Rainy weather, Golden Hurricane wash away Owls

By Meghan Hall     10/8/09 7:00pm

Playing though the driving rain in front of a sparse crowd, the football team's Saturday game against the University of Tulsa was about as cheerful as the cloudy skies. When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Rice (0-5, 0-2 Conference USA) had not fallen as easily as it could have, but it still suffered its fifth-straight loss, this time by a score of 27-10 against the Golden Hurricane (4-1, 2-0 C-USA). Yes, Rice's efforts may have prevented the bottom from falling out of the season. But that doesn't mean it's not getting close. Opportunities for wins are dwindling, and as the season reaches its midway point, the contest with Tulsa served as a microcosm for all the problems plaguing the team - plus potential causes for hope.

Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne led his team down the field on its first possession, and before six minutes had elapsed, the Golden Hurricane grabbed a 7-0 lead. However, Rice's defense regained its footing and held Tulsa scoreless on its next five possessions.

Head Coach David Bailiff felt the defense played the game he asked of them.

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"I thought for that game, our defense was absolutely spectacular at times," Bailiff said. "They not only learned [the game-plan] - they executed it. Because of the fact that they had taken so much time to study it, I thought they played extremely fast and knew where everyone was inserting and fitting into the different blitzes."

Meanwhile, the Owls nabbed good field position to start the second quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lewis led his team on a two-play scoring drive from Tulsa's 48-yard line, firing a 29-yard pass into the arms of senior tight end Taylor Wardlow.

The defense continued to do its job, allowing the offense to begin a promising drive on their next possession. The Owls were facing first-and-10 from Tulsa's 24 when Lewis threw a pass to the corner of the endzone. Freshman running back Charles Ross had the ball in his hands before dropping it, no doubt a result of the rain. And although the drive took 5:42 and contained a game-long 17 plays, no points came out of it, as a fumble on the field goal attempt forced Rice to turn the ball over on downs.

The teams exchanged field goals and headed into the break with the score tied at 10.

Water wasn't the only thing raining on Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham as he led his team off the field at halftime: Creative and often-vulgar slurs emanated from the student section throughout the game and only increased in intensity as Graham jogged by. The much-maligned Graham, who coached at Rice in 2006 before jumping to Tulsa despite signing a contract extension with the Owls, came out on top once again, improving his record to 3-0 against his former team.

The halftime score was identical to the one in the previous week's game against Vanderbilt University, which Rice lost 36-17. Unfortunately for the Owls, both games were all too similar. Tulsa took control early with a touchdown in the third on Kinne's keeper and later picked up an additional field goal. Meanwhile, the Rice offense eked out just nine plays on three drives in the third.

Tulsa wide receiver A.J. Whitmore reeled in a 39-yard pass in the fourth to put the game out of reach, and the extra point cemented the final score of 27-10. The offense, meager at best in the first half, completely shut down after halftime.

On the season as a whole, the Owls have converted on only 32 percent of third downs, a statistic that no doubt taxes the defense. Despite having to spend more time on the field - particularly in the second half - the defense is able to say with conviction that they're improving, as noted by junior defensive end Scott Solomon.

"We had confidence going in to the season," Solomon said. "[In the first] games, we weren't sure of ourselves. I think we're starting to get our identity back, starting to get that confidence back. We're flying around; we know what to do. We're getting there. Hopefully we can build off this progression we're having."

But for all the progress made on defense, there's been little to show on the other side of the ball to elicit any kind of confidence. The offensive unit as a whole finished with a paltry 191 total yards against the Golden Hurricane, 93 of which came in the second half. That number wouldn't look nearly as impressive without Rice's final 57-yard drive of the game, which ended in an interception from senior quarterback John Thomas Shepherd on Tulsa's 20.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi missed his second straight game with a shoulder injury, and once again his backups did not perform. Lewis went 12-for-32 with 99 yards, while Shepherd was 5-for-11 with an interception. In the last two games without Fanuzzi, Lewis and Shepherd have accumulated a cumulative quarterback rating of 54.0.

The young and injury-plagued offensive line takes some of the blame for poor offensive performance, particularly that of the quarterbacks.

"What's happening is that we're losing our focus during the game, and that's messing up our fundamentals," junior lineman Scott Mitchell said. "We're all good players. They all play as hard as they can play; they all have heart. But if they're not taking the right steps or using the right footwork or shooting their hands the right way then they're not helping themselves out."

The Owls have another chance at their first win in tomorrow's game against the Naval Academy, their third straight at home. The Midshipmen are 3-2 on the year with a close loss to No. 9 Ohio State University and an overtime win against the U.S. Military Academy last weekend.

Bailiff predicted this weekend's contest will be a competitive one.

"This Navy game is going to be a tough one, but I think you'll see our kids play extremely hard," Bailiff said. "My biggest concern is ... making sure their attitude is good. We have a great attitude and look forward to Navy coming to town.

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