(08-11-2016 02:06 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 01:26 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  CUSA season predictions from the SB Nation blog

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/5/...redictions

It seems more than a little of the preview stuff I've been reading this season is saying don't sleep on UTEP. Most of us have that game as a win, but who knows? This may well be a bigger shakeup season in CUSA than many might think. I don't think any game can really be taken for granted. I hope we stay focused from the get-go this year.

Yes because once every 10 years UTEP will jump up and bite you in the ***. After last season - I think we're good for another 10 years. I'm sleeping on UTEP.

Just saw that former Houston Oiler Dan Pastorini joined the Owls for the scrimmage at Rice Stadium! Pretty Cool!
How old is Dan Pastorini, 67? Amazing!

Story and new photo galley at the Chronicle:

New QB settles in, freshmen impress at Rice scrimmage

(08-11-2016 12:27 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 11:18 AM)SaintsOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2016 08:25 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(08-06-2016 08:15 PM)talon owl Wrote:  Did anyone do a recap of offseason roster attrition? Looks like we lost Brandon Hamilton. Any others y'all caught?

Cole Hunt (transfer to TCU) and Brandon Hamilton are the only two scholarship guys. Heck, I can't even think of any walk-ons that have hung'em up.

Two huge losses - Hamilton has been hurt but was fast and could have helped out on defense and offense.
Hunt - best TE we had IMO we will see how Cella does this year, last one so he needs to capitalize. Wells was not impressive when he played reason he was redshirted.

Missing is the tall QB Jeremy Jones. He could have helped this year.

agree on Hamiton.
Cella was,our best TE.
tall QB Jones is gone, replaced by tall QB Stehling.

Let me jump in on this one -
Tall Stehling one year left.
No tall QB behind him.
Let's hope tall Stehling does not get hurt if not we will be wondering where tall Jones is at...
Cella is a good TE, not sure if I can say the best, has not been on the field long enough. Let's see who has a better year.

(08-15-2016 12:00 AM)KTOWL Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 12:27 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 11:18 AM)SaintsOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2016 08:25 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(08-06-2016 08:15 PM)talon owl Wrote:  Did anyone do a recap of offseason roster attrition? Looks like we lost Brandon Hamilton. Any others y'all caught?

Cole Hunt (transfer to TCU) and Brandon Hamilton are the only two scholarship guys. Heck, I can't even think of any walk-ons that have hung'em up.

Two huge losses - Hamilton has been hurt but was fast and could have helped out on defense and offense.
Hunt - best TE we had IMO we will see how Cella does this year, last one so he needs to capitalize. Wells was not impressive when he played reason he was redshirted.

Missing is the tall QB Jeremy Jones. He could have helped this year.

agree on Hamiton.
Cella was,our best TE.
tall QB Jones is gone, replaced by tall QB Stehling.

Let me jump in on this one -
Tall Stehling one year left.
No tall QB behind him.
Let's hope tall Stehling does not get hurt if not we will be wondering where tall Jones is at...
Cella is a good TE, not sure if I can say the best, has not been on the field long enough. Let's see who has a better year.

Yeah, bad coaching to have only one 6-6 QB on the team. Most schools have 3 or 4. Stehling goes down we will have to struggle through with 6-3.5 Granato or 6-5 Tyner

hasn't Cella been the starter for a long time? How many letters does he have? edit: Three.

edit: Last year Cella had 13 catches for 209 yards and 1 TD, Hunt had 9 for 71 and 1TD. Hunt played in one more game than Cella.

I agree. let's see who has the better year:

Pretty ridiculous to say our only 2 losses (Hamilton, Hunt) are HUGE losses when neither did much for us before. One was the 5th or 6th string RB turned defensive back, the other a back-up TE. Both showed flashes, but neither stepped up to become a bona fide starter when they had the chance. If they did, they'd probably still be Owls. And the tall QB we lost earlier wasn't cracking the depth chart at QB.

Yeah, this whole Jeremy Jones thing is total revisionist history. If you recall, he was moved to WR in Spring 2015 (his last semester at Rice). At the time, he was behind Driphus, Stehling, and German, with Tyner and Granato slated to come in during the summer.

If he was killing it somewhere playing QB, I could see the beef. Instead, he's a walk-on at Gonzaga playing basketball.

