Football Notes: Week Eight - Texas Christian
10/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Saturday's Game
Rice (4-3, 3-0) vs. Texas Christian (3-3, 2-1). 2 pm (CDT), Rice Stadium (70,000/AstroTurf 12), Houston. Western Athletic Conference game.
Radio
Rice Radio Network (flagship KSEV, 700 AM, Houston) with Matt Musil, Tom Franklin, Craig Ackerman and Matt Thomas, 1 pm (CDT). Also on the World Wide Web at broadcast.com.
Television
none
Series
TCU leads 40-34-3. Rice won latest game 14-12 on Nov. 7, 1998, at Fort Worth.
Coaching Texas Christian
Head Coach: Dennis Franchione (Pittsburg State, 1973). Career: 123-63-2, 17th season. At TCU: 10-8, second season. Football SID: Trey Carmichael.
On The Web
Rice: www.RiceOwls.com
TCU: www.gofrogs.com
WAC: www.wac.org
RICE OWLS (4-3, 3-0 WAC)S4 at Houston, 3-28S11 at Michigan, 3-37S18 at Texas, 13-18S25 Navy, 20-17O2 at Tulsa (WAC), 20-10O9 at Hawaii (WAC), 38-19O16 San Jose St. (WAC), 49-7O23 TCU (WAC), 2 pmO30 at SMU (WAC), 2 pmN6 at Fresno State (WAC), 4 pmN13 UTEP (WAC), 2 pmShowdown At The Nest
Texas Christian (3-3, 2-1 WAC)S5 Arizona, 31-35S11 at Northwestern, 7-17S25 at Arkansas State, 24-21O2 at Fresno State (WAC), 19-26, OTO9 San Jose State (WAC), 42-0O16 Tulsa (WAC), 56-17O23 at RICE OWLS (WAC), 2 pmO30 at Hawaii (WAC), 11:05 pmN13 North Texas, 2:05 pmN20 UTEP (WAC), 2:05 pmN26 SMU (WAC), 2 pm
Rice will host Texas Christian in what may be the game of the year in the Western Athletic Conference. Game time in Rice Stadium is 2 pm (CDT) Rice is 4-3 on the season and 3-0 in WAC play. The Owls have won four straight after opening the season with three losses. Rice's latest victory was a 49-7 decision over San Jose State last Saturday in the Stadium TCU is 3-3, 2-1 in WAC play, after its 56-17 romp past Tulsa last week. The Horned Frogs have won two straight Neither Rice nor TCU is ranked in the national polls this week Rice was 5-6 in 1998 (5-3 in Western Athletic Conference play), while TCU was 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the WAC. The Frogs defeated Southern California 28-19 in the Norwest Sun Bowl TCU leads the all-time series with Rice by a 40-34-3 count. Rice won 14-12 last year at Fort Worth Saturday's game will be the second of two (count em, two) consecutive home games for the Owls after playing five of their first six games on the road. The Owls go on the road for their next two games: Oct. 30 at SMU (2 pm CDT) and Nov. 6 at Fresno State (4 pm CST). TCU goes a little farther on the road with their trip to Hawaii (11:05 pm CDT).
Rice Coach Ken Hatfield
Hatfield (Arkansas, 1965), the ninth-winningest active coach in the country, is in his sixth year at Rice and his 21st as a college head coach. Hatfield is 143-93-4 overall for a 60.4 winning percentage. He is also 30-31-1 at Rice (17-10 at home)... The Air Force coach during the 1979-83 seasons, Hatfield was the Falcons' head coach when the Academy joined the WAC in 1980. He is one of only two men to be a head coach at two different WAC schools. Tommy Hudspeth (BYU and UTEP) was the other. Hatfield is the only man to win WAC coach-of-the-year honors at two schools: he first won the honor in 1982 while at Air Force, then repeated as the Houston Chronicle selection in 1996 as the Rice head man... Hatfield was one of only five men to coach at least two SWC teams, joining D.X. Bible (A&M and Texas), Matty Bell (TCU, A&M and SMU), Francis Schmidt (Arkansas and TCU) and David McWilliams (Tech and Texas)... Hatfield celebrated a triumphant return to the Southwest Conference in 1994 by leading the Owls to a share of the conference championship. He was one of only three SWC coaches to win titles at two schools. Hatfield had previously led Arkansas to the 1988-89 championships... Hatfield is 8-3 against TCU, 3-2 while coaching at Rice. He was also 5-1 against the Frogs while he was the head coach at Arkansas Hatfield is now 31-24 all-time in WAC games, 19-8 as the Rice coach. His winning percentage of .585 (24-17) in all conference games is the best in Rice history.
