(08-28-2018 07:26 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Seems like UH might have growing pains with all the personnel movement they've had - it may take them a few games to carve out an identity. It's also odd that they've closed off many of their practices and scrimmages from the media. I wonder if a few other guys aren't there (or will be ineligible for a bit) that people aren't aware of. We also may be getting a break if some of their better skill guys have to sit out an early game or two for academic (or other) reasons.

Practices have been mostly closed to the media like this since Sumlin implemented it back in 2008-2009ish era. It's crazy to me that we have a beat writer that should be used to help publicize the program but yet we keep him at arms length.

No one to my knowledge who is a contributor is sitting out due to academic reasons. Almost all of our transfers were graduate transfers (Watkins, Singleton, Dormady, Owens, Williams) except Deontay Anderson and Anderson got the same waiver that Shea Patterson got, thus they are all eligible immediately. I believe we only have one academic issue on the team with an OL who has been on and off the roster for 3 years and has never been a threat to crack the 2 deep.

(08-28-2018 07:30 AM)Hymie Weiss Wrote:  Applewhite is not getting fired after year two.

That's just old fashioned over-the-top, always impatient, gimme instant gratification fan talk.

Our president said we fire coaches for less than 8 wins. However, I think if Applewhite wins 8 he's safe for at least another season. If we are flirting with whether or not we are bowl eligible at the end of the season, he could maybe be fired. If we are not bowl eligible, he's definitely gone.

Honestly, if Major has a so-so year it probably has more to do with what candidates would be interested in the Houston job. Levine wasn't fired because we needed to get rid of him that season. He was fired because we had interest from Chad Morris and Tom Herman and we were likely getting one or the other if we fired Levine. Chad took the SMU job right after interviewing at UH and we got Tom maybe a week later. or so We had just extended Levine that off season, and the way his contract is written, we will still be paying him the difference between his chic-fil-a salary and 250k (if there is one) this year, the final year of his contract.

(08-27-2018 07:13 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 06:45 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(08-27-2018 05:48 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  Frankly, I think that CH could probably name the score, but I suspect that Major will hold back the hounds again. I can't remember which year it was but it was around 2010 or so. Was going to the game at Robertson and was late, looked up what the score was after the KO and two drives said to hell with it as I didn't want to deal with their fans during a complete blood bath. And to think at one time, we just about owned those clowns.

‘09 maybe or ‘11? 73 to way less both times. Rice won in ‘08 and ‘10 at home.

Probably 2009. 59-0 at the half.
2011 was competitive for almost a half. Rice led for a good part of first half, then collapsed.

Rice was competitive until it stopped raining, at which point Keenum's passes started finding their targets better, and that was that.

Worst sports night of my life (that game in person, plus following WS Game 6 on my phone).

(08-28-2018 11:52 AM)baker-13 Wrote:  Worst sports night of my life (that game in person, plus following WS Game 6 on my phone).

That was bad. Mine is probably the 2015 Southern Miss homecoming loss or the 2009 Navy debacle.

Re: USM, I almost put a chair through the R Room window when we lined up for a field goal down 58-0.

Quote:@ThresherSports

Roe Wilkins says the H-Town takeover slogan that UH uses is a motivator for Rice. Says the Owls take pride in their city

Stankavage will start Saturday’s game for Rice

(08-28-2018 12:36 PM)Antarius Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 11:52 AM)baker-13 Wrote:  Worst sports night of my life (that game in person, plus following WS Game 6 on my phone).

That was bad. Mine is probably the 2015 Southern Miss homecoming loss or the 2009 Navy debacle.

Re: USM, I almost put a chair through the R Room window when we lined up for a field goal down 58-0.

You stayed that long? I left the stadium for that USM game after halftime in complete disgust. In my entire life, I have never left more games before the end until post 2006 Rice FB. And i saw Bob Polk coached bskb games in the 70's and have had either Oilers or Texans season tickets since 1986.

