Rice hangs on to beat Miners

Rice Owls 2009 ... Head Coach: David Bailiff

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 2-10
2009 Record: 1-9

9/5 at UAB L 44-24
9/12 at Texas Tech L 55-10
9/19 at Oklahoma St L 41-24
9/26 Vanderbilt L 36-17
10/3 Tulsa L 27-10
10/10 Navy L 63-14
10/17 at E Carolina L 49-13
10/24 UCF L 49-7
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/7 at SMU L 31-28
11/14 Tulane W 28-20
11/21 UTEP W 30-29
11/28 at Houston

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2008 Record: 10-3

8/29 SMU W 56-27
9/6 at Memphis W 42-35
9/13 at Vanderbilt L 38-21
9/20 at Texas L 52-10
9/27 North Texas W 77-20
10/4 at Tulsa L 63-28
10/11 OPEN DATE
10/18 Southern Miss W 45-40
10/25 at Tulane W 42-17
11/1 at UTEP W 49-44
11/8 Army W 38-31
11/15 OPEN DATE
11/22 Marshall W 35-10
11/29 Houston W 56-42
Texas Bowl
12/30 Western Mich W 38-14

Rice Owls

Nov. 21
at Rice 30 … UTEP 29
Rice got three touchdowns from Charles Ross, including two short ones in the fourth quarter, and the defense held on for dear life. UTEP turned it over six times hurt mostly by two late Donald Buckram fumbles, including one on the goal line, to overshadow a brilliant day with three first half touchdown runs. Trevor Vittatoe connected with Donavon Kemp for a 40-yard touchdown in the fourth, but turnovers proved to be too costly.
Player of the Game: Rice LB Travis Bradshaw made 13 tackles and a tackle for loss and forced two fumbles
UTEP: Passing: Trevor Vittatoe, 17-26, 244 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Donald Buckram, 34-147, 3 TD, Receiving: Jeff Moturi, 3-57
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 8-17, 55 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Tyler Smith, 23-127, 1 TD, Receiving: Charles Ross, 3-34 
What It All Means: Rice didn’t get any offense against UTEP, but it was able to take advantage of a slew of mistakes to capitalize on short scores. After a disastrous start, the Owls have won two straight and can make their season close out on a high note with a win at Houston. Can the running game that has done nothing all year crank it up against the miserable Cougar run D? It had better to have any hope of keeping up with Case Keenum.

Nov. 14
at Rice 28 … Tulane 20
Nick Fanuzzi threw four touchdown passes including three to Toren Dixon from 32, 70, and with 54 seconds to play, from 29 yards out to give Rice its first win of the year. Tulane got up early on Jeremy Williams touchdown catches from six and eight yards out, but Rice took control with 21 straight points before Casey Robottom got the Green Wave close in the fourth. A missed conversion left the door open for Rice to put the game away late.
Player of the Game: Rice WR Toren Dixon caught seven passes for 158 yards and three scores
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 15-24, 214 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Charles Ross, 17-90, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 7-158, 3 TD
Tulane: Passing: Ryan Griffin, 24-41, 261 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 26-135, Receiving: Jeremy Williams, 10-113, 2 TD 
What It All Means: Finally, Rice busted through its losing streak and showed some offensive pop. Toren Dixon is a playmaking receiver the offense has to work around, but the defense isn’t getting much better and it’s struggling against any passer with a pulse. UTEP’s Trevor Vittatoe and Houston’s Case Keenum are up next. The only chance Rice has will be to win the turnover margin in both games by a ton, and the offense has to be prepared to get into a shootout.

Oct. 24
UCF 49 … at Rice 7
UCF never had a problem scoring the first 42 points of the game starting with an A.J. Guyton 76-yard touchdown catch 20 seconds of the game. Guyton also threw a touchdown pass, hitting Kamar Aiken for a 36-yard score in the second quarter, and the big plays kept coming in the third quarter with a 24-yard Josh Robinson interception return for a score and a 52-yard Jamar Newsome touchdown play. Rice finally got on the board in the fourth on a one-yard Charles Ross run.
Player of the Game: UCF WR A.J. Guyton caught four passes for 113 yards and a score, and he threw a 36-yard touchdown pass.
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 17-26, 116 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Charles Ross, 7-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 6-54
UTEP: Passing: Brett Hodges, 8-13, 145 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 12-71, Receiving: A.J. Guyton, 4-113, 1 TD
What It All Means: Rice is able to try to get the offense moving by completing the short to midrange throws, with Nick Fanuzzi and John Thomas Shepherd combining to completed 25-of-37 passes, but there’s no deep threat whatsoever. The defense couldn’t force any turnovers to help out the painful offense. With the way the offense can’t score, failing to get more than 14 points in any of the last four games, the defense has to take more chances. 

