Rice University
0-4
Vanderbilt
2-2
Rice Falls To Vanderbilt 36-17
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes /Photo Gallery
By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
In the early moments, before fatigue and discouragement reared their ugly heads, Rice sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw reveled in the hard licks he and his defensive mates were laying on Vanderbilt ball carriers.
The Owls' defense shared in the glory born of ferocious hits, and seemed intent on bringing the fight throughout the course of Saturday night. But as the third quarter dragged out, the life seemed to seep from the Owls' weary legs, and no amount of gumption could stave off the inevitable.
With the injury-plagued offense succumbing to the Commodores' relentless defensive pressure, the Owls' defense hung on for as long as possible before surrendering a series of morale-crushing big plays in a 36-17 non-conference loss before a crowd of 19,753 at Rice Stadium.
After allowing Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-2 SEC) to march unimpeded on its opening possession, one that concluded with a touchdown, the Owls (0-4, 0-1 Conference USA) hunkered down and held the Commodores to just three points and 129 yards for the balance of the first half. But their offense, already down three starters, continued to lose reinforcements against the Commodores' onslaught, compromising the defensive might.
"It's tough and it showed, too," Bradshaw said of the onset of fatigue. "We were holding our own for a long time; we were making plays and doing good. Unfortunately we were on the field a lot and wore down at the end. That showed late in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. You saw those missed tackles and long runs, and that's just unacceptable. Fatigue ... we've got to be able to overcome that."
With the offense mustering only 31 yards and one first down over 14 plays in the third, the defense surrendered a 54-yard Larry Smith-to-Udom Umoh pass play late in the third, and a 58-yard Warren Norman touchdown run early in the fourth. Vanderbilt managed only 4.2 yards per play in the first half, but those huge gains broke the Owls' backs and spirit, and turned a 10-10 game at intermission into a 30-10 runaway.
The Owls landed one direct blow in the first half - a 48-yard Charles Ross touchdown run that knotted the game at 7-all at the 8:05 mark in the first quarter. Aside from that unexpected flash of lightning, the Owls proved feeble. Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lewis led the Owls on a 12-play, 58-yard march midway through the second quarter that yielded a Clark Fangmeier 39-yard field goal and squared the game at 10, but Lewis took several seismic blows during that possession. When he returned following intermission, he struggled to regain his timing.
Lewis wasn't alone in that regard. Missing quarterback Nick Fanuzzi, tailback Tyler Smith and right guard Jake Hicks, the Owls lost Ross to an asthma attack and Hicks' backup, Eric Ball, to a lower extremity injury. The Commodores, already well regarded defensively, took full advantage, harassing Lewis into a pair of interceptions that resulted in field goals. Fifth-year senior John Thomas Shepherd, starting in place of Fanuzzi, was also picked off twice and combined with Lewis to complete just 12 of 32 attempts for 122 yards. The duo was sacked four times.
"We knew they were going to blitz and come after us," Shepherd said. "It's on the quarterbacks to get us in the right protection and to make the quick throws and protect ourselves. I thought the offensive line played well considering the young guys we had in there. It's really on the quarterbacks to get it (the ball) out; that's how you stop the blitz."
The slow collapse rendered moot fabulous efforts by Bradshaw, who posted nine tackles (2.5 tackles for loss), one forced fumble and a pass breakup, and sophomore punter Kyle Martens, who averaged 47 yards on nine punts. But with the opening seven possessions of the second half producing five punts and two turnovers, there was little glory to be had in the home locker room. The result wasn't anything to celebrate.
"When we couldn't sustain drives in the second half offensively we had the defense out there for a lot of plays, and eventually they wore down," Rice coach David Bailiff said. "For us to win we've got to play exceptionally well in all phases - offensively, defensively and special teams."
Team Stats
VU 7, RICE 0
VU - Cole,John 31 yd run (Fowler,Ryan kick), 6 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:55
VU 7, RICE 7
RICE - ROSS, Charles 48 yd run (FANGMEIER, Clar kick), 2 plays, 54 yards, TOP 0:46
VU 10, RICE 7
VU - Fowler,Ryan 37 yd field goal 10 plays, 51 yards, TOP 3:47
VU 10, RICE 10
RICE - FANGMEIER, Clar 39 yd field goal 12 plays, 58 yards, TOP 6:04
VU 13, RICE 10
VU - Fowler,Ryan 33 yd field goal 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 1:17
VU 20, RICE 10
VU - Smith,Larry 6 yd run (Fowler,Ryan kick), 4 plays, 64 yards, TOP 1:21
VU 27, RICE 10
VU - Norman,Warren 58 yd run (Fowler,Ryan kick), 1 plays, 58 yards, TOP 0:12
VU 30, RICE 10
VU - Fowler,Ryan 23 yd field goal 4 plays, 2 yards, TOP 1:26
VU 30, RICE 17
RICE - DIXON, Toren 12 yd pass from SHEPHERD, John (FANGMEIER, Clar kick) 4 plays, 27 yards, TOP 1:58
VU 36, RICE 17
VU - Reeves,Kennard 11 yd run (Smith,Larry passfailed), 4 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:48
