College Football 2007 C-USA Preview
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2007 Conference USA Football Preview
2007 C-USA East Division:
Southern Miss
16-year coach Jeff Bower is off another fine campaign for Southern Miss (9-5), and a bowl win over Ohio, 28-7. The Golden Eagles have had 13 straight seasons with a winning record. Southern Miss always plays a tough schedule, too. Last season opened with a loss to eventual national champion Florida, and later they beat NC State. In 2005 they lost at Alabama 30-21 and at NC State 21-17 (getting the ATS cover in both games). In 2004 they upset Nebraska on the road, 21-17, as a +14 dog, lost at Alabama (27-3) then nearly stunned Cal, losing 26-16 as a +25 home dog!
Southern Miss looks loaded for 2007. They return 6 offensive starters, including the QB, 8 defensive starters and had an outstanding recruiting class. Senior QB Jeremy Young took over the job and passed for 12 TDs, 6 picks and ran for 224 yards. Sophomore RB Damion Fletcher comes back after a sensational freshman campaign running for 1,388 yards, 5 yards per carry, and 11 TDs. He came out of nowhere to anchor the ground game that averaged 173 yards per contest. Sophomore RB Tory Harrison (326 yards) averaged 6.3 ypc, while 6-foot-5 junior TE was the top receiver with 506 yards and 3 TDs.
There's plenty of excitement about the recruiting class such as Julius Gray for the offensive line and Antwain Easterling for the backfield, a sought after freshman back from Miami, Florida. He's a 5-foot-11, 185-pound back and in some scouting reports he was No. 1 recruit in all of Florida! Easterling has an ideal blend of speed, explosiveness, power and agility. He is the cousin of NFL running back and former Miami-FL standout Willis McGahee and was a great coup for Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles have third-year defensive coordinator Jay Hopson, who was defensive backs coach three years ago. 8 starters return on defense to a group that allowed 19 points per game (18 ppg in C-USA play).
They were strong against the run and terrific against the pass, allowing 180 pass yards per game. Senior defensive back Brandon Sumrall anchors the secondary, while at middle linebacker junior Mitch Craft and senior Marcus Raines have speed and are aggressive. Defensively, they have more depth with junior LB Gerald McRath. Southern Miss has made bowl appearances in nine of the past ten seasons. Another one is likely, and the schedule is easier, with only a road game at Tennessee as one to "try and stay healthy" and they are playing Boise State for the first time. A C-USA title game appearance is likely.
East Carolina
The East Carolina Pirates have seen a resurgence under third-year head coach Skip Holtz. Holtz had experience as offensive coordinator at South Carolina under Lou Holtz, his father. The Pirates played hard for the new coach, going 5-6 overall and a strong 8-3 against the spread in 2005, then making a bowl in 2006 going 7-6 SU and 10-3 ATS. That means Holtz is 18-6 ATS as coach here! The Pirates will return five starters on offense, eight on the defensive side of the ball.
Most impressive under Holtz is the improvement of the offense, averaging 21 points, 115 yards rushing, and 232 yards passing per game. The passing attack led the way last season, but they lose outstanding quarterback James Pinkney. 6-foot-4 sophomore QB Robert Kass (184) yards is available, allowing with junior QB Patrick Pinkney. With four starters returning to the offensive line, the ground game should be better, behind offensive linemen Josh Coffman and Matt Butler. Coffman, who earned All-Conference USA honors as a junior, and Butler will help key an offensive unit that set a new school single-season record for first downs (264)
Senior RB Chris Johnson led the team in rushing in 2004 and 2005, and finished season last year with 314 yards. Johnson ran for 561 yards on 134 carries in 2004 while standing second among all receivers with 32 catches during his freshman campaign. In 2005 he ran for 684 yards and 6 TDs. Junior RB Dominique Lindsay came on strong late last fall and will help out. He has averaged 5 yards per carry the last two seasons. Senior wide receiver Phillip Henry (484 yards) is the only experienced wide out back. Still, this is a good system that Holtz has in place, so the offense should be productive if they can decent QB play.
Holtz has also slowly improved the defense. The Pirates surrender 40 points, 233 yards rushing and 223 passing per game in 2004, but Holtz and the staff cut that to 28.8 points per game allowed in 2005 and last season they allowed 20.8 points. In C-USA play the run defense allowed just 3.5 yards per carry and 114 yards rushing per contest, almost half of what they allowed in 2005! Defensively, 8 starters return, led by senior DE Marcus Hands, 6-5 soph DE Zach Slate, Scotty Robinson and C.J. Wilson.
