Texas Tech Week
Texas Tech 55, Rice 10      Tech post-game press conference video....
The bleeding continues

Rice's Chris Jammer draws a bead on Texas Tech's Detron Lewis (PTH photo)

LUBBOCK (Sept. 12) – The situation was this: Rice trailed Texas Tech 14-3, in the opening moments of the second half Saturday. The Owls had taken the kickoff, and they were driving. A quick six would put the Rice team right back in the thick of the game. After Nick Fanuzzi hit Toren Dixon coming across for 9, the Owls were camped at the Tech 47, third and one. There, the defense stiffened. Tyler Smith rushed for no gain. Now the Owls were facing fourth and one. Faking the halfback dive, Fanuzzi rolled left; his primary receiver, Luke Willson, camped out on the sideline, eight yards past the line of scrimmage. It appeared the Rice signal caller could take his pick: run for the first down, or make the toss to his receiver. Nick reared up to throw. The crowd roared.

Permit us, at this point, to engage in a bit of idle speculation which accomplishes nothing. We promise to never do this again, ever. But allow it just this one time – we’ve got to get it out of our system, once and for all.

Imagine that this season’s Rice team had two former players still out there suited up for them. Oh, imagine, just for the purpose of speculation, that those two players were Chase Clement, at quarterback, and Jarett Dillard, at wide receiver. Imagine that it was actually Chase out there rolling left, JD camped out at the sideline.

One could easily foresee a couple of outcomes at that juncture. The first would have Chase faking to JD and drawing in every defensive back in the county, for such was the level of respect that the record-breaking Rice wideout drew. From there, it would have been easy for Chase to tuck it under and gain first down yardage and more, perhaps even getting it all the way to the end zone, as he not infrequently did.

Or imagine Chase faking the run, then rearing up to throw. Once could easily forese the inimitable Dillard leaping high in the air to snap up the ball, quite likely leaving his defender with feet tangled and on the ground., and with room to roam down the sideline, perhaps for six.

But alas, there were two quite different, very fine but quite different Rice men out there holding those positions against the Red Raiders Saturday. As it turned out, the toss was made, the leap was made, but the Tech defender was able to make the play, reaching forward to flick the pass away at the last instant, and the ball went over on downs.

Such is the plight of Rice football, the 2009 version.

Who would have thought that the loss of three, perhaps four players to graduation would have created such a huge mountain to climb?  As it turns out, Clement, Dillard, Casey and Raines were not only huge contributors to Rice 2008 ten-win season, but also, in many ways, the glue that held the team together. It's no slam against this year's squad,  which is striving mightily to get up to speed.  A little patience from Rice's fandom clearly is in order. But we digress.

After opening second-half drive, things went south in a hurry

Tyler Smith gets open briefly as he cuts to the outside (PTH photo)

So in came Nick Fanuzzi, faced with moving the Owls out from underneath the lip of their own goal, as the partisan Tech crowd yowled like 50,000 Alamo defenders.

Two passing attempts under a heavy rush were incomplee to Pat Randolph, and one Tyler Smith halfback dive netted but a yard. Kyle Martens got the punt away as far as the Tech 48 (helped by an illegal block penalty on Tech), but, with the short field, the Raider offensive machine was up to the task, moving the ball 52 yards in six plays, the last five coming on an out pattern to the flag which was hauled in by Edward Britton.

Tech had a 14-0 lead before Owls picked up single first down

Patrick Randolph skies high to make catch for first down (PTH photo)

So, in the waning moments of the first quarter, the score stood 14-0, Tech, and at that point the Owl offense had held possession of the ball for all of six plays, with zero first downs and net negative yardage.

It was then J T Shepherd's turn to drive the Owls, and he promptly took the Feathered Flock on an extended campaign, moving the team 50 yards before finally bogging down at the Tech 28. The key play on that drive was a beautifully executed 27-yard down and out along the sideline to Roddy Maginot, which gave the Owls a first down at the Texas Tech 32.

Once again, though, the Red Zone bugaboo (or in this case the near-Red Zone bugaboo) reared its ugly head and John Thomas had to take a sack on first and ten from the Tech 29.