(08-15-2016 01:00 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-15-2016 12:00 AM)KTOWL Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 12:27 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-11-2016 11:18 AM)SaintsOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2016 08:25 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  Cole Hunt (transfer to TCU) and Brandon Hamilton are the only two scholarship guys. Heck, I can't even think of any walk-ons that have hung'em up.

Two huge losses - Hamilton has been hurt but was fast and could have helped out on defense and offense.
Hunt - best TE we had IMO we will see how Cella does this year, last one so he needs to capitalize. Wells was not impressive when he played reason he was redshirted.

Missing is the tall QB Jeremy Jones. He could have helped this year.

agree on Hamiton.
Cella was,our best TE.
tall QB Jones is gone, replaced by tall QB Stehling.

Let me jump in on this one -
Tall Stehling one year left.
No tall QB behind him.
Let's hope tall Stehling does not get hurt if not we will be wondering where tall Jones is at...
Cella is a good TE, not sure if I can say the best, has not been on the field long enough. Let's see who has a better year.

Yeah, bad coaching to have only one 6-6 QB on the team. Most schools have 3 or 4. Stehling goes down we will have to struggle through with 6-3.5 Granato or 6-5 Tyner

hasn't Cella been the starter for a long time? How many letters does he have? edit: Three.

edit: Last year Cella had 13 catches for 209 yards and 1 TD, Hunt had 9 for 71 and 1TD. Hunt played in one more game than Cella.

I agree. let's see who has the better year:

I'm going out on a crazy limb and say Cella will have the better year......and Hunt won't play at all. Maybe garbage time.

If Vegas was giving odds on Hunt making an NFL roster on defense, I'd place $10 on that bet. Better chances then a lotto ticket! (he was defensive player of the year at his level in HS, but wanted to play offense in college so no fault on the Rice coaching staff for putting him at TE)

Cella's health always seems to be his big thing. That, and the play-callers ability to incorporate the TE into the offense and the QB's ability to make those types of throws.

They're more of a running team, but every little bit helps.

Army starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quits team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/army-starti...html?nhp=1

(08-17-2016 12:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  They're more of a running team, but every little bit helps.

Army starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quits team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/army-starti...html?nhp=1

Interesting. I didn't realize they had a formal Affirmation Ceremony where they pledge to finish their last two years and commit to the five year military service. Apparently cadets can transfer out of the academy after either their freshman or sophomore years, but once they begin class their junior year and take part in this ceremony, they owe the Army military service/money if they don't see it through.

(08-17-2016 02:31 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(08-17-2016 12:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  They're more of a running team, but every little bit helps.

Army starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quits team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/army-starti...html?nhp=1

Interesting. I didn't realize they had a formal Affirmation Ceremony where they pledge to finish their last two years and commit to the five year military service. Apparently cadets can transfer out of the academy after either their freshman or sophomore years, but once they begin class their junior year and take part in this ceremony, they owe the Army military service/money if they don't see it through.

That's the way it worked in ROTC, although for a while at least, it was after your freshman year where you made the decision. Don't know if that's been changed back to after sophomore year or not.

BTW, did you read that Army's next-in-line QB who is a rising sophomore, is also hurt, so they will likely have to start off their season with one of a few freshmen at QB? Again, they are more of a run team, but still.

(08-17-2016 02:53 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(08-17-2016 02:31 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(08-17-2016 12:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  They're more of a running team, but every little bit helps.

Army starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quits team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/army-starti...html?nhp=1

Interesting. I didn't realize they had a formal Affirmation Ceremony where they pledge to finish their last two years and commit to the five year military service. Apparently cadets can transfer out of the academy after either their freshman or sophomore years, but once they begin class their junior year and take part in this ceremony, they owe the Army military service/money if they don't see it through.

That's the way it worked in ROTC, although for a while at least, it was after your freshman year where you made the decision. Don't know if that's been changed back to after sophomore year or not.

BTW, did you read that Army's next-in-line QB who is a rising sophomore, is also hurt, so they will likely have to start off their season with one of a few freshmen at QB? Again, they are more of a run team, but still.

Yes, I saw that. Good chance we may see a freshman at QB when we play them.

(08-17-2016 02:53 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(08-17-2016 02:31 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(08-17-2016 12:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  They're more of a running team, but every little bit helps.