More About Rice/TCU
Rice has won three straight over TCU, all of the games coming in WAC play. The Owls' longest winning streak in the series was a four-game skein in 1946-49. That 1949 team, generally considered the best in Rice history with a 10-1 record and a Cotton Bowl victory, will coincidentally hold its 50th reunion Friday and SaturdayTCU leads Rice 13-12 in games played at Rice Stadium... Rice assistant coach Charlie Rizzo was an assistant coach at TCU under former head coach Pat Sullivan in 1992-97 Rice redshirt freshman linebacker Scott Huffman is the younger brother of TCU punter/receiver Royce Huffman TCU coach Dennis Franchione is 0-3 against Rice (0-2 while the head coach at New Mexico and 0-1 at TCU) Rice and TCU have played every year since 1928 as members of the Southwest Conference and the WAC, but the streak will end after the Oct. 28, 2000, game in Fort Worth. After that season, the Frogs have announced plans to leave the WAC for Conference-USA.
At the Stadium
Rice's win over San Jose State was the Owls' eighth straight WAC win at Rice Stadium... Rice is now 12-1 all-time in WAC games in the Stadium... Rice has won five straight home games. Two of Rice's last four games of the '99 season will be in the Stadium Last year's loss to Northwestern broke another four-game winning streak in the Stadium... The Owls are 17-10 in the Stadium under Ken Hatfield... Rice was 4-1 in the Stadium in both 1997 and 98 The 44,216 that saw the Owls' win over Navy on Sept. 25 was the largest in the Stadium since 53,811 saw the Rice/Texas game in 1997.
On The Road
Rice has won back-to-back road games for the first time since a five-game road winning streak during the 1996-97 seasons Rice broke a four-game road losing streak with its win at Tulsa. The Owls are 2-3 away from Rice Stadium this season after going 1-5 on the road in '98 Rice has seven road games this season, equaling the 1991 season for the most in Rice history The Owls played their first three games of the season on the road for the first time since 1981 Rice's 14-12 win at TCU on Nov. 7, 1998, broke a six-game road losing streak for the Owls. The previous win had been the 35-23 win over '97 Mountain Division champion New Mexico Last year's loss at Purdue broke a three-game winning streak for the Owls in non-conference road games, starting with a 21-14 win at Tulane in 1996. The Owls topped the Green Wave 30-24 and Northwestern 40-34 on the road in 1997... Five of Rice's seven road games this season will be played on grass. Hawaii's Aloha Stadium and Tulsa's Skelly Stadium both have artificial surfaces, but the Cotton Bowl and Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, the sites of the final two road games, both have natural surfaces... Rice is 13-21-1 in road games under Ken Hatfield, 7-6 in WAC play.
Players of the Week
Jason Hebert was the Western Athletic Conference defensive player of the week following his outstanding effort at Michigan. The sophomore from Spring (Klein HS) was credited with 19 tackles (seven primary), the most by an Owl since Larry Izzo, now with the Miami Dolphins, had 20 at Army in 1995. Hebert also returned two punts for 18 yards against the Wolverines, including a career-long 12-yard effort Travis Ortega was honored by the Houston Chronicle for his 13-tackle, one-blocked field goal performance at Texas... Derek Crabtree was the WAC special teams honoree after his two field goals and two conversions in the win over Navy Dan Dawson earned the Chronicle's defensive honor for his play in the win over Tulsa, while free safety Jason Hebert on defense and punter Travis Hale on special teams won the WAC league honors for the same game.
