The Fifth Lap

By Gabe Cuadra     8/22/12 7:00pm

 

These are the days of dreams. These are the days of blank records. These are the days of limitless potential, of imagination.

These are the days, as the Houston heat and humidity peaks as cam- pus fills and the energy begins to build again, as the preseason workouts end and the game-day jerseys come out, these are the days where you can't help but say, "Why not this year? Why not us?"

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These are the days of dreams, exactly as they should be.

As the Owls began to compete on the fields, tracks, courts and pools, bolstered by your and their shared, unbridled optimism, there are certain events that stand out on the schedule even at first glance.

Therefore, as you entertain dreams of conference championships, bowl games, and national berths, here are a set of Rice must-see home games to mark on your calendar for the beginning of the fall semester.

These events span different sports, but have one underlying commonality: You're not going to want to miss any of them.

8/30 Football vs UCLA

Last year, a blocked field goal as time expired secured Rice's first win against a BCS school in the last 23 at- tempts during a thrilling 24-22 victory over Purdue.

Rice opens with a great opportunity to notch another victory against a BCS foe as the Bruins of the University of California, Los Angeles visit for a Thursday night season opener.

 

9/14 Rice Cross Country Invite

This preseason meet is your only opportunity to see Rice's Men's and Women's Cross Country teams in Houston before they travel across the nation to represent Rice.

The men will be beginning their journey toward what they hope is an improvement over last year's sixth place finish at the NCAA Regional Meet, while the women will be show- casing their new stars after the departure of All-American Becky Wade and standout Allison Pye.

 

9/23 Women's Soccer vs SMU

This is the first of two rematches from last year's thrilling Conference USA tournament for the Owls. Last year, Rice knocked out its cross-state foe in double overtime with a 2-1 victory. This Sunday afternoon game promises to be a tough but key match to close out the first weekend of conference competition.

 

9/29 Football vs Houston at Reliant Stadium

No team has successfully defended the Bayou Bucket Trophy since 2007. Rice will look to thwart University of Houston's attempt to end that trend as the cross-town foes meet at Reliant Stadium.

This will be the second time that UH and Rice play at Reliant, with the first being a 10-7 Rice victory in 2004. If recent history is any indicator, Reliant will see a lot more points this time. Over their last five meetings, the two teams have averaged a combined 82 points a game.

 

9/30 Women's Volleyball vs Tulsa

Tulsa enters C-USA play as the two- time defending champion and pre- season favorite.

Rice, picked second in the pre- season C-USA poll, can take a big step toward dethroning Tulsa and securing the automatic NCAA tournament bid with a win at Tudor Fieldhouse. The last time Rice beat Tulsa was in the C-USA tournament championship set game in 2009.

 

10/19 Women's Soccer vs UTEP

Last season, the Lady Miners eliminated Rice in the C-USA semi-finals in a penalty shoot-out after 90 minutes plus two 10-minute overtime sessions left the squads level at zero.

Rice will look to avenge that loss when they host University of Texas at El Paso on October 19. The match is also part of what could be a critical late season weekend for Rice. After UTEP, they'll have their home season closer against preseason C-USA number three, Colorado College, before completing conference play the following Friday at Houston.

 

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