Baylor ditches the tarp for OU, Texas home games

It’s a sad day for (fake) Dan Beebe: The Baylor tarp is no more.

With the Bears enjoying their highest AP ranking since 1953, the infamous south end zone tarp at Floyd Casey Stadium was removed this week to create additional seating for Baylor’s final two home games.

Not coincidentally, those three games are against Oklahoma (Nov. 7), Texas (Dec. 7). If Baylor has any hope of a BCS Championship -- let along a Big 12 title -- they’ll have to win those games, and also beat Texas Tech in Dallas Nov. 16 and Oklahoma State on the road Nov. 23. Baylor also gets TCU away from home on Nov. 30 in Fort Worth.

This is Baylor’s final season at Floyd Casey Stadium, and removing the tarp presumably would open the door for a pair of 50,000-plus crowds -- something only seen six times in the stadium’s history. The last crowd that large came in 2006, when high demand led Baylor to remove the south end zone tarp for a game against Texas A&M that drew a stadium-record 51,385.

Baylor’s new stadium doesn’t have room for a tarp, it would appear (in fact, the stadium looks incredibly nice).

A few photos of the newly tarp-free stands:

The south end zone tarp coming down at Baylor’s Floyd Casey Stadium. pic.twitter.com/CP6HANW98E

— Jay F. Hicks (@jayfhicks) October 31, 2013

Photo: Uncovering the Bear! This tarp is toast!!! Come see for yourself next week! #baylor #sicem... http://t.co/oWeiDJpRUa

— Baylor Photography (@BaylorPhotos) October 31, 2013

Of course, the news didn’t sit well with noted tarp supporter Fake Dan Beebe:

#SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP #SAVETHETARP

— Fake Dan Beebe (@DanBeebe) October 30, 2013