Rice Owls
2008
Recruiting Class
Star of the Class
Clay Hebert OL 6-3
290 Fr. Spring, Texas/Klein
Two-time All District 16-5A second team selection for coach Stan
Labay. Led the Bulldogs into the second round of the Division 1
5A playoffs... Member of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Top
300... Also participated in track... A member of the National
Honor Society and an Eagle Scout who carries a 4.1 GPA on a 5.0
scale
Potential Instant Impact Players
Eric Ball OL 6-3
270 Fr. Katy, Texas/Katy
Two-year starter for coach Gary Joseph and one of the anchors on
the Tigers unbeaten 5A state championship squad. Two-time
All-District 18-5A and second-team All-Greater Houston as a
senior by the Houston Chronicle... Katy was a combined 29-1 in
his two years on the varsity... Member of Dave Campbell's Texas
Football Top 300
Kyle Martens P/K
6-6 190 Fr. Spearfish, S.D./Spearfish
All-around athlete who was a first-team 11A All State selection
by the South Dakota High School Coaches Association as a senior
for coach Chuck Syverson... Ranked as the #6 punter after
attending the Chris Sailer Kicking Camp in Las Vegas... Named
his team's most improved player as well as the special teams
MVP... Averaged 42.6 as a punter, including a career-best,
82-yard kick... Averaged 82% touchbacks on his kickoffs... Also
played wide receiver... Three-year letterman in basketball and
track who finished fifth as a junior in the high jump at the
state meet.
Rest of the Class
Jarrett Ben DB 5-10 160 Fr. Garland, Texas/Garland
Derek Clark WR 6-2 170 Fr. Arlington, Texas/Bowie
John Gioffre DL 6-1 293 Fr. Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch
Chris Jammer DB 6-1 175 Fr. Sweeney, Texas/Sweeney
Ryan Lewis QB 6-3 200 Fr. Baton Rouge, La./Catholic
Roddy Maginot WR 5-10 170 Fr. Arlington, Texas/Bowie
Stefan Nazar OL 6-5 290 Fr. Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power
Michael Patterson ATH 5-11 170 Fr. Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall
Michael Smith DL 6-1 270 Fr. Bay City, Texas/Bay City
Shane Turner RB 5-9 170 Fr. Houston, Texas/Cy Falls
Denzel Wells WR 5-11 180 Fr. Houston, Texas/Cy Falls
Xavier Webb DB 5-11 200 Fr. Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery
Jared Williams TE/DE 6-3 230 Fr. Huntsville, Texas/Huntsville
Luke Willson TE 6-5 240 Fr. LaSalle, Ontario/St. Thomas of
Villanova
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2007 Rice Season
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2007 Rice Preview
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2006 Rice Season
2007 Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 2-10
2007 Record: 3-9
Sept. 1
Nicholls State
L 16-14
Sept. 8 at
Baylor L 42-14
Sept. 15
Texas Tech L 59-24
Sept. 22 at
Texas L 58-14
Oct.
3 at
So Miss W 31-29
Oct.
13 at
Houston L 56-48
Oct.
20
Memphis L 38-35
Oct.
27 at
Marshall L 34-21
Nov.
3 UTEP
W 56-48
Nov.
10 at
SMU W 43-42
Nov.
17
Tulane
L 45-31
Nov.
24
Tulsa L 48-43 |
2007 Recap
Recap:
Whatever magic the Owls had in 2006 never quite reached the
surface for the 2007 edition, which managed just three wins in
David Bailiff’s debut on the sidelines. While the offense was
setting a school record for points in a season, the defense was
allowing more than 42 points and 510 yards a game, impossible
numbers for any attack to overcome. To Rice’s credit, it was
competitive in every league game, putting up a fight long after
bowl eligibility was out of reach.
Offensive Player of the Year: QB Chase Clement
Defensive Player of the Year: S Andrew Sendejo
Biggest Surprise: After starting the season 0-4,
absolutely no one expected the Owls to beat league favorite
Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, but that’s precisely what they did
on Oct. 3. Rice jumped all over the Golden Eagles, hanging on
for a 31-29 upset, and giving faint hope that like last season,
the program would rally for a postseason game.
Biggest Disappointment: It didn’t take the Owls very long
to realize that they weren’t in Kansas anymore. In the opener
with Nicholls State, Rice turned the ball over five times, and
could only muster 218 yards versus an FCS defense in a
tone-setting, 16-14 loss.
