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Three players, three paths, one mission. That’s how junior running back Lache Seastrunk, senior tight end Jordan Najvar and senior cornerback Demetri Goodson look at it.

Seastrunk, Najvar and Goodson play in different positions, but their common denominator is that they are native Texans who decided to go to West Coast schools and ended up transferring to Baylor so they could be back in Texas.

Coming off a tough loss against Iowa State, Baylor volleyball will have to regroup for a nationally televised midweek tilt against the defending national champion No. 4 University of Texas. Baylor comes into this match with a record of 8-9, while UT comes in 8-2, including winning all six sets so far in the Big 12.

Baylor exploded into Big 12 play after winning six of the last eight non-conference matches to push back up to .500 for the season at 8-8. The momentum was halted in a tough straight set loss to No. 25 Iowa State in Ames last Saturday.

When you watch a Baylor football game, it’s impossible to ignore the incredible speed of the offense. The offense has posted huge numbers, averaging 69.7 points per game on the season. The engine behind the success is the offensive line.

Baylor has arguably one of the best offensive lines in all of football, boasting almost 1,600 pounds of total manpower. In fact, the only everyday starting offensive lineman under 315 pounds is senior center Stefan Huber, who weighs “only” 295 pounds. To compare, the University of Texas has one lineman over 315 pounds, and total their line weighs about 50 pounds less.

Baylor volleyball began Big 12 conference play with a straight-set rout at the hands of No. 25 Iowa State in Ames. The Bears lost 25-14, 25-19, 25-17 in front of a crowd of 2,555 to fall to 8-9 on the season and 0-1 in Big 12 play.

Sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones was the bright spot for Baylor on an otherwise tough day. She finished with 10 kills on a .348 hitting percentage. Other than Jones, senior outside hitter Zoe Adom finished with nine kills. No other player had over five. For the match, Baylor had a hitting percentage of .198.

Baylor football enjoyed a day off on Saturday, but their bye week was used to shift attention to its Big 12 Conference opener against West Virginia University.

In the first three games, Baylor’s defense has not been truly tested, but they face their first genuine test against West Virginia, senior safety Ahmad Dixon said.

“Buffalo had a lot of a passing game, but that was the only team that we had been tested by before,” said Dixon.

Class from 8 a.m. until noon. Lunch. Then practice and rehab. Practice for four hours. Go home, eat and study. Try to be in bed by midnight.

Acrobatics and tumbling senior, Ginger Plemmons balances all of the above exceedingly well. She manages to stay focused on the mat and carries a 3.86 GPA.

“Well, I don’t get that much sleep. I mean you just have to stay motivated to succeed at both,” Plemmons said. “So I just study in between practice or really late at night. Whenever I have time really.”

After Seattle rallied for an overtime win against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Pete Carroll joked that halftime was the best thing that happened to his team.
Well, half-joked.

The Seahawks shook off a terrible first half in which they trailed by 17 points to rally for the 23-20 victory to improve to 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.

No. 16 Baylor soccer got mixed results this weekend when a 4-3 loss to No. 22 West Virginia on Sunday halted its 31-game unbeaten streak after a close 1-0 win against Oklahoma on Friday.

Oklahoma (3-7-1) gave Baylor all it could handle by staying aggressive on offense and fighting for possession. Oklahoma started the game slow, but picked up in the second half, taking six of its seven shots in that period.

Baylor head coach Art Briles said on Monday that he knew of senior safety Ahmad Dixon’s legal woes prior to the Sept. 21 ULM game. Dixon fully participated in the ULM game before suffering an injury.

Dixon, 22, was arrested Thursday and charged with a Class A misdemeanor assault, according to Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton of the Waco Police Department.

Despite being overshadowed by Baylor’s team defense, junior goalkeeper Michelle Kloss is making strides toward becoming an elite goalie.

With her team behind her, Kloss pursues her passions on and off the field. As a health science major, physical fitness is a big part of life. Growing up, she participated in many sports, but soccer always called her name.

