Andray Downs nabs ECU receiver after short gain

East Carolina 41, Rice 28
Bombs away!
Rice rally negated
by defensive lapses

GREENVILLE, NC (Oct. 9) – This time, it was close enough to hurt. This time, the Rice Owls played well enough to give rise to a week-full of second- guessing. This time, the result was just like those other cable companies except for Dish Network.

But in the final analysis, according to Rice head coach Ken Hatfield, "We just got beat. They made more plays than we did."

Two more plays, to be precise. Breakdowns in the Owl defensive secondary led to two, shocking touchdown bombs that proved the margin of defeat in the Owls' closer-than-the-score-indicated, 41-28 loss to the East Carolina University Pirates here Saturday before a crowd of 33,000 that went home sweat-soaked but happy.

Bomb number one – we’ll call it Little Boy – was like Hiroshima to the Owls because it utterly destroyed what, seconds earlier, looked like a safe, 14-10 halftime lead for Rice, not to mention nuking the momentum and the confidence that the Feathered Flock otherwise would’ve taken into the locker room.

Bomb number two – let’s refer to it as Fat Boy – was the the Owls’ Nagasaki because it stretched ECU's lead to 10, and in so doing  removed all doubt as to the ultimate victor in this war, coming as it did after the Owls had forced a strategic field position advantage late in the game, pinning ECU back on its own three yard line where a stop would’ve set up the Rice offense neatly for a winning TD drive.

In the first case, the Owls were sitting on a lead with less than a minute to go in the first half, and, what’s more, had held ECU on downs and forced a Ryan Dougherty punt, which unfortunately traveled 63 yards to the Rice 4, where it was fielded by Brandon King and returned to the 9 yard line. At that point, ECU head coach Skip Holtz had all three of his timeouts left and decided to use them.

The Rice offense apparently did not pick up on the strategy, however. On first down, the handoff went to Andrew Cates who plowed forward for two yards. On second down, quarterback Joel Armstrong cradled the ball and plunged into the line. By the time third down rolled around, it became apparent to the Rice sideline that, absent a first down, the Flock was going to have to punt the ball away.

So on third and 10, Joel kept the ball once more but at least did attempt to stretch things out and look for a hole. But his five-yard gain left the Owls with fourth and two from their own 17 with 30 seconds left.

No worries, we’ve got the Big Boomer, right? Not this time apparently – especially after the deep snap fell short and Jared Scruggs had to pick it up as it hit the ground. He managed to get his resulting punt out for 23 yards to the Rice 40.

Still, no worries, right? Only 18 seconds remained and the Pirates were out of time-outs, so there still was no particular cause for alarm on the Rice sideline. There was especially no reason for worry when John Syptak forced Pinkney to throw the ball over his receiver’s head on the visitor’s sideline as the clock ticked down to 12 seconds.

Time only for a hail Mary prayer that a bevy of Owl secondary  men could lay back on and tip away. Only there were no Rice secondary men standing back deep -- and apparently none along the sideline, either. For as the clock ticked down to zero, Pinkney let loose a floater named Little Boy down the home sideline, which, to the horror of the Owl fans in the stands, fell right into the arms of his favorite receiver, Aundra Allison, who zipped in untouched, 40 yards for the score.

So instead of being up, 14-10, the Owls trudged into the halftime locker room down, 17-14.

There’s only one word for that little sequence of events: sickening.   Well, maybe there're others...

Owls still were in position to take game, midway in fourth quarter

John Syptak swarms in to sack ECU's Pinkney

The Pirates dropped Fat Boy on the Owls in the fourth quarter after a pin-point Scruggs punt was downed by Andray Downs at the ECU three. Though the Owl were down, 31-28, at that point, the momentum had gradually been shifting in their favor, and, now, with just over seven minutes left in the game, after driving to score in impressive, seemingly unstoppable form to take back the lead at 28-24 early in the fourth quarter, Rice was poised to make a stop, gain field position at midfield, and then administer a slow, excruciating death to the Pirates with a time-consuming – and game-winning — touchdown drive.

