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Rice Scouting Report

owl40

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owl40

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Rice Scouting Report.

Love the energy (and confidence) from the Mean Green Fans. Good for College Football and C-USA.

Thought you would like a scouting report (from Rice perspective) on the Owls…

Overall, we have beaten nobody but also won the games we should have won. We looked great against A&M in 1H but other than that, I think most Owl fans would say we have not lived up to the potential/hype yet. People finally saw team they expected on Saturday against UTEP but overall team has not played 4Q of football. Last year we were youngest team in all of FBS and this year we are one of most experienced w/ 23 seniors and 19 fifth-year seniors. We have beaten some bad football teams but we cannot control that. Overall, we are #20 in FBS in turnovers gained but NT is #2 and #1 in fumbles recovered. I think this will be key point for the game. Which team beats itself and capitalizes on other teams misfortune?

Position breakdown.

Offense.

We run the spread but like to run first and pass second. Teams have approached us by stacking box w/ 8+ guys and dare our QB's and WR's to beat over-the-top. For the most part, that worked until last week as we had a bunch of deep balls completed. Rice is #15 in all FBS running the football but #62 in total offense.

QB

You will see three QB's. Taylor McHargue (McH) is 5th year senior starter. Finally showed what most expect against UTEP last week. Made nice deep ball throws plus some nice plays with his feet. Driphius Jackson (DJ) will get snaps and is really good w/ feet and future for program but still have not seen him as much as many Owl fans would like. Luke Turner runs the Wild Owl (wildcat) package and is former HS QB so has thrown a few times from that formation. Biggest thing for Rice is making sure McH makes good decisions. When he does, the offense rolls and when he does not we struggle…

RB's

You will see five guys (Ross, Petersen, Dillard, Davis, Turner) likely get touches. Ross and Petersen are both about 235-240 lb. guys and run hard. Lots of zone read and option and rotating guys in to keep them fresh. Ross is the class of the group. He is finally healthy. I think stopping him will be #1 priority of the NT Defensive Coordinator.

WR's

Jordan Taylor has four Sportscenter top 10 plays in his first three seasons. He is the best WR by far and a gamer who will play on Sunday. Will line him up on outside, in-slot, etc. Other guys all have good speed (better than 4.5) such as Parks, Moore, Hull, etc. and can get deep. Have not shown great ball security or hands though and most close to Owls would say that after Taylor, most have disappointed. Parks is emerging. This will be key as I would expect Mean Green to stack box and know where Taylor is at all times and force other guys to beat you. The other members of the group have to step-up.

TE's

A big strength last year with McDonald and Willson who are now with 49ers and Seahawks respectively. We have a young guy (Celia) who has some promise and a big converted RB (Eddington) who most Owl fans would like to see more touches for. All-in-all, this position was a 'go to' over last few years and has been pretty non-existent so far this season.

OL

Historically, Rice did not pass the 'eye-test' Now they do. All around 300 lbs and have played together as a unit for a couple years. I know NT has a great OL but Rice is now more than respectable here. Nate Richards (center) is best of group and all-CUSA.

Defense

Rice runs 4-2-5. Injuries big concern here. All C-USA LB (Nwosu) has red-shirted, two-year starter at Safety (Frazier- son of Vikings head coach) is out, and now our starting NG was hurt against UTEP and starting DE hurt against NM St. We are a bit thin.

DL

Hope that Bauer is back at DE but some unheralded guys played well yesterday. UTEP's OL < NT so hard to tell how effective they will be. Covington is a beast and a NFL prospect. Best DL on team by far. Other guys (Winship, Leland, Henessee, etc.) need to play big game here. This is a weakness for Rice.

LB

Radcliffe and Kutzler have played well so far. Lyons and Elder will also get snaps. Not a strength of team w/ Nwosu getting his redshirt. But have made it not a weakness. Overall very average.

DB's

CB's are both Sunday guys (Gaines and Callahan). Gaines was pre-season player of year on D for C-USA. Teams don’t throw on him. Callahan was on frosh All-American team a few years ago. We will 'lock down' at CB on both sides. However, we are not strong at Safety. Houston and A&M exposed us. OK tacklers but 4.6 cannot cover 4.4 and we have been beat many times at Safety. Expect to see Mean Green test Hill, White, Porras, etc. (I.e. Our Safeties) with deep balls between hash marks.

Special Teams.

Coverage teams are ok. Return teams are ok. Nothing exceptional but also not a weakness like years past. Punting is average as well. However, we have one of top 2-3 kickers in country w/ Boswell. On Lou Groza list and many All-American teams. Holds NCAA record for career FG's over 50+ yards. If game becomes reliant on FG kicking, we have a big advantage.

Coaching/Intangibles

Bailiff is in year 7 at Rice. He gets the University, can recruit, is graduating close to 100% of his players, and is an overall nice guy. Some Owl fans have been very critical of his overly conservative approach on game day, lots of coach speak, and inability to translate 'likability' to 'W's' This is his breakthrough season as many expect a C-USA championship. Reagan at OC has been criticized for his play calling and Thurmond (DC) is liked as D has improved from ranked #100 to more of average/opportunistic D. Rice overall, is poor in 3Q and not shown good in-game X's and O's adjustments.