Looking Ahead: With Clement and his top four receivers,
including Jarett Dillard, back for another season, Rice should
have few problems putting points on the board next season. If,
however, the Owls have any hope of making it back to a bowl
game, Bailiff will need to coax a dramatic turn around out of
his defense and special teams units as well.
Nov. 24
Tulsa 48 ... Rice 43
Rice cranked out 700 yards of total offense with QB Chase
Clement setting a Conference USA record with 601 yards of total
offense, and lost. Tulsa clinched the West title helped by five
touchdown passes from Paul Smith with strikes to Brennan Marion
from 49 and 31 yards out in the first quarter and a 19-yard play
to Trae Johnson midway through the fourth for a little breathing
room. After a Clement pass to Chance Talbert for a 24-yard
touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Rice never led the
rest of the way.
Player of the game:
Tulsa QB Paul Smith completed 22 of 39 passes for 441 yards and
five touchdowns with an interception, and ran six times for four
yards and a score, and Rice QB Chase Clement completed 40 of 66
passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
and ran 17 times for 60 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulsa - Passing: Paul Smith,
22-39, 441 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Tarrion Adams, 24-146. Receiving: Brennan
Marion, 7-244, 2 TD
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 40-66, 541
yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 17-60. Receiving: James
Casey, 11-110
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Rice
might have closed out its season with two straight losses, but
it sure was a fun ride. Chase Clement has perfect command of the
offense, spreading the ball around well on Tulsa and bombing
away at will. The defense didn't have a prayer of slowing down
the Tulsa offense, but the offseason will have to be focused
around coming up with more defensive stops. With Clement back,
it'll be shootout, shootout, shootout.
Nov. 17
Tulane 45 ... Rice 31
Matt Forte ran for 194 yards with touchdown runs from 4,6,
one, five, one and 13 yards out on the way to 2,000 yards The
Owls rallied back with Jarett Dillard catching two scoring
passes and James Casey scoring from 61 yards out and in the
final minutes, from six yards away, but the last score came with
just 25 seconds left. The Green Wave outgained Rice 455 yards to
376.
Player of the game:
Tulane RB Matt Forte ran 39 times for 194 yards
and five touchdowns, and caught a pass for 51 yards
Stat Leaders: Tulane - Passing: Kevin
Moore, 6-10, 125 yds
Rushing: Matt Forte, 39-194, 5 TD. Receiving:
Jeremy Williams, 4-11
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 35-55, 353
yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Chase Clement, 8-26. Receiving: Jarett
Dillard, 9-87, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The
bombings continue on with the defense giving them up faster than
the offense canes score them. It's all about Chase Clement and
hot he's rolling, while Jarett Dillard has been on fire with two
touchdown catches in each of the last three games. Now the
offense has to be more effective early, but it's productive
enough to blow up on Tulsa's awful secondary next week. Getting
more than 23 yards rushing, which the Owls got this week, would
be nice.
Nov. 10
Rice 43 ... SMU 42
Rice got a 31-yard Clark Fangmeier field goal as time ran out
to cap a wild game with 1,030 yards of total offense and 21
penalties. SMU went on a 28 point run with a Justin Willis touchdown
run, two scoring passes, and a one-yard Chris Butler run for a 42-27
lead going into the fourth quarter. And then Chase Clement took
over, running for scores from eight and six yards out and leading
the offense 60 yards in nine plays to put Fanmeier in a position to
win the game. Jarett Dillard was unstoppable for the Owls with 13
catches for 128 yards and touchdown catches from 13 and 25 yards
out, while Brandon King and Andrew Sendejo each returned
interceptions for touchdowns. Zack Sledge caught scoring passes from
21, 15 and six yards out for the Mustangs.
Player of the game:
Rice QB Chase Clement completed 35 of 52 passes for 364 yards and
two touchdowns and one interception, and ran 12 times for 124 yards
and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement,
35-52, 364 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 12-124, 2 TD. Receiving:
Jarett Dillard, 13-128, 2 TD
SMU - Passing: Justin Willis, 13-31, 165 yds, 4
TD, 2 INT
Rushing: DeMyron Martin, 16-137. Receiving: Zack Sledge,
5-68, 3 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ...
Rice might not be very good, but its
games sure are exciting. SMU had the Owls dead, but Chase Clemens
once again overcame adversity to lead the team back to a shocking
win. With two straight victories, the offense is humming thanks to
Clement. Now if the defense can come up with a stop or two against
Tulane or Tulsa, the team can end the year on a major high note with
plenty to get pumped up about going into 2008.