Oct. 17
at East Carolina 49 … Rice 13
Dwayne Harris ran caught touchdown passes from 16 and seven yards out and he answered an 80-yard Toren Dixon touchdown catch with a 92-yard kickoff return for a score to give the Pirates an easy win. Up 28-13, the Pirates dominated the fourth quarter with 21 points on three short scores. The two teams combined for six turnovers.
Player of the Game: East Carolina WR Dwayne Harris caught nine passes for 128 yards and two scores, and he returned a kickoff for a touchdown
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 25-43, 231 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeramy Goodson, 9-41, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 8-115, 1 TD
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 18-26, 231 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Dominique Lindsay, 12-78, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 9-128, 2 TD 
What It All Means: It’s a broken record week after week, but the offense simply isn’t working. Last in Conference USA in total offense, last in scoring, and 110th in the nation in rushing, Rice simply can’t keep up the pace against better teams, and the defense hasn’t shown up this year currently ranking last in scoring defense. There’s no pressure into the backfield and the run defense isn’t stopping anyone. There will be problems next week against UCF’s Brynn Harvey, and it’s going to take a special effort for the Owls to come up with a win this year.

Oct. 10
Navy 63 … at Rice 14
Ricky Dobbs ran for four touchdowns and threw three passes in the easy Navy win. The Midshipmen jumped out to a 35-0 first half lead and coasted from there. Rice got on the board late in the first half on a 12-yard Patrick Randolph catch, but Dobbs got back on the board with a 13-yard scoring run followed up by two one-yard Kriss Proctor touchdown runs. Navy outrushed Rice 471 yards to 21.
Player of the Game: Navy QB Ricky Dobbs completed 2-of-3 passes for 66 yards, and he ran 20 times for 104 yards and four scores.
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 20-33, 242 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Shane Turner, 4-18, Receiving: Patrick Randolph, 6-58, 2 TD
Navy: Passing: Ricky Dobbs, 2-3, 66 yds
Rushing: Ricky Dobbs, 20-104, 4 TD, Receiving: Marcus Curry, 1-51
What It All Means: Andrew Sendejo made 17 tackles, but that’s the only thing that went right for a Rice defense that didn’t have a prayer of stopping the Navy offense. Nick Fanuzzi threw well once the game was out of reach, but there was no running game to help move the chains and no defensive stops to give the O a break. Rice has to be perfect, and the two turnover and nine penalties didn’t help. A struggling East Carolina team is up next, but it’s going to have to take the best effort of the year from the O line to have a chance of keeping that close.

Oct. 3
Tulsa 27 … at Rice 10
Rice took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter highlighted by a 29-yard Taylor Wardlow touchdown catch, and then it was all Tulsa the rest of the way. G.J. Kinne ran for a six-yard score, A.J. Whitmore caught a 39-yard scoring pass, and Kevin Fitzpatrick hit two field goals as the Golden Hurricane scored 20 unanswered points and was never threatened in the second half. Rice gained just 191 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne completed 21-of-32 passes for 251 yard and a score, and he ran for seven yards and a touchdown.
Rice: Passing: Ryan Lewis, 12-32, 99 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Charles Ross, 13-33, Receiving: Patrick Randolph, 4-19
Tulsa: Passing: G.J. Kinne, 21-32, 251 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Jamad Williams, 14-72, 1 TD, Receiving: Damaris Johnson 7-85
What It All Means: This is getting ugly, and it’s not going to get any better. The offense simply can’t find any passing production. It’s inefficient, it isn’t accurate, and it’s not moving the chains. The defense did a decent job of keeping the Tulsa ground game in check, but the linebackers will have to play their best game of the season next week to have a shot at slowing down Navy.

