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Owls cast cautious eye
but
By Paul T. Hlavinka HOUSTON (Aug. 30) -- The Rice Owls find themselves in an unusual position, heading down the back stretch toward Saturday's season and home opener with Nicholls State. Despite the excitement surrounding unveiling a whole new thing in their first outing under first-year head coach David Bailiff, the Owls are headed into a potential trap game where a win, even an impressive one, means little, while a loss would produce a nasty taste in the mouth that would be sure to linger.
Circumstances are exacerbated by the fact that, in this bunch from Thibodeaux, Rice will be facing the one and only option-offense team they'll be seeing all year, thus necessitating the installation of a one-and-done defensive game plan that's out the window for good, about half past ten on Saturday. "They've been very solid running that option," Rice head coach David Bailiff told press Monday. "And defending that option is just so different. About a week ago at camp we had to stop what we were doing defensively and get ready for defending that option because it is unique." It's folly to play the numbers game, trying to compare results against common opponents -- or common opponents once removed. But Rice's experience in the Troy game in last year's New Orleans Bowl proved that top-rung members of the so-called bottom-rung division one conferences have plenty of talented athletes on their teams as well -- as do many of their Division IAA brethren. Rice quarterback Chase Clement, who’s turned into a virtual on-the-field coach, was optimistic but sanguine over Saturday’s upcoming match. "Something that Coach Bailiff has tried to tell us a lot is that they are a 1-AA team but it's our first game and they're going to come out ready to go. They're going to come out fired up, and we have to make sure we don't overlook them. We're playing 12 one-week seasons, and we've got to make sure we're focused on this one." Colonels down last year, up the year before
After winning the Southland Conference championship in 2005, the Colonels dipped to 4-7 last season as injuries and academic casualties took several of their better athletes off the playing field. During that '05 campaign, in fact, NSU owned a 32-29 home victory over a Texas State team coached by none other than current Rice mentor David Bailiff. State was ranked number five in Division 1AA at the time. And in their season opener, the Colonels had fallen on the road to Big 10 member Indiana by only a 35-31 count. So expectations were high heading into the 2006 season. But the team's leading rusher, Broderick Cole, missed five games with a turf toe injury, while his backfield compadre, Joe Tobias, had to sit out the season for, er, let's call it 'academic deficiencies.' Without a key running back to tote the mail in the triple option, the Nicholls offense sputtered. NSU last season ranked last in the Southland Conference in turnover margin, upchucking the ball 33 times while forcing only 20 turnovers. "We had a young center and young quarterbacks and they took a while before they clicked -- and that really hurt us in ball security," said NSU coach Jay Thomas, who's entering his fourth year behind the helm at Thibodeaux. "I think with a year under their belts, those guys are more confident and comfortable with what they have to do better." But both Cole and Tobias will be back this season, and with them, a return to the form that brough a league title two years ago is expected. In '05, Tobias rushed for 718 yards on 109 carries -- you figure out the yards-per-carry. That tandem combined for 1,435 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2005. Cole, the senior fullback who clocks in at 5-foot-10, 235-pounds, meanwhile has been selected to the College Sporting News’ preseason All-American second team in Division 1AA -- check that, make it the newly-dubbed "NCAA Championship Subdivision." "Broderick is having a really good camp and he came back in great shape. He looks like the Broderick when he was a freshman," Coach Thomas said on league media day. "His body has had a chance to heal and he got the toe fixed, and so far, he looks good on it." NSU also returns running back Zach Morgan, a second-team All-SLC preseason selection this year who averaged 6.6 yards each time he touched the ball in 2006. Musical chairs at QB not an unlikely possibility Quarterback Vince Montgomery leads a trio of returning Colonel quarterbacks, and is NSU's the leading returning rusher after he carved out 408 yards as the primary starter under center last season. But Zach Chauvin and Chris Bunch also saw playing time last year and both return. Montgomery was said to be the most impressive of the three during just-completed two-a-days, and should draw the starting nod against the Owls. In front of him, expect to see a musical-chairs game in the offensive line as Nicholls coaches seek a winning combination against the Owls. The 2007 Nicholls squad features 18 -- count 'em -- offensive linemen, of which 10 are returning players. Nicholls returns all but two starters on the line from 2006 including junior center Nigel Cormier, senior right guard Jesse Frazier, and junior right tackle Davonn Dutton. Cormier, Frazier and Dutton started every game for the Colonels a season ago, and are penciled in on the depth chart to do the same in 2007. The Colonels have a couple of guys who can make trouble on the play action pass in receivers Patrick Gordon, a 6-6, 195-pound junior, who's slated to start at wide receiver alongside Michael Okoronkwo. If the latter's name rings a bell, yep, he's the younger brother of former Rice wide receiver Gilbert Okoronkwo. But the Owls have had extra time during August two-a-days to prepare for the unusual, but versatile, Nicholls attack. "We've been watching a lot of film on them," Rice linebacker Brian Raines said. "We've been going through practice working on them, and, of course, two years ago we were an option team so a lot of the guys who are still here have some experience playing against the option." NSU defensive unit is experienced Defensively, the Colonels return a wealth of experience from last year's team, which finished near the top of the SLC's defensive statistical charts. And starting with the defensive line, this year's team has plenty of lettermen returning. Three DLstarters from a season ago that are returning are junior Chris Noble and senior Dominic Cooper on the outside with sophomore Matt Fairchild in the middle. Key contributors on the D-Line last season were senior Jordan Stone, sophomore Austin Williams, sophomore Quenton Mims, and sophomore Baylor Ordoyne. The total number of defensive lineman on the team is 16 with 11 of them being returning players, three transfers, and two true freshmen. Reigning Southland Newcomer of the Year Kareem Moore returns to the secondary where he produced 68 total tackles in '06. Moore, a preseason All-SLC first-teamer who is equally as dangerous to opposing squads as a kickoff returner, will be joined on the defensive side of the ball with All-SLC second team selections in defensive lineman Jordan Stone and linebacker Dominic Cooper. Cooper is the lone Colonels linebacker to have started a collegiate game, though help should come in the form of Clemson transfer Adrian Kindred. Returning Colonels Yashua Willis and Garrick Spain, two sophomores who came off the bench last year, will be looked upon to make contributions as starters. Coach Bailiff summed up his Saturday dilemma. "They've got nine starters back on offense," he noted. "Their quarterback (Montgomery) did a great job last year, so he's a seasoned veteran. They've got 6'6" receivers, they've got a big offensive line. Defensively, they're going to blitz you and blitz you and blitz you, and they'll have fun doing it." Despite all this, Southland scribes picked Nicholls to finish in the middle of the pack, at best, in this year's conference race, with the consensus penciling them in at sixth place. Nevertheless, Coach Bailiff emphasized, Saturday's game stands to be far from a walkover for the Owls. "You better prepare for Nicholls the same way you prepare for Houston, the same way you prepare for Tulsa," Coach warned. "They're going to give us their best shot when they get off of that bus. Once again, though, I think we'll be ready and I think it will be a great football game."
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