Nov. 3
Rice 56 ... UTEP 48
Rice overcame seven turnovers and a 20-point fourth quarter
deficit with Chase Clement throwing three touchdown passes in the
final frame, and giving the Owls the lead for good with a nine-yard
touchdown run with 3:38 to play. UTEP had one final chance, but the
drive stalled. Clement accounted for eight touchdowns, connecting
with Jarett Dillard, Toren Dixon and Tommy Henderson for two
touchdowns each, while UTEP bombed away with Trevor Vittatoe
throwing five touchdown passes to five different receivers,
highlighted by a 76-yard play to Fred Rouse early in the third
quarter to give the Miners the lead and spark a 28-7 run. Rice
outgained the Miners 558 yards to 422.
Player of the
game:
Rice QB Chase
Clement completed 32 of 58 passes for 395 yards and six touchdowns,
and ran 14 times for 103 yards and two scores.
Stat Leaders: UTEP - Passing: Trevor Vittatoe,
30-57, 373 yds, 5 TD
Rushing: Marcus Thomas, 19-51, 1 TD. Receiving: Lorne
Sam, 9-86
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 32-58, 395 yds,
6 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Chars Clement, 14-103, 2 TD. Receiving: Jarett
Dillard, 11-168, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... If
Rice didn't beat UTEP in one of the most exciting, improbable games
in the school's history, it has to be a close second as far as
comebacks. The offense couldn't stop screwing up with drive after
drive killed by a turnover early on, but the offense couldn't be
slowed down outside of the mistakes. Chase Clement put together an
all-timer of a performance, spreading the ball around well while
running enough to keep the chains moving. Now the team has to figure
out how to win a shootout when it doesn't make so many mistakes.
Oct. 27
Marshall 34 ... Rice 21
Marshall jumped out to a 17-0 first half lead with Bernard
Morris and Kelvin Turner each running for short touchdowns, and then
Morris put it away midway though the third with a 26-yard scoring
run. Rice fought back with a Chase Clement 20-yard touchdown run and
two scoring passes, with a two-yarder to Toren Dixon pulling the
Owls within six with 3:12 to play, but the Herd answered with Kelvin
Turner's second touchdown run of the day to close things out.
Player of the
game:
Marshall QB
Bernard Morris completed 15 of 33 passes for 227 yards, and ran 13
times for 120 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement,
29-48, 281 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 11-76, 1 TD. Receiving: James
Casey, 7-101, 1 TD
Marshall - Passing: Bernard Morris, 15-33, 227
yds
Rushing: Bernard Morris, 13-120, 2 TD. Receiving: Cody
Slate, 3-41
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Rice
got into too big a hole early against Marshall and couldn't climb
back. Chase Clement had a nice day in the rally, but the defense
didn't do enough to stop the Herd running game, especially QB
Bernard Morris taking off, and was awful at getting the Herd offense
off the field. Now at 1-7 with UTEP up next, the Owls have to figure
out some way to slow down the run, and have to do even more to force
turnovers to overcome the various problems.
Oct. 20
Memphis 38 ... Rice 35
Martin Hankins threw three touchdown passes, including a
45-yarder to Maurice Jones with just under six minutes to go, to get
by the Owls. Rice marched back with a 20-yard James Casey touchdown
catch, but down three, never got the ball back. Jarett Dillard
caught touchdown passes from five, nine, and 42 yards out in the
see-saw battle, while Hankins connected with Brett Russell from ten
yards out and Greg Hinds from six yards out, and Joe Doss added a
15-yard touchdown run for the Tigers. Memphis cranked out 571 yards
to Rice's 418.
Player of the
game:
Memphis QB
Martin Hankins completed 21 of 32 passes for 306 yards and three
touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Memphis - Passing: Martin
Hankins, 21-32, 306 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Joseph Doss, 24-175, 1 TD. Receiving: Steven
Black, 6-61
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 28-44, 289 yds,
4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 6-41, 1 TD. Receiving: Joel
Armstrong, 8-71
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... The
Owls had no prayer of slowing down the Memphis offense, couldn't get
the running game going at all, and struggled at times to keep pace,
but they were in the shootout until the end with a big day from
Chase Clement and a monster three touchdown day from Jarett Dillard.