But after two incompletions on attempted sideline reoutes, on third and 10 from their own three yard line, the Pirates were able to draw new life, when Pinkney, facing a heavy rush, scrambled and hit a diving Robert Tilton at the 17 yard line for a first down.

"I thought the play of the game was the third down play down here when we had them backed up," Coach Hatfield said as he stopped to comment after the game.  "At that point, it was a three-point game, but they were able to get the first down, and they go on to score. And I thought it was the big play of the game."

Still the Owl defense held again on consecutive plays, and then, in an obvious, third-and-eight passing situation, the Rice defense came a -blitzing, but ECU had a max protection scheme on, with wideout- go- long.

You can well imagine the rest of the story. Pinkney was pressured hard, and he staggered and fell backwards, but managed to get off a high, arcking dipsy-doodle pass just as far as he could, right down the middle of the field. And that put it directly in the hands of the his teammate,  Chris Johnson, as he was coming across, and he caught it, wide open at the midfield stripe, and zoomed in for the touchdown from 81 yards out, and that made it 38-28 -- and 'game over,' for all practical purposes.

ECU head coach Skip Holtz spoke in platitudes after the game.

"We talk all the time about answering a challenge," he said.   "And we did, we answered a lot of challenges tonight, especially down there on the two yard line where we get a big third down there. And then we hit Chris Jones."

Translating the Coachspeak, what he really meant to say was, "Wow, I can’t believe how bad that pass defense was. If we’d have figured it out earlier, we would’ve taken ‘em deep, every down."

Rice won coin toss, took ball, and marched down the field

Coach Farrar points out the obvious to Coach Hatfield

From the onset, however, this night instead took shape looking as if it might, indeed, belong to the Owls.

After another set of possession exchanges, once the Owls got the ball back with nine seconds to go in the first quarter, they cranked up the Hatfield Model-T engine again.

This time, the Rice drive covered the same 64 yards in nine plays, the big moments being a key, 13-yard reception by Nick Aranda for a first down, followed by a 16-yard sprint by Q. Smith down the sideline that was abetted by a 15-yard personal foul penalty against a wayward Pirate.

Only, because of Little Boy, it didn’t turn out that way.

Rice defense made the effort, but without help from turnovers

Quinton Smith gets handoff from Joel Armstrong and dives for 10 more

The Rice defenders, much to their credit, came out with their chin straps on tight, determined to right the ship, once the second half had begun.  But they didn't get any breaks, and they didn't get any turnovers, either.

And get a stop, they did.

Situation looked promising even after ECU retook lead

Brandon King shifts gears on punt return

First, Luke Juist got a strong kickoff to the goal line, which ECU's Travis Williams only managed to get as far as his own 15 before he was nailed by the Owls' Omeke Alikor.  From there, three plays netted a total of six yards, thanks to big stops by James Syptak, who nailed Pinkney for a loss of two, Jonathan Cary, who nailed ECU's Chris Johnson for no gain, and Courtney Gordon, who stopped Johnson on third down after a pass reception went for short yardage.

After Brandon King returned the ensuing ECU punt for seven yards to the Pirate 48, the Owls were in business again, and it took them only five plays to go the distance.  John Wall, in at the fullback slot, carried the ball three times in a row for two first downs, and then on first and ten from the ECU 19, Quinton Smith roared in for the score, and the Owls were back in front, 28-24.

But the lead held only momentarily. 

One more stop likely would've been all it would have taken at this point, for the Rice running game was cooking. But the Achilles Heel  of the Rice defense was demonstrated again when  Coach Holtz decided, at that point, to go the the air and stick with it.

For the rest of the game, at this point, however, it seemed ECU had the measure of the Rice pass defense. While John Syptak continued to make mayhem in the East Carolina backfield, Pinkney nevertheless was able to get off enought short passes while under pressure to enable ECU to get some key third down conversions.

Thusly, they marched the ball right back down the field on the ensuing kickoff, as Rice defensive coaches strategized on the sideline. The big play was a 36-yard pass from Pinkney to Robert Tillman which went from the Owl 43 to the Rice 7 -- a completion that was abetted by a twist in the wrong direction by a covering Lance Byrd, who looked to be in position to bat the ball away.

