1/3 Daily Bears Report: OSU Celebrates Fiesta Bowl With Perfect Class Move

Pretty thin morning on the Baylor front, the only Baylor action last night was the start to conference play in men's basketball, which Baylor won 61-52 in Waco over Texas A&M. Here are a few links to stories talking about that game and what it means for Baylor, which is now 14-0 on the season for the first time in school history.

• No. 5 Baylor skips past Texas A&M – USATODAY.com- Perry Jones III had 14 points with 12 rebounds and fifth-ranked Baylor remained undefeated Monday night.

• Baylor: The Outhouse to the Penthouse... | Upon Further Review

• No. 4 Baylor men beat A&M 61-52 in Big 12 opener - Houston Chronicle- WACO - Perry Jones III had 14 points with 12 rebounds and fourth-ranked Baylor remained undefeated with a 61-52 victory over Texas A&M in the Big 12 opener for both teams Monday night. The Bears (14-0) have started the season with the first 14-game winning streak in school history.

• The official site always does a great job with recaps and things after the game, including videos, and today is no exception. We really don't talk enough about how good our sports information/communications/whatever they're called have gotten. From Robert's Heisman campaign to the updates they've made to the official site, they are doing everything possible to make Baylor look as good as they can. Great job, guys and gals!

The larger story in the Big XII last night was Oklahoma State winning its first BCS bowl ever over Stanford in the Fiesta, giving them wins this season over Stanford, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M. You may disagree, but I don't think Alabama has a schedule that can compete with that. OSU has as good a case as any in the last few years for a split title, and they are probably the team that will finally lead to a +1 system in college football. We can only hope, I guess.

Beyond the game, though, I want to touch on what Coach Gundy of OSU did after the game that was one of the classiest moves I've ever seen. He first dedicated the Cowboys' victory to the four people that perished in the plane crash the day of OSU's Iowa State game, a crash that obviously deeply affected the OSU community, before bringing the OSU coach's wife, Shelley Budke, to the forefront to give her the trophy on the presentation dais itself. Whatever your thoughts on Gundy, that was a total class move. Bravo, Coach Gundy. You didn't have to do that.

• Oklahoma State wins Fiesta Bowl in overtime – USATODAY.com- No. 3 Oklahoma State needed overtime before it finally pulled ahead of No. 4 Stanford to win the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl 41-38.

• Some leftover thoughts from the Fiesta Bowl - Big 12 Blog - ESPN- GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Oklahoma State's season is over, and ended in rather dramatic fashion. Here's my take on the game from last night...

• OSU's emotional season finds a fitting end - Big 12 Blog - ESPN- GLENDALE, Ariz. -- With a finish as wild as that, it's a little hard to tell whether the tears stemmed from sadness or elation. For most of Oklahoma...

• Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy dedicates victory to Kurt Budke, others that died in plane crash | NewsOK.com - Here’s a look at what Oklahoma State and Stanford players and coaches had to say after the Cowboys’ 41-38 victory over the Cardinal...

The only remaining game on the 2011 slate for the Big XII is the Cotton Bowl between Kansas State and Arkansas, a game I am definitely looking forward to watching later this week. Through the Fiesta last night, the Big XII is now 6-1 in its bowl games and 33-4 in nonconference games this season as a whole. That's fairly impressive given the conference's OOC slate.

• Setting the stage for the Cotton Bowl - Big 12 Blog - ESPN- Monday night's Fiesta Bowl was fun, but it's time to move on.

Finally, for a little bit of Baylor-centric football news:

• Update: RG3 hasn't made his NFL decision yet - CBSSports.com - Glad you guys finally caught on. I will never understand why the original announcement "RG3 WILL DECLARE" caught on like wildfire, but the corrected story, which may even be more newsworthy in a way, didn't. There are still reputable news organizations reporting that he is definitely declaring for the draft and citing ESPN's "sources."

• Football Trio Invited to Senior Bowl - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com- A trio of student-athletes from Baylor's most successful football team in 31 years will represent the Bears in the 63rd annual Senior Bowl on Jan. 28 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. Philip Blake, Terrance Ganaway and Kendall Wright will play in the nation's top collegiate all-star game.

• Senior Bowl tabs three Baylor Bears - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

• Former Baylor teammate Phil Taylor says RGIII 'will be a good one' in NFL: Browns Insider | cleveland.com- Phil Taylor expects big things from former Baylor teammate Robert Griffin III in the NFL. Where the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback winds up is anyone's guess.

About the Senior Bowl, I'm not at all surprised that Blake and Ganaway will play to try to boost their draft stock, particularly Ganaway, but Wright caught me off guard a little bit. The only thing I can think of is that he knows his measurables (particularly his size) at the Combine might detract from his on-the-field performance, so he wants to get another chance to showcase his skills in a game environment. I'm excited that Ganaway got an invite, and I think he could be drafted in the later rounds, maybe 5-6? What do you guys think?