Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas

by Nick Eatman

  With two games to play, McCullough tried to balance the present and the future. There were some players on the junior varsity and freshman teams who were being considered for promotion up to varsity by the coaches.

  “But the main focus is our seniors,” McCullough said that week. “We’ve got a bunch of seniors who have done everything we’ve asked of them for four years. They’ve got two games left, and we’re going to make sure we do everything we can to send them off the right way.”

  And by saying that, what might have been a week to catch their breath, turned into just another week in the grind … without the game, of course.

  Saturday

  The figurative dark cloud that hung over the football program just before the start of the season seemed to be slowly fading away. Even with the ongoing Pepper Hamilton investigators coming and going from time to time with sporadic interviews and requests, the public focus was certainly shifting away from those storylines and more onto the field of play, which so far was flawless. With an undefeated 6–0 record, things had literally brightened up for the Bears—as in nothing but sunshine.

  Five of the six games began with clear skies and few clouds. The lone exception was an indoor matchup against Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium, where the windows in both end zones even allowed some sunrays to flood the field during the second half.

  But all of that came to a sloshy end against Iowa State. Not only did the rain come down, it never stopped on this Saturday, the Waco area totaling nine inches in a 24-hour span. To make matters worse, the rain was a slippery sign of foreshadowing that would follow the Baylor team for the remainder of the season.

  For starters, the rain completely washed away the majority of Baylor’s homecoming activities, including the annual parade, a 25-block march through the downtown streets of Waco that began in 1909. The Friday night bonfire was also cancelled with the pep rally moved indoors to the Waco Convention Center.

  Local weather reports were predicting “substantial” rainfall beginning that Friday night and continuing all day Saturday, and on this occasion, the meteorologists couldn’t have been more on point.

  While there was some discussion between the schools and the Big 12 conference about moving the game to later in the day on Saturday, the notion was dismissed because of television scheduling. The game was set for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN, and the number-two-ranked Bears were too big of a draw now to shuffle the deck around.

  One person who wouldn’t have minded a later start was Baylor passing game coordinator, Jeff Lebby, who lived about twenty-five minutes from the school on the outskirts of Waco. His route to the city included more than a few flooded streets that even his three-quarter-ton Dodge diesel pickup had trouble navigating.

  On his way to pick up Kendal Briles—a tradition for home games—Lebby called him to not only explain why it was taking a bit longer, but also for some advice on how to maneuver through the standing water on the road to Briles’ house.

  “He said, ‘Throw it in four-wheel drive and just stay on the phone with me,’ ” Lebby recalled. “So I drive it all the way to the right side, which should be the most shallow part of the road, and it ends up throwing me all the way to the left bank of the road. But I managed to get out of that and then ended up picking up Kendal. What usually took me eight minutes to get him, took me twenty-four.”

  By then, they knew they were going to be late for their 7 a.m. game-day meeting. Art Briles, who was understanding during events such as these, told them both to simply be careful and make it in safely.

  When they arrived at the school, though, both realized that Lebby’s truck didn’t go completely unscathed as his front license plate was ripped off and hanging by just one screw—perhaps another case of foreshadowing for the day.

  Once the players arrived at the stadium, it was determined that All–Big 12 defensive tackle Andrew Billings would not be able to play after battling a high-ankle sprain suffered the week before. Billings spent the first three days in a walking boot before switching to a protective shoe brace on Wednesday. Art Briles had reiterated all week that Baylor’s being favored by as much as thirty-seven points over the Cyclones had no bearing on the decision not to play Billings, nor did the upcoming bye week that would follow this game.

  “We don’t think past Saturday,” Briles said. “If he can go, he’ll go. But right now, he’s very limited.”

  When Saturday rolled around, Billings was far from being 100 percent and the rain, along with the slippery turf, wasn’t a good combination to risk playing him. After a couple of minutes on the field with his teammates, he quickly went to the locker room, looking for the biggest rain suit the Baylor equipment staff could provide. He knew that would be his uniform for the day.

  For those who were playing, the pregame warm-ups at least gave both teams an idea of what was in store. Several of the defensive backs went back inside to the locker room to switch shoes after slipping and sliding on the turf. Footing was an issue for everyone, while catching the ball was even tougher for the receivers.

  Freshman Ishmael Zamora, a backup receiver who looks more like a defensive end with his 6–4, 220-pound frame, was a player that the coaching staff believed could be one of the next great receivers in a program that has been self-proclaimed as “Wide Receiver U.” The coaches loved his freakish skill set, but just six games into his playing career, Zamora was still trying to figure out his role within the offense. But on this day, he was just trying to figure out how to catch the ball in a monsoon.

  Zamora came out for the warm-ups wearing his standard Nike receiver gloves, but it wasn’t long before he switched them out for a different pair with more adhesiveness in the palms. He found out that was even worse in the rain, so took the gloves off completely and finished his pregame routine by catching passes with his bare hands, albeit constantly drying them off on a towel, which, of course, wasn’t so dry itself.

