We'll admit, we looked past Illinois State last week. Luckily, the team didn't, and they head down to Houston, America's 10th biggest hotbed of sex (and, oddly, America's 9th most obese city), winners of two straight on the young season, as they take on the 1-1 Rice Owls in their second road night game of the season.
Are the 'Cats walking into a buzzsaw in Houston? Should we fear the mighty Owl? The answers are after the jump.
This owl ruined my childhood. Owls are evil creatures.
Road night games suck. There's no getting around it. You are going into an unfamiliar place at an unfamiliar time, against a team who has you circled on their calendar, and into a stadium full of fired-up fans who have been drinking and preparing all day to scream, and, in some cases, throw bottles and quarters at you. We have been there once already this season, and were very lucky to escape with a win (though, if you believe the section titled "Voice Remedy" this report, which also falsely states that the Big Ten apologized to the SEC, Vandy felt more like an NU home game... and being there, I can say it actually did, especially in the 3rd quarter when all the Vandy fans who did not want to throw quarters at the refs went home). However, the game could have easily gone the way of Syracuse last season, or, worse, 2005 Arizona State. Rice will be no different of a challenge. The good news is that Vanderbilt, at least on paper, is a better team than Rice.
Rice is in an interesting spot right now. Head coach David Koechner Bailiff is in his 4th season at the helm, taking over after his predecessor Todd Graham Lane-Kiffin-ed them for the illustrious, storied Tulsa Golden Hurricane program. After a predictably tumultuous first season, Bailiff guided them to an impressive 10-3 season in his second year, but now, after most of Graham and predecessor Ken Hatfield's recruits have graduated, it is pretty much Bailiff's team. After a rash of graduations and injuries, last year was a disaster for them. Stats may be "for losers," but these stats would not even make a "loser" feel warm and fuzzy inside: the 2009 Hooters were outscored by an average of 24.9 points per game, averaged slightly over 100 yards per game rushing and less than 200 yards per game passing, while giving up more than 460 yards per game to their opponent. Predictably, they did not win very many games.
This season may be a different story. Through a combination of injured players becoming healthy (Rice only was able to start the same lineup twice last season because of injuries) and some transfers becoming eligible (including former Michigan standout Sam McGuffie, who we'll get to shortly), this season looks much better for the Owls. They looked decent on national TV against Texas in a losing effort, and though they needed a 2-minute drill to do it, they beat North Texas, so they stand at 1-1, with a much more potent offense than last year.
Sam McGuffie. That's all we have been hearing about when it comes to Rice. He can run the ball, he can catch the ball, he can leap over defensive linemen in a single bound (and sometimes get wrecked in the process). Northwestern never faced him when he played for Michigan-- he did not play in the 2008 game. The 'Cats will have to keep an eye on him, sure, but through two games, he hasn't done THAT much. Texas was able to bottle him up well, and North Texas wouldn't let him get anything on the ground (though he torched them for 91 receiving yards on 4 grabs, 51 of which came on one play). Even in his career, he has only had two 100-yard games, vs Toledo and a very bad Notre Dame team. I AM worried about him as a receiver, however, because he is the shifty-fast type that has the ability to torch our yet-to-be-truly-tested secondary. He is not the leading receiver (that honor belongs to Luke Wil(l)son - they even look alike), but Sam(my the Owl) is the one I would fear the most. After Willson and McGuffie, the Owls have current career reception leader Patrick Randolph, Derek Clark, and converted defender Randy Kitchens, all of whom already have 25+ yard receptions this season. Also look out for senior Corbin Smiter, who showed great promise in 2008, before missing last season with injury.
When it comes to running backs, I'm more worried about two other players: Junior Tyler Smith, and Sophomore Charles Ross. Ross, a big boy at 6-0/230, doesn't have the a ton of carries or yards, which is surprising given he led the team in rushing last season and averaged 5.1 yds/carry, but he is the only runningback to score a touchdown this season (2 of them, in fact), and has a streak going of 4 consecutive games with a TD dating back to last season. It is a safe bet who is going to get the ball if Rice gets into the red zone. Smith, the starter and veteran of the group, leads the team in rushing and boasts a very strong 5.7 yds/carry average. He finished the season with two consecutive 100-yd games, and nearly got there again vs North Texas (92 yds).
