My email to the AD tonight.



It really has come to this. Give us a reason to hope. Why would anyone bother to come to homecoming if there is no hope? I'm still hopeful you can find a way to change coaches before Monday morning.

Regards,
LOKI '82

(10-15-2016 11:04 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  My email to the AD tonight.



It really has come to this. Give us a reason to hope. Why would anyone bother to come to homecoming if there is no hope? I'm still hopeful you can find a way to change coaches before Monday morning.

Regards,
LOKI '82

Jim! It's the extension I tell you! Don't give me your half-blooded Vulcan logic, Spock!

I think the coaches were surprised at how close this was and they had no plans on how to manage something this close

What a great and enjoyable evening watching an athletic contest between two top-notch teams firing on all cylinders with outstanding coaching! I was beginning to worry about the outcome after the game was so close near the end. But, lo and behold, the Cubbies pulled it out with a late-game explosion to propel them to their first series lead in a best-of-seven series since 1945! Wow! Both team played great.

In other local Houston news, two colleges played football, and the up-and-coming team won again! Congrats to Nicholls State, a college football juggernaut. Way to go, pulling out the victory tonight! Splendid! I'm sure Nicholls gained a few new fans for those looking for a team to follow with their performance tonight! Keep on winning! Here's the link to the game summary for those who like to follow quality and entertaining college football that is not U of H:

Nicholls beats Houston Baptist 33-30 in OT

HOUSTON -- C.J. Okpalobi ran for 103 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime to lift Nicholls to a 33-30 victory over Houston Baptist on Saturday night.

Tony Dawson ran for a 24-yard TD to give Houston Baptist a 27-24 lead with 1:25 remaining. David McKey kicked a 35-yard field goal for Nicholls (3-3, 3-1 Southland Conference) with six seconds left to force overtime.

Alec Chadwick kicked a 35-yard field goal for Houston Baptist (2-4, 1-3) before Okpalobi ran 12 yards for the game-winner.

Dawson threw for 165 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 191 yards on 25 carries.

Ronald Ollie returned a blocked field goal 84 yards into the end zone for the Colonels. Chase Fourcade threw a 50-yard touchdown strike to Damion Jeanpiere and ran for a 10-yard score in the second quarter for Nicholls.

One would think we beat PVAMU, but I think the sad question is (1) do we just get blown out or (2) what nonsensical thing happens that causes a close loss.

Actually early on, I was a bit encouraged as the offense looked pretty good with good creativity and decent execution on the first drive. After that, either UTSA figgered it out or we had no more.

I do not at all regret that I did not pay extra to get BeInsports (or whatever) through my cable provider and that I did not try to track the game down online. I care that little right now. A small part of me is sad, but a larger part is happy to have extra time on Saturdays.

much like the election, I wish this would all just be over.........

(10-16-2016 12:48 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  One would think we beat PVAMU, but I think the sad question is (1) do we just get blown out or (2) what nonsensical thing happens that causes a close loss.

Important game for Rice as a win will keep bowl hopes alive.

Although I was stuck at the game on South Main, the HBU-Nicholls State game must have been great. Nicholls has losses to Georgia by a score of 26-24 and to South Alabama (the South Alabama that beat Mississippi State).

If you think there are financial issues at Rice, you should probably see the financial restrictions at HBU, although they appear to be moving in the right direction with a really, really good coach.

GREAT evening; saw "ACCOUNTANT" [excellent action drama with a surprise ending although not quite up to the level of "GIRL ON THE TRAIN"] followed by light dinner and dancing at Nino's... Couldn't have been better. What to do next weekend??

Some thoughts from being at game last night. I was not at the NT or Baylor games so this was my first game at HRS this season.