I think the idea that Coach Applewhite will "call off the dogs" if they get a big lead will be ameliorated by the need to establish their new offense and Kendall Briles pushing the tempo and the score, as he did at Baylor. You may see 2nd and 3rd stringers on the field but the play calling will be aggressive, even with a 5 touchdown lead.

Rice cannot afford to play catch-up in this game. The Owls have to be successful with ball control, clock eating offense to keep the Cougars offense off the field. It will all come down to whether the Owls Offensive line can keep Ed Oliver from disrupting the game. I do not think that the Owls can pass successfully against UH.

Against PVAMU, many (not all) of the Panthers deep routes were covered but the flats and 6-10 yard routs often were wide open, which plays right into UH's strength if they have picked up their new offense effectively.

I predicted that Rice would score 21 against PVAMU and said it might be the most the Owls will score in a game all year. I was wrong, but I don't think the Owls will match their offensive total of last week. Final: 52 - 13

(08-28-2018 02:27 PM)Kayjay Wrote:  I think the idea that Coach Applewhite will "call off the dogs" if they get a big lead will be ameliorated by the need to establish their new offense and Kendall Briles pushing the tempo and the score, as he did at Baylor. You may see 2nd and 3rd stringers on the field but the play calling will be aggressive, even with a 5 touchdown lead.

Rice cannot afford to play catch-up in this game. The Owls have to be successful with ball control, clock eating offense to keep the Cougars offense off the field. It will all come down to whether the Owls Offensive line can keep Ed Oliver from disrupting the game. I do not think that the Owls can pass successfully against UH.

Against PVAMU, many (not all) of the Panthers deep routes were covered but the flats and 6-10 yard routs often were wide open, which plays right into UH's strength if they have picked up their new offense effectively.

I predicted that Rice would score 21 against PVAMU and said it might be the most the Owls will score in a game all year. I was wrong, but I don't think the Owls will match their offensive total of last week. Final: 52 - 13

That's pretty close to my 55 - 20 prediction. I think we get one score due to special teams and one score resulting from a turnover, along with a couple long Fox FGs. No way we're going to be able to run inside as we did against PVAM with Oliver in the middle. If we have any shot on offense it's going to be on the outside (bubble screens, quick pitches). Tyner's lack of mobility would be suicide against Oliver. Defensively, I don't see how we can stop UH offense. They are just too fast for our secondary, and their OL should dominate our DL. Also, their QB is a better and quicker runner than the PVAM QB, who destroyed us with his scrambles and misdirection runs. Remember, Applewhite and Briles have tape of what worked for PVAM, and UH has far superior athletes.

(08-28-2018 07:26 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 02:27 PM)Kayjay Wrote:  I think the idea that Coach Applewhite will "call off the dogs" if they get a big lead will be ameliorated by the need to establish their new offense and Kendall Briles pushing the tempo and the score, as he did at Baylor. You may see 2nd and 3rd stringers on the field but the play calling will be aggressive, even with a 5 touchdown lead.

Rice cannot afford to play catch-up in this game. The Owls have to be successful with ball control, clock eating offense to keep the Cougars offense off the field. It will all come down to whether the Owls Offensive line can keep Ed Oliver from disrupting the game. I do not think that the Owls can pass successfully against UH.

Against PVAMU, many (not all) of the Panthers deep routes were covered but the flats and 6-10 yard routs often were wide open, which plays right into UH's strength if they have picked up their new offense effectively.

I predicted that Rice would score 21 against PVAMU and said it might be the most the Owls will score in a game all year. I was wrong, but I don't think the Owls will match their offensive total of last week. Final: 52 - 13

That's pretty close to my 55 - 20 prediction. I think we get one score due to special teams and one score resulting from a turnover, along with a couple long Fox FGs. No way we're going to be able to run inside as we did against PVAM with Oliver in the middle. If we have any shot on offense it's going to be on the outside (bubble screens, quick pitches). Tyner's lack of mobility would be suicide against Oliver. Defensively, I don't see how we can stop UH offense. They are just too fast for our secondary, and their OL should dominate our DL. Also, their QB is a better and quicker runner than the PVAM QB, who destroyed us with his scrambles and misdirection runs. Remember, Applewhite and Briles have tape of what worked for PVAM, and UH has far superior athletes.

