Baylor coach endures criticism

By KEVIN HASKIN

The Capital-Journal

Calls have poured into the Baylor football office since last Saturday, including several from well-known coaches, attempting to console first-year coach Kevin Steele.

"I had one coach tell me I had a better chance of winning the Texas lottery than having what happened happen, but it was a mistake and I regret it," Steele said.

What happened was Steele didn't instruct the Bears to take a knee on the final play of their game against Nevada-Las Vegas. Instead, Darrel Bush took a handoff from the UNLV 8 looking for paydirt. He fumbled and Kevin Thomas recovered for the Rebels, then sprinted 99 yards to give the Rebels a stunning 27-24 victory and leave the Bears 0-2.

"I'm trying to create a situation where the kids are more aggressive and trying to push this thing to where we can be able to line up and score when we need to," Steele rationalized.

Yet the new coach has been left with more critics in Waco than Janet Reno. Few, however, are among his new colleagues in the Big 12, most of whom were asked about Baylor's disheartening finish during the conference's media briefings on Monday.

"It would have been politically correct yesterday for me to have said they should have taken a knee, and everybody in the country would want their coaches to say that," said Mack Brown of Texas. "What I know is Kevin is a good football coach and did what was in his team's best interest. Now, he'll probably take a knee next time."

Steele, a former Nebraska assistant who came to Baylor after coaching for the Carolina Panthers the past four years, is convinced the Bears can regroup from the late blow as they prepare for their conference opener this Saturday at Oklahoma. He has advised his team to tune out the critics.

"The nicest thing I heard was, 'I love you,' from my wife, and I think that was the only one who said that," Steele said. "I don't listen to the radio, watch TV or read the papers, so I really don't know what else was said, but the people who attack you after something like that are the same people who attacked coach (Tom) Osborne at Nebraska when he was 12-1 for the only one he lost."

Quick kicks

> First-year coach Gary Barnett already has been apprised of Colorado's stunning 33-17 loss to Kansas a year ago entering a 2:30 p.m. meeting with the Jayhawks on Saturday. "I know last year our team was completely embarrassed," Barnett said.

> In addition to the attendance record set at Kansas State after the expansion on the east side of KSU Stadium, a record was set at Nebraska, where 77,617 filed in to watch the Huskers whip Cal. The old mark was 76,663, set in 1987 against Oklahoma. OU enjoyed its first opening game sellout since 1988, while Iowa State drew its largest crowd (50,402) since Trice Stadium was reconfigured in 1996.

--- The Associated Press

Cont. on page 5-D, col. 6

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