The Pirates also welcome back a pair of All-Conference performers in junior linebackers Quentin Cotton and Pierre Bell, who finished as ECU's second and third-leading tacklers a year ago, but missed spring practice after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery. Defensive tackle Mark Robinson, linebacker Fred Wilson and cornerback Travis Williams are returning starters. The schedule is very difficult, opening at Virginia Tech, then vs. North Carolina, vs. Southern Miss, at West Virginia, then at Houston. A mid-season date with NC State makes a winning season and another bowl game difficult.
Central Florida
The Golden Knights have been on a roller coaster under George O'Leary. Central Florida was 0-11 SU, 3-8 ATS in 2004, then started 0-2 in 2005. And then, boom! The Golden Knights stunned the football world by going 8-1 the next nine games and all the way to the first-annual Conference USA championship game, losing 44-27 to Tulsa. The 8-4 season still earned Central Florida a bowl berth, a wild 49-48 loss to Nevada, to cap off a remarkable turnaround. And then they turned around in 2006, going 4-8 SU, 4-7 ATS with an erratic offense and a terrible defense.
Youth was a big part of the problem, so they've shored up the defense and return 8 starters on offense and 10 on defense. QB Kyle Israel returns for his senior season after completing 65% of his passes but for just 6 TDs and 5 picks. He replaced erratic quarterback Steven Moffett in mid-season, who is gone. He didn't hit his stride until the final two games when he went lights-out completing 35 of 42 passes against Tulane and UAB. There is a bunch of freshman, too, in QB Joe Weatherford (his brother Drew is QB at Florida State), JC transfer QB Mike Greco and QB Nate Tice (his father is former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Tice).
The running game is decent with the baby bull of the backfield in junior RB Kevin Smith, who electrified the offense as a freshman with 1,178 yards, 9 TDs and 4.7 ypc. He ran for 934 yards last season to lead the team. The passing game loses its top player in WR Mike Walker (7 TDs, 1,178 yards), but returns junior WR Rocky Ross (36, 531 yards) and senior WR Javid James, the No. 2 and 3 receivers.
So what about the defense? Well, that's the key. This unit was awful last season, allowing 29 points, 149 yards rushing (4.5 ypc) and 248 yards passing per game. In fact, the defense has been poor the last five seasons. They allowed 28.7 points, 179 yards rushing and 241 yards passing in 2005! In 2004, they allowed 33 ppg, 32.6 points per game in 2003, and 26.2 points, 149 yds rushing and 204 yds passing per game four years ago. The front line still lacks bulk and could struggle against the run again, but has returning talent with junior linebacker Cory Hogue and senior defensive tackle Leger Douzable.
The secondary has key players back with senior safety Renford Parkes and junior safety Jason Venson. They will have a tough start to the season, with the first two games at NC State and against Texas. Road games at East Carolina, at South Florida and at Southern Miss makes a winning season and a bowl a difficult challenge. Central Florida is still 6-19 SU, 8-17 ATS on the road its last 25 road contests!
Memphis
Memphis was even worse than a rebuilding team in 2006, going 2-10 with a terrible defense. Giving up 30 points and 178 rushing yards per game explains the 7-4 over the total mark. Memphis Coach Tommy West brings in a new defensive coordinator with Rick Kravitz coming over from NC State after spending a decade at South Florida. The South Florida defense finished 17th in the nation in each of the 2002, 2003 and 2005 seasons and ranked seventh against the run in 2002, allowing just 87.18 yards per game. However, those teams had a lot of defensive talent, too.
The program had been heading in the right direction under West, from 3-9 in 2002 to 9-4 and a bowl game in 2003, to 8-4 and another bowl game in 2004, to 7-5 and a 38-31 bowl victory over Akron in 2005. 7 starters return on offense and 9 on defense. Long-time University of Memphis assistant coach Clay Helton has been promoted to offensive coordinator. Helton replaces Randy Fichtner who left for the NFL. There is experience with senior QB Martin Hankins, who was very good as a junior, throwing for 2,550 yards, 59.9% completions, and 18 TDs, 13 INTs.
Senior RB Joseph Doss returns after leading the Tigers with 910 yards, 4.1 ypc. Hankins has good receiving targets in 6-foot-4 sophomore WR Duke Calhoun (42 grabs, 681 yards), junior WR Earnest Williams and 6-foot-8 sophomore WR Carlos Singleton (300 yards). Talk about some tall receiving targets! Memphis averaged 224 yards passing per game in 2006 as the loss of RB DeAngelo Williams to the NFL slowed down the running game (111 yds rushing pg, 3.6 ypc).