Record Watch
Individual: Chad Richardson moved into 10th place in career rushing with his 168-yard night at Hawaii. The senior now has 1,642 yards on 307 carries for his career Scott Grimes' 52-yard field goal at Houston equaled the sixth-longest in Rice history and was the longest since James Hamrick had a 57-yarder at Texas Tech in 1985 Derek Crabtree tied the Rice single-game record with his seven PATs against San Jose State. Johnny Bagwell set the mark against Iowa State in 1993. Team: Houston's 43 total plays were only one off the Rice defensive record (42 by Southwestern in 1946) The San Jose State game was the first in Rice history in which the Owls did not attempt at least one punt.
Rice Notes
Only three members of Rice's 1999 recruiting class have seen action this season: defensive end Brandon Green, noseguard Lance Redmon, and punter Travis Hale. In addition, walk-on linebacker Ryan Devlin, another true freshman, plays on Rice special teams. Twenty members of the '98 recruiting class were redshirted last season In the final year of the decade, the Owls are 51-54-1 over the past nine-plus years. Those 51 wins equal the 1950s (51-48-3) for the second-most wins at Rice during a decade. Rice's most successful decade ever was the 1940s (63-37-4) Rice played before three consecutive sellouts on the road early this season, topped by the 110,501 that saw the Michigan game. The 82,084 that watched the Texas game was the eighth-largest crowd ever at DKR/Texas Memorial Stadium With the end of the quadrant scheduling system after the 1998 season, Rice ended with an 8-1 record against the other three members of Quadrant One (SMU, Tulsa and TCU). The only game the Owls ever lost to a member of their own quad was at SMU in 1997... Conversely, the Owls never won a crossover game in the three years of that system in the old new WAC. Air Force was the crossover opponent in 1996-97, and San Jose State filled that role in '98... Rice was one of the least penalized teams in the WAC in 1998. The Owls averaged only 39.7 penalty yards per game after leading the WAC in that category (30.7) in 1997... Rice plays for three trophies each season. The Southwestern Bell Bayou Bucket, contested between the Owls and the University of Houston, was retained by UH on Sept. 4, while the Owls retained the Williams Trophy with its win at Tulsa. Rice and SMU will play for the Mayors' Cup on Oct. 30 in the Cotton Bowl Rice has no changes on its coaching staff for 1999 Defensive coordinator Roger Hinshaw and running backs coach Larry Brinson are each coaching for their 17th consecutive seasons under Ken Hatfield Four members of the Rice staff are former players under Hatfield. Offensive line coach Scott Wachenheim played under Hatfield at Air Force, defensive line coach Theo Young played at Arkansas, and receivers coach Jeff Sowells is a former Owl. In addition, Brinson was a Florida star during Hatfield's tenure as an assistant in Gainesville... Rice's uniforms are generally unchanged in 1999, but the combinations are ever-changing. The Owls usually wear blue jerseys with white pants at home, but they came out in all-blue against Navy and San Jose State. On the road, the Owls usually wear white jerseys with blue pants, although they were in all white at Houston in the '99 opener Upcoming Rice Birthday: wide receiver Matt Webber (21) on Oct. 27.
Rice Hall of Fame Ceremonies Friday
Rice will honor five former Owl greats this weekend with the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The actual induction will be Friday night in the Owl Club in Rice Stadium, and the group will be recognized during halftime of Saturday's Rice-TCU game. Entering the Hall will be Susan Rudd and Tracie Blumentritt, the 1983 AIAW national doubles champions; baseball all-America Jay Knoblauh ('88); longtime assistant football coach Charlie Moore ('37); and all-Southwest Conference basketball star Temple Tucker ('58) Two contributors in Rice's rich sports medicine tradition will also be honored. Dr. Thomas Clanton ('71), the former football letterman who is now chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the UT-Houston Medical School and the co-team physician for all Rice athletics, will receive the Distinguished R Award. Dr. Hugh Welsh, who spent 43 seasons as the Rice team doctor (1919-61), will receive with the Honorary R.