  But as the Bears prepared to receive the opening kickoff, featuring Zamora as one of the two returners, he couldn’t help himself. He broke the special-teams huddle and went looking for his gloves again, quickly putting them on before rushing onto the field. As it turned out, Zamora wouldn’t catch a pass all afternoon, despite three targeted in his direction.

  In the stands, the school’s marketing plan for a Green & Gold “Stripe Out” was taking a huge hit. What has become a popular one-game promotion each year has fans wearing the two colors in alternating sections to create a dynamic “striped” stadium visual.

  T-shirts and jackets are rather easy to find around Waco in both green and gold. However, ponchos and raingear are a different story. While there were some fans who tried to cooperate and wear the appropriate color, others just made sure they stayed dry in the midst of the torrential downpour.

  Far from a sellout crowd, the attendance of 45,512 was better than expected, and the student section was in full force with many of the exuberant young fans reveling in the rain. And early on, the fans had plenty to get excited about.

  After scoring a touchdown on its opening drive in the first six games, Baylor had to work to extend the streak to seven. Quarterback Seth Russell was nearly intercepted twice, including one that easily would’ve been returned for a touchdown. Instead, the potential turnover was dropped by the Cyclones’ cornerback. On the next play, Russell went right back to that side and hit Corey Coleman for a 33-yard touchdown, the ball just fluttering through the rain and right into the wide receiver’s stomach as he fell backward in the end zone.

  The drive wasn’t pretty, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone on the Bears’ sideline.

  “Let’s win ugly!” strength coach Kaz Kazadi screamed to his players as Baylor prepared for its first kickoff. “Anyone can win when it’s pretty. Let’s win when it’s ugly.”

  That’s what the Bears proceeded to do, steamrolling the Cyclones in one of their fastest starts to a
game all season. With Russell running and passing, and running back Shock Linwood juking and jiving, the offense had built a 35–0 lead midway through the second quarter.

  While Baylor was having little trouble with the downpour, Iowa State had all sorts of problems with fumbles and dropped passes left and right. The Cyclones were sliding around on defense and continuously missing tackles.

  But they did find some momentum after a 42-yard run by Joshua Thomas set up Iowa State’s first touchdown. That entire drive featured several runs up the middle, as the Cyclones seemed to find a spark rushing inside, especially with Billings not in the game.

  In fact, the Bears had to use Trevor Clemons-Valdez at defensive tackle, a position he had played the previous three seasons before agreeing to give up his scholarship and become a defensive intern. With a need at tight end, Clemons-Valdez rejoined the team in late September to help the offense, but now he was back in the rotation on the defensive side of the ball. Needless to say, he certainly wasn’t able to fill the void left by Billings, one of Baylor’s strongest players.

  Trailing 35–7, Iowa State continued to rally in the second half. The Cyclones not only moved the ball on offense, but also figured out a way to slow down the Bears as well. Baylor was shut out in the third quarter and didn’t score in the fourth until the team, leading 35–20, managed to get down inside the Iowa State 30-yard line with just more than five minutes remaining.

  When it was 35–0, offensive stars such as Russell and Coleman never dreamed the Cyclones would still be in the game at this point. But now up by just two scores, Baylor needed to convert a third-and-5 at the 21-yard line to push the lead back over twenty.

  On the ensuing play, Russell faked an inside handoff and kept the ball in an attempt to get around the corner, but was met by two defenders. Knowing he needed to reach the 16-yard line to move the sticks, he lowered his head and collided with Iowa State cornerback Jomal Wiltz. Russell was wrapped up and stopped a few inches short of the first down.

  Usually, on fourth-and-1 at any spot on the field, the offensive players get up and motion toward the sideline to go for the first down. In fact, center Kyle Fuller and running back Devin Chafin did just that, expressing their desire to run another play. However, Briles saw something else that immediately got his attention.

  “Seth was calling a timeout,” Briles said. “He would never do that. But he was looking over at us and trying to call a timeout. I knew something wasn’t right.”

  When Russell got to the sideline, he didn’t have to say anything specific. The coaches and trainers just knew the quarterback was hurting, even before he told them that he had a sharp pain in his neck.

  “If you look at a guy’s eyes, you can see how serious it is,” Briles said. “He was concerned. Nobody knows a body better than yourself. He knew something wasn’t right.”

  Indeed, Russell knew. He went to the sideline and was surrounded by a handful of medical personnel who were asking him all sorts of questions. Not only were they testing him for a possible concussion, they were also trying to figure out specifically where the pain was.

  Meanwhile, Baylor kicked a field goal, making it a three-score advantage and getting the ball back moments later after a fumble. Freshman quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who was telling bystanders just a few minutes earlier that the game was starting to appear like it would be his first not to play, was now thrown into action yet again. And he showed some playmaking and improvisational skills, buying some time with a rollout before finding Coleman in the end zone for a touchdown.

  The score was the thirty-first of Coleman’s career, which surpassed four-year standout Kendall Wright to set a new Baylor record. Coleman, who was already generating buzz about leaving early for the NFL, was still midway through his junior season.

