Football: Practice Report #12

8/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football

Aug. 30, 2005

Houston - Rice intensified its preparations for the 2005 season opener Tuesday in a two-hour workout on the grass practice field.

Demonstration units started running UCLA plays and formations to give the Owls a look at what they might face against the Bruins on Sept. 10 in the Rose Bowl.

"They do a lot of shifting and use a lot of motion, trying to free up their skill people," said head coach Ken Hatfield. "In the first game, you're not sure what a team is going to do, so you look at what they did all last year.

"We're going to be playing a lot of young players, so the more we can do to give them confidence, the better we're going to be."

UCLA opens its season Saturday night at San Diego State, but Hatfield has been treating this as a "game week" to keep pace with UCLA's preparations. He'll send the Owls through a controlled scrimmage Wednesday and another game-type session Saturday night in Rice Stadium.