About The Rice Offense
1999 Averages/Rankings Avg. WAC NCAARushing Offense 263.4 1 8Passing Offense 41.3 8 114Total Offense 304.7 6 91Scoring Offense 20.9 6 91The Spread Option
Rice's offense is termed the spread option, with elements of the wishbone, veer, single-back and even a little bit of the West Coast. The basic formation is a broken bone, but the Owls will run the option from just about any set... There is one minor change in the offense in 1999: Rice now has a left halfback and a right halfback in the wishbone formation. In the past, the Owls employed a featured back who flipped to either side of the field Rice had no individual WAC statistical champions in 1998... Rice started six seniors, two juniors, and three sophomores on offense vs. SJSU... The Owls' starting interior line averages 6-3 and 278 pounds per man... Offensive guard Neal Gray is the most experienced starter on the Rice offensive line with 37 career starts, while tackle Rod Beavan has started 31 games during his career Rice was plagued with poor field position in its first three games. At Houston, the Owls' average field position was their own 19-yard line, and it improved only marginally to the Rice 23 in the Michigan game. When Rashard Pittman recovered a Texas fumble at the UT 31 in the fourth quarter, it marked the first time this year that the Owls had started a drive on their opponent's end of the field... Against Navy, the average field position was the Rice 35 with three drives starting in the Mids' end of the field Rice has won the time of possession statistic in six of its first seven games, controlling the ball 35:47 vs. San Jose State, 38:41 at Hawaii and 37:00 against Navy. The season average is 34:44 Until Chad Richardson's third-quarter touchdown at Texas, the Owls had gone 13 quarters without a six-pointer, a drought which dated to Jamie Tyler's first-quarter touchdown at Air Force in the 1998 season finale Rice's 18-play drive for its first TD against San Jose State took 9:45, the most ET of any possession during Ken Hatfield's Rice tenure. The 18 plays was also a season high Rice's 49 points against the Spartans was the most Rice has scored since its 51-10 win over Utah in 1996 at the Stadium.
At Quarterback
Senior Chad Richardson, the starter in the Owls' last nine games in 1998 and all seven games this year, is the leader of the spread option. He leads the Owls in rushing this year with 449 yards on 129 carries, 356 of the yards coming during the current winning streak. Richardson also led the Owls in rushing a year ago with 746 yards on 181 carries With senior Jeremy Bates and sophomore Corey Evans behind him to start the season, Richardson headed one of the more experienced quarterback corps ever at Rice. That's not the case now. Both Bates and Evans are out for the year with injuries: Bates with a stress fracture in his right foot, and Evans with a knee ligament suffered in the Navy game. Richardson had played every offensive snap in the Owls' games vs. Navy and Hawaii, but Ben Wulf saw a large amount of second-half action against SJSU. Wulf, a former running back, and true freshman Jeremy Hurd are listed as the backups to Richardson Richardson has been responsible for 12 of the Owls' 18 touchdowns this season, rushing for seven and throwing for five, three to fellow senior Raphael Tillman. With 168 yards on 28 carries, Richardson had the fifth 100-yard rushing game of his career at Hawaii... Richardson's 60-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half at Hawaii equaled his career long, against Colorado State in '98 Bates started the first two games of the '98 season before a knee injury at Purdue ended his year. Not only did he battle back through a major rehabilitation, Bates was ready to contribute as the Owls' number-two deep snapper and on punt returns before his injury Evans had his best game as an Owl at Michigan, leading the Owls' only scoring drive in the final moments. He gained a career-best 72 yards on 10 carries against the Wolverines. He rushed for 125 yards on 26 carries before his injury.
