NORTH TEXAS DROPS RICE TO 1-11.
Deficiencies in play that sprouted in opener continue through schedule
As the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, Rice coach David Bailiff led a wave of players and staff toward midfield to shake hands with North Texas coach Seth Littrell.
He maneuvered through the fray with his head up, stopping to shake the occasional hand before rendezvousing with players near the opponent’s sideline. It was fitting the band was just above the school’s 2013 conference championship banner as players congregated to hear a rendition of the school’s alma mater.
Bailiff looked on as a fan reached from behind to drape a blue Rice flag over his shoulders.
He spread his hands and kissed his thumbs together to form owl wings, and photographers swooped in to capture the moment.
It was the last time Rice’s 19 seniors would take part in the tradition.
And after 11 years, Saturday was probably their coach’s last game at Rice, too.
“It’s always an emotional last game when you realize these seniors will never wear the blue jersey (again),” Bailiff said. “It’s not lip service when I tell you I fall in love with them. “There’s a responsibility coaches have to kids. It’s hard when you don’t end up on top enough.”
The likely last game of Bailiff’s tenure ended the same as his first, a loss.
After arriving in 2007, Bailiff led Rice to two 10win seasons (their last was in 1949) and their first outright conference title in 56 years. But since then, his teams have been progressively worse. Saturday’s 30-14 loss to North Texas caps the worst season of Bailiff ’s tenure, just below his 2-10 finish in 2009.
Rice ends the season 1-11 and 1-7 in Conference USA.
The school’s worst finish since 2005.
“It’s hard,” he said. “These seasons are tough; they’re tough on your soul.”
Some Rice fans had been calling for a new coach as early as 2014, just a year after Bailiff’s Owls had won the championship. Some began last year, after a three-win season concluded with a 41-17 loss to Stanford.
Still, those pleas felt premature, at least until the opener. Rice was embarrassed by Stanford in Australia 62-7.
In a loss highlighted by inconsistent quarterback play, sloppy penalties by the offensive line and shaky defense; Rice set the tone for a season in which all three would be consistent themes throughout.
Following Hurricane Harvey, Rice rebounded against UTEP, but started riding their current 10game losing streak the following week against the University of Houston.
In October, director of athletics Joe Karlgaard was asked if Bailiff would coach the Owls next year if the team finished at or below last season’s record of 3-9 and 2-6 in conference play.
“I think the expectations we set last year were pretty clear and that’s that we expect to have a winning program and anything less than that is not acceptable,” he said. “Coach and I are on the same page with that.”
Karlgaard will meet with Bailiff on Monday to evaluate the coach’s performance.
At Rice Stadium on Saturday, players raced past Bailiff toward the locker room as he made his way down the home sideline one last time.
A small collection of boosters waited by the exit in the corner of the end zone. As Bailiff left the field for the final time, he was greeted by a small chorus of applause.
Bailiff then disappeared into the darkness of the Patterson Center.