Unfortunately, for the second straight week, the Owls lost in a wind
shootout, and now it's going to have to figure out how to come up
with a defensive stop in the fourth quarter. With a date against
winless Marshall next week, a win is a must.
Oct. 13
Houston 56 ... Rice 48
Houston rolled up 748 yards of total offense and got a
record-setting day from Donnie Avery, who caught 13 passes for 346 yards
and scores from 77 and 67 yards out as part of a wild 28-point first
quarter. Anthony Alridge added a seven-yard touchdown run, but he'd make
his biggest impact in the second half with scoring runs from eight, 33
and 50 yards out to overcome a Rice midgame 26-point run. The Cougars
turned it over five times, and the Owls took advantage with short
scoring drives from five, 14, and 31 yards out to take a 40-28 lead, and
then Houston's offense caught fire.
Player of the game:
Houston
WR Donnie Avery caught 13 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns, and
RB Anthony Alridge ran 24 times for 205 yards and four scores.
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 24-44,
355 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Chase Clement, 11-36. Receiving: Jarett Dillard,
7-133, 1 TD
Houston - Passing: Blake Joseph, 11-18, 318 yds, 3
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Anthony Alridge, 24-205, 4 TD. Receiving: Donnie
Avery, 13-346, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ...
The defense might have given up 748 yards
and 56 points to Houston, but Rice was still in the game until the very
end. While Chase Clemens had a great day throwing it, and the offense
showed its explosion, for the second straight week, the D collapsed
late. After escaping from Southern Miss with a win, lightning didn't
strike twice this week, but there's hope. With Memphis and Marshall
ahead, if the offense can keep taking advantage of every opportunity,
the Owls will come away with wins.
Oct. 3
Rice 31 ... Southern Miss 29
Rice forced seven Southern Miss turnovers was up 31-7 in the
fourth quarter, but needed to bat down a late two-point conversion
attempt to preserve the win. Jarrett Dillard caught two seven yard
touchdown passes, and Justin Hill ran for a 54-yard score on the way to
the big lead, but the Owls were held to just 236 yards of total offense
and couldn't stop USM late. The Golden Eagles scored 22 points in the
fourth quarter, getting two, two point conversions after short touchdown
runs, but they couldn't convert on a third after an eight-yard Shawn
Nelson scoring grab. They got the ball one more time with 1:21 to play,
but lost a fumble.
Player of the
game:
Rice S Andrew
Sandejo made 5.5 tackles, forced a fumble, broke up a pass, and picked
off two others.
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement,
9-20, 67 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Justin Hill 12-100, 1 TD. Receiving:
James Casey, 2-16
Southern Miss - Passing: Stephen Reaves, 24-33,
231 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Damion Fletcher, 23-142, 2 TD. Receiving: Chris
Johnson, 7-51
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... It
doesn't matter if it wasn't pretty. It doesn't matter if the offense
couldn't move the ball outside of one big run. It doesn't matter how it
happened. Rice beat Southern Miss for the first win in the David Bailiff
era, and while it wasn't the type of game that'll suddenly turn the team
and the program into a Conference USA player, it does allow everyone to
exhale. The defense is going to have to come up with big plays game
after game after game until the offense finds something that works. But
for now, Rice can hang its hat on beating one of the league's favorites.
Sept. 22
Texas 58 ... Rice 14
Texas exploded on Rice with 560 yards of total offense,
outgaining the Owls 227 yards to -11 on the ground, in what quickly
turned into a laugher. The Longhorn offense cranked out the first 41
points of the game, helped by Limas Sweed touchdown catches from 52
and 24 yards out, and two of Jamaal Charles' three short touchdown
runs. Rice didn't get on the board until the final minute of the
second half, with Toren Dixon scoring on an 18-yard catch, but the
game had gotten well out of hand.
Player of the
game:
Texas QB Colt
McCoy threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing,
and ran three times for four yards.
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing: Chase Clement,
18-32, 220 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing: Bio Benibo, 2-9. Receiving: Toren Dixon,
5-61, 1 TD
Texas - Passing: Colt McCoy, 20-29, 333 yds, 3
TDs
Rushing: Vondrell McGee, 8-80, 1 TD. Receiving: Limas
Sweed, 5-139, 2 TDs
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ...
