Rice does utilize the Texans' bubble for practice in inclement weather situations. Also, the UT fight song was playing during the UT week, as stated by Coach Bailiff in his weekly press conference the Monday after Wagner. However, hearing it in person with a crowd is much different than over a speaker system, no matter the decibel level.

Frankly, IMO, Baylor hasn't looked 70+ point worthy yet. They were in a dogfight with Lamar and SMU, both teams whose recent history isn't particularly impressive, especially SMU.

The #1 thing Rice needs to do is stick to their game plan no matter what Baylor decides to do, because Baylors defense isn't very good. Similar to how we ran the Marshall and Fresno games, Rice needs to come out and do exactly what we want on offense - we did this against ND last year and then stopped - we need to continue.

This team has the talent to pull off the crazy upset. Although we do play a lot better against worse teams than we do against named better ones for some reason.

I'm sick and tired of all the mistakes we tend to make against good teams. The mental breakdowns and turnovers need to stop. It makes us look like we don't belong. I want Rice to give a really good opponent all it can handle. I need to see some overachieving out there and some snap. We need a game where we play over our heads

My recipe for Rice's success against Baylor:

Offense:
(1) Protect the football. Absolutely cannot give up offensive possession and give Baylor extra ones.
(2) Run the offense. For Rice, this means grinding out some impressive time-consuming drives. So far, Baylor is #92 in the country in rush defense (yds/game) and #26 in pass defense. I'm sure part of this is their opponents, but not all of it.
(3) Continue to utilize TE's and RB's in pass game.
(4) Be aggressive going for it on 4th-down. I can understand going for 3-points early in the game to gain confidence after a drive. But in the 2nd-half, I think most people expect Rice and Baylor to be in a shoot-out or for Baylor to be destroying Rice. Either way, FG's are unlikely to win the game for Rice. And think ahead about this on 3rd-down playcalling. If Rice has 3rd and <6, don't be afraid to run if the plan is go go for it on 4th-down anyway.

Defense:
(1) Make Baylor earn it. Baylor is #1 nationally in total yards/game (145 yds/game ahead of #2!!!), #2 in points/game, #3 in passing yards/game, and #4 in rushing yards/game. Do everything possible to eliminate the deep ball. Longer drives shorten the game and while I don't want to see Baylor score at all, I'd rather see them score after a 12-play drive than a 3-play drive. More plays also means more turnover opportunties for Rice's defense.
(2) Wrap them up! Rice needs to tackle well and the first guy needs to hang onto Baylor players long enough for help to arrive. This will prevent short plays from turning into long plays (i.e., it makes Baylor earn it).
(3) Stay calm, do not panic! Baylor is going to score some and put up some yards. Defense needs to keep its confidence and respond to adversity well when it happens. Don't get back on your heels!

Special Teams:
(1) Need a few big plays from the Rice returners. Baylor is #88 nationally in opponent kickoff returns (not ranked in opponent punt returns, which I assume means there has not been a punt returned against them yet). I believe Rice has the returners to make an impact here, and it would be a great time for it.
(2) Play it safe on the kicking side. Baylor hasn't been spectacular in their punt/kickoff return game yet (#93 and #85 nationally, respectively). But they have elite athletes and Rice has struggled in this area. I would rather see 35-yard punts out-of-bounds or 40-yard rugby punts away from the returner than 45-yard punts that can be returned. And please get some touch-backs on kickoffs!
(3) Win the ST turnover battle. For whatever reason, Rice has been on the right side of quite a few special teams turnovers the last few years (sometimes forced by Rice, sometimes just unforced errors by the opponents). Create at least one for Baylor and protect the ball when it is coming to Rice.

(09-20-2015 02:42 PM)ESE84 Wrote:  Is there an on-sides kick strategy in the mix somewhere? Recovering an on-sides kick would take Baylor out of a possession.

It also has the effect of shortening the field. Surely part of our strategy is tiring their receivers out as they run the length of the field for long receptions.

(09-21-2015 01:48 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(09-20-2015 02:42 PM)ESE84 Wrote:  Is there an on-sides kick strategy in the mix somewhere? Recovering an on-sides kick would take Baylor out of a possession.

