Rice Owls Football Predictions 2010

The Rice Owls finished a disappointing 2-10 lastScott Mitchell earned 2nd team all-conference
year following a 10 win season that was cappedhonors for his play last season.
off by their first bowl win since the 1954 CottonThe defensive side of the ball will need to make
Bowl! 18 starters return for head coach Davidtremendous strides if Rice wants to return to a
Bailiff and expectations are much higher for thebowl game. Opponents gashed this defense for
2010 season. The Owls have added a fewover 43 points/game and 464 total yards. They
transfers also that should be immediatehad a hard time stopping both the run and pass.
contributors. Rice will do well to receive a bowlNine starters are back for defensive coordinator
invite this year.Chuck Driesbach and this should be one of the
Losing NFL talent on the offensive end is nevermost improved defenses in the conference. DE
an easy thing to cope with, but it is even moreCheta Ozougwu is a difference maker in the
difficult to handle at a non-BCS school like Rice.trenches and accounted for 10.5 tackles for loss in
Just three starters returned on offense for Rice09'. Scott Solomon lines up opposite of Ozougwu.
last season and the numbers reflected that. JohnHe contributed 6.5 sacks a season ago and was
Thomas Shepherd started the year atthird on the team in tackles with 63. LB Travis
quarterback, but gave way to Nick Fanuzzi afterBradshaw actually led the Owls in tackles with 121.
suffering an injury. Fanuzzi finished the year at QBThat was almost double the amount of tackles
and passes for nearly 1600 yards and 11collected by departed FS Andrew Sendejo (64).
touchdowns. He will have some competition forJustin Hill returns to start at the other outside
the starting position this year with Miami (FL)backer position. The secondary should be much
transfer Taylor Cook and redshirt freshmanimproved with their 7 of their top 8 returning.
Taylor McHargue battling him for the spot. TheChris Jones has to replace Sendejo at free safety
running back position should show much greaterand this is a position to keep an eye on. Chris
production with the addition of Michigan transferBoswell takes over the field goal kicking duties
Sam McGuffie. McGuffie played his high school ballfollowing a red shirt season. He had a decorated
in Texas and was a prized recruit, but transferredhigh school career in Texas connecting on 39-43
back to his home state after seeing limited actionfield goals and not missing an extra point.
in his first season with the Wolverines. CharlesRice will play their opener in Reliant Stadium
Ross returns at running back and had a team highagainst the Texas Longhorns. The Mean Green of
11 touchdowns last year. He will likely take a backNorth Texas will host the Owls in Week 2. Three
seat to McGuffie in 2010. Who the startingstraight home games follow with games vs.
quarterback will be throwing to is somewhat of aBaylor, Northwestern and their conference opener
mystery. Patrick Randolph is the top returningagainst SMU on Oct. 2nd. The Bayou Bucket will
receiver as he grabbed 39 passes for 356 yardsgo down on Oct. 16th when Houston hosts Rice.
and four scores in 09'. Whoever fills the spot ofThese two schools are just over 6 miles apart
the number two receiver is anyone's guess. Juniorand have played each other since 1974. They
Roddy Maginot is a name to keep in mind. Thebegin a three game road trip the following week
offensive line returns all five starters and shouldthat could play a large role on how their season
be one of the top units in Conference USA. LTplays out. I predict a 5-7 finish for the Owls.