Owls warn Cougars not to expect a patsy
University of Houston fans joked and jeered Saturday as Rice blew a 16-point lead in its season opener before orchestrating a fourth-quarter comeback and beating Prairie View A&M 31-28 with a last-second field goal.
To some, the Owls might seem like the same team Houston dominated 38-3 last September. But for Rice coaches and players, a new emphasis on steady growth has them feeling confident this year’s installment of the Bayou Bucket Classic will be more competitive.
“Being an underdog to me is never a bad thing,” Owls defensive lineman Roe Wilkins said. “When you get underestimated, it gives you room to excel, and that’s exactly what we’re planning on doing.
“(Last year’s game) is on our minds. We take pride in the city, we take pride in Rice, and we take pride in our home. Them coming over thinking they’re going to blow us out of the water is not how we roll over here.”
Wilkins’ confidence is buoyed by the depth of Rice’s defensive line, a unit that will be crucial in slowing down UH backs Mulbah Car and Terence Williams as well
as applying pressure to the Cougars’ passing attack.
The temporary absence of that pressure against Prairie View allowed the Panthers to claw back into Saturday’s game. This week, Rice coach Mike Bloomgren wants to see greater consistency up front and in the defensive backfield.
“I’m really pleased with how we finished. We need to be able to be more focused for four quarters,” Bloomgren said. “(UH is) going to be up-tempo in the same way, and they’re going to have talented receivers in just the same way, so I think it was a great way for us to start in terms of a team to prepare us for that.”
While Bloomgren saw room for improvement in his secondary, he’s not discouraged by its struggles to contain PV receiver Tristen Wallace, who torched the Owls for nearly 150 yards and a score.
“It’s not a surprise that he was going to be able to make some plays,” Bloomgren said. “He made some plays when we were in good coverage on a couple of them, and there’s a couple that we could give more help schematically and a couple where we’ve just got to play a little better on the back end.
“But again, I want to point to the adjustments our coaching staff made at halftime. … I want to look at holding that explosive offense to minus 4 yards in the fourth quarter and having a takeaway and almost a second.”
Shawn Stankavage again will start at quarterback for Rice but will split time with Jackson Tyner.
Up front, the Owls will be challenged by All-American Ed Oliver and the Cougars’ defensive line.
Last year, former Rice center Trey Martin anchored an experienced line that slowed Oliver (six tackles, one for a loss). But this year, Oliver will match up against redshirt freshman center Shea Baker — who made his college debut last week — and relatively new guards Joseph Dill and Jack Greene.
But that difference doesn’t faze Rice running back Emmanuel Esukpa, who’s embracing the opportunity to play the Cougars.
“We just know we have to put a little more focus into this week,” he said. “It’s really exciting to see that type of talent on the other side of the ball, so that should be fun.”