Now the bad news. The defense was a weak spot for the second year in a row. There isn't a lot of beef up front, unless former transfers junior DE Corey Mills and sophomore DT Jada Brown can improve. The Tigers managed just 44 tackles for loss and 17 sacks. Five games last year were lost by seven points or fewer, so there is hope along with all this returning experience. The schedule is relatively easy, with the opener against Ole Miss the only tough non-conference tilt. This offense should be decent, but the defense is still a question mark. Another good season to go over the total?
Marshall
The Thundering Herd returns 14 starters, 7 on each side of the ball. This is their third season in Conference USA and Marshall went 4-7 two years ago and 5-7 last season. Coach Mark Snyder has a huge hole to fill in the backfield as ace RB Ahmad Bradshaw (1,523 yards, 6.1 ypc, 19 TDs) jumped ship early to the NFL. Despite all the returning players, Bradshaw was easily the best one and the most important. That puts even more pressure on senior QB Bernard Morris, who struggled with 8 TDs, 12 picks.
The backfield will look to speedy Chubb Small (193 yards, 4.6 ypc) and backup Kelvin Turner to handle the workload while top recruit Darius Marshall and Terrell Edwards will get more time down the stretch. Their top two wide outs are back in wide receivers junior Emmanuel Spann (383 yards) and 6-4 sophomore TE Cody Slate (684 yards, 6 TDs). This passing attack averaged just 187 yards per game as the offense had a poor minus-9 turnover margin.
Marshall was 2-10 SU/2-9 ATS on the road in 2005 and 06, which is often a problem for young teams or poorly coached ones. The last three years they are 4-15 SU/4-14 ATS on the road! The defense has been poor, allowing 23, 22, 25.9 and 29 ppg the last four seasons. Three starters return to the secondary, but they were awful allowing 250 passing yards per contest. This defensive line returns junior DE Blake Merritt and senior DT Byron Tinker. The defensive line is smallish and struggled against the run, allowing 140 yards rushing pg, 4.1 ypc.
Because of that bad defense, Marshall was 8-2 over the total (7-0 over in conference games). The early schedule is positively brutal, with games at Miami, home against West Virginia, 1-AA power New Hampshire (no gimmee), at Cincinnati, at Memphis and at Tulsa. Sports bettors should note that Marshall plays three straight road games in September. Don't look for a winning season.
U.A.B.
It's a new era at Alabama Birmingham, as former Georgia offensive coordinator Neil Callaway is the new head coach, replacing Watson Brown. Brown left after 12 seasons to coach Tennessee Tech. Callaway, the third football coach in UAB history, received a five-year contract. Callaway was the offensive coordinator at Georgia the past six seasons. He was the offensive line coach at Alabama in 1997 and line coach and offensive coordinator from 1998-00.
Alabama Birmingham is off a poor 3-9 SU, 3-8 ATS season despite 14 starters returning. For 2007, just 5 starters are back on offense and 4 on defense, but this team will have a very different look with the new staff. That should help an offense that averaged just 310 total yards and 18.7 points per game. Veteran coach Kim Helton is the new offensive coordinator. He was running backs coach with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, a former head coach at the University of Houston from 1993-99. He also spent time as the offensive coordinator at Miami from 1979-82, coaching quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Vinny Testaverde.
They need to find a quarterback in a hurry. 6-foot-3 senior Sam Hunt (2 TDs, 5 INTs) is available after throwing for 655 yards, and will battle for time with QBs sophomore Joseph Webb and freshman Bryan Ellis. Ellis is from Byron, Georgia, the Middle Georgia Class AAA offensive player of the year. Ellis had a strong senior season in high school, finishing with 3,600 yards passing and 31 touchdowns while throwing just 10 interceptions all year. He is a Callaway signee and the QB of the future, so don't be surprised if he gets his feet wet as a freshman.
The backfield should feature a newcomer in JUCO transfer RB Aaron Johns, a good find coming to a team that lost all its top rushers. The QB will have an excellent returning target in senior WR Willie Edwards, who had 719 yards and averaged 18 yards per catch. Keep an eye on junior WR Steven Brown, a former transfer from Auburn who caught 14 passes for 200 yards with the Blazers last fall.
