Football begins play with win over SMU

By Nathan Bledsoe     9/4/08 7:00pm

After dismantling Southern Methodist University for the third year in a row, the Owls will look to jump out to a quick 2-0 conference start when they face the University of Memphis at 7 p.m. tomorrow night in Tennessee. Rice should have the upper hand in terms of momentum: While the Owls are coming off a solid victory, Memphis is trying to bounce back from a 41-24 loss to the University of Mississippi.

The biggest stat the Owls have to pay attention to this week is turnovers. Last week Rice dominated that column, forcing five turnovers from SMU which resulted in 28 points. Memphis, on the other hand, found itself on the short end of the turnover stick last week, giving the ball away twice. To remain successful, the Owls must continue to force turnovers while protecting the football themselves. With 30-50 point-total games common in modern football, turnovers are the biggest defensive key to sustained success. The Owls cannot expect to maintain a large turnover advantage every week but continuing to take away the football should remain a major focus.

In terms of match-ups, Memphis's biggest advantage comes in the size disparity between their tall receiving corps and the Owls' relatively short secondary. SMU's run-and-shoot offense is based on very quick passes from the quarterback, and thus the Rice defense had trouble forcing pressure. That pattern must change when Memphis drops back to pass. The Tigers run a more conventional offense, with under-center and two-back formations. Thus, pressuring the quarterback is imperative to success against the passing game.

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Offensively, when playing against most Conference USA foes, the simply must not beat themselves. Continuing to run the ball the way they did against the Mustangs would be welcome, but not wholly necessary. Rice does not have to rely on the running game thanks to the emergence of sophomore wide receiver Patrick Randolph, junior wide receiver Corbin Smiter, junior wide receiver Toren Dixon and sophomore tight end James Casey to supplement senior wide receiver Jarett Dillard. Thus, the Owls' passing attack can carry the team through conference play. Minimizing fumbles and protecting senior quarterback Chase Clement from injury are keys to season-long success for the Owls.

The Owls began their 2008 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating SMU 56-27 in front of 23,164 fans as well as a national television audience Friday night at Rice Stadium. Clement lit up the scoreboard, tying his own record of six touchdown passes in a game. Dillard was on the receiving end of three of those touchdowns, giving the pair 35 touchdowns between them for their careers. The Owls ran for 208 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry, and it was a markedly different sort of rushing than a year ago.

"We rushed the ball for more than 200 yards and most of those were designed runs and not just Chase scrambling, and that's exciting to see," head coach David Bailiff said.

Defensively, the Owls had their strongest performance in the Bailiff era. Two of their five forced turnovers were interceptions returned for touchdowns, one by junior defensive back Andrew Sendejo and one by senior defensive back Brandon King. Sendejo's defensive play was so impressive it merited recognition by the conference: He was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week. Thanks to the tight defensive effort, even though a few big plays were given up to the Mustangs, the defense consistently kept the Ponies from scoring.

The ugliest aspect of the victory was the sloppy special teams play by the Owls. Rice missed two field goals, muffed a punt, fumbled a kickoff return, and even the successful kickoffs were inconsistent in length. While the team's offensive and defensive performances overcame the special teams' struggles, the Owls must address these issues to maintain any sort of winning streak this season, including defeating Memphis this weekend.

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