"It feels good to be back in the end zone, but it's a better feeling when you win"

Redshirt freshman Toren Dixon holds up ball has he crosses the goal line for his first career touchdown, second quarter against Texas Tech (Mark Anderson photo)

Texas Tech 59, Rice 24
More fight in dog
but same result

Strike Force JD is back! Jarett Dillard comes down with 47-yard touchdown reception to bring the Owls within 21-17, second quarter (Mark Anderson photo)

HOUSTON (Sept. 15) – After witnessing a second consecutive record- setting performance by an opposing quarterback, Rice Owl fans might logically be inclined to view their cup as nine-tenths empty.

But those would be just the cynical pessimists among the Feathered Flock. Optimists on South Main would more likely take the positive view, and consider their frosted highball glass with the embossed jaunty blue Sammy Owl in the sailor’s cap on the side to be ten per cent full.

Those optimists would dismiss Saturday’s runaway, 59-24 Texas Tech victory as being of lesser consequence, what with the surfacing of occasional hints of Rice 2006 offensive prowess, and the perception of improved play on both sides of the ball.

Pollyannas in the crowd would point to Rice’s mid-second-quarter comeback drive to bring the Owls within 21-17 as emblematic of the Institute Boys’ real potential, and ignore the 35 straight points that Tech hung on the scoreboard in the next 25 minutes of play – and the six touchdown passes thrown with surgical precision by Tech quarterback and head tortilla-tosser Graham Harrell.

Yea-sayers likely would agree with Rice head coach David Bailiff’s asssessment of what he saw out on the blisteringly-hot turf of Rice Stadium this day.

"I really thought today that we played with a lot more passion than we had in the first two games; I was really proud of the guys for how they went out there and ran around," Coach Bailiff said in a raspy voice at his post-game press conference.

"I still think as a football team we have to strive to be more consistent in everything that we do – offensively, defensively, and special teams," he added. "But I do feel like we made progress today as a football team."

David Bailiff's a great guy but you know what Leo Durocher said

The Owls chased Tech quarterback Graham Harrell around all over the field and half of the parking lot, but never registered a sack on him, while he threw for six TD passes (Mark Anderson photo)

The inescapable, depressing if not heart-rending conclusion: David Bailiff is just a prince of a guy who leads 90 outstanding young men in a manner that totally embodies the spirit of Rice To High Emprise Consecrated.

Anybody who meets David Bailiff can’t fail to be impressed with the character of the man. But the fact remains that this Rice football team has continued to perform, for the third time in a row in this still-young season, at a level that is a mere shadow of the capabilities it showed only ten months ago during its late-season, bowl-game-earning drive.

But David Bailiff remains unabashed, and for that one is somehow grateful.

"I want you to know that I’m proud of this football team," Coach Bailiff told press after Saturday's game. "They’re playing hard; they’re getting better. And I’m going to tell you we’re on the right track. And all I know to do is to just keep working hard and doing the things – that got me here."

For the entire second quarter and about half of the first quarter, the play of the Owls was worthy of any compliment the Rice head man could dish out. After giving up two long but quickly-executed TD drives to the Raiders in their first two possessions of the game, the Owls outbattled the Techsans and in fact outscored them, 17-7, during that one-and-a-half quarter period.

In fact, the Owls had moved the ball in the first half virtually every time they got their hands on it. Sandwiched between Tech’s opening touchdown drives of 91 and 88 yards, capped by a pair of Harrell touchdown passes of 11 yards to Shannon Woods and 38 yards to Grant Walker, the Owls ground out three first downs before bogging down due to a muffed snap and a procedure penalty.

Down 14-0, the Owls drove the length of the field before settling for a 25-yard Clark Fangmeier field goal. At that point, Rice appeared to have gotten things in gear, really, for the first time all season, as an aroused defense put a three-and-out on Tech, after which the Owls drove the length of the field, aided by key scramble by Chase Clement and a couple of impressive catches by redshirt freshman WR Toren Dixon.

The Owls had fourth and six from the Tech seven yard line when the Rice staff decided to forgo a second chip-shot field goal and call Dixon’s number again. Chase caught the lanky freshman on a slant and he made a leaping catch of a somewhat high-thrown ball, stretching his frame across the goal for six points.