The defense needs an overhaul, after allowing 169 rush yards per game in C-USA play in 2005 and 157 last season. The run defense has to rely on senior DT Brandon Jeffries, one of the few returnees. Freshman LB Mike Tashman is a top prospect who helped lead Hoover High School to the 2005 Alabama Class 6A state championship. Tashman was a starting linebacker on the `05 Bucs team that finished 14-1 and defeated Daphne in the 6A state championship game.
UAB was just 0-6 SU, 2-4 ATS on the road in 2006. The schedule is brutal, as the Blazers' first two 2007 games will be at Michigan State and at Florida State! A year ago they opened at Oklahoma and lost 24-17 as a +23 dog. Despite a 5-6 record in 2005, they lost a string of close games, losing 17-10 at Tennessee, losing by one to SMU and Marshall, by 6 to Central Florida, and they beat Memphis and UTEP. The schedule features the opener at Michigan State, the trip to Florida State, and later an October 6 game at Mississippi State. A winning season is unlikely, unless this new coaching staff is talented enough to pull things together fast.
2007 C-USA West Division:
Tulsa
Tulsa has had three terrific seasons over the last four years under coach Steve Kragthorpe, but he left for Louisville. The good news is the new coaching staff looks very good, getting Todd Graham, who just turned around Rice with a wide-open offensive attack. That had been Tulsa's strength under Kragthorpe. In addition, Gus Malzahn comes over from Arkansas to run the offense and act as assistant head coach. All of which means Tulsa will continue to be an aggressive, spread offense. Tulsa is 16-9 SU/ATS the last two seasons.
Senior QB Paul Smith returns to lead the offense, after he completed 66% of his passes for 2,727 yards, 15 TDs and 9 INTs. He had a dazzling 2005 sophomore season where he completed 62% of his passes for 2,835 yards, 20 TDs and only 6 INTs. He's a good runner (258 and 288 yards the last two years) and decision maker. He led an attack that averaged 26 points, 161 yards rushing, 4.4 ypc, and 216 yards passing.
The ground game is in fine shape. Junior RB Tarrion Adams excelled in this wide-open offense, getting 845 yards last season, while catching 31 passes for 362 yards. Junior RB Tarrion Adams averaged 4.8 yards per carry and was the second leading rusher (329). The three top wide receivers are gone in Idris Moss, Ryan Bugg and Donnie Johnson. WRs sophomore Jesse Meyer and Nick Henderson will be asked to step in, along with freshman WRs C.J. Chaten and Trae Johnson. The good news is the longtime starting QB makes it easier to keep things rolling on offense.
Tulsa was 8-6 SU, 10-4 ATS on the road in 2005 and 2006! The defense is a bit light up front, allowing 140 rush yards, but just 166 passing yards and 21 points per game. Senior linebacker Alain Karatepeyan returns joined by freshman DT Ramarcus Dickerson and freshman DE Eliot Allen. Keith Patterson returned to the Tulsa coaching staff as co-defensive coordinator. This team was 9-3 under the total last season! They need to survive September games against BYU and Oklahoma before Conference play kicks in. They should contend for the C-USA title and another bowl stop.
Houston
What do the Cougars do without QB Kevin Kolb? He was a four-year starting quarterback, Player of the Year, and tossed 30 TDs and 4 INTs last year! He's been their starter since 2003. Now the job goes to sophomore QB Blake Joseph, who threw for 56 yards in 2006. Despite 6 offensive starters returning, Houston loses its ace QB, its top WR (Vincent Marshall) and some of its top running backs, so this is an offense in transition.
Fifth-year head Coach Art Briles has to retool the offense of the C-USA champs. Briles was the Conference USA Coach of the Year. Three things the Cougars do return are second-team running back Anthony Alridge, who led the nation with a 10.1 yards per carry average, as well as All-Conference linemen Jeff Akeroyd and Dustin Dickinson. Aldridge is a 5-foot-9 sparkplug who ran for 959 yards and 8 TDs, while catching 19 passes for 274 yards. The offense was balanced and potent in 2006, with 33 points, 168 yards rushing, 4.8 ypc, and 277 yards passing per game.
Senior WR Donnie Avery had a strong campaign with 57 catches for 852 yards, and teams with 6-foot-5 senior WR Jeron Harvey (671 yards). The defense improved considerably under defensive coordinator Alan Weddell, who begins his second season. The defense allowed 23 points, 143 yards rushing and 208 passing per contest. Defensively, Houston has junior defensive end Phillip Hunt highlighting an experienced group with 7 returnees. Senior inside linebacker Trent Allen as well as junior cornerback Kenneth Fontenette also picked up post-season accolades in 2006.