It was just one of those things.

It then took ECU three plays to push it over from the seven, but Tillman took it across on third and goal from the one, and the Pirates regained the lead.

The Owls got the ball back with 10:37 left in the game, and certainly looked as if they had another long drive in their bag of tricks somewhere.  In fact, they moved the ball smartly down the field, the big gainer being a 24-yard slice on a keeper by Joel Armstrong.

Then a lucky blitz caught Joel for a six-yard loss when the Owls faced second and five at the ECU 39.  Chase Clement once again came in to take over in the obvious passing situation, but Andy Hall couldn't quite hold on to his offer, right at the first down stripe, and Rice had to punt the ball away.

Still, with Jared Scruggs' 42-yarder plunked right down at the Rice 3, things still looked good for a stop and a late-fourth-quarter, winning TD drive.

But then they dropped Fat Boy on us.

The final three points consisted of a 32-yard Robert Lee field goal after the Owls had given up the ball on downs deep in their own territory.  The officials helped ECU get good field position on this last, don't-say-quit possession, finding an ineligible lineman downfield and placing Chase Clement past the scrimmage line on a really pretty, 30-yard pass completion to Jarret Dillard.

Coach Hatfield had a succinct summary for the outcome of the game: the other guys made the clutch offensive plays, and the Owl defense couldn't come up with the clutch stops.

"The big plays were once again our bugaboo," he said glumly.   "On second down we didn’t give up to many big plays, when they chunked the ball. But their receivers had great speed; and their quarterback put the ball on the money when he had to."

"You know the quarterbacks we’ve played have all been outstanding. Especially in the clutch, when they had to. I think our guys continued to fight; they didn’t quit. I think we just got beaten; that’s what it is. So we’ll go back to work."

--P.T.H.

Turnovers -- and a little luck --
keys to breaking losing skein

A short pass for five yards where a guy breaks a tackle and goes 65 with it, that's just a back-breaker for us. We can't allow that"   "You've just got to play. There's no doubt about it: we're in this for the long haul"   "If we knew what the answer was, we would have done it a long time ago"

HOUSTON (Oct. 7) – Turnovers.

Like multiplication, that certainly appears to be the name of the game, as the Rice Owls try once again to snap what has now extended to a nine-game losing streak when Saturday they take on the Pirates of East Carolina University at Dowdy- Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC; it’s a five p.m. kickoff, central time.

The 1-3 Pirates could use a win themselves, after coughing up the pill with regularity en route to a 33-7 home loss to Southern Miss last Saturday, in the league opener for both teams. ECU moved the ball with alacrity against USM, earning 363 yards in total offense, but turned the ball over five times, four on fumbles.

Owlook

Meanwhile, the Owls have had big-time problems so far this young season in snapping up turnovers on the defensive side. In the Owls’ first three games, all lopsided losses to UCLA, Texas and UAB -- which together have lost all of one game among them all -- the Flock’s defense has managed but a single turnover, while the offense turned the ball over four times Saturday against UAB. Four drive-killing times.

So, going into the this one, the story line is: which team will win the turnover battle? The Owls need to get some. The Pirates need to not give very many up.

Stats speak for themselves

But for Rice, the problems on the defensive side this season have gone much farther than an inability to come up with a few takeaways. To-wit: there are 119 teams in NCAA Division 1A. The Owls rank 118^th against the rush, 119^th against the pass, and 119^th in total defense.

Granted, those stats were suffered against three of the most prolific offenses in college football, featuring three of the most talented quarterbacks. But something’s amiss, here.

Rice returned seven defensive starters from last years team, including the pre-season C-USA defensive player of the year in senior DE John Syptak.

Three of last year’s four starters on the defensive line came back. The Owls have seven men at linebacker who’ve lettered at least once.

The secondary suffered big losses from last year, but the consensus during spring and fall drills was that the raw talent that was being put on the field in the secondary was better than the previous group, needing only to get a few games under the belt for seasoning.