A momentary special teams lapse allowed the Red Raiders to get on the board once more, and again quickly. It was one of those so-so kickoffs with not a great deal of hang time but even poorer coverage. And guess who made the tackle – once again, a touchdown-saving tackle was made by Owl punter Luke Juist just after the return man had crossed the midfield stripe.

Tech scored four plays later and stretched its lead back to 21-10, but again the Owl offense responded with alacrity.

Finally -- a Clement to Dillard TD bomb

Jarett caught six for 90 yards and one TD, but he earned every inch of it, twice over (Mark Anderson photo)

After Chase Clement teamed up with Tommy Henderson to work the Owls just past midfield, the Rice quarterback teamed up with his battery-mate, Jarett Dillard, in one of those patented post patterns that the two of them made look so easy, so many times, last year.

JD was fully covered but skied high to make the grab as he fell across the goal line. Suddenly it was 21-17, and the Tech folks began to look mighty concerned over there on the east sideline.

It was Jarett’s s ninth career catch of more than 40 yards and his first touchdown catch of the year, ending a two-game scoring drought which matched the longest of his career. JD finished the day with six catches for 90 yards, leaving him five yards shy of becoming the third Rice receiver to reach 2,000 yards in career receiving.

But as so often has seem to take place in this benighted season, the Owl defense promptly tanked in reprise to such a strong offensive showing.

The Owls seemed to have Tech bottled up once more when they faced third and long from their own 26 after receiving the ensuing kickoff. But two linebackers moved up into the line, telegraphing the oncoming blitz, and Tech QB, Harrell checked off and hit a wide open Michael Crabtree on the slant. A split second later, the 6-3 Crabtree had gone 74 yards for the score. That made it 28-17, and the sudden strike seemed to wrest away the momentum from the Owls.

Rice gave Tech a short field on its next possession, and Tech managed to deftly convert. On third and goal from the Rice 9, Harrell flipped a quick out the his slot man, Eric Morris. Morris and Owl defender Ja’Corey Shepherd, who was in good position, appeared to have about an equal shot at the ball. But with a twisting movement, Morris was able to rotate to the outside while wresting control of the ball, leaving Ja’Corey in an awkward position to defend, and giving the Tech receiver an easy stroll across the goal line.

"We were in position to make plays," Ja'Corey said afterwards. "It wasn't like we were blowing coverages, they just some plays on the ball."Not content to run out the clock when Tech got another possession with 54 seconds to go in the half, the Raiders went for the home run bomb a couple of times to try to stick a knife in the Owl defensive unit on the way to the halftime locker room.

On the last play of the half, Harrell flung the ball into the end zone as he fell out of bounds with Owl DE Dietrich Davis (now there’s a dirty player for ya) hanging all over him. The Tech prima dona must have gotten his permed curls mussed, because his jaw flapped continuously as he sauntered back the dressing room.

Nonplussed Owl players appeared more amused than angered at Harrell’s tirade.  (Perhaps they should have been more angered by Harrell's display.) Apparently, it’s OK to try to toss a last second Hail Mary with an 18-point halftime lead, but it’s not ok to knock out of bounds the quarterback who’s trying to add insult to injury that way.

But as we’ve all learned by now, Tech just does that. It’s their thing.

"He hit me late," Harrell said of Dietrich. "I wish we would've gotten a penalty and got another shot at the end zone. We didn't, and that's the way it goes. I thought offensively, we executed and we would've liked to score right there at the end of the half.   But we didn't."

Regarding his, er, conversation with the Rice players, Harrell post-game recalled that he’d told them, "Good half."

Not much to say about second half -- but a lot to question

Rice quarterback Chase Clement showed flashes of his '06 form against Tech, particularly in the first half (PTH photo)

Tech’s second-string quarterback Taylor Potts finally got into the game at that point, and the Rice defense immediately flung him to the turf twice in one possession. This – after never even getting close to Harrell all day, unless you count Dietrich’s little first-half-ending  love tap.

 --PTH