However, w/ all the 5th year guys, we have heard Bailiff talk about 'how the entire playbook is implemented' and how they are coachable. Rice will show a lot of formations, looks, etc. that are hard to prepare for. Many strange/unorthodox formations with quads, unbalanced, motion into strange formations, etc. that make it hard to prepare for.

IMO, the Mean Green advantage on TO takeaways and the home-field off-set the Owls advantage on experience (which I think advantages Rice on short week) and Rice's historically better performance as season goes on (although game is in Oct,much better in November than Sept).

Should be a great game and good for C-USA. Look forward to great Halloween game.

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Harry Grand Master

Harry

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Rice Scouting Report.

Love the energy (and confidence) from the Mean Green Fans. Good for College Football and C-USA.

Thought you would like a scouting report (from Rice perspective) on the Owls…

Overall, we have beaten nobody but also won the games we should have won. We looked great against A&M in 1H but other than that, I think most Owl fans would say we have not lived up to the potential/hype yet. People finally saw team they expected on Saturday against UTEP but overall team has not played 4Q of football. Last year we were youngest team in all of FBS and this year we are one of most experienced w/ 23 seniors and 19 fifth-year seniors. We have beaten some bad football teams but we cannot control that. Overall, we are #20 in FBS in turnovers gained but NT is #2 and #1 in fumbles recovered. I think this will be key point for the game. Which team beats itself and capitalizes on other teams misfortune?

Position breakdown.

Offense.

We run the spread but like to run first and pass second. Teams have approached us by stacking box w/ 8+ guys and dare our QB's and WR's to beat over-the-top. For the most part, that worked until last week as we had a bunch of deep balls completed. Rice is #15 in all FBS running the football but #62 in total offense.

QB

You will see three QB's. Taylor McHargue (McH) is 5th year senior starter. Finally showed what most expect against UTEP last week. Made nice deep ball throws plus some nice plays with his feet. Driphius Jackson (DJ) will get snaps and is really good w/ feet and future for program but still have not seen him as much as many Owl fans would like. Luke Turner runs the Wild Owl (wildcat) package and is former HS QB so has thrown a few times from that formation. Biggest thing for Rice is making sure McH makes good decisions. When he does, the offense rolls and when he does not we struggle…

RB's

You will see five guys (Ross, Petersen, Dillard, Davis, Turner) likely get touches. Ross and Petersen are both about 235-240 lb. guys and run hard. Lots of zone read and option and rotating guys in to keep them fresh. Ross is the class of the group. He is finally healthy. I think stopping him will be #1 priority of the NT Defensive Coordinator.

WR's

Jordan Taylor has four Sportscenter top 10 plays in his first three seasons. He is the best WR by far and a gamer who will play on Sunday. Will line him up on outside, in-slot, etc. Other guys all have good speed (better than 4.5) such as Parks, Moore, Hull, etc. and can get deep. Have not shown great ball security or hands though and most close to Owls would say that after Taylor, most have disappointed. Parks is emerging. This will be key as I would expect Mean Green to stack box and know where Taylor is at all times and force other guys to beat you. The other members of the group have to step-up.

TE's

A big strength last year with McDonald and Willson who are now with 49ers and Seahawks respectively. We have a young guy (Celia) who has some promise and a big converted RB (Eddington) who most Owl fans would like to see more touches for. All-in-all, this position was a 'go to' over last few years and has been pretty non-existent so far this season.

OL

Historically, Rice did not pass the 'eye-test' Now they do. All around 300 lbs and have played together as a unit for a couple years. I know NT has a great OL but Rice is now more than respectable here. Nate Richards (center) is best of group and all-CUSA.

Defense

Rice runs 4-2-5. Injuries big concern here. All C-USA LB (Nwosu) has red-shirted, two-year starter at Safety (Frazier- son of Vikings head coach) is out, and now our starting NG was hurt against UTEP and starting DE hurt against NM St. We are a bit thin.

DL

Hope that Bauer is back at DE but some unheralded guys played well yesterday. UTEP's OL < NT so hard to tell how effective they will be. Covington is a beast and a NFL prospect. Best DL on team by far. Other guys (Winship, Leland, Henessee, etc.) need to play big game here. This is a weakness for Rice.

LB

Radcliffe and Kutzler have played well so far. Lyons and Elder will also get snaps. Not a strength of team w/ Nwosu getting his redshirt. But have made it not a weakness. Overall very average.

DB's

CB's are both Sunday guys (Gaines and Callahan). Gaines was pre-season player of year on D for C-USA. Teams don’t throw on him. Callahan was on frosh All-American team a few years ago. We will 'lock down' at CB on both sides. However, we are not strong at Safety. Houston and A&M exposed us. OK tacklers but 4.6 cannot cover 4.4 and we have been beat many times at Safety. Expect to see Mean Green test Hill, White, Porras, etc. (I.e. Our Safeties) with deep balls between hash marks.

Special Teams.