TCU (1-2) vs. SMU (1-2)

The Horned Frogs have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball, ranking outside the top 50 in passing yards, rushing yards, points for, points against and total defense.

Luckily for TCU, this may be the game to turn things around. SMU is coming off a big loss to No. 10 Texas A&M in College Station. SMU barely sneaked by in a win against FCS opponent Montana State.

After a disastrous 2-6 start to the 2013 season, Baylor volleyball has won six out of its last eight matches in non-conference play to pull back to .500 on the season.

“Because of our slow start, a lot of people wouldn’t have thought we would get back to .500,” head volleyball coach Jim Barnes said. “This is a young team that has had to learn a lot. This has been the most dynamic young season I’ve ever seen as a coach because we’ve had so much change.”

Baylor volleyball won their last non-conference match of the year against University of Texas at San Antonio. The Bears won the match 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 24-26, 25-20). With the win, the Bears moved to 8-8 on the season heading into Big 12 conference play and are at .500 for the first time this season.

Junior middle hitter Nicole Bardaji led Baylor with 16 kills and five blocks on a .243 hitting percentage. Bardaji hit double-digit kills for the first time on Saturday, and has now done it three straight times. Over those three matches, she is averaging 15.0 kills and 4.0 total blocks per match on a .303 hitting percentage.

Baylor junior wide receiver Antwan Goodley was one of six receivers added to the Biletnikoff award watch list after a stellar start to the season. Goodley joins fellow teammate senior wide receiver Tevin Reese as one of two Baylor representatives on the watch list.

The Fred Biletnikoff Award is given yearly to the “nation’s outstanding college football receiver” by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation Inc. Former Baylor receiver Terrance Williams was a finalist for the award last year and receiver Kendall Wright was a semifinalist the year before.

As he cuts through a barricade of defenders with his sole purpose being to give the offense a spark, junior Lache Seastrunk is more than just an average running back.

Seastrunk has averaged 139 yards a game this season and holds the nation’s longest consecutive 100–yard game streak at seven games, but his personality is equally as dynamic as his game.

Baylor volleyball won its last non-conference match prior to Big 12 Conference play against University of Texas-San Antonio on Tuesday. The Bears won the match 3-1, (25-17, 26-24, 24-26, 25-20).

With the win, the Bears moved to 8-8 on the season heading into Big 12 conference play.

The No. 19 Baylor Bears (3-0) are undefeated on the season and generating buzz nationally with gaudy offensive statistics after a 70-7 blowout victory against the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium.

“We’ve had three home games,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. “We’ve taken advantage of being home, and we’ve got good people. We have a good football team. If you combine those factors, it’s people making plays on both sides of the ball. We’ve got to keep playing at a high rate and win. That’s the bottom line.”

Baylor volleyball went 2-1 in the Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup hosted at the University of Houston on Friday and Saturday with wins over North Texas and Houston, as well as a five-set loss to Louisiana State. After the tournament, Baylor sits with a record of 7-8 with one match left against UT-San Antonio before Big 12 conference play.

Baylor played Louisiana State to begin the tournament. Despite starting the match up 2-0, Baylor dropped the next three sets to lose overall 3-2. The sets were 28-26, 25-18, 16-25, 18-25 and 8-15.

No. 11 Baylor extended its 30-game unbeaten streak with a 2-0 over Boise State on Sunday. The Bears (7-0-2) also had a game scheduled on Friday night against UNT, but it was canceled because of the overwhelming rain in Waco.

“You kind of get in a groove of Friday, Sunday games,“ Baylor co-head coach Marci Jobson said. “You get a little bit worried when you don’t play on a Friday because the kids [players] are going to come out a little flat.”

The Baylor Bears defeated the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 70-7 on Saturday night at Floyd Casey Stadium.

“We’ve had three home games,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said. “We’ve taken advantage of being home and we’ve got good people. We have a good football team. If you combine those factors it’s people making plays on both sides of the ball. We’ve got to keep playing at a high rate and win. That’s the bottom line.”

