Friday, December 28, 2012

The Miracle on the Brazos II

In 1972, Grant Teaff was hired to turn around the football program at Baylor University, a team that had gone 7-43-1 in the five seasons preceding his arrival.  A short two years later, Teaff led Baylor to an eight-win season, a Southwest Conference championship, and a win over Texas where the Bears rallied from a 24-7 halftime deficit.  It was Baylor's first victory over Texas in 17 years and their first conference championship in 50 years.  The season was referred to as the "Miracle on the Brazos,"named after the Brazos River that borders the Baylor campus.

Perhaps Art Briles five seasons at Baylor don't merit "miracle" status, but let's consider what he's done for a program that had not been to a bowl game since 1994, prior to his arrival.  Briles has gone 33-30 since arriving at Baylor, including a 25-14 record over the past three years.  He has a 14-12 record, over the past three years, in the tough Big 12 and this year defeated then #1 (BCS standings) Kansas State on the road.  And, last night, Briles' team capped an 8-5 season with a 49-26 win over #17 UCLA in the Holiday Bowl.

Not only has Briles brought consistency to Waco (the team has gone to three straight bowl games for the first time in school history), he recruited a player who ignited the program and ultimately won the Heisman Trophy.  Robert Griffin III not only was a scintillating talent on the field, he became the classy face of the program off of the field.  In the process, Briles' leadership, with a healthy dose of RGIII thrown in, was the impetus for the latest proof point of Baylor's newfound football relevance--a new football stadium that is being built on the Brazos River, on the Baylor campus.

Briles', and Baylor's, success is proof that there are downtrodden programs, outside of Manhattan, KS, that can undergo a dramatic turnaround.  The key is finding a coach who is the right fit; finding a talent like Griffin was the lightning in a bottle that now has Baylor firmly positioned as a potential top half program in a conference featuring heavyweights like Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State and TCU.

I'd say all of this does qualify as the 2012 version of "Miracle on the Brazos."  Let's give it up for Coach Briles and the Baylor football program.


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