Coverage teams are ok. Return teams are ok. Nothing exceptional but also not a weakness like years past. Punting is average as well. However, we have one of top 2-3 kickers in country w/ Boswell. On Lou Groza list and many All-American teams. Holds NCAA record for career FG's over 50+ yards. If game becomes reliant on FG kicking, we have a big advantage.

Coaching/Intangibles

Bailiff is in year 7 at Rice. He gets the University, can recruit, is graduating close to 100% of his players, and is an overall nice guy. Some Owl fans have been very critical of his overly conservative approach on game day, lots of coach speak, and inability to translate 'likability' to 'W's' This is his breakthrough season as many expect a C-USA championship. Reagan at OC has been criticized for his play calling and Thurmond (DC) is liked as D has improved from ranked #100 to more of average/opportunistic D. Rice overall, is poor in 3Q and not shown good in-game X's and O's adjustments.

However, w/ all the 5th year guys, we have heard Bailiff talk about 'how the entire playbook is implemented' and how they are coachable. Rice will show a lot of formations, looks, etc. that are hard to prepare for. Many strange/unorthodox formations with quads, unbalanced, motion into strange formations, etc. that make it hard to prepare for.

IMO, the Mean Green advantage on TO takeaways and the home-field off-set the Owls advantage on experience (which I think advantages Rice on short week) and Rice's historically better performance as season goes on (although game is in Oct,much better in November than Sept).

Should be a great game and good for C-USA. Look forward to great Halloween game.

Appreciate the scouting report! I attended the Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl in Fort Worth last year and was pulling for you guys against Air Force. I won't be doing that Thursday of course but I think I can speak for our fans in saying how glad we are to be in a conference with the Owls and look forward to building a great rivalry. GMG!

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owl40 Newbie

owl40

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The Rice QB's are very mobile. The issue w/ McH earlier in season was poor decision making and lots of tipped balls and a couple of forced throws that ended-up w/ INT's. Of late, he has been much better...esp w/ deep ball accuracy where opposing D has challenged Rice to beat them over-the-top. We shall see if the first four games or last four games are the trend. Would like to see DJ get some more snaps as he is dangerous w/ his feet.

Although NT does have a good OL, the 'thin' front 7 did play 'ok' against A&M whose OL is better than NT. NT is better than others in C-USA but is not the best that Owls have seen. I think key is less about the trenches and more about who turns ball over more as both teams have disproportionately benefitted from other teams miscues. IMO, that is going to be deciding factor.

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eulessismore

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The Rice QB's are very mobile. The issue w/ McH earlier in season was poor decision making and lots of tipped balls and a couple of forced throws that ended-up w/ INT's. Of late, he has been much better...esp w/ deep ball accuracy where opposing D has challenged Rice to beat them over-the-top. We shall see if the first four games or last four games are the trend. Would like to see DJ get some more snaps as he is dangerous w/ his feet.

Although NT does have a good OL, the 'thin' front 7 did play 'ok' against A&M whose OL is better than NT. NT is better than others in C-USA but is not the best that Owls have seen. I think key is less about the trenches and more about who turns ball over more as both teams have disproportionately benefitted from other teams miscues. IMO, that is going to be deciding factor.

Huh. You kind of expect some objective analysis like this from a Rice Owl. I just wish he'd tell us what he really thinks.

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owl40 Newbie

owl40

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To answer some of questions above...

Rice is one of smallest D-1 schools in country and exchanges spots w Tulsa and Wake Forest for those dubious honors. I think I've read you could put 100% of all living alumni in Rice Stadium and still have empty seats. Thus, we don't travel well in absolute #'s but as a % of alumni and students, we are well above average compared to other schools participation/engagement. I have seen some threads that people are making the trip to Denton and they will be vocal but it will be a small contingent. My guess is around 1k given the holiday and midweek.

I do think the 'analysis' is objective. We have played below our potential all season. We have seen better OL's than what we will see on Thursday. If we turn the ball over more than NT, we could/should/would lose. That has been NT strength this season. I think all of that is objective.

NT is a much improved team. There is respect and understanding from the positive strides the program has made from years ago getting whacked by 50 points during the Todd Dodge era. Everyone around the program deserves props for that impressive improvement. If both teams play their best game, I do think our experience is better than the home field advantage with overall talent being similar..but better football teams don't always win. I would ask all of you who is better...NT or Tulane? I think NT is better team this season but not on scoreboard when it mattered. That's why you play the game..

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JesseMartin Explorer

JesseMartin

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With Rice being one of the best teams we face this year, I don't know about the D keeping them under 14. I think 14 is about right. So yes, the turnover issue is the biggest thing which I've said a few times. And penalty yards are the #2 issue. Keep both of those under control and we take this one. If not it will be a long 9 days until UTEP.

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JesseMartin Explorer

JesseMartin

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I don't see how we keep Rice under 14 pts. We know they will hit one long touchdown pass on us for 7 pts. Then DT will throw a pick early for another 7 pts. Ugh.

We were talking about how much the defense gives up. 2 scores on offense and one on defense gives them 21. We never lose when we score 30, so there's the goal...

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