It also has the effect of shortening the field. Surely part of our strategy is tiring their receivers out as they run the length of the field for long receptions.

Reminds me of the joke about the Jets in Free Agency - they signed all the good corners in the league so no one would be able to be there to intercept Geno Smith

(09-20-2015 10:35 PM)Antarius Wrote:  This team has the talent to pull off the crazy upset. Although we do play a lot better against worse teams than we do against named better ones for some reason.

I'll hazard a guess on this one. I think it's because the worse teams are not as good as the better teams.

We knew Caleb Williams missed the North Texas game with an injury (and haven't heard anything about his availability for Baylor), but this was disconcerting to read in Coach Bailiff's press conference quotes:

Quote:Our offensive line in that game, Coach (Ronnie) Vinklarek did a masterful job. He had two or three young men get injured, so we had to do some mass substitution in there at times.

Get healthy guys! That unit was very strong against Wagner and UT, particularly the run-blocking. They were still solid against North Texas, but I didn't feel like they were quite as dominating, and you have to believe the injuries and shuffling of players is responsible.

Quote:We brought Cam [Decell] in to be our punter. He’s got an incredible leg, but he was an all-district receiver. So, when James Farrimond actually locked in that job, he wanted to try another position. So we moved him to receiver just so we didn’t have a scholarship sitting on the sideline. He’s very talented. He’s very athletic. Kickoffs; he was going to do them all year but he had a sore spot on his foot. So that’s why we delayed kicking him until the third game. But, when he hits it, it goes through the end zone. He has an incredibly talented leg. We’re excited for what he brings to our kicking game.

I'm not one to judge a good kicker, but if he has a strong leg and is the best at minimizing return opportunities, then good stuff.

• Bus trip ticket ... CHECK
• Tailgate ticket ... CHECK
• Game ticket ...... CHECK
  

Looks like I just need to pack a goody bag for the road.

HEY Converted ... what's the weather look like for gameday ??

(09-21-2015 01:59 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(09-20-2015 10:35 PM)Antarius Wrote:  This team has the talent to pull off the crazy upset. Although we do play a lot better against worse teams than we do against named better ones for some reason.

I'll hazard a guess on this one. I think it's because the worse teams are not as good as the better teams.

I am referring to us, not the outcome or their performance. We chucked a ball into triple coverage against Texas - thats was squarely on us, Texas did nothing but happily accept the ball.

The post was about our propensity to melt down against better "name" teams.

(09-21-2015 03:31 PM)Antarius Wrote:  

(09-21-2015 01:59 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(09-20-2015 10:35 PM)Antarius Wrote:  This team has the talent to pull off the crazy upset. Although we do play a lot better against worse teams than we do against named better ones for some reason.

I'll hazard a guess on this one. I think it's because the worse teams are not as good as the better teams.

I am referring to us, not the outcome or their performance. We chucked a ball into triple coverage against Texas - thats was squarely on us, Texas did nothing but happily accept the ball.

The post was about our propensity to melt down against better "name" teams.

It's kind of the opposite of playing to the competition.

Against high quality teams we seem to be jittery and full of nerves. Against worse teams we seem to confident and prepared and ready to win.

Stephanie has an article up today on what Baylor has to say about the game this week.
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2015/...this-week/

(09-22-2015 10:39 AM)owl95 Wrote:  Stephanie has an article up today on what Baylor has to say about the game this week.
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2015/...this-week/

Good stuff. I like Baylor's attitude about how they're looking at this like a conference game because they want to dominate Texas. That's the attitude we should have when we play them and UT, UH, etc...maybe if we start to look at it that way, we won't have the uncharacteristic lapses that an outsider like myself associates with the team feeling like the big underdog.

Bad news about Williams. Hope he can play. Having to put Reue in at RT again is not good vs his natural position at Guard. Unit needs to function as 1 in big games like this

Stephanie Kuzydym ‏@stephkuzy 50m50 minutes ago
Rice injury update for game against Baylor: WR Lance Wright and LB Nick Elder out. LT Caleb Williams doubtful with lower leg injury.