George Nyakwol is as fast as any of their receivers. He's still adjusting to safety, but his biggest contribution right now may be on an occasional blitz, because he can get into the backfield very quickly.

From an article about the 2018 buckeyes...

Football has changed quite a bit over the last decade or so, let alone over the past 50-60 years. While there have been a number of changes throughout the years, one remark made by longtime Rice Owls head coach Jess Neely holds true today, at least for the majority of the time.

“If you have two starting quarterbacks, then you don’t have one,” he said.

Neely had plenty of success at Rice, with a 144-124-10 record from 1940-1966. That’s not very successful in terms of the best teams in college football, but for a program that is just 462-605-32 since they kicked off their inaugural season in 1914, it says a lot about who the head coach was. That’s one of the many reasons why a statement like that has been around for so long, with it being right the majority of the time.

Yeah... I did say that once upon a time... And there's some truth to it I suppose... but... Ole Jess watched the video on my reel-to-reel projector and broke it down for the two dudes taking the "new fangled shotgun snaps":

1) #3--- got a little juice in the legs.... He hit a couple early bootlegs and short passes on early downs in the early possessions, and had a big scramble on a 3rd and long... Maybe he gave up on the play early and pulled it down.. Maybe he saw man cover and a void to run in... He had big money to 26 later on a go route and under threw it by about 3 yards... Other than that, his night was summed up by being a "liaison to the RB".... I worry that if he don't have that trigger ready to unload against UH, that he might end up getting banged up...Then I worry that his gun might not be enough caliber to keep it from going to the other team. We will see

2) #14--- whipped a flood route on the money, slung a comeback on the money, bubble screen got out there quick enough to make some yards....I'd like to see him try that endzone fade again.. That ball has to throw the man open, not throw "at the man"... I don't understand why we went two back and three tight end on 3rd and 12 (I guess it was on a script), but he had to throw that away... And the other errant throw in the endzone was either a bad route or a rushed throw... This one has shown us he won't always throw it to the other team, but he needs to either loosen up and hit them boys in blue or just show everyone how mobile a 250 lb QB is and start dishing out some Intellectual Brutality on some LB's

Jess says this: It's early... Our Owls are in a rebuild... My statement might be true about having two guys, but I would wager a guess that this Coach Bloom is trying to use the early games to see if we "got one"... No better way to find out than to play games out of league...

Well this weekend isn't "preseason." It's the Bayou Bucket. Might be nice for the offense to know who their leader is.

Afternoon thunderstorms in the forecast. I kind of hope they roll through a bit earlier - I think a wet game of football benefits us, given our lack of a compelling passing attack.

Pray for rain.

But I would not be surprised is all we got were lightening delays.

Pray for deluge you mean. I have a feeling this is a 'tough game that makes boys into men after a whipping' type scenario for Bloom and his team.

Honestly, I am kind of glad with UH coming up that PVAM scared the beejesus by almost winning. Having that game against PVAM had to have gone a long way to dispelling any 'we are gonna win 7' types associated with the team. Better to know up front that this is going to be a long, tempering type year than coasting to a 25 point easy peasy win then getting your nose pushed back 4 inches behind your forehead by UH. That type of loss following that type of win would be a *major* 'really up -- followed by seriously down' cycle that could be *really* bad for a psyche on a rebuild team.

Glad we got the win against PVAM, but it showed *everyone* (hopefully) how far the team needs to go to be built back.