Positives
- Stadium looks so much better w/ Patterson Center. My first chance to see it live.
- Defense played better. Two bad plays in secondary on falling for a double move and bad angles tackling on the big TD. But other than that, I finally saw some coaching adjustments to make a decision to not get beat deep. Safeties playing against deep ball vs peeking in backfield which did open the UTSA run game a bit in 2H but they could not sustain a drive. Had some pressure on the QB as well. Defense may have been main culprit in first 5 losses but not this one.
- Finally saw the outside WR’s (Aleka and Mayden) get involved. They were open but QB could not get them the ball in stride. The one big drop in the 2H was an underthrown ball.
- Stewart and Walters. Gotta get them the ball more. Get a better appreciation of their speed when in person.
- TE sightings. Liked getting them involved. Granson is more of slot vs. TE but he will likely be a good one too.
- Student turnout. Usually gets criticized here but 1.5 sections full at kickoff. Who can blame them for leaving though after watching that performance?
- Eye Test. We look great in warm-ups compared to UTSA. Big, strong, fast, athletic. Noticeable when comparing to Rice teams of the past.
- Selling Craft Beers. A necessity to be at HRS watching this.

Negatives
- Biggest one for me is the atrophy that is occurring with fan base. I don’t make it to many games. Talked to many Owl fans and was sad for me to see that many are there b/c they went to Rice and sort of ‘checking the box’ as they have season tix but the passion is clearly not there. They are indifferent. They are not even mad which at least shows some emotion of caring. If your most rabid fans don’t care, how can you expect to get anyone in West U, Med Center, alums trying to engage in Rice, etc. to care? Ultimately, the business side of this is what has to force JK’s hand vs. the arguments around pros/cons of DB. For those Econ majors that believe in efficient markets, the markets will force JK’s hand as the donors, butts-in-seats, etc. begin to dry up and the economics of that are > than the buyout. I think we are getting to point where efficient markets are going to cause change.
- Special Teams. Well documented on other threads but the muffed punt, two missed FG’s, and the extra point were difference. They executed, we did not. If just one of those miscues was not there, Owls likely win.
- Clock Management. Burned timeout in the 3Q was also a difference maker, clock management late in 4Q also poor as stated on other threads.
- QB position. You are 0-6 and don’t have a playmaker there. He is a decent second string kid that can come in and run the offense. He is not a first string kid. Either we don’t have any for the future which is a big concern or DB continues loyalty to seniors over others (or both) but time is ready for a change. He missed a lot of open guys and the ones that were thrown to were poor throws. With DJ, you have some patience b/c of his feet but don’t really have that here. Why we continue to run speed option without DJ, CC, or McH at QB is maddening.
- German utilization. He is supposed to be our best playmaker and his snaps on QB are just handoffs to zone read. Did not do anything to get him involved.
- MOB. So many headlines after Baylor game, have some space now in the old weight room, etc. it is sad to only see 30-40 hardworking members out there. It is so small that you can’t hear them, they can’t even spell letters, hard to be effective with so few, etc. Seems like we lose a few folks each year but with the headlines, notoriety, history, fit into the Rice culture, etc., seems like we could find 100. I know this has been well documented on other threads but as someone who does not get to many live games, it is noticeable how much participation has declined over the years. Sad.
- Rice non-FB Staff. They are few and work hard. Talked to a few. They are politically correct and say the right things but you can consistently see all over their face the frustration of the current situation. Another leadership opportunity for JK as you have to keep a small but loyal/hard working group in-the-boat. Nobody wants to work so hard to be 0-6 in C-USA.

Team will likely be 3-9 with 2-10 and 4-7 possible. Sad. Need hope. See hope at W. Michigan who we throttled years ago. See hope now at Tulane who we consistently beat. See hope/reloading at Memphis who was also a regular that got beat by Rice and obviously see more than hope at UH. Not sure where Rice hope is coming from though. Needs to be reversed.

Owl40 distills it down quite nicely.

His references to the market forces in play are spot on. IMHO.

As for the hope... I'm going out on a limb here to say that Dr K will do what it takes to restore the hope. I hope it's sooner rather than later.

Yup, pretty much where I am as noted by Owl 40: "They are indifferent. They are not even mad which at least shows some emotion of caring."

