Big crowds needed for final two home games vs. Aggies, Sooners

Saturday night’s Baylor-Texas A&M showdown at Floyd Casey Stadium marks the 107th “Battle of the Brazos,” continuing the longest series in Baylor history. It’s always a big game, but this year’s is bigger than most. When the Bears (7-3, 26th in the BCS) host the Aggies (6-3, 25th in the BCS) at 6 p.m., bragging rights aren’t the only thing on the line; the winner stays in the hunt for the Big 12 South title and will likely play on ABC next weekend.

Baylor Athletics is rolling out a special two-game ticket deal for the Bears’ final home games, this Saturday vs. A&M (6 p.m.) and next Saturday against Oklahoma (7 p.m.); the sale will be good from Wednesday morning through noon Thursday (click here for details).

With a couple of sellouts to close out the year, Baylor could easily set a program record for average attendance, and considering the Bears are on the brink of the top 25 (receiving votes in both polls for the fifth time in six weeks) and battling for the Big 12 South title (half a game out of first right now), there’s no reason we can’t Pack the Case and even take off the tarp these next two games.

Saturday’s game continues a series that dates back to 1899 and includes plenty of memorable moments. In 1950, the Bears upset the 13th-ranked Aggies 27-20 at Homecoming in the midst of a streak that saw Baylor beat Texas A&M six times in seven years (with the seventh year being a tie). In 1956, the first sellout in Floyd Casey history saw the Bears and Aggies battle in a game Bear Bryant, then head coach at A&M, called “the bloodiest, meanest, most brutal game one of my teams was ever in.” In 1978, Baylor easily took down 12th-ranked Texas A&M 24-6.

Most recently, the Bears have won two of the last three games in Waco, including a dramatic overtime win in 2004 (remember this call?) and a nice 41-21 win two years ago. In that game, Robert Griffin III passed for 241 yards and two touchdowns and Jay Finley rushed for 116 yards and another score; I’d sure love to see those sorts of numbers again this weekend!

Already this morning some Aggie fans have been pushing online to fill Floyd Casey with maroon this Saturday; how about we keep the Case in a much prettier green and gold? Get your tickets now for the Bears’ final two home games. The Bears are 4-0 at home this year, and head coach Art Briles has been quick to credit the fans for giving Baylor a true home-field advantage. Let’s keep that going and send the Bears off to their bowl game in style (and with two more wins)!

Sic ’em, Bears!