Without a deluge the UH game is going to be a plastering, even if Applewhite does what he did last year in the 2nd half. Better to take that plastering with the reality that the team had to fight to a win over a supposedly much worse opponent last week, as opposed to getting plastered following a plastering.

As to Lad's comments on a rain being to Rice's advantage --- +100. I'd hope for a Noah type rain, tbh.

Rice has a legit chance to win the special teams, turnover, time of possession and the run game battles. We win at least 3 out of those 4 and it should be a competitive game. All three of those areas will be tested a lot more vs the Cougs, but if we're prepared and execute, we can win most of those battles if UH comes unprepared or undisciplined in any way.

We really don't know what Cougs team will show up. This could be a very good UH squad, or it could be so-so. If we're lucky they take a few games to come together and have their worst performance of the year in game 1.

If Bloomgren can show his skills as an offensive line coach, he'll be able to scheme effectively to minimize Oliver's impact. This is the key to the game. He does that and our run game has the possibility of having a good day. It's a difficult task for sure. The "new coach" factor is what gives me some hope. Hopefully we match up better under Coach Bloom vs UH than we did under Bailiff. Can we somehow come up with a gameplan that keeps the Rice defense from being completely overwhelmed?

In the special teams dept., the task I'd focus on vs UH is avoiding the long returns on punts or KO's.

Finally, while they have superior athletes to PVAM, I liked some of the adjustments we made on defense, specifically on PVAM stud WR Wallace, late in that game. Looked to me like we switched CB's on him and had redshirt freshman Thornton doing a better job than Dotson did earlier in the game. UH's WR's are not that experienced. We may face them at their low point this season, and having one game under our belts should help. Not expecting a close game. I'm afraid they will score more than 60 on us and it will never be close. But if I'm going to fantasize about an upset, it starts with winning the aforementioned battles.

(08-29-2018 10:13 AM)tanqtonic Wrote:  Pray for deluge you mean. I have a feeling this is a 'tough game that makes boys into men after a whipping' type scenario for Bloom and his team.

Honestly, I am kind of glad with UH coming up that PVAM scared the beejesus by almost winning. Having that game against PVAM had to have gone a long way to dispelling any 'we are gonna win 7' types associated with the team. Better to know up front that this is going to be a long, tempering type year than coasting to a 25 point easy peasy win then getting your nose pushed back 4 inches behind your forehead by UH. That type of loss following that type of win would be a *major* 'really up -- followed by seriously down' cycle that could be *really* bad for a psyche on a rebuild team.

Glad we got the win against PVAM, but it showed *everyone* (hopefully) how far the team needs to go to be built back.

Without a deluge the UH game is going to be a plastering, even if Applewhite does what he did last year in the 2nd half. Better to take that plastering with the reality that the team had to fight to a win over a supposedly much worse opponent last week, as opposed to getting plastered following a plastering.

As to Lad's comments on a rain being to Rice's advantage --- +100. I'd hope for a Noah type rain, tbh.

Agree. We saw this in 2016; beat PV by 20+, general sentiment was that Rice was much improved... and then reality check.

That said, my expectations are that we improve from the PV game as the season goes on. If we don't, then we likely have UTEP as the only hope for another win. But no reason to not expect us to get better as time goes on.

Re: a plastering - I don't know if Applewhite will be so kind this year. He doesn't know Bloomgren (AFAIK) and also he needs to demonstrate progress this year. Also needs to justify the Briles hire. Put it all together, they may be looking to make Rice a whipping boy.

As shown by the last 5 years it doesn’t matter if you win time of possession or turnover margin if every time the other team throws they have a 20+ yard gain.

Baylor wasn’t even that good the last time we played them at Rice in 2016 and the final score was 38-10. Our talent level has dropped but our coaching has improved. We saw how that compared to PV... I’ll say UH 49-13.

Catalon (edit: actually he left the team, so their other RBs) will be able to run as much as he wants and so will their QB. But they won’t need to...their receivers will look like all-Americans which sets them up for a nice letdown the rest of the season.