100% agree with the comments on the non-FB staff. Not since Pede's one man band (actually he had some hard working staff also and the ticket mgr was great in that era) has there been folks putting out some real effort. I suspect they like most of us can't wait for basketball.

Sure hope there are some diamonds in the rough like Chase, Jarrett, and Brian Raines on the team like the 2005 team.

We are now the only Division 1 team that is winless. I am just not sure that changes.........

We are now 127 in Massey. UtEP is 128.

143 in Sagarin

I agree with Owl40's assessment.

On the time out, I thought we should either run the play or taken the penalty and punted. I'll trade 5 yards for a time out any day.

I also would have preferred to go for 2 after the second TD, but lots of coaches would save that kind of effort for the late fourth quarter, on the the theory that you will score again, and if you can go for it later, why dig a hole now? At one point.when UTSA was knocking on our goal, it looked like a good decision, as a TD with us down 1 makes the deficit 8, still a one score game, while a TD with us down 2 makes it a two score game. Of course, that's not the way things went down, the road not taken, but with UTSA having a first and goal, I was glad we had the extra point. having two would have been a little better, but none would be a lot worse.

I don't see a need for JK to fire Bailiff NOW!!!. I think everybody knows it is coming, but who would you put as interim HC? Adding extra duties to a shorthanded staff just makes it tougher to finish the year as well as possible. It sends zero message to the world that we are serious. If we want to send that message, it is best sent with the new hire. JMHO.

(10-16-2016 01:05 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I don't see a need for JK to fire Bailiff NOW!!!. I think everybody knows it is coming, but who would you put as interim HC? Adding extra duties to a shorthanded staff just makes it tougher to finish the year as well as possible. It sends zero message to the world that we are serious. If we want to send that message, it is best sent with the new hire. JMHO.

I assume you weren't at the game yesterday. The lack of energy, sparse crowd and general "**** this" attitude would likely make you change your mind.

(10-16-2016 01:08 PM)Antarius Wrote:  

(10-16-2016 01:05 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I don't see a need for JK to fire Bailiff NOW!!!. I think everybody knows it is coming, but who would you put as interim HC? Adding extra duties to a shorthanded staff just makes it tougher to finish the year as well as possible. It sends zero message to the world that we are serious. If we want to send that message, it is best sent with the new hire. JMHO.

I assume you weren't at the game yesterday. The lack of energy, sparse crowd and general "**** this" attitude would likely make you change your mind.

I watched the game on TV. If by lack of energy you are talking about the team, I didn't see that. Sparse crowds are something I have seen for over 50 years, so maybe I didn't expect a lot. I imagine the general "**** this" was highly concentrated around your seat.

But let's say we go ahead and fire Bailiff NOW!!!!. Who would you suggest as interim HC? Assuming it is somebody currently on staff, shall he try to wear two hats, or pass his old hat to another assistant, who then wuld wear the two hats? And after leading the team for half a season, might he expect some consideration for permanent HC?

What is the benefit for Rice to fire Bailiff NOW!!!? Like I said, I don't think it sends any message beyond we think we can do better with a coach t be named later. I can't see the ACC calling an emergency meeting because they think that now we are serious on the basis of firing a coach now instead of later.

Let me be clear, before anybody defines my position: I don't think it makes much difference if we fire Bailiif now, or in two weeks, or Christmas Day. I think if anybody is going to sit up and take notice, it will be when we announce our new coach, if ever.

As i said, JMHO.

EDIT Removed: Not worth going down this road again.

Given that it's homecoming and, with Rice's counterculture homecoming king and queen choices, why not have the homecoming king/queen winners be the interim head coach? Imagine the press when our interim coach is revealed to be, say, a refrigerator or a ferret!

(10-16-2016 01:33 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Given that it's homecoming and, with Rice's counterculture homecoming king and queen choices, why not have the homecoming king/queen winners be the interim head coach? Imagine the press when our interim coach is revealed to be, say, a refrigerator or a ferret!

Both likely would have gone for 2 when down 14-12.