But so far, everything’s gone wrong on defense for the Owls.

Forced fumbles have taken bizarre bounces

Force a fumble, and it squirts bizarrely into the air where it's grabbed by an out-of-position offensive player who takes it to the lip of the cup.

Blitz, and the offense picks it up and makes you pay with the quick pass. Play tight on the short passing game, and a Rice defender with good coverage slips down and the receiver waltzes down the field. Play soft, and they dink you to death. Play in their faces, and you get burnt.

Rice head coach Ken Hatfield says he and his staff are beside themselves. "If we knew what the answer was," he quipped Monday, "we would have done it a long time ago."

Well, just throwing some things out on the table, coach, let’s see: (a) switch to a 3-4, (b) rotate in just a whole bunch of guys until you find the 11 who’re the most fired up about hitting somebody, (c) call in a consultant who you know from your many years of coaching experience, (d) hire yourself a new defensive coordinator, or promote from within....

Think any of those things are going to happen, Owl fans? Nahh, we didn’t either.

The Rice mentor did observe that the Owl defense appeared to play its hardest when it was backed up against the wall last Saturday. That’s a positive development, he noted.

"The defense did its two best jobs after we gave (UAB) a short field," he said. "After the blocked punt, we blocked their field goal. Then after another short one, we stop them on fourth-and-three. We came up with some good plays late in the game."

"The biggest thing is that we've got to eliminate the long, big play. A short pass for five yards where a guy breaks a tackle and goes 65 with it, that's just a back-breaker for us. We can't allow that."

"And we've got to create more turnovers."

It would seem that Saturday’s opponent may afford the Owls, at last this season, a decent opportunity to take some of those "must-do’s" to heart and put them into effect.

Rice has been knocked completely out of its game plan in each of the first three games of the season by opponents’ early scoring skeins. But since beating Duke in the season opener, the Pirates have not been able to draw first blood against any subsequent opponent. ECU has been outscored 85-43 in the first half though four games.

Quick start needed oh-so-badly by Owls

Coach Hatfield indicated he’s aware that’s a tendency that needs to be extended for at least one more week. "We need to come out of the chute early," he said. "We seemed to drop way behind early in the first three games. We've got to find a way to get ahead and stay ahead."

Maybe this time, if the Owls win the opening coin toss, like they have in each of their first three games, they ought to take the durn ball, then.

Each time this season, Rice game captains have been instructed to defer to the second half, each time, those game captains have won the toss, and each time the Owls’ opponents have responded with a stuffed-down-the-throat touchdown drive putting the Flock down 7-0 before they ever touched the ball.

Why not, instead then, take that opening kickoff and engage in a little Chinese water torture, striving to head out for a, say, 15-play, seven-minute scoring drive? And why not blend in a new offensive twist, here or there?  Screen pass, anyone?

The Pirates, after all, have proven vulnerable against the run, giving up 216 yards per game rushing and seven rushing touchdowns. Last week against Southern Miss, the Pirates allowed the Eagles to convert nine-of-17 third down attempts. Overall, ECU is giving up 29.5 points and 394 total yards per game, through the first four games of the season.

ECU head coach Skip Holtz is not talking like a man who’s supremely confident that his defensive crew has got the discipline to stuff Rice’s option attack.

"They are a ball control offense that runs every option known to man," Coach Holtz said in his Monday press briefing. " They have a couple of extremely fast tailbacks. (He apparently was referring to Marcus Rucker and Quinton Smith.)

"Not many people stop them," he continued. " In the past, teams have gotten up on them early to force them to have to get huge chunks of yardage in the air. Their offense is not a comeback kind of offense. The scary part for us is that starting fast has not been our M.O."

Hmmmm....

"The best way I know to practice against the option is practice without the ball," Coach Holtz told reporters. "You need to play assignment football instead of running to the ball like so many games that we have played to this point. We are going to have to be accountable."

Nice crowd, comfy surroundings for home team expected

ECU tends to draw well at home, and a crowd in excess of 30,000 is predicted for Saturday's game.. Coach Hatfield said he didn’t expect this road venue to be particularly any easier than the first three that the Owls have had to weather.