Reminder... their QB was 31/33 against us last year. And he got benched for the guy we play Saturday.

(08-29-2018 12:15 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 07:26 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(08-28-2018 02:27 PM)Kayjay Wrote:  I think the idea that Coach Applewhite will "call off the dogs" if they get a big lead will be ameliorated by the need to establish their new offense and Kendall Briles pushing the tempo and the score, as he did at Baylor. You may see 2nd and 3rd stringers on the field but the play calling will be aggressive, even with a 5 touchdown lead.

Rice cannot afford to play catch-up in this game. The Owls have to be successful with ball control, clock eating offense to keep the Cougars offense off the field. It will all come down to whether the Owls Offensive line can keep Ed Oliver from disrupting the game. I do not think that the Owls can pass successfully against UH.

Against PVAMU, many (not all) of the Panthers deep routes were covered but the flats and 6-10 yard routs often were wide open, which plays right into UH's strength if they have picked up their new offense effectively.

I predicted that Rice would score 21 against PVAMU and said it might be the most the Owls will score in a game all year. I was wrong, but I don't think the Owls will match their offensive total of last week. Final: 52 - 13

That's pretty close to my 55 - 20 prediction. I think we get one score due to special teams and one score resulting from a turnover, along with a couple long Fox FGs. No way we're going to be able to run inside as we did against PVAM with Oliver in the middle. If we have any shot on offense it's going to be on the outside (bubble screens, quick pitches). Tyner's lack of mobility would be suicide against Oliver. Defensively, I don't see how we can stop UH offense. They are just too fast for our secondary, and their OL should dominate our DL. Also, their QB is a better and quicker runner than the PVAM QB, who destroyed us with his scrambles and misdirection runs. Remember, Applewhite and Briles have tape of what worked for PVAM, and UH has far superior athletes.

George Nyakwol is as fast as any of their receivers. He's still adjusting to safety, but his biggest contribution right now may be on an occasional blitz, because he can get into the backfield very quickly.

I think it is safe to say that there are very few Rice fans on this board that are giving the Owls a chance to be competitive in the game on Saturday. At this point I just want to see some continued improvement by the team and hopefully a couple of surprises to make the game interesting. In particular I am hoping to see a breakout game from DT Roe Wilkins, who had 7 tackles, including 6 solo tackles and one TFL/Sack during the PVAMU game. I would love for the offensive line to show some real progress and allow the running game to get established in some manner, despite the presence of Ed Oliver across the line of scrimmage and it would be great to see the emergence of a tight end with capable hands and the ability to get open in the seams. Those successes would be something to really build on during the rest of the season.

I mentioned off hand last week that I thought that the Prairie View game would be a glorified scrimmage. I am happy that we walked away with a victory. That was a practice quiz. Now comes Midterms.

This is a weird feeling game. We know that UH is better. But this game has a lot of unknowns. Obviously, Stankavage have more to offer Tyner. However, Coach Bloomgren casually mentioned three players that will make it increasingly harder to keep off the field:
1. Kebreyun Page - OLB
2. Ja'Quez Battley - Special Teams
3. Wiley Green - QB

Could we see Green if this game goes as expected? But will this game go as expected? We played a vanilla offense, and the defense was base up until the 3rd and 4th Quarter. When we did blitz, it was very effective. However, I do expect UH's offensive line to be better.

This is a very different team. I am not all convinced that Bailiff left the cupboard bare. But this team is different. They seem to have that level of intensity that Owl69 often remarks about regarding the intensity of the vaunted Bear Bryant teams.

By the way, I think we should schedule an away game with Hawaii as often as possible. It gives us a 13th game and with that 13th game, we can schedule a nearby FCS opponent like Prairie View, TSU, Sam Houston, Lamar, or McNeese State. And it would be a pretty neat recruiting tool.