Commodores set sail in second half to drown Owls

By Meghan Hall     10/1/09 7:00pm

(See the slideshow at the bottom of the page!)Another second half collapse and another loss.

At least the season has some continuity to it.

It seemed like a repeat of the same story for football last Saturday as the team fell to Vanderbilt University 36-17 for its fourth straight loss. Although the Owls were playing at Rice Stadium for the first time this season, a crowded student section and almost 20,000 fans behind them, audience alone wasn't enough to defeat the Commodores.

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Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) set the tone early with John Cole's 31-yard run for a touchdown on their first drive of the game. Rice (0-4, 0-1 Conference USA) countered with a touchdown of their own on a short 46-second drive, thanks to a 48-yard sprint by running back Charles Ross. The freshman was the team leader in rushing, finishing with 63 yards on seven carries.

Head Coach David Bailiff was impressed with Ross' play, the highlight of the first half, and was disappointed to see his playing time limited later in the game after an asthma attack.

"As we continue to work with him to be an every-down back, there is no doubt he can run the ball," Bailiff said. "Now he's understanding pass protections and he's turning into a total back who we're comfortable keeping in the football game more."

A pair of field goals knotted the score at 10-10, and the momentum heading into halftime was distinctly in the Rice camp.

And then the second half began.

Rice's defense held Vanderbilt on its first drive, but an interception by Eddie Foster off sophomore quarterback Ryan Lewis led quickly to a Commodores field goal. From there on out, the lead fell safely into Vanderbilt's hands. The Commodores scored on four of their next six drives, accumulating 23 points and finishing off the Owls by 19 points.

The Owls' defense, which played ferociously throughout the first half, grew obviously tired as the second half bore on, with little chance to rest while their listless offense sputtered through five three-and-outs. The defense was particularly porous with the rush, with all four of Vanderbilt's touchdowns coming on the ground.

"We've just got to be able to play for four quarters and put a whole game together," senior defensive back Andrew Sendejo said. "We played pretty well overall but kind of fell off at the end.

Rice did manage another touchdown in the mid-fourth quarter with senior wide receiver Toren Dixon's 12-yard catch from senior quarterback John Thomas Shepherd, but by then the game was long gone.

Dixon, who led the receiving corps with 40 yards on four catches, praised the defense while accepting responsibility for the offense's lack of production.

"We had a lot of positives, especially looking at the defensive side of the ball," Dixon said. "Those guys left it all out on the field. Unfortunately, we weren't able to move the chains enough and kept them out there too long.

On the whole, Rice's offensive output wasn't nearly enough to match Vanderbilt's. The Commodores finished with an advantage in first downs (23 to 14) as well as 200 more offensive yards than the Owls. Rice finished only 3-for-18 on third down conversions, all three of which came in the first half.

The quarterback situation did not help the Owls. Shepherd took the first snaps but was immediately yanked after the first drive. With sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi derailed with a shoulder injury, redshirt freshman Ryan Lewis played in his second game of the year.

But neither quarterback put up numbers worthy of a starter. Shepherd finished 6-14 with 58 yards and two interceptions - he also netted 53 yards on the ground - while Lewis ended 6-18 for 64 yards and a pair of interceptions.

Besides Fanuzzi, the team played without running back Tyler Smith, sophomore offensive lineman Jake Hicks and his backup, redshirt freshman Eric Ball.

"We need to get a lucky stone in our pocket on some of those injuries and continue to aim high and not let this football team fall short," Bailiff said.

Hopefully the Owls can find that lucky stone quickly, because they face the University of Tulsa tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. in Rice Stadium. On top of itching for its first win, Rice always hopes to defeat Todd Graham, ex-Rice Head Coach, and his Golden Hurricane. Tulsa (3-1, 1-0 C-USA) has only fallen against No. 8 University of Oklahoma in a 45-0 thrashing. Despite their lack of offensive prowess against the Sooners, Tulsa has averaged 45 points a game in their three wins.

"We've got to grow the team up fast," Bailiff said. "I think the greatest thing that's happening during this streak is that I'm seeing some amazing leadership by people who had not shown it earlier in the year. That's going to help galvanize this football team because there's guys drawing the line in the sand saying, 'It's not going to happen here at Rice.' We're going to win. We're going to keep the expectations high."

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