"They had about 36,000 people at the game last week against Southern Miss," he noted, "so I think they're going to feel very comfortable at home."

"At the same time, we've traveled enough with all our young players. They've been around and they know what they need to do."

"There's no shortcut way to get experience. You've just got to play. There's no doubt about it: we're in this for the long haul. That was our first conference game in our first year in (the conference).

"This is our last plane trip of the year. Either we bus to SMU or bus to Houston, and we play the rest of them at home. We've traveled enough to know what we need to do to be rested and ready to play. We just need to be productive early in the game, both offensively and defensively. Everybody needs to play better than we did last week."

And maybe change strategy on the coin toss.

--P.T.H.

Interview:   Chad Price
'We’ve got to perform, wherever we go'

'I felt we were hungry before the game and we wanted the win. We wanted it during the game, too, but the big plays were kind of like a stab in the heart'   'It’s more about us, and the way we execute – being sure tacklers, making the big play so that we can change the momentum of the game'   'I feel strongly that, once we do get that first win under our belt and we start believing we can win, then the big plays will increase, and the enthusiasm of the players will, too'

HOUSTON (Oct. 6) – Chad Price is a junior defensive back from Bay City who’s been among the mainstays of Rice’s defensive effort for the past couple of seasons. A two-year returning starter at the ‘bandit’ position, he brings a streak of 21 straight starts into the game with East Carolina. The former Class 4A all-state DB has been among the team’s top tacklers, both last season and this year, so far as well. He loves to play special teams, too, and wouldn’t mind taking a crack at wide receiver a time or two. "Chad wants to play on any special team and he wants to play the whole game," Rice head coach Ken Hatfield says of his Mr. Reliable in the team’s secondary. And no small role for Chad this year has been that of mentor to the young, but talented DBs that are coming up through the system and getting playing time. Chad spoke to press Monday, obviously wishing that he had a few brighter spots to talk about.

Q: What was the team’s attitude, going into the UAB game?

Pre-game, I felt like we were prepared. I felt we were hungry before the game and we wanted the win. We wanted it during the game, too, but the big plays were kind of like a stab in the heart. We’ve just got to stop them.

Q: Are the players down about having to play three such strong programs on the road, to start the season?

One good advantage to this early schedule is that our inexperienced players are getting the playing time that they need, and they’re doing it against the top level of competition. I feel like the teams we’ve played so far compete at that top level, and are probably composed of some of the better athletes that we’ll see this year. That includes UAB.

So, if the young guys get that experience early, then down the road, in conference play – in our half of the conference, at least – that’s going to be important, and it will work to our benefit.

Q: But isn’t there a big negative in having to go constantly in unfamiliar surroundings against bigger, faster and deeper teams than you guys are?

It’s something that I enjoy personally, and I think, as a team, it’s not so much about who we play. It’s more about us, and the way we execute – being sure tacklers, making the big play so that we can change the momentum of the game, and so our offense isn’t always having to come from behind.

We’ve got to perform, wherever we go. Whether it’s at home, or whether it’s on the road, we’ve got to learn to play at the top of our game in both places in order to be competitive in this conference. Fortunately, after this week, we’ve got a lot of home games on the schedule and our only two road games are in-state. Hopefully coming up we can get a couple wins under our belts and get our confidence level back up.

Q: There was a lot of encouraging talk about the performance of the defense during pre-season practices. You returned seven starters. Do you have an explanation for the defense’s giving up big plays and not getting the turnovers thus far this season?

I think we were there a lot; we just weren’t making the play. It was true that throughout spring and fall workouts, the defense was making big plays, causing turnovers. When the ball tipped into the air, we were there to pick it off. Really, I have no idea why the ball has bounced the other way for us during the season. I have no solution to it, I just think that everybody as an individual needs to take it upon himself to starting making the play when the opportunity is presented.

Q: How did the skill level of the athletes compare between UAB, on the one hand, and UCLA and Texas, on the other?

