Football to face Cougars in SWC finale
When they opened the season, the Owls were expected to have a successful team.
With plenty of starters returning from last season's SWC co-champions, Rice looked to continue the progress made in the previous three autumns: their first winning season since 1964, their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1960-61, and a share of their first SWC crown since 1957.
The promise of September, heightened by a season-opening shutout of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, has turned downhill thanks to inconsistency, injuries and inexperience.
Going into tomorrow's homecoming contest with the University of Houston, the final game in the SWC, the Owls stand a dismal 2-7-1 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
"Coming into the season, we had a lot of high hopes, but we haven't made the big plays we had to make," Owl linebacker Larry Izzo said. "It's disappointing."
Rice will try to salvage their final game against their crosstown rivals, who are suffering through even harder times.
The Cougars, who were ranked in the top 10 in the nation just five years ago, have sunk to a 3-27-1 record over the last three seasons, including 1-9 this year.
The last two seasons have produced just two victories -- both over Southern Methodist University.
The Owls will look for their third straight triumph over the Cougars, something they have never done before.
Despite the seemingly low stakes associated with the game, Rice Head Coach Ken Hatfield feels that a victory would be valuable to his program.
"It's a one-game season because you are playing an in-city rival," Hatfield said. "We've never beaten them three years in a row, so that would be important. To finish strong would be important. We have had a lot of adversity, but the kids have maintained a positive attitude and have continued to fight."
Although the Cougars have struggled -- they rank 90th or worse among the 108 Division I-A teams in six statistical categories -- Hatfield thinks that they will give his team a tough game.
"I think the game itself is going to be pretty good," Hatfield said. "Watching Houston play against Texas Tech (a 38-26 Red Raider triumph last Saturday), they played extremely well.
"They were not ready right out of the box, and Tech scored so easily to get ahead of them early. The next thing you knew, Houston cranked it up and played great the last three quarters."
Raphael Tillman will probably start at quarterback for the Owls although both he and Chad Nelson have been taking snaps this week in practice.
On Nov. 18, in Rice's last game, a 34-6 loss against Baylor, the freshman started in place of Nelson -- who had separated his left shoulder in the previous game -- and did a decent job against Baylor's highly-regarded defense.
Tillman rushed for 109 yards and passed for 106 yards against the Bears. Under his leadership, the Owls were able to keep the game close until the final five minutes when Baylor turned two fumbles into two insurance touchdowns.
"Raphael has improved because he is getting all the coaching time in practice," Hatfield said. "Unfortunately, he's been forced into action a lot sooner than we had wanted and against two of the top defenses in the country, Texas A&M and Baylor.
"He won't do anything but get better. He's shown a lot of poise and a lot of character in leading our team. I think the team has a lot of confidence in him."
The game will be the last clash for the Bayou Bucket since Rice and Houston will definitely not meet until after the year 2000.
Officials from both schools have expressed interest in continuing the series, but they don't know where or when.
"I would think the Bayou Bucket ought to be kept here in Houston," Hatfield said.
"It is a Houston thing and people know more about it here than anywhere else. I would think it should find its home here in Houston.
"With the Houston Oilers leaving, it is just another opportunity to promote college football. It would be a great way for fans to remember the Houston-Rice game by keeping the Bucket here rather than in Waco or Lubbock."
Despite the disappointing season, Hatfield is pleased with the effort and attitude of his team, especially its seniors.
"All of our seniors have provided leadership," Hatfield said. "Brynton [Goynes] and Joe [Davis] were slowed in making plays because they were injured a good bit.
"It's hard to be the leader and be rah-rah when you can't make the play to back it up. But they never complained and never [made excuses]. They did the best they could with the abilities they had, and that's why I admire this group so much."
This item appeared in the Sports section of the December 1, 1995 issue.
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