Tortilla-tossers howled away at officials' calls

Chris Jones gives the old college try to get to Tech QB Potts  (PTH photo)

The didn't sway the tortilla tossers in the stands, however, who bellowed long and loud a favored unprintable epithet at the officicals. The Tech radio crew, as well, blathered on and on in their post-game show about the ineptititude of the officiating and how Rice really didn't deserve that TD. When asked about it himself, the Pirate, Coach Leach, demurred, responding, in effect, "it's not important enough for me to get in trouble over that one."

Sandwiched around that lone Rice second-half scoring drive were six consecutive touchdown drives.

Oh, and sandwiched somewhere in there also was a hundred-yard Tech kickoff return that was called back for a penalty.

It was a sequence which was frankly quite ugly, as the Flock were pushed around on both sides of the ball by an aroused Tech team, adrenaline pumping.

We won’t bother with the details, except to note that one of those TD receptions was scored by Austin Zouzalik, a Lubbock resident who was headed to Rice until snared by a last-minute scholarship offer by the Raiders. And what’s a kid with a good South-Central Texas name like that doing out in the Llano Estacado, anyway? He should be coming from a place like Schulenburg, or Halletsville.

In the last few minutes of the game, Rice’s last two possession were led by yet another quarterback hopeful, this time Ryan Lewis. Ryan’s passes were crisp; he completed seven out of 15, suffering one interception that wasn’t his fault, when the Tech defender came over the back of the intended Rice receiver, causing the ball to carom where it was picked up by a second Tech defender who happened to be in the area.

Compared to the other two Rice men under, J T Shepherd was 14 for 19, but his yardage total was only 109, and he was sacked three times.

"A lot of that was on me," John Thomas said afterwards, always ready to shoulder responsibility. "They did get some pressure, but a couple times it was on me, pulling the ball down too quick, trying to get up through a seam that wasn't there. I probably could have held it there a little longer and hit somebody downfield, and I need to work on that."

Starter Nick Fanuzzi had a night to forget, and (one would hope) quickly shrug off. He went four for seven for all of 22 yards, was sacked once and lost a fumble on a high, but manageable, snap.

"We can't do that," Coach Bailiff said afterwards. "We can't drop interceptions, we can't not finish on the receiver.  When it’s fourth and one, we’ve got to make those things, to keep driving."

Though the team members who came to the interview room, post-game, appeared clearly on the hang-dog side, exhibiting what appeared to be mostly a sense of disgust in the night’s result, Coach Bailiff did not fault with the effort of his team.

"The little things are making the difference between winning and losing," he added. "It's not structure, tonight it wasn't effort, we just have to make a difference in those little things."

"We're not going to quit," Coach Bailiff said. "We're not demoralized. I'm mad, because I don't like to lose."

"But we’re going to keep going after it and get better each week."

--P.T.H

'Test of toughness' looms for Owls,
as Tech offensive machine is next
Toren Dixon says team is not about mailing this one in

x Toren Dixon is one to reach high, to accomplish his goals (PTH photo)

By Mark Anderson

HOUSTON (Sept. 10) -- Toren Dixon wasn't about to let Rice's disheartening loss to UAB last week derail his freight train or do anything to deter the goals of his teammates, insofar as he had anything to do about it. The putative leader of the Owls offense, if not the team,

e of the hard-driving attitude he displays week in and week out.

That includes this week, as the Owls get set to face Texas Tech's prolific offensive machine.

Owlook

Toren said he recognizes that going into Lubbock will not be an easy task. "Texas Tech is known for putting a lot of points on the board," he told us . "And they have a defense, too – they're well coached and aggressive."

Toren has a lot of respect for the Red Raiders, and it shows. But is there any trepidation, on his part, of what might happen on the field, Saturday?

After all, Rice head coach David Bailiff, in his Monday press conference, more than hinted that a near-perfect performance by the Owls on both sides of the ball might fall short of pulling out a victory, if the Tech offensive attack is grinding away at 100 per cent of efficiency.

