Owls prepare for first home game against KU
With the week off, the Owls were able to sit back at home and relax last Saturday afternoon before preparing for their first home game of the season this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against University of Kansas.
In only its second-ever matchup against Kansas last year, Rice exacted some revenge from its 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl loss, defeating the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. Redshirt senior kicker Chris Boswell won the game with a 45-yard field goal as time expired to give the Owls their first win in school history against a team in the Big 12.
Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor McHargue said last year's win against Kansas was a major launching pad for the team the rest of the season and ultimately made the difference between a losing season and a bowl bid.
"The win last year gave us the confidence that we can play with anybody and we can definitely win on the road, which is something we had not done much over the past few years," McHargue said.
Head Coach David Bailiff said he saw eye-to-eye with McHargue. He said last year's win was program-changing but that the game is in the past, and the Jayhawks will not overlook his team this year.
"To win it on the last play was big for us, and it could be a big motivation for Kansas," Bailiff said. "I know they are not going to look over us this year."
The season is still young, and like Rice, Kansas has only played one game so far. It opened up its 2013 campaign last Saturday against the University of South Dakota at home, pulling out a 31-14 win. That win was the first in 12 games for the Jayhawks, which went 1-11 last season.
Bailiff said the Jayhawks have changed their identity slightly since there are a lot of new faces, both through junior college transfers and recruitment. He said that with limited film, it will be hard to pick up what Kansas Head Coach Charlie Weis has in store for the Owls come Saturday.
"There are a lot of new players," Bailiff said. "They probably did not show us everything against South Dakota. There were a lot of different formations, different plays, different personnel groups, but we know that [Weis] had plays he did not have to show."
Bailiff said that when he briefly looked at the film, the Kansas offense looked more dynamic than it did last year.
"I thought Kansas ran the ball very effectively," Bailiff said. "I thought they threw the ball effectively."
Since the team only has the film from the South Dakota game, Bailiff said he was emphasizing that the Owls should focus on what they can do better. He said that if they improve and fix the issues they faced Aug. 31 against Texas A&M University, it should not matter what adjustments the Jayhawks make.
"We just once again need to worry about what we are doing and follow our rules and
fundamentals, and I think we will play a good football game," Bailiff said.
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Christian Covington said he agreed with Bailiff and saw this bye week as an important time to learn from the Owls' mistakes against A&M and move forward as conference play looms in a couple of weeks.
"Coming off a bye week, we are trying to establish ourselves and deal with the bumps and bruises that we got from that [A&M game]," Covington said. "It was just a good week to stay conditioned during practice and condition ourselves for the upcoming game against Kansas, so now that we have the film on them, we are looking forward to breaking it down during the meetings."
With back-to-back Bowl Conference Series opponents to start the season, Bailiff said he is reveling in the opportunity to play against teams from major conferences. Bailiff reiterated his statement after the A&M loss that the Owls are no longer aiming for moral victories, but rather aspiring to victories reflected in the win column.
"It's nice we get to play an [Southeastern Conference] opponent, then a Big 12 opponent, and it's good to play [these teams]," Bailiff said. "We are excited about this game. We want to see where we stand in this conference. Like I said, we are dreaming big, and we expect great things to happen."
McHargue said this exemplifies why he came to Rice: to play against these teams from major conferences. He said that like the A&M game, this will be a major test for the team to see where it is at this juncture of the season.
"That's one of the challenges you expect, and we enjoy [those challenges] playing here because that's your benchmark and test of where you are as a team," McHargue said.
McHargue said that while the Owls might have been anxious about playing these teams in the past, the team will be ready to battle this Saturday.
"We are definitely not afraid of the challenge; we enjoy playing these teams," McHargue said.
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