National honors for Baylor, RG3 follow TCU win as Bears jump into AP Top 20
The Bears’ win over TCU five days ago clearly boosted the Baylor name into the national spotlight.
Most obviously, it propelled Baylor from receiving exactly zero preseason votes in the preseason polls all the way to No. 20 in week two’s AP Top 25. That’s a big jump, folks. No team has gone from zero preseason votes to the AP Top 20 in one week since at least 1989; in fact, the last verified instance I find was 1976, though records are surprisingly spotty before 1990. Baylor was also named the Fiesta Bowl National Team of the Week.
After passing for 359 yards and five touchdowns against what had been the nation’s No. 1 defense three straight years, Robert Griffin III was the focus of the individual honors this week. He was named the National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Rivals.com, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (alongside teammate Aaron Jones, the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week), the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week, and one of four finalists for won voting for both the Capital One Cup Performance of the Week and AT&T All-America Player of the Week.
The attention also propelled Griffin to the forefront of early Heisman Trophy discussions. He was interviewed live on the ESPN College GameDay set, where host Chris Fowler called RG3 “a great ambassador for Baylor” (see a wrap-up here). Experts from Sports Illustrated to CBS Sports to HeismanPundit.com (and even ESPN’s Erin Andrews) made the case for Griffin’s Heisman candidacy.
Those commendations will fit in nicely on Baylor’s official “Robert Griffin III for Heisman” website, bu-rg3.com, which launched last week. It, too, has received some nice reviews from the national media, showcasing not only Griffin’s on-field talents via statistics and video, but also his off-the-field accomplishments in the classroom and in the community. (You can also show your support via the official “RG3 for Heisman” Facebook page.)
What a week! Remember, the Bears have the week off this Saturday, but you can still show your Baylor pride for Green and Gold Friday. And of course, make your plans and get your tickets now for Baylor’s next two home games, Sept. 17 vs. SFA and Sept. 24 vs. Rice.
Sic ’em, Baylor football and RG3!
[P.S. Also, don’t forget to start voting Griffin for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Award! Fans can vote once each day; as I write this, RG3 is in third place behind the QBs for Boise State and Mississippi State. So get to work!]