  Thanks to Coleman’s record-setting touchdown, it was looking like a blowout again with Baylor now up 45–20. The Cyclones did respond with a late touchdown, but the Bears still enjoyed a 45–27 victory.

  Coach Briles didn’t care so much about the final score. In fact, deep down he knew his team needed a “grinding” game like this, especially considering the average winning margin of the previous six wins was thirty-nine points. What did concern him, though, was the health of his quarterback.

  For a while, he did a good job of hiding it. The postgame celebration was normal, with Briles doing his usual chant where he rhetorically asks his players, “Whose house?”

  “Our house!” They chant in unison.

  “I said, whose house?”

  “Our house!”

  “Whose house?”

  “Our house!”

  “I said, whooooooose house?” Briles howled, showing he could still reach a high-pitched decibel when he wanted to.

  “Our house!!!” the players responded one last time before the entire locker room erupted with another raucous cheer.

  Business as usual it seemed, but inside Briles knew his starting quarterback was hurting. In the postgame press conference, it took three minutes before there was any question from the media about Russell’s neck. Briles said that Russell would be evaluated over the next few days, and then answered a follow-up question with a nervous chuckle, saying, “We’re always concerned about a player’s health.”

  A few minutes later, a longtime local radio reporter, David Smoak, one of the featured hosts at the ESPN affiliate in Waco, pressed Briles specifically on the matter.

  “If the game was on the line, would he have continued to be able to play today?” asked Smoak.

  “No … no,” Briles said with a deafening pause. “And, the game is always on the line, but no.”

  Some of the media members in the room caught it. Others didn’t. The ones reading between the lines raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. Now they were catching on to what the head coach and a just few others already knew.

  Something was really wrong with Seth Russell. And at this point in the season, that seemed to be about the only thing that could slow down the Bears, who were starting to look every bit the part of being one of the best teams in the country.

  Sunday

  When it comes to traveling for road trips, every coach stresses the importance of keeping a routine.

  Even if the bus rides are longer from one place to another, or there is a shorter flight for this game than the last, at least the players and coaches have a general idea of what to expect in terms of the process each week of packing up a football team and heading out on the road.

  In high school and college, sticking with the schedule is vital, considering the players are still classified as student-athletes. When they’re not playing football, they’re attending classes and studying to maintain their grades.

  In the NFL, there is more flexibility with their schedules simply because these players are now getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, and some in the millions, to play this kid’s game. Plus, they’re also adults who should be able to adjust to whatever is thrown their way.

  With the Cowboys coming off a bye week and staring a three-game losing streak in the face, head coach Jason Garrett tossed them a curveball a few days before returning to the field.

  For as long as any player, coach, or staff member could recall, the Cowboys have always traveled just one day before a road game, staying the night at the team hotel and then returning home immediately following the game.

  But when you play for the Dallas Cowboys, you have to be ready for all kinds of schedule changes, some of which are expected, such as playing on Thanksgiving just four days after the previous Sunday. Altering the schedule is a common occurrence for the Cowboys, so Garrett didn’t feel as if this change would be too drastic. Plus, he thought it was definitely worth any inconvenience.

  Instead of sending his team to New York on Saturday as is the regular routine, he decided to take the entire squad up
a day earlier and have them visit the One World Observatory on the top floors of the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, which opened earlier in the year to honor the victims and families affected by the horrific tragedy of September 11, 2001.

  Garrett and his wife, Brill, who were living in New York at the time of 9–11, visited the memorial during the off-season, and he knew instantly that he had to figure out a way to take his team there.

  So, much like he did a few months earlier at the end of training camp, Garrett tried to keep the switch in routine as low-key as possible, only telling the operations crew of the plan. As expected, however, word eventually got out and by Tuesday of that week, everyone in the team’s travel party seemed to know of the early departure time.

  The Cowboys had quite an adventure just getting to the airport on that Friday, as a heavy downpour continued to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The rain had been a factor all week, forcing the team to move its practice to a local high school that had an indoor facility.

  At one time, the Cowboys did have a tension structure that allowed for indoor workouts, but the building collapsed in 2009 during a strong storm in the middle of a May practice, severely injuring a couple of staff members, including current scout Rich Behm, who had been paralyzed from the waist down since the accident. Instead of rebuilding, the Cowboys chose to either use their stadium in Arlington or just find a local high school in the area when the need arose to practice indoors.

  Longtime equipment staffer, Bucky Buchanan, also serves as the team’s unofficial meteorologist and will keep Garrett up to speed on the forecasts. On this day, he told the head coach that the weather would hold off in time to get in a practice outside at Valley Ranch before they headed to the airport. But the storm was much stronger than anticipated and just before the start of the workout, rain was coming down in buckets. By then, the Cowboys had already cancelled the buses that would’ve taken them to a practice facility nearby, so the new plan forced the players to carpool and drive themselves over to Coppell High School, which was about nine minutes away.