The seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns had an unexpected chance to rest last weekend, and they figure to enter this weekend's non-conference clash with Rice with plenty of confidence.
Members of Conference USA, the Owls opened the season with back-to-back league victories over SMU and Memphis. Last weekend, they took a break from conference action to take on SEC foe Vanderbilt on the road, and that tilt ended with a 38-21 defeat. This weekend's game marks the third straight on the road for the Owls.
Texas was scheduled to take on SEC foe Arkansas last weekend in Austin, but Hurricane Ike caused that clash to be moved to September 27th. The Longhorns are currently 2-0 thanks to a pair of blowout victories. Texas followed a 52-10 thrashing of Florida Atlantic in the opener with a 42-13 trouncing of UTEP two weeks ago. The 'Horns will face numerous tests when the Big 12 season begins, so the team simply can not afford a non-conference loss, especially at home.
Texas holds a commanding 68-21-1 series lead over Rice, including nine straight wins over the Owls.
Rice boasts some impressive offensive statistics, as the team is scoring 39.7 ppg while allowing 343.3 total ypg to the opposition. Chase Clement has been terrific under center, as he has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 875 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Jarett Dillard figures to draw plenty of attention from Texas defenders, as he has already caught five touchdown passes. The top ground gainer is Clement, as he has rushed for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Clearly, the quarterback will be in the running for C-USA player of the year this season.
Rice put up 407 total yards in the most recent outing against Vanderbilt, and 299 of those yards came from the arm of Clement. He threw a touchdown and ran for a score in the clash, but it simply wasn't enough to knock off the Commodores.
Opponents are scoring 33.3 ppg against Rice, which is yielding 401.3 total ypg. Clearly, there is room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball. The Owls have yielded 14 touchdowns to opposing offenses through three games, and those scores have been split evenly between the run and the pass. Considering that Rice has come up with seven takeaways, including five picks, it is certainly fair to say that the defense has been opportunistic. Still, foes are gaining 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 11.7 yards per pass completion. Also, the Owls have mustered a mere four sacks in three outings. The leader of the defense is Andrew Sendejo, as his total of 30 tackles is more than double that of his closest teammate.
Rice got bullied at the line of scrimmage by Vanderbilt last week, as the Commodores rushed for 273 yards on an average of 6.3 yards per attempt. They also had five rushing touchdowns against the Owls, who failed to register a takeaway in the clash.
It is important to view the Longhorns' stats to date with guarded optimism, as the team has yet to face a quality opponent. Still, the fans and coaches have to be impressed with what they have seen thus far from the offense. Texas is averaging 47.0 ppg and 453.5 total ypg. Quarterback Colt McCoy got off to a slow start a year ago after being billed as a Heisman candidate heading into the season. Now, he is living up to that hype, as he has completed 75.9 percent of his passes for 504 yards with seven touchdowns and only one interception. McCoy is also the team's leading rusher, as he has racked up 111 yards and a score. "I know what he's capable of,"
says receiver Quan Crosby. "He's a great scrambler, I love when he does it."
Speaking of Crosby, he is the club's top receiver with 11 catches for 188 yards, but McCoy has done a good job of spreading the ball around. Against UTEP last week, McCoy was 20-of-29 for 282 yards and four touchdowns with only one interception. Crosby exploded for eight catches, 154 yards and a score, and Foswhitt Whittaker pounded out 72 rushing yards on 15 carries.
The fact that Texas has only yielded 23 total points through two games suggests that the defense is doing its job. The 'Horns are surrendering 3.4 yards per rushing attempt, and opponents have been forced to abandon the run rather early due to large deficits. There is room for improvement in regard to the pass defense, as Texas is allowing 12.4 yards per completion. Still, opposing quarterbacks have completed fewer than 50 percent of the passes that they have attempted.
UTEP managed 23 first downs and 412 total yards against Texas last weekend and avoided throwing a single interception on 46 attempts. The Longhorn defenders were on the field for almost 37 minutes, and while they did come up with a fumble recovery and two sacks, the performance was far from perfect. Still, Texas extended its school-record non-conference road winning streak to nine.