I wouldn’t say UAB has the depth that UCLA and Texas has, but as far as their starting athletes, I think they compare pretty well. And I think that that quarterback they had – he’s the best quarterback we’ve seen this year.

Q: Better than Vince....???

Throwing quarterback, anyway.

Q: How important would a win be to the team on Saturday?

I felt that this UAB game would have been a good game to use to get back on the winning track and develop kind of a snowball effect. I feel strongly that, once we do get that first win under our belt and we start believing we can win, then the big plays will increase, and the enthusiasm of the players will, too. And then the success of the program will increase.

--P.T.H.

Daniel will miss ECU game; Pegues to draw start

HOUSTON (Oct. 5) --  Well, looks like the Daniel family will have to postpone their planned reunion in Greenville. Wednesday, Rice coaches announced that the Flock will be without senior defensive end Rob Daniel (Wichita Falls/High) when the Owls meet East Carolina there Saturday evening.

Daniel, who started the Owls' first three games of the season, injured his right shoulder in last week's loss at UAB. He will not make the trip to Greenville, N.C., for this week's game. "I don't know how bad it is, but it's bad enough that he didn't practice this week and he won't go," said coach Ken Hatfield.

In Daniel's stead, senior Thadis Pegues (Friendswood/Clear Brook) will get his first start of the season.

"Thadis has good speed, and he's had the opportunity now to get more reps in practice," added Hatfield. "He certainly has the ability; he just needs to come on and help out."

Saturday's game will not be televised, and the radio broadcast has changed to KSEV (700 AM) in Houston due to the Houston Astros' divisional playoff series with Atlanta.

--Rice Sports Information

Owl defense braces for another offensive onslaught

HOUSTON  (Oct. 4) -- Rice continued preparations for another explosive multiple offensive attack Tuesday during the Owls' practice session on the grass fields.

East Carolina (1-3, 0-1 C-USA) boasts of another strong quarterback in junior James Pinkney. He's completed 61 percent of his passes this season and is averaging more than 230 yards per game through the air.

"They run a lot of no-backs plays, and they've got a junior college receiver (Aundrae Allison) who's caught a ton of balls," said Rice coach Ken Hatfield.

Rice actually had a head start on its prep work for ECU. Last week, the Owls couldn't begin work for UAB until Tuesday when the squad reassembled after evacuating the campus for Hurricane Rita.

"It's made a big difference, getting out here (Monday)," said Hatfield. "I think it will make a big difference."

The Owls (0-3, 0-1) and Pirates will kick Saturday at 5 pm (CDT). The game will be broadcast in the Houston area on KSEV, 700 AM.

--Rice Sports Information

Interview: Jarrett Dillard
'We all know now what to expect'

'Every game, you’re going to make mistakes – and I mean it’s inevitable. So all we can do is work on the ones we have made, and identify them and try and prevent them in the future'   'Coming back from Birmingham was no big deal. But coming back on the red eye flight from LA after the UCLA game, and getting in at five in the morning, I was a little dead on my feet that week'   'The nervousness is always going to be there before the game – and that’s probably the way it should be'

HOUSTON (Oct. 4) – Jarrett Dillard has turned out to be the primary bright spot in the firmament of freshmen and redshirt freshmen who have been called upon to make immediate contributions to the Rice cause this season. The redshirt freshman wide receiver from Sam Houston High in San Antonio was expected to be an immediate ‘impact’ player, but Jarrett’s positive impact has been even greater than perhaps the most optimistic of his coaches and fans expected of him. Starting with his first run-on at UCLA, he’s impressed friend and foe alike with his precise pass routes, great hands, speed and agility. In high school, Jarrett was a three sport star – football, basketball and track. And he probably could’ve captained the chess team, too, with just a bit more time on the schedule – for he was the valedictorian of his senior class.  But beyond that, he ranked first in his class academically for his entire high school career. That’s a ‘Heisman’ - level performance as a schoolboy, and now that he’s entering the main stretch of his time in college, the sky’s the limit as to what this young man can obtain. Yet, he remains unassuming, modest and self-effacing, quietly working his way through a Monday noon lunch with a table full of scribes with seldom a peep, yet opening up quite candidly and forthrightly once it came time to step up to the podium.