Here Comes The Infantry
Rice enjoyed one of its best rushing games ever in the win over San Jose State. The Owls gained 413 rushing yards on 81 attempts against the Spartans. The attempts are a Rice record. It was the ninth time the Owls had gained at least 400 yards in a game under Ken Hatfield, and the 23rd time they're gone over the 300-yard mark Mike Gingrich and Derek Gary have added their names to the long list of Rice's 100-yard rushers under Hatfield. Gingrich gained 112 yards on 11 carries against Tulsa, including a career-long 27-yard run in the first half. Gary had his big day against San Jose State: 101 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. Gingrich was the 12th Owl and Gary the 13th with 100-yard games under Hatfield Gary's big day marked the 42nd time that a back has rushed for at least 100 yards in a game during the past six seasons Pick your poison: five different Owls have led the team in rushing during the first seven games of the year. Quarterback Chad Richardson has done it three times, topped by his 168-yard night at Hawaii Leroy Bradley had the top rushing day of his career against Houston with 92 yards on 11 carries. His 39-yard run in the second quarter was the longest of his career Rice has been among the national leaders in rushing offense in each of the last three seasons, ranking fifth last year. The Owls have averaged 332.8 yards on the ground during their winning streak to move up to eighth nationally this week. Rice's 3,660-infantry yards in 1997 broke the school record of 3,359 in 1996, followed by 2,829 yards in 1998 Six current Owls have rushed for at least 100-yards in a game. Richardson has done it five times (twice this season), and Raphael Tillman (109 vs. Baylor in 1995), Anthony Griffin (183 at San Jose State in 1998), Jamie Tyler (166 at TCU in '98), Gingrich at Tulsa and Gary vs. San Jose State, have done it once Griffin had his top game of the season vs. San Jose. He gained 77 yards on just eight carries, including touchdown runs of 43- and 13-yards. He also combined with Richardson on a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Air Corps
Rice has already surpassed its 1998 season total for touchdown passes with the five Chad Richardson has thrown this year, three to Raphael Tillman, one to Jamie Tyler, and one last week to Anthony Griffin. Those three TD catches by Tillman are the most by an Owl since Ed Howard had six in 1994, and it was the first time an Owl had caught TD passes in three straight games since Byron Coston in 1993 The numbers aren't great, but Rice has had a successful complementary passing game during its winning streak. Richardson has completed 12 of his 26 attempts for 168 yards and four touchdowns. The 65 air yards against San Jose State (all in the first half) stand as the season high Tillman had at least one reception in the first five Rice games this year, but he was shut out against Hawaii Rice has completed only 18 passes this season, but they have gone to seven different receivers Sophomore transfer Evan Meeks had the first two receptions of his Rice career against Navy, but he is out for the season after suffering a broken leg at Tulsa.
About The Rice Defense
1999 Averages/Rankings Avg. WAC NCAARushing Defense 110.4 2 26Pass Eff. Rating 111.3 1 35Total Defense 315.3 2 25Scoring Defense 19.4 2 T25Turnover Margin +0.14 3 T47The Team Game
Rice's basic defensive alignment is the 4-3... The Owls started two seniors (defensive tackle Judd Smith and linebacker Wesley Kubesch), five juniors, and four sophomores on defense vs. San Jose State Rice's starting interior line averages 6-2 and 253 pounds per man... Rice currently ranks second to TCU in the Western Athletic Conference in total defense, allowing 315.3 yards per game. The Owls are first in the WAC in pass efficiency rating Navy's 26 passing yards is the fewest allowed by the Owls since TCU gained only 22 yards through the air against the Owls in 1987... San Jose State had only 23 net rushing yards against the Owls, the fewest this season and the fewest since Tulane had only 13 in 1993. Rice has allowed a total of 81 rushing yards (34 by Tulsa, 24 by Hawaii and 23 by SJSU) in its last three games SJSU's 164 total yards were the fewest allowed by the Owls since Lamar gained only 121 in Rice's 28-14 win in 1986... Texas' 18 points were the fewest the Longhorns had scored against the Owls since Rice's 19-17 win in 1994 Texas' only touchdown was through the air, marking the first time since the Owls' win at New Mexico in 1997 that an opponent had not scored a rushing touchdown against the Owls. TCU coach Dennis Franchione was the Lobos' head coach in that game Until Hawaii scored with 2:44 left in the game, Rice had not allowed a second-half touchdown since the Michigan game Sophomore free safety Jason Hebert was everywhere at Michigan. His 19 tackles (seven primary) were the most by an Owl defender since Larry Izzo was credited with 20 at Army in 1995 Sophomore bandit Dan Dawson has picked up where he left off in '98 as the leader of the Rice defense. Dawson led the Owls with 15 tackles at Houston and he added 10 more stops at Michigan. Dawson currently owns the Rice team lead with 57 tackles through seven games, followed by Hebert with 54. Nine Owls currently have at least 22 tackles this season Last year, Dawson was the first freshman to lead the Owls in tackles with 81 stops (52 primary) Kubesch had his career-best with 12 tackles at Michigan, while Joe Bob Thompson topped his Rice years with 11 at Texas Junior Josh McMillan had a career-best four pass deflections at Texas and leads the Owls with nine Kubesch and sophomore noseguard B.J. Forguson share the Owls' sack lead this year with two each. The Owls had three as a team against Tulsa.