Houston is 6-10 SU, 7-9 ATS on the road the last three seasons. This is a team built for the quick turf at home, where they went 7-2 SU, 6-2 ATS averaging 36 ppg. Yes, they went 6-2 over the total at home. The Cougars also will take on nationally recognized programs at Alabama, Colorado State and Oregon. The Cougars open the season by visiting Oregon on September 1, and Alabama is on the schedule as Houston travels to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 6. Houston has the offensive talent to be a conference force again if the new QB situation isn't a problem.
S.M.U.
Not since the days of Ron Meyer and RB Eric Dickerson has more been expected of SMU football. SMU is taking small steps towards respectability under Head Coach Phil Bennett, narrowly missing a bowl in a 6-6 campaign. The Mustangs were 0-11 in 2003 getting outscored by a 32-11 average, in 2004 they were 3-8 getting outscored by a 38-18 average, and 2005 they improved to 5-6 and now 6-6 where they outscored opponents by a 27-21 average. With 7 starters back on offense and 6 on defense, this is the year for a winning season - or bust!
The offense averaged just 125 yards rushing and 194 passing, but they struck for 27 points. Sophomore QB Justin Willis was dazzling as a freshman in 2006, passing for 2,047 yards, completing 67.4% of his passes with a TD/INT ratio of 26-6. You can see why expectations are high. He also ran for 354 yards, second best on the team. There is plenty of skill position depth for this talented young QB to work with.
At running back, junior RB DeMyron Martin led the team with only 369 rush yards, and they would like to improve a weak 3.7 yards per carry as a team. He had a freshman 2005 All-America campaign that saw him gain the third-most yards ever for an SMU freshman. TE Vincent Chase is a 6-foot-5 junior, a former prep All-American, while sophomore WR Emmanuel Sanders led the Mustangs with 605 receiving yards and 9 TDs. Junior WR Columbus Givens adds depth and experience.
The defense was terrific up front, but lost some key players, and was soft in the secondary. The run defense was the best in C-USA, but loses Adrian Haywood and Brandon Bonds. They will count on 275-pound senior DT Dominic Pryor and senior DE Corey Muse to keep up what was a very good pass rush. The secondary got torched for 246 yards per game but returns both starting CBs. September games against Texas Tech and TCU will be tough, along with later road games at Southern Miss and at Houston. Despite expectations, a winning season won't be easy. They were 7-4 over the total in 2006, and that could be the case again with what looks like a strong offense and a suspect 'D'.
U.T.E.P.
UTEP was loaded last season, but they flopped in a 5-7 campaign. They failed to make a bowl despite a 4-2 start. A 38-35 loss to Texas Tech, and losses by 10 and 6 to Tulsa and Rice messed up what could have been a decent season. HC Mike Price reenergized the offense when he arrived in 2004, which exploded for 36 points, 142 yards rushing and 251 passing per game that season. In 2005, they averaged 31.8 points, 122 yards rushing and 300 passing per game, and last season they averaged 27 points and 311 yards passing, so offense hasn't been the problem.
The offense is in a transition phase despite 7 returnees. The offensive line has its key players back, but three projected starters were battling injuries in the spring. Also, longtime QB Jordan Palmer is gone. The QB spot is wide open between Kyle Wright, Brandis Dew, Lorne Sam, and Trevor Vittatoe. Wright, a sophomore, passed for 91 yards last season, the most of the projected starters.
You may see a little of 6-foot-5, 265-pound sophomore QB Brandis Dew, a former PrepStar high school All-American quarterback. He threw for 2,909 yards and 42 TDs as a senior at Hemet (Calif.) High School, and possesses a rifle arm. Senior QB Lorne Sam played wide receiver at Florida State for two years before transferring to UTEP. A special athlete, he may see some time at QB and WR. UTEP lost senior WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr, and Daniel Robinson, their top two wideouts. Price has high hopes for sophomores Dustin Bell and Dashan Miller. A guy to watch is junior tight end Jamar Hunt. The massive 6-7, 260-pound Hunt had 21 receptions for 218 yards.
If the offensive line is healthy, the ground game should improve behind senior RB Marcus Thomas. He led the Miners with 513 yards, though just 3.3 ypc. Thomas set a school record by rushing for 100 yards in four consecutive games versus Tulsa, Texas Southern, UAB and SMU as a sophomore. He ran for a team-high 791 yards and five touchdowns in 2005. Running back depth is decent with sophomores Donald Buckram and Jason Williams.
