Baldwin — One week after a hard-to-swallow overtime loss, it's business as usual in Baker University's football camp.
The Wildcats, who dropped a 20-13 heartbreaker to No. 10-ranked Southwestern last Saturday, now gear for No. 11-rated Lindenwood today in St. Charles, Mo.
Kickoff for the Heart of America Conference opener is set for 7:30 p.m at Hunter Stadium.
"I don't think it's going to affect us in any way, whatsoever," BU coach John Frangouis said of last week's emotional setback.
His team dropped a 35-13 decision to Lindenwood last season at Liston Stadium.
"I think our team knows that if we let a loss carry over into the next week, then we're going to get beat again. We have to bounce back, and from what I've seen in practice over the last week, our guys have already done that. Things have just been tremendous."
In Lindenwood, the Wildcats will face a team that was picked to finish second in the preseason coaches' poll -- one slot above Baker. The Lions return 18 starters an 8-3 team that advancing to the first round of the NAIA playoffs last season.
Returnees include running back Marceo Haywood, last week's offensive player of the week in the HAAC, plus first-team all-America offensive tackle Ryan Silch.
"I'm sure that they're thinking this could be their year," Frangoulis said of the Lions, who finished second in the HAAC last season and defeated Culver-Stockton, 30-8.
"But it's always a tough road to make it through a conference schedule. I canÃ-t think of the last time a team finished the regular season with an undefeated conference record."
The Lions enter the 1999 season with a major hole to fill in their lineup -- the quarterback position. Gone from last season is signal-caller Max Brown, who holds most of the passing records at Lindenwood after starting at the position for four years. Last season, under Brown's leadership, the Lions averaged 33.1 points and 415 yards per game.
"I'm sure theyÃ-ll have somebody good back there," Frangoulis said. "Although anytime you lose a four-year starter, you're definitely going to miss him."
As far as Baker is concerned, Frangoulis doesn't see much that needs fixing, despite last week's loss.
"For a first game, there wasn't much I could be upset about," Frangoulis said. "We had the No. 10-team in the nation on the ropes for a whole ballgame. Our guys just played with a lot of intensity and excitement throughout the game."
Frangoulis did say he would like to see BU's passing game improve today. Last week, a handful of dropped passes cost the Wildcats.
"We had at least six balls that were dropped that should have been caught," Frangoulis said. "I think a lot of it was just first-game jitters. These guys we put on the field want very badly to do well, and they put a lot of pressure on themselves. That, combined with a lack of experience, probably had a lot to do with that."
Following the Lindenwood game, Baker will return to Baldwin next week to host Graceland College in its homecoming game. Kickoff is that 2 p.m. Liston Stadium.
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