1985 Baylor Bears football team

The 1985 Baylor Bears football team represented the Baylor University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Bears finished the season second in the Southwest Conference to Texas A&M, although Baylor won the head-to-head matchup with the Aggies that season. A highlight of the season included a win at USC in week 3 when the Trojans were ranked in the top 5.

1985 Baylor Bears football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 21–7 vs. LSU
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 17
Record	9–3 (6–2 SWC)
Head coach	Grant Teaff (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Duke Christian (6th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Pete Fredenburg (3rd season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Baylor Stadium
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Texas A&M $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Arkansas	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 17 Baylor	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Texas	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
SMU	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Houston	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Rice	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Texas Tech	1	–	7	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
TCU	0	–	8	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Wyoming*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 39–18	32,000
September 14	at Georgia*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	TBS	L 14–17	77,190	^[1]
September 21	at No. 3 USC*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 20–13	52,544
September 28	Texas Tech		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	Raycom	W 31–0	36,500
October 5	at Houston	No. 19	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	HSE	W 24–21	25,787
October 12	at No. 16 SMU	No. 19	Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 21–14	42,112
October 19	Texas A&M	No. 14	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (Battle of the Brazos)		W 20–15	48,756
October 26	TCU	No. 13	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)		W 45–0	42,500
November 9	at No. 10 Arkansas	No. 8	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ABC	L 14–20	54,684
November 16	Rice	No. 17	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 34–10	30,250
November 23	at Texas	No. 15	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	Raycom	L 10–17	78,912
December 27	vs. No. 12 LSU*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	Katz	W 21–7	40,186	^[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1985 Baylor Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 51 John Adickes Jr QB 14 Cody Carlson Jr QB 10 Tom Muecke Sr WR 26 Derrick McAdoo Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S Anthony Coleman   Jr DB Ron Francis Jr CB Johnny Thomas Jr FS 27 Thomas Everett Jr LB 57 Ray Berry Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Robert Sawyer Sr PK 32 Jim Mueller Jr K Terry Syler	Head coach Grant Teaff Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Game summaries

Wyoming

See also: 1985 Wyoming Cowboys football team

^[3]

At Georgia

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 7 0 7 14 • Bulldogs 7 0 10 0 17 Date: September 14 Location: Sanford Stadium Athens, Georgia Game attendance: 77,190 Television network: WTBS

Scoring summary 1 1:27 UGA Fred Lane 33-yard run (Steve Crumley kick) UGA 7–0 2 3:26 Baylor Ralph Stockemer 1-yard run (Terry Syler kick) Tied 7–7 3 UGA Tim Worley 1-yard run (Steve Crumley kick) UGA 14–7 UGA Steve Crumley 42-yard field goal UGA 17–7 4 3:40 Baylor Glenn Pruitt 25-yard pass from Tom Muecke (Terry Syler kick) UGA 17–14

See also: 1985 Georgia Bulldogs football team

^[4]

At No. 3 USC

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 10 7 3 20 No. 3 Trojans 7 0 0 6 13 Date: September 21 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California Game attendance: 53,246 Referee: Larry Thompson TV announcers (Lorimar): Geoff Witcher (play-by-play) and Jim Perry (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 USC Hank Norman 9-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (Don Shafer kick) Baylor 7–0 2 2:46 Baylor Tom Muecke 3-yard run (Terry Syler kick) Tied 7–7 Baylor Terry Syler 39-yard field goal Baylor 10–7 3 9:49 Baylor Derrick McAdoo 22-yard pass from Tom Muecke (Terry Syler kick) Baylor 17–7 4 USC Randy Tanner 19-yard pass from Sean Salisbury (kick blocked) Baylor 17–13 6:06 BAY Terry Syler 32-yard field goal Baylor 20–13

See also: 1985 USC Trojans football team

^[5]

Texas Tech

See also: 1985 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

Texas A&M

See also: 1985 Texas A&M Aggies football team

At No. 12 Arkansas

Baylor at Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total No. 11 Bears 0 7 7 0 14 • No. 12 Razorbacks 0 0 6 14 20 Date: November 9 Location: War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas Game attendance: 54,684 Referee: Joe Thomas TV announcers (ABC Sports): Al Michaels (play-by-play) Source:

Scoring summary 2 Baylor ?-yard pass from Cody Carlson (kick) Baylor 7-0 3 9:02 Baylor Matt Clark 88-yard pass from Tom Muecke (kick) Baylor 14-0 3 Arkansas Carl Miller 4-yard run (kick failed) Baylor 14-6 4 Arkansas #32 5-yard run (pass failed) Baylor 14-12 Arkansas Luther Franklin 50-yard pass from Greg Thomas (James Rouse run) Arkansas 20-14

See also: 1985 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

^[6]

vs No. 12 LSU (Liberty Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total No. 12 Tigers 7 0 0 0 7 • Bears 7 3 3 8 21 Date: December 27 Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee Game attendance: 40,186 Referee: Otho Kortz TV announcers (Raycom Sports): Merle Harmon (play-by-play), Bud Wilkinson (analyst) and Kevin Kiley (sportscaster) (sidelines)

Scoring summary 1 LSU Norman Jefferson 79-yard punt return (Ron Lewis kick) LSU 7–0 Baylor Matt Clark 5-yard pass from Tom Muecke (Terry Syler kick) Tied 7–7 2 Baylor Terry Syler 23-yard field goal Baylor 10–7 3 Baylor Terry Syler 35-yard field goal Baylor 13–7 4 Baylor John Simpson 15-yard pass from Cody Carlson (Matt Clark pass from Cody Carlson) Baylor 21–7

Main article: 1985 Liberty Bowl

See also: 1985 LSU Tigers football team

^[7]

Rankings

Further information: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

^[8]

References

1. "Bulldogs take big bite out of Baylor". Anderson Independent-Mail. September 15, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Baylor dominates LSU in Liberty Bowl, 21–7". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 28, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Big plays ruined Wyoming bid". Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. September 9, 1985. p. 24.
4. "Georgia 17, Baylor 14". UPI Archives. September 14, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
5. "Unranked Baylor Tops USC". The Orlando Sentinel. September 21, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
6. "Arkansas Overcomes Baylor". The New York Times. November 10, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
7. "BAYLOR TOPS L.S.U. IN THE LIBERTY BOWL". The New York Times. December 28, 1985. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
8. "Alabama 1985 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.