Only 4 starters are back on defense on a unit that was poor, allowing 31 points, 152 yards rushing and 243 passing per contest. 2 of 4 players in the secondary are back and the front line needs to bulk up against the run. Incoming freshmen LB Isaiah Carter and DL Jacob Garrett could help. There's still a lot of speed and athleticism on both sides of the ball. The Miners will play seven games against teams that appeared in bowls last season. Road games at Texas Tech, at Rice and Central Florida will be a challenge. If they can straighten out the QB situation, a winning season is a possibility.
Tulane
Tulane is off a dismal 4-8 SU/ATS campaign, so they go in a new direction by hiring Bob Toledo as the head coach. He was the head coach at UCLA (1996-2002) where his teams had wide-open, spread offenses. Toledo came to Tulane from New Mexico, where he spent the 2006 season as offensive coordinator. He has coached in 13 bowl games during his career, including seven of the traditional New Year's Day bowls.
6 starters are back on offense and 8 on defense, but there will be lots of new looks, starting at quarterback. Longtime starter Lester Ricard is gone, so junior QB Scott Elliott steps in. He passed for 132 yards last season, with no TDs and one pick. Sophomore WR Jeremy Williams is back after catching 40 passes for 484 yards as a freshman. He was No. 2 on the team in receiving, as two senior WRs have moved on. Tulane was all passing last season, averaging 247 yards in the air and just 91.7 yards rushing. Toledo will want more balance and they hope senior RB Matt Forte eventually returns from a knee injury.
Forte led the team with 859 yards rushing, a strong 5.3 yards per carry. They have excellent RB depth with senior Ray Boudreaux (4.0 ypc), and Ade Tuyo. Toledo will try and keep the Tulane tradition of developing QBs under Chris Scelfo, who is gone after 8 years at the helm of the Tulane football program. He helped developed star QB J.P. Losman, a first round NFL draft pick.
The last four Tulane quarterbacks have been Shaun King, Patrick Ramsey, J.P. Losman and Lester Ricard, who all produced (Ricard had 18 TDs, 10 picks last season).
The offense will be in transition under Toledo, so will the defense. Despite 8 starters returning, this unit was awful, allowing 33 points, 149 yards rushing and 250 passing per game! It was even worse in Conference USA play. They finished 112th in the nation in turnover margin and went 8-4 over the total. Up front they need more from senior DE Antonio Harris and senior DT Avery Williams. Don't look for Tulane to get off to a hot start, with September games against Mississippi State, LSU and Houston! Tulane was 1-6 SU, 2-5 ATS on the road last season and 2-17 SU, 4-14-1 ATS its last 19 as a dog!
Rice
Poor Rice: 3 coaches in 3 years! Ken Hatfield and his running offense went out after a 1-10 2005 season, and new coach Todd Graham turned things around in 2006 with a 7-5 regular season and a bowl game, their first bowl bid since 1961. He was so good, he's gone! Graham resigned on January 11th to become the head coach at Tulsa. So they have another new head coach in David Bailiff, 48, who has spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.
Rice has suffered from poor defense the last few years, no matter who was coach, and that was the case last season, even though they made a bowl. Rice allowed 30 points in C-USA play, and 187 yards rushing per game overall. The new coach has a specialty for defense, and this team badly needs an improvement. 5 starters return on defense. The line has NG George Chukwu and DT Jon Carey back, a pair of seniors, and two cornerbacks, but still allowed 257 yards passing in C-USA play. Rice was 11-2 over the total!
The offense should be the strength of the team with 7 starters back, including junior QB Chase Clement. Clement completed over 57% of his passes for 1,707 yards, 21 TDs and only 5 picks! He's also a dazzling runner, rushing for 481 yards, second best on the team. This is still a young offense, with junior receiver Tommy Henderson, and junior Jarett Dillard. Dillard was outstanding with 91 catches for 1,247 yards, and 21 TDs!
The ground game losses RB Quinton Smith, who has ran for 902 and 1,096 yards the last two years. Senior RB Joel Armstrong is steady and they like sophomore RB C.J. Ugokwe. Tom Herman is the new offensive coordinator, while Craig Naivar is the new defensive coordinator. Rice won a lot of close game last season, and since this defense has been so bad for a long time, a winning season is unlikely. Rice is 4-10 SU/5-8 ATS its last 14 on the road!
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