Freshman Jammer tames Tigers with key late game interception
Unfortunately for the University of Memphis, losing athletic contests at the last minute is becoming a familiar feeling. First, the Tigers' basketball team lost the national championship in the dwindling moments last spring. Then, the Tigers' football team could only watch as its pesky Owl opponents seemingly stole a 42-35 victory last Saturday night. Some might say that two instances is not enough to establish a pattern, but the dejection on the Tigers' faces as they watched freshman defensive back Chris Jammer seal the win for Rice certainly resembled the expressions shown by their basketball team six months ago. Immediately following the first interception of his career, Jammer's 69- yard return for a touchdown with 11 seconds left capped a game that saw Rice recover from a 28-13 deficit in the fourth quarter en route to its first 2-0 start in four seasons.
Rice returns to Tennessee tomorrow to face Vanderbilt University at 6 p.m. in Nashville. Last Thursday the Commodores held off the 24th-ranked University of South Carolina Gamecocks 24-17 to earn their second victory of the season, after opening 2008 with a win at Miami University in Ohio.
Vanderbilt's approach on the offensive side of the ball differs substantially from what the Owls have seen this year. Vanderbilt has fully incorporated the Southeastern Conference run-first-then-run-again type offense. Last week the Commodores ran the ball 41 times out of 54 total offensive plays.
The 45-31 loss to Tulane University last November at Rice Stadium marked the last time the Owls faced a run-first offense. That game did not end well for Rice, as Tulane running back Matt Forte, now with the Detroit Lions, carried the ball 39 times for 194 yards and five touchdowns.
This Saturday the Owls will look to slow down Vanderbilt by keeping the offense on the field and moving the first down markers, limiting the number of possessions and time the defense spends on the field. Last weekend the Owls' defense was on the field for 35 minutes.
The main contribution to the time difference was the Owls' slow start. In the first half against the Tigers' defense the Owls mustered only 77 yards of total offense and in one stretch were forced to punt three times in four offensive possessions.
However, the Owls' fast-paced play and dynamic air and ground attacks eventually wore down the Tigers.
"A lot of what we do offensively is so up-tempo it's fatiguing to defenses," head coach David Bailiff said. "The most fatiguing thing is a pass-rush to a defensive lineman. That is a hard skill set to continue to try and do all night. It's tough on you in the fourth [quarter]."
With as many as five receivers on the field at one time, combined with the run threat posed by senior quarterback Chase Clement, the Owls are more likely to score in bunches, which was evident last week when they scored 29 points in the fourth quarter.
The last drive culminated with Clement's scampering into the end zone on a nine-yard run, getting the Owls within two points of Memphis with just 1:11 remaining in the game. On the two-point conversion he connected with sophomore tight end James Casey to tie the game at 35-35.
Casey, this week's Conference USA Player of the Week, added another impressive performance to his resumé Saturday when he broke Rice's single-game receiving record with a total of 208 yards spread over 11 catches.
With the game tied up, Memphis had one more try to move the ball into last-second scoring position. The Tigers reached the Owls' 38-yard line before Jammer returned the pickoff for the go-ahead touchdown with just 11 seconds left in the game. The interception prevented overtime or a game-winning field goal in regulation.
Jammer's interception averted a repeat of last year's performance that saw the Tigers generate 571 yards of offense on their way to a 38-35 victory at Rice Stadium. Rice limited the Tigers to 523 yards, with the vast majority of those coming through the air to a Memphis receiving corps featuring four players listed at over 6 feet 4 inches tall.
This weekend the Owls' defense will be playing without senior All- C-USA linebacker Brian Raines, who was injured during last week's game, but the players remain optimistic.
"As a defense we want to get things done," senior defensive lineman Chris Ptaszek said. "We don't want to be the side of the team that isn't accomplishing much. We're stepping up. We're ready to stop the other team's offense regardless.
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