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The Owls, coming off consecutive 7-4 seasons, are not a bad team by any means. They are second in the Western Athletic Conference and fifth in the nation with 267.8 rushing yards per game. And aside from a 59-21 massacre against the Ricky Williams-led University of Texas, the Owls' three other losses have been by a combined 14 points.

"It's frustrating because we're a better team than our record shows, yet we don't have much to show on the won-loss side," Head Coach Ken Hatfield said.

A number of factors have contributed to Rice's poor start and current four-game losing streak, including injuries and general bad luck.

Junior quarterback Jeremy Bates went down for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the second game of the year. Senior running back Michael Perry has been at less than 100 percent with a foot injury, and junior linebacker Larry Ruffin, junior defensive tackle Judd Smith and senior defensive back David Grenardo have also been hampered by injuries.

Rice's inability to make key plays down the stretch and to put the ball in the end zone have led to three close losses. But the Owls would rather not think about what their record could be.

"We can't afford to think about what-if," junior quarterback Chad Richardson said. "We're 1-4, not 4-1. The facts are that we've lost the games, and that's because we're not protecting the ball, and not making the plays when we need to."

"I don't like to think about what-if," senior defensive back LaDouphyous McCalla said. "We can't think about `what if this' and `what if that' because we're on a four-game losing streak. I'm tired of the what-ifs. I just want to go out and win this week."

WAC Mountain Division rival University of Tulsa (2-3, 0-2 WAC) visits Rice Stadium tomorrow. And like the Owls, the Golden Hurricanes are better than their record indicates.

"Tulsa is good, there's no doubt about it," Richardson said. "They've got a great offense, and defensively they've improved light years from last year. It'll be a good challenge for us. We definitely have to get our game together, because if we don't it's going to be a long season."

The Golden Hurricane lives and dies with its offense, which is ranked 23rd in the nation in both passing offense (254.8 yards per game) and total offense (431.2 yards per game). They also average 25.2 points per game. Rice knows its defense will be tested.

"Tulsa is a very good team offensively," Hatfield said. "This is a team that led Oklahoma State [University] 35-0 at one time. They have really had a good year."

The Owls think the key to getting back on the winning track tomorrow started Monday.

"This week, we're going to need to have good practices so that this Saturday we'll go out and finish the task," sophomore running back Anthony Griffin said. "If we have a perfect practice each day with no fumbles and we take care of all our blocks, we'll have a good game."

This item appeared in the Sports section of the October 16, 1998 issue.