This will be the best offensive line the 'Cats have faced this season. They are one of the most experienced O-Lines in the country (funny, guess who else boasts an experienced offensive line...), returning 3 All-C-USA honorees, including both guards (both honorable mentions). Corbin Bryant and company will have their work cut out for them, especially now that Rice has some talent at the skill positions for the line to protect.
After giving way to freshman Taylor McHargue, 2009 starter Nick Fanuzzi, an Alabama transfer, will make the start against the 'Cats after McHargue injured his shoulder during the North Texas game. Fanuzzi had a decent first season as a starter last year, completing 60% of his passes with 11 TD to 8 INT. So far this season, he has continued his accurate ways, and engineered a game-winning drive last week vs North Texas.
Dan Persa: Soon-To-Be Most Hated Man in Houston (After This Guy)
Dan Persa still may be largely ignored by the Big Ten Network and ESPN, but rest assured, he is not going to sneak up on anyone who actually plays the game and watches film anymore. Illinois State may have been daring him to pass, but I would expect Rice to make stopping him focus #1. The good news is they might have some difficulty doing it. Rice has had problems stopping anyone so far this season (though they made plays when it counted against North Texas), and continues to have problems forcing turnovers and getting off the field on third down. They may only give up around 4 ypc on the ground, but they still get gouged over the course of the game.
That's not to say they don't have some excellent playmakers capable of giving the 'Cats problems, especially in the secondary. Safety Taylor Bradshaw has picked up right where he left off last season, when he led the Owls with 121 total tackles, and led all of the FBS with 7.5 unassisted tackles per game. Those are pretty obscene numbers for a defensive back, and through two games, he again leads the squad with 19 total tackles (10 solo) and a forced fumble. Sophomore CB Phillip Gaines, an All-C-USA freshman selection a year ago, is second on the team with 13 tackles, including a career-best 7 in the opener vs Texas. Scary stats for defensive backs? Yes, but they only have a single interception so far this year, and only picked off 6 all of last season.
On the defensive line, the loss of 2nd-team All-C-USA defensive end Scott Solomon will hurt. Solomon, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in the pre-season, led the team in sacks and hurries and led all D-Linemen in tackles last season. However, they still have senior DE Cheta Ozougwu, with 7 tackles so far this season, and some experienced interior defensive linemen like Michael Scott, who has Rice's lone sack this season. They were below average nationally in sacks last year and have only a the one sack and a single QB hurry through two games so far, so expect Persa to have plenty of time if the 'Cats O-Line plays how they are capable.
Yet Another Team With A Special Teams Edge Over The Cats
Why is it that whatever team we play always has an awesome kicker and punter? Rice is no different. RS Freshman kicker Chris Boswell hit 2 50-yarders (and 4 FG total) vs North Texas last week. The good news is that he is just 5/8 on the season, though he is 4/4 on PAT attempts.
Their punter, junior Kyle Martens, is solid-- he averaged 49.3 yds/punt vs North Texas (including 3 50+ yd punts), and for his career has 21 50+ yarders in 118 punts. He is averaging 47.0 yards per punt this season, landing 5/13 inside the 20 with a career long of 71 vs Texas. They actually ranked 16th in the country in net punting with a 38.17-yd average, but gave up 10.1 yards per return (76th, only a few spots below NU). As usual, our fair catch unit punt return team should not have to worry about these numbers.
Just like with the Commies (and the Redbirds), Northwestern is the better team on paper. There is no secret key to beating this team-- if they come out and play their game, not make stupid mistakes, and get a hot start, they should roll. The secondary will get a test from the speedy McGuffie, and Persa will have defenders really keying in on him instead of just daring him to throw, but if they execute properly, we will all be singing the NU fight song at the end of the game.
Filed under: Football
Tags: football, northwestern, Northwestern football, Northwestern Wildcats, northwestern wildcats football, rice
