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Rice University Athletics
Tackling The Juggernaut
11/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 27, 2009
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
The mere suggestion of any defense stopping Houston and its prolific offense seems ludicrous given the Cougars' productivity in recent seasons, but that doesn't deter the competitive nature of UH opponents.
Rice sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw and junior linebacker Justin Hill certainly aren't shying away from the enormity of the challenge ahead. The Owls (2-9, 2-5 Conference USA) will meet UH (9-2, 5-2 C-USA) on its turf - Robertson Stadium - on Saturday night seemingly unfazed by the avalanche of statistics predicting a one-sided affair.
"I don't think there is anybody out here that's scared to step on that field," said Bradshaw, who leads the nation with 7.64 unassisted tackles per game. "We're ready to go. We're ready to get out there and play."
Added Hill, who had a career-high eight tackles in the Owls' 30-29 win over UTEP last weekend at Historic Rice Stadium: "It's a great challenge. As athletes and competitors we love any challenge, especially one like this. They're a great team and they've had a great season so far, and I'm looking forward to facing up against them and seeing how we do."
Entering the Bayou Bucket game with a positive frame of mind represents half the battle against the Cougars. The other half entails installing a potentially successful game plan, and that task falls squarely in the shoulders of the defensive coaching staff, namely head coach David Bailiff and co-coordinators Chuck Driesbach and Craig Naivar.
That UH leads the nation in total offense (574.1 yards/game) and ranks third in scoring offense (42.4 points/game) is nothing new. The Cougars have improved in each category over the past three seasons, ranking fourth in total offense (501.9 yards/game) and 23rd in scoring offense (34.5 points/game) in 2007, their final season under UH-turned-Baylor coach Art Briles. Last season, their first under Kevin Sumlin, the Cougars finished second nationally in total offense (562.8 yards/game) and 10th in scoring offense (40.6 points/game) despite key personnel changes.
While the Owls have split the past two meetings, claiming the Bayou Bucket and snapping the Cougars' three-game series win streak last year, they haven't had much success slowing the UH attack. The Cougars have averaged 691 yards (and an astonishing 8.5 per play) and 49 points against the Bailiff-led Owls, totals exceeding their season averages. The Owls have carefully studied defenses that have enjoyed a modicum of success against UH, tabbing and implementing components of those schemes that mesh with their fundamental defensive principles.
"We all are copycats, so if we see something that works we're certainly going to take a look at it if it falls within the realm of our scheme," Driesbach said. "They're very similar to Texas Tech (UH offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen served in the same capacity with the Red Raiders for three seasons before joining UH). They're really doing the same stuff they did last year; they've got a few new wrinkles. If it's not broke don't fix it, and they know what they do and do it extremely well.
"We feel like we've got a good game plan against it, but it's going to come down to getting off blocks and tackling. A lot of that is in space and that's what they count on because they've got great athletes and a lot of speed."
Following a reemphasis on tackling fundamentals during the off week, the Owls have improved dramatically in that area. Over the three games since their late-October break, the Owls have allowed 375.7 yards/game and 5.5 yards/play, numbers that would ranks 72nd and 70th nationally if projected over an entire season. Maintaining the fundamentally aggressive approach that paid dividends against SMU, Tulane and UTEP will be vital to the Owls' hopes against the Cougars, who are especially adept at getting their best athletes in space one-on-one with defenders.
"Their basic game plan is those quick little throws, and they get big plays off of it," Bradshaw said. "That's one thing we've got to stop this week. We've got confidence from the last few games because we've been tackling better, but that really is one of the main points for this game is to tackle those guys in space because if we don't it's going to be a long day."
So much of what the Owls did right in last season's 56-42 win over UH was get stops at critical junctures. Slowing UH is a more reasonable goal than stopping the Cougars altogether, and building sizable leads against UH makes the Cougars one-dimensional. The Owls led by four touchdowns in the fourth quarter last season, and when UTEP and UCF beat UH earlier this season, they did so by building leads and forcing the Cougars to abandon their deceptively effective rushing attack.
The sheer magnitude of the Cougars' offensive prowess suggest that success is a difficult-at-best proposition. But what the Miners and Knights discovered is that stifling the Cougars' offensive isn't impossible, and the Owls are aiming to build on those valuable lessons.
"Just be confident in the game plan the coaches have for us," Hill said. "And be sure tacklers."
