Seemed like we should have a thread for stuff like this:

1) Rice's 2015 Football Poster was ranked 5th in the Top 50 by Bleacher Report's Brian Pedersen.

Brian Pedersen Wrote:Try to unsee the giant owl that's staring out from this poster. Just try.

Rice's mascot isn't the biggest image on this sign, but it's certainly the most striking. It's piercing gaze is mesmerizing, and you really have to fight hard to break free from its scrutiny to check out the rest of what's going on here.

Many schools stick with just their school colors on posters, but few do it better than Rice. The deep blue bleeds from all corners of the poster in dynamic fashion, making each of the players stand out. Oddly, though, the Owls use that color to list their road games on the schedule portion rather than go with white for the away contests.

We'd be more critical of that, but that might upset the owl. We wouldn't want that.

The only ones he liked better were those from Texas State, Central Michigan, West Virginia & Wyoming. Hmmm.

2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

(08-22-2014 04:26 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

Laughable. Hawai'i, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were all 1-11 last season, while Connecticut was 3-9. To think that Hawai'i has a better chance of beating Washington than Rice has of beating Notre Dame is lunacy.

(08-22-2014 08:00 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-22-2014 04:26 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

Laughable. Hawai'i, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were all 1-11 last season, while Connecticut was 3-9. To think that Hawai'i has a better chance of beating Washington than Rice has of beating Notre Dame is lunacy.

Hmmm ... maybe a Rice win over Notre Dame wouldn't be as much of an upset as Hawai'i, Western Michigan or Massachusetts beating their first week opponents (assuming you're using 2013 records as the barometer)?

The betting public doesn't agree. Hawaii is +15.5, Rice is +21.

(08-22-2014 08:00 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-22-2014 04:26 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

Laughable. Hawai'i, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were all 1-11 last season, while Connecticut was 3-9. To think that Hawai'i has a better chance of beating Washington than Rice has of beating Notre Dame is lunacy.

Hawaii is at home, as well.

(08-23-2014 04:59 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The betting public doesn't agree. Hawaii is +15.5, Rice is +21.

the betting public is usually about 50% wrong.

(08-23-2014 06:10 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-23-2014 04:59 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The betting public doesn't agree. Hawaii is +15.5, Rice is +21.

the betting public is usually about 50% wrong.

True. And?

(08-23-2014 06:32 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(08-23-2014 06:10 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-23-2014 04:59 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The betting public doesn't agree. Hawaii is +15.5, Rice is +21.

the betting public is usually about 50% wrong.

True. And?

No and.

4 things Irish need to know about Rice
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21776...about-rice

(08-29-2014 10:04 AM)dragon2owl Wrote:  4 things Irish need to know about Rice
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/21776...about-rice

Not sure "scamper" is a word I associate with Charles Ross, but other than that, a pretty good piece of work.

Good morning. ICYMI, we've set up a Storify for tomorrow's game. Already populating with tweets, pics, etc. Here's what we (Public Affairs) is pushing today. Follow @RiceFootball1 for Notre Dame game coverage. Tag your posts w/ #RiceND14 and check out our Storify ow.ly/AR69h

Go Owls.

(08-23-2014 06:32 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  

(08-23-2014 06:10 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-23-2014 04:59 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  The betting public doesn't agree. Hawaii is +15.5, Rice is +21.

the betting public is usually about 50% wrong.

True. And?

... and, you can bet on that.

(08-22-2014 08:00 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-22-2014 04:26 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

Laughable. Hawai'i, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were all 1-11 last season, while Connecticut was 3-9. To think that Hawai'i has a better chance of beating Washington than Rice has of beating Notre Dame is lunacy.

Hawaii lost 17-16.

(09-01-2014 02:45 PM)At Ease Wrote:  

(08-22-2014 08:00 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-22-2014 04:26 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  2) On the other hand, the Owls will NOT have the pressure of being among the top 10 College Teams with the Best Chance to Pull a Week 1 Upset.

Those would be:

• Boise State @Ole Miss
• @UConn v BYU
• @Hawaii v Washington
• La-Monroe @Wake Forest
• @UMass v Boston College
• Navy v Ohio State (at the Ravens' stadium in Baltimore)
• North Dakota State @Iowa State
• Utah State @Tennessee
• @Virginia v UCLA ... and
• Western Michigan @Purdue
  

Laughable. Hawai'i, Western Michigan and Massachusetts were all 1-11 last season, while Connecticut was 3-9. To think that Hawai'i has a better chance of beating Washington than Rice has of beating Notre Dame is lunacy.

Hawaii lost 17-16.

Purdue won by 9; Boston College by 23; BYU by 25.

But, both La.-Monroe and North Dakota State pulled the upsets.