It's hard to get a gauge on just how good the Owls are, or aren't,
based on losses to Texas Tech and Texas, but at the moment, nothing
is working. The defensive front wasn't in the same stadium as the
Longhorn offensive line, failing to generate any pressure, while the
offense sputtered and coughed yet again. The game got out of hand so
quickly that the offense had to start bombing, and had to ditch the
running game. It didn't work. The lines have to play far better for
the Owls to have any hope against Southern Miss and Houston over the
next few weeks.
Sept. 15
Texas Tech 59 ... Rice 24
Graham Harrell threw six touchdown passes including three to
Michael Crabtree in a rout. Rice hung tough for about 20 minutes,
helped by a 47-yard Jarett Dillard touchdown and a 13-yard Toren
Dixon scoring grab. Crabtree took over with a 74-yard touchdown to
give the Red Raiders all the points they'd need, and he scored from
nine and 25 yards out in the second half as part of a 35-point run.
Tech outgained Rice 592 yards to 311.
Player of
the game ... Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell completed 48 of 64
passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Texas Tech - Passing: Graham
Harrell, 28-37, 414 yds, 6 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Shannon Woods, 9-75, 1 TD Receiving:
Michael Crabtree, 11-244, 3 TD
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 20-37, 212
yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Ugokwe, 15-63, 1 TD Receiving:
Jarett Dillard, 6-90, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Even in
the ugly blowout against Texas Tech, there were some signs of life
with a decent offensive showing in the first half. Once the
floodgates opened up, the defense was helpless, and the offense
wasn't able to generate and sustained drives to stop the momentum.
Next week against Texas, the running game finally has to start
working to have any chance of keeping it respectable. Everyone's
running on the Longhorns, and Rice has to do it early on. Jarett
Dillard got his first touchdown catch of the year, but the passing
game has hardly been dangerous.
Sept. 8
Baylor
42 ... Rice 17
Baylor QB Blake Szymanski set a
school record with four first half touchdown passes, and then
set another record with 412 passing yards and six scores in the
blowout win. Justin Akers caught the first two scoring passes of
the day, and then Szymanski hit four different receivers for
scores. Rice got a 14-yard Chase Clement touchdown run along
with a three-yard James Casey dash to get close, but the BU
passing game proved to be too much to overcome.
Player of the game:
Baylor QB Blake Szymanski went 29-of-46 for 412 yards and six
touchdown passes.
Stat Leaders: Rice - Passing:
Chase Clement,
20-25, 207 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: C.J. Ugokwe, 11-30. Receiving: Jarett
Dillard, 5-93
Baylor - Passing: Blake Szymanski, 29-46, 412
yds, 6 TDs
Rushing: Brandon Whitaker, 8-34. Receiving:
Brandon Whitaker, 6-27, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ...
This is going to be a long season if big adjustments aren't made in
a big hurry. Rice isn't getting all the same breaks it got last year
under head coach Todd Graham, the offense isn't nearly as crisp, and
the defense was non-existent against Baylor. The big problems are
the lack of a pass rush on defense, and the lack of a push from the
offense front in the ground game. The secondary is in big, big
trouble next week against Texas Tech, and it'll be a 50-point
blowout unless the offense can control the clock for extended
stretches.
Sept. 1
Nicholls State 16 ... Rice 14
In rainy conditions with a delay due to lightning, Nicholls
State got three interceptions from Ladarius Webb with one going
32 yards to a second quarter touchdown and Grant Thorne caught a
30-yard scoring pass in the upset. Rice scored on a two-yard
Casey James run in the first quarter and a ten-yard Chase
Clement run in the third to tie it at 14, but NSU got the
winning points on a blocked punt for a safety.
Player of the game: Nicholls State DB Ladarius Webb
made seven tackles and three interceptions, returning one for a
touchdown
Stat Leaders: Nicholls State - Passing:
Vin Montgomery, 3-7, 87 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Broderick Cole, 12-55. Receiving:
Isa Hines, 1-43
Rice - Passing: Chase Clement, 11-28, 101
yds, 3 INT
Rushing: C.J. Ugokwe, 13-64. Receiving: Jarett
Dillard, 5-41
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean, Basil? ... Five
turnovers and next to no offensive production from anyone helped
contribute to the loss to Nicholls State in an embarrassing
start to the David Bailiff era. NSU had two turnovers of its
own, and 12 penalties, but that didn't matter against an Owl
attack that couldn't get anything going in the rain and a
defense that couldn't deal with the NSU running attack. This was
a day when the old Rice, with the option running game, would've
done far better. Jarett Dillard's touchdown streak ended at 15
games.
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