But Toren said he understands that when you go on the road, there are certain things that can conspire to help a team – especially one that is a big underdog -- to come out and challenge. "You have to take it play by play, drive by drive, and series for series, and take it for what it is," he told us. "It is going to be a hostile environment."

"We're not going to lay down. We're going to fight and leave it all on the field," he said.

Numbers, history don't look good for Owls

Why would the Owls even hope to have any shot against the Red Raiders? Let's take a look at the numbers, to see what the Feathered Flock is facing. For starters, Texas Tech boasts a 21-1 home record against non-conference opponents under head coach Mike Leach.

The Raiders have won the last two meetings against their former Southwest Conference rival and haven't lost to the Owls at home since 1985. Most recently, at Rice Stadium in 2007 against Rice, Michael Crabtree caught 11 passes for 244 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 59-24 Tech victory. Rice is 5-14 all-time at Texas Tech.

Last week, QB Taylor Potts threw for 405 yards with two touchdowns while running for two more scores in a 38-13 Texas Tech victory over North Dakota.

On the other side of the coin, however, the Tech offensive behemoth may be showing a few chinks in its armor this season. Tech loyalists were alarmed at the fact that the Raiders put up 'only' 38 points against FCS (Division 1AA) North Dakota. The game was the varsity debut for Taylor Potts, and it was a contest in which he threw three interceptions against a less-than-stellar secondary.

While the Raiders eclipsed the 400-yard mark through the air against the Dakotans, they only gained 40 yards rushing on the day. At his Monday press conference, Coach Leach said his Raiders were "probably the most balanced team in the nation." Balance, he noted, "has virtually nothing to do with rushing as opposed to passing. It has to do with your ability to get the ball in all your players' hands."

OK, coach, we'll buy that interpretation, for discussion purposes.

It's clear that the Owls performed well below expectations in their season-opening loss to UAB. But it remains a question whether that poor performance was strictly upon the Rice players (and coaches), or whether a talented, double-threat UAB quarterback named Joe Webb had something to do with it also.

A number of other factors could be taken into account, like the lousy weather, the musical chairs being played at several positions -- not the least of which being the quarterback spot -- and it's being a road season opener. But there were undoubtedly some bright spots as well. They may have escaped the casual viewer's notice, but not Dixon's.

"You look at special teams," he said. "It was exciting watching Shane return [the ball]. It was like every time he touched the ball, he made it exciting."

Owls have the necessary playmakerrs, TD says

Dixon did not stop with just the praise of the special teams. "As an offense, we did move the ball," he pointed out. "One of the things we noticed is we do have playmakers on this offense, guys capable of making big plays. We made progress, we moved the ball in the second half. It was a lot of things offensively that we did where we just beat ourselves."

The key next week and for the entire 2009 season is consistency, Toren said. "We just have to be more consistent whenever we have the opportunity to put points on the scoreboard preferably touchdowns" he noted. "We have to take advantage of that."

Back to the Raiders -- one must also bear in mind that the Red Raiders are in the process of reloading, if not rebuilding. Last week, against a 1AA team, they turned the ball over four times. If that happens again, and Rice is able to do what Dixon is talking about – scoring touchdowns when the opportunity knocks – then the outcome could be a little bit more in doubt that most people in and around Lubbock are expecting.

Oh, and one other thing -- the Raiders' opponent next week is a little ol' outfit they call the University of Texas. Despite protestations to the contrary emanating from the High Plains, it would be highly consistent with human nature, were the Raiders thinking ahead just a bit to the task that lay next before them.

Meanwhile, if you think the Owls have conceded Saturday's contest, think twice. Ask Toren Dixon for starters.

"I still think there are a lot of plays that we left on the field (against UAB)," he said. "There were a tremendous amount o f plays that we could have made that would have changed the outcome of the game. It's always a challenge going on the road against a tough Big 12 opponent. It's not going to be easy. But we're going in there with optimism and we're going to play it tough".

"We're not going to play perfectly, we're going to make mistakes, but you just have to overcome adversity."

"It's going to be a test of our toughness."

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