Army starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw abruptly quits team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/army-starti...html?nhp=1

Interesting. I didn't realize they had a formal Affirmation Ceremony where they pledge to finish their last two years and commit to the five year military service. Apparently cadets can transfer out of the academy after either their freshman or sophomore years, but once they begin class their junior year and take part in this ceremony, they owe the Army military service/money if they don't see it through.

That's the way it worked in ROTC, although for a while at least, it was after your freshman year where you made the decision. Don't know if that's been changed back to after sophomore year or not.

BTW, did you read that Army's next-in-line QB who is a rising sophomore, is also hurt, so they will likely have to start off their season with one of a few freshmen at QB? Again, they are more of a run team, but still.

Potentially, but it sounded like their sophomore QB would be back to practicing within a week or so. Last year, he threw for 348 yards (rushed for 129 yards) and threw 2 TDs, 2 INTs and 1 rushing TD. Regardless, the loss of Bradshaw hurts them.

Bradshaw didn't just quit the team, he withdrew from West Point:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com...yptr=yahoo

Today there is a report that Bradshaw changed his mind and returned to practice on Wednesday. Apparently he did not go through with his withdrawal from the academy.

http://www.recordonline.com/collegevarsi...t-practice

(08-18-2016 12:58 AM)BetontheOwl Wrote:  Today there is a report that Bradshaw changed his mind and returned to practice on Wednesday. Apparently he did not go through with his withdrawal from the academy.

http://www.recordonline.com/collegevarsi...t-practice

One can only hope his indecision extends to running the option.

Vegas 2016CUSA odds predictions from Bovada:

CUSA CHAMPIONSHIP
12/5 - Southern Miss
3/1 - Marshall
15/4 - Western Kentucky
6/1 - Middle Tennessee
15/2 - Louisiana Tech
20/1 - Florida Atlantic, Rice
33/1 - UTEP
40/1 - Florida International
100/1 - Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA

(08-31-2016 11:33 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Vegas 2016CUSA odds predictions from Bovada:

CUSA CHAMPIONSHIP
12/5 - Southern Miss
3/1 - Marshall
15/4 - Western Kentucky
6/1 - Middle Tennessee
15/2 - Louisiana Tech
20/1 - Florida Atlantic, Rice
33/1 - UTEP
40/1 - Florida International
100/1 - Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA

Old Dominion?

(08-31-2016 11:55 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-31-2016 11:33 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Vegas 2016CUSA odds predictions from Bovada:

CUSA CHAMPIONSHIP
12/5 - Southern Miss
3/1 - Marshall
15/4 - Western Kentucky
6/1 - Middle Tennessee
15/2 - Louisiana Tech
20/1 - Florida Atlantic, Rice
33/1 - UTEP
40/1 - Florida International
100/1 - Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA

Old Dominion?

Apparently Bovada/Vegas doesn't think they rate? We have North, South(ern) West(ern) and Middle. They forgot Old, but if we added Young(stown) State and if East Carolina didn't leave for the AAC, we'd have it all!

Just a thought for 2017: The conference flipped last years' schedule, so Rice once again plays both FAU and Charlotte, two of the worst teams in CUSA East, and avoids MTSU again, who are decent and have not played us yet in conference.

Next season, Rice will likely finally play MTSU and one other better CUSA east team instead of FAU and Charlotte.

Of course, we'll have UAB back, and they should be worse than us right? Not so fast. Clarke did a decent job there before they pulled the plug, and the players will have a chip on their shoulder plus likely increased fan support for at least a while from not only the school, but from more casual Birmingham dwellers who suddenly realized that having a UAB team that was Div I in football helped keep their city on the national map of consciousness.

Plus, UTEP can't stay down forever with us...or can they?

2017 will be harder schedule-wise. Plus add in yet another QB change since Stehling is a 5th year senior this year. And we start off with Stanford, who hasn't been as good as they were supposed to be this season, but is light years ahead of where we have fallen to. In fact, here's 2017 non-conference schedule:

Rice 2017 Non-conference Opponents:
Sept. 2 Stanford
Sept. 16 at Houston
Sept. 23 Army
Sept. 30 at Pittsburgh

Anyone see a win there with this coaching? If Coach Bailiff starts off 0-4 next season, we are then relying on beating a tougher CUSA schedule to get us back to a bowl in 2017? But it's okay, because the Bailiff Cycle Theory says he'll be ready to win again in 2018.