Rice played them tough well into the third quarter. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, should be 3-0, and showed some maturity with its win over Pitt last week. Baylor might still win this game, but the Cowboys are perfectly capable of not just keeping this one close, but also pulling off an upset.

   

Betting trends

Oklahoma State is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games against Baylor.

Oklahoma State is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games against Baylor.

Baylor is 25-5 SU in its last 30 games against its conference.

    

All college football betting lines and point-spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds-tracker app.

Please refrain pic.twitter.com/OguWTfyfqQ

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 17, 2016

College football is no stranger to eccentric audience practices, but this may be a first.

Early in the second quarter of Friday night's Baylor vs. Rice showdown in Houston, the contest's lead officiator paused the game to request that all present "please refrain from shooting lasers onto the field."

Surely, the future has arrived.     

[Deadspin]

Former Baylor head coach Art Briles apologized to the victims who were sexually assaulted during his tenure at the university and said he "could have done more" in an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi that aired Saturday.

When Rinaldi asked how he would address the victims, Briles responded: "I'd tell them I'm extremely sorry. My heart aches. We'd probably have hopefully a good cry session and then a talk session and hopefully a hug session. Because it just appalls me that somebody could victimize another human being. There's no place in society for it, and I've never condoned it and never will."

Baylor fired Briles in May amid a school-wide scandal regarding its handling of sexual assault cases, with a number of football players either accused or convicted of sexual assault.

Notably, the law firm Pepper Hamilton—hired by the university to investigate its handling of sexual assault cases—saved its harshest critique for the football team. It stated the team "hindered enforcement of rules and policies and created a cultural perception that football was above the rules," per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today.

Former Baylor player Tevin Elliott was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 20 years in prison in January 2014, and former player Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of second-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years' probation in August 2015. Former player Shawn Oakman was indicted on a charge of second-degree sexual assault in July as well.

In June, Briles accused Baylor of using him as a scapegoat for its failings, per Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com:

"The conclusion is inescapable that the motive of Baylor University and the Board of Regents was to use its Head Football Coach and the Baylor Athletic Department as a camouflage to disguise and distract from its own institutional failure to comply with Title IX and other federal civil rights laws," the letter states, reflecting the first public comments Briles has made on the controversy since his termination in May.

"It is equally clear from the actions of Baylor University and the Board of Regents, both in the media and in its oral and written communications with Coach Briles since his wrongful termination, that they have ignored and repeatedly violated the clear duties that they owe under Texas law and by contract to Art Briles.

Nonetheless, Briles acknowledged his own failings in his interview with Rinaldi.

"I feel responsibility. I do," he said. "These players are part of our program, and representative of our program, and when they do wrong, then it reflects on me and the university. So, I do feel responsibility."

Baylor will be without junior running back Johnny Jefferson for the entire 2016 season, head coach Jim Grobe announced Friday.

According to Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports, Grobe said the following regarding Jefferson's decision to sit out the 2016 campaign: "Johnny, while still a member of this team, in addition to healing recent injuries is taking some time away from school to deal with some personal issues and hopefully will rejoin the program for spring semester."

Jefferson missed the Bears' season-opening win over Northwestern State with foot and rib injuries.

Jefferson ranked second on the team last season with 1,000 rushing yards and third with eight rushing touchdowns.

The Killeen, Texas, native was also named the MVP of Baylor's Russell Athletic Bowl victory over North Carolina last season, as he rushed for 299 yards and three scores.

Jefferson was expected to be a huge part of Baylor's offense once again in 2016, but Grobe's team is well-prepared to do damage on the ground without him.

Leading returning rusher Shock Linwood rushed for 97 yards in the season opener, while sophomore Terence Williams picked up 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Seth Russell also performed well with four passing touchdowns against Northwestern State, which means the Bears' high-powered offense should still be a force to be reckoned with even without Jefferson's explosiveness on the field.

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A little over three months after being fired by Baylor, Art Briles has issued an apology for the actions of student-athletes during his tenure as head football coach. 

Briles told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi:

I made mistakes. I did wrong, but I'm not doing this trying to make myself feel better for apologizing. I understand I made some mistakes. There were some bad things that went on under my watch. I was the captain of this ship. The captain of the ship goes down with it.

So, I understand that I made some mistakes, and for that I'm sorry. But I'm not trying to plead for people's sympathy. I'm just stating that, 'Hey, I made some mistakes. I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'm gonna learn. I'm gonna do better.

Briles, 60, was dismissed May 26 after an investigation found he and other university officials failed to take proper action after multiple players were accused of sexual assault. He and the school later came to a financial settlement that recategorized his departure as "mutual." 

"Both parties acknowledge that there were serious shortcomings in the response to reports of sexual violence by some student-athletes, including deficiencies in University processes and the delegation of disciplinary responsibilities with the football program," a joint statement read, per Baylor's website. "Baylor is addressing these shortcomings and making ongoing improvements."

A February Outside the Lines investigation uncovered the counts of multiple women who reported they were raped, only to be ignored by school officials or met with resistance. Five women wound up filing Title IX lawsuits against the school, two of which were related to alleged sexual assaults by football players.

Former defensive ends Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwuachu have both been convicted of sexual assault. 

Baylor retained the law firm Pepper Hamilton to investigate the school's culture, which found "there are significant concerns about the tone and culture within Baylor's football program as it relates to accountability for all forms of student athlete misconduct."

Baylor president Kenneth Starr and athletic director Ian McCaw also left the school in the controversy's aftermath.