Giveaway, Takeaway
Rice has turned around its turnover margin problem in the last five games. The Owls have given up only five fumbles in the Texas, Navy, Tulsa, Hawaii and SJSU games, while the Owl defense has come up with six fumble recoveries and eight interceptions Joe Bob Thompson got Rice's first pick of the season, stopping Navy's final drive with his first career interception Jason Hebert had his first two career interceptions in the fourth quarter at Tulsa, the first Owl with two picks in a game since LaDouphyous McCalla did it against New Mexico in 1997. Hebert followed that with another two interceptions against San Jose State for 66 return yards. His 46-yard return was the Owls' longest since Jason Winship had a 60-yard TD return against Utah in 1996 Greg Gatlin and Antwan Shell both had their first career interceptions at Hawaii The Owls' six turnovers at Houston was uncharacteristic of their offense the past two seasons. The five lost fumbles and one interception were the most Rice has suffered in a game since they had six (five interceptions, one fumble) against Air Force in the 1997 season opener. Rice cut the TOs in half at Michigan (one lost fumble, two interceptions). Rice lost only 14 total turnovers in 1998 (two interceptions and 12 fumbles), equaling the 1996 total as the fewest ever at Rice. Those two interceptions last year stand alone as the Rice record.
About The Rice Special Teams
1999 Averages/Rankings Avg. WAC NCAANet Punting 34.1 6 75Punt Returns 6.1 7 105Kickoff Returns 20.1 3 62Kick Away
It is the age of specialization for Rice in 1999. Senior Scott Grimes started the 1998 season handling all the kicking duties, but he is this year's kickoff/long field goal specialist. Sophomore Derek Crabtree handles PATs and the shorter field goals, freshman Travis Hale is the punter, and senior Victor Young is the holder Grimes' 52-yard field goal against the Cougars is the first 50-plus FG by an Owl since Mike Ruff had a 52-yarder at Texas Tech in 1995 Crabtree has been the primary placement specialist over the last 13 games and he has been perfect. He is 35/35 on his PAT attempts and 11/11 in field goals. His 41-yard kick in the third quarter against Navy equaled the longest of his career, a 41-yarder at Air Force. Rice's only points at Michigan came on his 33-yard field goal. Crabtree equaled the Rice record for PATs in a game with his seven against SJSU Grimes also was perfect on his 10 conversions last year and has made 45 for his career, sixth-most ever at Rice Hale's 47.4-yard average on his four punts at Tulsa represented the best average by an Owl since Tucker Phillips averaged 47.4 on three punts at TCU in 1996. Through seven games, Hale is averaging 42.3 on 34 punts, ranking second in the WAC. His longest has been a 64-yard boomer against the wind at Tulsa, a clutch kick which helped preserve the Rice win. The Owls didn't need him against San Jose: that was the first game in school history that the Owls didn't attempt a punt... Another new face on Rice's special teams this year is deep snapper Ryan Pontbriand, a redshirt freshman.
Many Happy Returns
Rice has new faces returning kickoffs and punts for the first time in a long while in 1999. LaDouphyous McCalla and Michael Perry ended their careers among Rice's career leaders in punt and kickoff returns Sean White had been the Owls' primary KOR specialist, averaging 19.7 on 11 runbacks, but he missed the SJSU game with a sprained shoulder. He could return for TCU. White's 35-yard return of the second-half kickoff at Tulsa is the longest by an Owl since Michael Perry had a 45-yard return last year at Texas White also handled punt returns at Hawaii, bringing two back for 14 yards. His 18-yard return against the Bows is Rice's longest this year Jason Hebert has returned 13 punts for a 5.9 average this year, his long return for 12 yards at Michigan.