Q: Any positives to be gained from the UAB game?

The way I see it, is that we pushed the ball; we ran the ball well against UAB; I can’t even remember the number of times we were in a third down situation but it wasn’t very often; mostly it was first down, second down, first down again. We really were able to move the ball, and would have been able to control it had it not been for those turnovers. When they happened, I didn’t think the effect would have been that negative, but towards the end of the game I started wishing they hadn’t happened.

Q: With this new league, once again Rice is having to go against some teams, and some schemes, with which the players and coaches have little or no familiarity. That was the case last week; it will be the case here again this week as you have to hit the road once again to play at East Carolina. Does that create a special set of problems?

No. Of course not. I don’t think anybody has a great deal of familiarity with what we’re getting into. But to us, it’s just another football team. We’re going to review a scouting report on them, and we’re going to play them according to our system, just like the way we’ve been playing the others.

Q: Is it exciting for the team to get to go to some new places this season? Better than Fresno, anyway....

Well, I guess it could be, but I didn’t get to travel all that much last year, anyway, as a redshirt freshman, so I wouldn’t know what it was like to have to get used to going to the West Coast all the time, and then have to shift over several time zones to start going to the East Coast instead. But if you talk about with the older players, yeah, they like going here and there. The return trip is often the problem. Coming back from Birmingham was no big deal. But coming back on the red eye flight from LA after the UCLA game, and getting in at five in the morning, I was a little dead on my feet that week.

Q: Is the team learning from the mistakes it makes?

Every game, you’re going to make mistakes – and I mean it’s inevitable. So all we can do is work on the ones we have made, and identify them and try and prevent them in the future.. But it seems like after the ones you made the previous week, you’ll make new ones the next week. And you’ll work on those, to prevent those. And then the following week, some more, same deal. So gradually you work to eliminate mistakes in that way. All anybody can do is play his role in a way that’s mistake-free. Then, as whole, the errors will work their way out.

Q: Did the time off spent because of the hurricane hurt you guys’ preparation for the UAB game?

I don’t think it had too much of any effect; it seems like when everybody came back to practice they all had their minds focused on the upcoming game. Everybody made it back to practice, thankfully, so it seems that none of our players had a major distraction because of problems with their families or their homes. Everybody was focused on football and everybody seemed ready to play.

Q: In the past three games, have you gained enough experience to where it can be said you’re no longer a freshman, or a rookie?

I think I’ve come along, and I think I’m more experienced than I was in the UCLA game. But still, I think I was just as nervous before the UAB game as I was before UCLA. So, what I’m trying to say is, as far as performance on the field, I think the game experience does help a lot, and in three games I’ve been able to come a long way as far as that’s concerned. But the nervousness is always going to be there before the game – and that’s probably the way it should be.

Q: Rice has had to play even more freshman and rely upon them more than was initially contemplated before the season began. How has the experience of playing these three talented teams moved them along in their game?

Well, all the experience we’ve gained is really going to be a major benefit for us. Talking to some of the fellas, some of the freshmen and redshirt freshman, they were pretty definite about it – as we started against UCLA, you know, we were all not knowing what to expect. But now, going into what’s going to be our fourth game, and on into the weeks to come, we all know now what to expect, how fast the speed of the game is going to be, and how things are going to work out if we execute a certain way.

Q: How fun was it to be able to break out the offense against UAB? Did it appear that they didn’t quite have defensing the triple option down pat?

It kind of shows on the stats. You could see that – we were able to run the ball consistently. I mean, my being a receiver, it means that you want to the ball, sure. But when you see the stats, I mean, goodness, we’re getting 10, 15 yards this play, that play. I mean, it looked like they were not ready for the option, at all. You could just tell that, from the standpoint of their team defense, they couldn’t stop the run at all.

Q: Is this a ‘must’ win this week at East Carolina?

I feel that all games we have on our schedule from this point on are ‘must’ wins. I felt that UAB was a ‘must’ win.

--P.T.H.