Sept. 26
Vanderbilt 36 … at Rice 17
John Cole scored on a 31-yard reverse to start the Vandy ground game rolling and Warren Norman and Larry Smith kept it going as Norman ran for a 58-yard touchdown dash and Smith scored on a six-yard run. The game was tied at ten thanks to a 48-yard Charles Ross touchdown run for the Owls, but Vandy went on a 20-point run before Toren Dixon caught a 12-yard scoring pass. The Commodores forced four turnovers and ran for 268 yards.
Player of the Game: Vanderbilt DB Myron Lewis made six tackles and two interceptions
Rice: Passing: Ryan Lewis, 6-18, 64 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Charles Ross, 7-63, 1 TD, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 4-40, 1 TD
Vanderbilt: Passing: Larry Smith, 23-41, 268 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Warren Norman, 11-119, 1 TD, Receiving: John Cole, 7-67
What It All Means: The Rice offense still isn’t working. Dealing with Vandy and its defense is going to be a problem, but against Tulsa next week, the offense has to get revved up. Finding a consistent quarterback is the first step as Ryan Lewis couldn’t get the offense moving and John Thomas Shepherd’s running couldn’t make up for the two interceptions. At the very least, the turnovers have to stop. Rice is having a hard enough time without putting the defense in tough spots time and again.

Sept. 19
at Oklahoma State 41 … Rice 24
Dez Bryant caught scoring passes from 23 and ten yards out in the first half, and Donald Booker returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown on the way to a 21-3 lead in the first half. But Rice wouldn’t go away as Charles Ross ran for two short scores in the third quarter and a third in the fourth. But The Cowboys were able to put the game away on two Dan Bailey field goals.
Player of the Game: Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant caught nine passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 16-28, 182 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeremy Goodson, 12-55, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 9-120
Oklahoma State: Passing: Zac Robinson, 14-20, 227 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Keith Toston, 18-75, Receiving: Dez Bryant. 9-161, 2 TD
What It All Means: Rice came up with a stunning good performance in a game it should’ve lost in an ugly, brutal blowout. Nick Fanuzzi kept the pressure on with a nice passing day in place of an ineffective John Thomas Shepherd, but the running game never got a chance to work after getting down early. It’ll be a much different game against Vanderbilt next week and its anemic offense. Any offensive production, at least the kind of performance the O came up with in the second half against OSU, could mean an upset.

Sept. 12
at Texas Tech 55 ... Rice 10
Taylor Potts threw seven touchdown passes with two in the first quarter and three in the third, including three to Lyle Leong from seven, eight, and 27 yards out. Tramain Swindell caught scoring passes from 30 and 26 yards out in the fourth, with the last one coming from Steven Sheffield. Rice was never in the game, failing to get into the end zone until early on the fourth, when down 41-10, John Thomas Shepherd connected with Taylor Dupree from three yards out. The Red Raiders rolled up 560 yards of total offense to 257 for Rice.
Player of the Game: Texas Tech QB Taylor Potts completed 36-of-57 passes for 456 yards and seven scores
Rice: Passing: John Thomas Shepherd, 14-19, 109 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: John Thomas Shepherd, 8-17, Receiving: Patrick Randolph, 5-50
Texas Tech: Passing: Taylor Potts, 36-47, 456 yds, 7 TD
Rushing: Harrison Jeffers, 5-23, Receiving: Lyle Leong, 9-117, 3 TD
What It All Means: Rice is trying anything to find the same spark, the same magic of the last few seasons when the offense was so dominant, and it's not working. John Thomas Shepherd is the best of the three quarterback options, but he's not getting much help and there's nothing working in the ground game. Things to get much better with Oklahoma State coming up next, but it'll give the Owls a chance to open things up and try to bomb away a bit more.

Sept. 5
at UAB 44 ... Rice 24
It was the Joe Webb show as the UAB led the way to 516 yards of total offense with touchdown runs of 15 and 71 yards and two touchdown passes to Frantrell Forrest from nine and 22 yards away for a 27-3 first half lead. Rice tried to come back, but UAB kept its foot on the gas with touchdown runs from Justin Brooks and Dexter Barnett to make it a blowout.
Player of the Game: UAB QB Joe Webb completed 12-of-15 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns and ran 20 times for 194 yards and two scores.
UAB: Passing: Joe Webb, 12-15, 221 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Joe Webb, 20-194, 2 TD, Receiving: Frantrell Forrest, 4-64, 2 TD
Rice: Passing: John Shepherd, 10-22, 81 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: John Shepherd, 6-48, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 9-65
What It All Means: It's only one game, but it might be time to push the panic button. The defense was never going to be a brick wall, and it wasn't as Joe Webb and the Blazers ran wild, but the offense didn't keep up the pace. The loss of all of last year's stars proved to be a killer, at least right away, as John Thomas Shepherd failed to be Chase Clement for the offense and there aren't any targets to step in for last year's producers. This could be a long year with next week's game vs. Texas Tech a potential nightmare if the O can't start to do more.