Briles went 65-37 in eight seasons as Baylor coach, including three bowl wins. He holds a 99-65 overall coaching record, having previously spent five years at Houston. ESPN.com's Chris Low reported most people within college football circles believe Briles will be back on a sideline in 2017. He said he plans to return next season.

     

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The Baylor Bears football team will be without wide receiver Ishmael Zamora to start the season.

Max Olson of ESPN.com reported Tuesday that Zamora was suspended for three games because of a video that showed him physically abusing his dog. On Aug. 19, Olson noted, "The video was obtained by KXXV News Channel 25 in Waco, Texas, and captures Zamora hitting a dog eight times with a belt and kicking it while yelling."

Jake Trotter of ESPN provided a statement from Baylor:

Baylor’s full statement on Zamora. The school is mandating that Zamora give the dog "to an animal-friendly home." pic.twitter.com/zAyTaY2DYN

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) August 30, 2016

Olson added, "Zamora will also perform 40 hours of community service 'that will teach him kindness and respect toward animals' and undergo counseling."

Zamora was charged with a Class C misdemeanor after the video was made public. He also received a citation that includes a fine for as much as $500, per Olson.

(Warning: Video contains graphic footage.)

Zamora addressed the incident in a statement to KXXV and said (via Olson), "I lost my temper trying to discipline him. I've been through training with a dog trainer to help me learn new potty training tips."

Baylor was No. 23 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 and will face Northwestern State and SMU at home and Rice on the road in its first three games.

The Bears should win all three contests rather easily, even without Zamora, considering none of the opponents are ranked and they combined to go 11-24 last season. Things get more difficult for Baylor when it kicks off Big 12 play against No. 21 Oklahoma State on Sept. 24.

The Bears' conference slate also includes games against Texas, No. 13 TCU and No. 3 Oklahoma.

Zamora, who is entering his sophomore season, played 13 games for the Bears in 2015. He finished his freshman campaign with nine catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns and also returned five kickoffs for 142 yards.

Baylor wide receiver Ishmael Zamora is facing discipline from the program after a video was posted online in which he was shown abusing his dog.

Per ESPN.com's Max Olson on Aug. 19, in video obtained by KXXV News Channel 25 in Waco, Texas, Zamora was seen "hitting a dog eight times with a belt and kicking it while yelling."

"I lost my temper trying to discipline him," Zamora said in a statement to KXXV (via Olson). "I've been through training with a dog trainer to help me learn new potty training tips."

KXXV noted a Baylor teammate recorded and posted video of Zamora's hitting the dog on Snapchat in June.

(Warning: Video contains graphic footage.)

Per Olson, after a former Baylor student reported the video, Zamora was "charged with a Class C misdemeanor and received a citation for up to $500."

Baylor interim head coach Jim Grobe expressed his displeasure with Zamora's actions, per Olson:

I think he's going to be disciplined by a bunch of people -- the city is gonna get a piece of him, and our university doesn't take it lightly. There will be some sanctions from the university and, from an athletic department standpoint, we'll do some things. But hopefully it's a teaching moment and a learning experience for him.

Grobe did add he thinks Zamora "just was frustrated and spanked his dog for not being house-trained, and you just can't do that."

Specifics about discipline for Zamora are not known, though Grobe did say in Olson's report that his playing time will "probably be affected." On Monday, Grobe told reporters he doesn't know if Zamora will suit up for Baylor's season opener Friday against Northwestern State. Grobe noted the depth chart was created without considering any potential discipline.

Zamora, who will be a sophomore this season, appeared in 10 games for the Bears last season and had nine catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He is expected to be a starter alongside junior KD Cannon.

Jim Grobe and the rest of the Baylor Bears are ready to start this college football season. Michael Felder, Adam Kramer and Barrett Sallee discuss the kind of team Baylor is and what its season will look like.


Drop a comment below and let us know what you think.

Baylor University and Art Briles filed motions this week to dismiss a pending Title IX lawsuit stemming from the school's sexual assault scandal.

Cassie L. Smith of the Waco Tribune-Herald reported Friday that Baylor is seeking to end the lawsuit on the grounds of statute of limitations and because it's not liable for off-campus incidents. The motion from Briles, the school's former head football coach, argued an individual employee can't be sued under the Title IX designation.

It's the second time Baylor and Briles have sought to dismiss the case. Former student Jasmin Hernandez amended her lawsuit in July, which led to the latest actions.

"You cannot act with unclean hands and then raise the statute of limitations," said Irwin Zalkin, one of Hernandez's lawyers.

Paula Ann Solis of the Baylor Lariat reported in 2014 that former Bears football player Tevin Elliott was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping Hernandez in 2012. Testimony during the trial explored alleged assaults by Elliott dating back to 2009.

The Elliott case was one of several problems to arise at Baylor in recent years. Laken Litman and Steven Ruiz of USA Today provided a complete breakdown of the issues, including multiple allegations of abuse and concern about the university's lack of response.

In May, the school announced a series of leadership changes in the wake of the scandal. The board of regents' decisions included the removal of Ken Starr as president and suspending Briles "indefinitely with intent to terminate." The sides later "mutually agreed to part ways," according to the Associated Press.

While both Baylor and Briles are part of the Title IX lawsuit, they are also at odds with each other. The former head coach said he was wrongfully terminated in June and that he wanted different representation than the school, per Jim Vertuno of the AP.

"The conclusion is inescapable that the motive of Baylor and the board of regents was to use its head football coach and the Baylor athletic department as a camouflage to disguise and distract from its own institutional failure to comply," Briles' lawyer, Ernest Cannon, wrote to the school's attorneys.

No timetable was announced for a court decision on the efforts by Baylor and Briles to dismiss the Title IX lawsuit.