After defeating ULM narrowly last season in Monroe 47-42, the Bears left no doubt against the Warhawks this season by overwhelming the opponent both offensively and defensively.

The Baylor Bears are leading University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 49-7 at the half at Floyd Casey Stadium.

After the Baylor defense stifled the ULM offense on fourth down, the Bears offense took over with the ball with 10:38 to play in the first quarter.

21 seconds later, the Bears were in the end zone with a three play, 82-yard drive accentuated by junior receiver Antwan Goodley’s 63-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Bryce Petty.

No. 20 Baylor football hosts its final non-conference game of the year against a familiar opponent in the University of Louisiana at Monroe at 3 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium Saturday. The Bears look to post a more impressive showing against ULM after squeaking out a 47-42 shootout win last season. Even in the hostile setting of Monroe, the Baylor win was a little too close for comfort.

Baylor comes into the game against ULM on a hot streak. The Bears have not lost a game since Nov. 10, 2012, against Oklahoma. Since that game, the Bears have won six straight games.

Kansas (1-1) vs. Louisiana Tech (1-2)

So far this season, the Kansas Jayhawks have been decidedly poor. After taking care of business against a bad South Dakota team, Kansas was soundly defeated by Rice a week later. While Rice is not a bad team, it is not the type of team that should be beating Big 12 opponents. Kansas has struggled mightily throwing the ball with 140.0 passing yards a game.

The Dallas Cowboys still see DeMarco Murray as the back who altered the future of their running game with a record-setting day against St. Louis two years ago.

They don’t see him as a back who hasn’t had a 100-yard game in more than a year and can’t seem to invigorate a rushing attack probably best described as stale.

Baylor volleyball is in Houston for this weekend’s Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup at the University of Houston. The Bears come into this tournament after their first road win of the season against Rice University on Wednesday night.

Baylor volleyball sits with a record of 5-7 heading into the weekend. Zoe Adom has led the Bears with 144 kills and 3.35 kills per set average. Sophomore outside hitter Thea Munch-Soegaard has contributed with 2.65 kills per set and 2.58 digs per set. Sophomore setter Amy Rosenbaum has 10.00 sets per set average.

It’s another battle for No. 9 Baylor soccer versus North Texas at 7 p.m. today and Boise State at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“North Texas is extremely athletic,” Baylor co-head coach Marci Jobson said. “They’re fighters, and they’re very good at their style of play, which is similar to ours. They’re on kind of a hot roll this year. This is probably the toughest North Texas team I’ve seen, so it’s going to be a really good game.”

The Houston Texans have grown accustomed to watching star receiver Andre Johnson make spectacular grabs.

Just two games into his NFL career, the Texans are already beginning to expect equally dazzling catches from DeAndre Hopkins.

“I always read Psalms 18 before I go out and race,” junior cross country runner Rachel Johnson said. “It talks about God giving us strength. It’s a really good thing to read, I think, just to get focused and just see that I should be running for God and not myself.”

Call it superstition, luck or simply faith, Johnson’s ritual of preparing for a meet has worked.

Over the offseason, Baylor tweaked the positions of senior safety Ahmad Dixon and senior nickelback Sam Holl in an effort to improve the Bears’ defense throughout the 2013 season.

Dixon, formerly a nickelback, moved to safety in the spring. The move to safety allows Dixon to play in more space and utilize his exceptional speed to track passes in the air and run down opponents.

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. No. 9 Baylor soccer puts extra emphasis on its stout backline. The defense is the bread and butter of the team and a central reason why Baylor has a 29-game unbeaten streak.

Baylor co-head coach Marci Jobson prides herself on implementing her system of team defense. With the extra emphasis put on that position, having a strong backline is vital to the Bears success.

“I feel good,” Jobson said. “They are playing solid. They’re playing tough and they’re going to have to definitely bring that on Friday.”