Rice Game Preview
Last Saturday Middle Tennessee State relinquished a lead and squandered the game against the North Texas Mean Green. Through one period they were in the driver's seat, up by a score of 21 to seven. At halftime the tally was 28-21 in favor of the Blue Raiders.
In the second half North Texas put the foot on the gas pedal, ultimately winning the ballgame by a score of 52 to 35.
This week MT makes the trip to Texas to face the Rice Owls.
Here is the game preview:
Uncertainty
If you recall, when it came to the Florida International game, it was a shot in the dark when it came to picking the outcome of the game. That was primarily because the fact that FIU had only logged one game in the books prior to facing Middle Tennessee State.
This Rice game certainly falls in that category as well. The Rice Owls have yet to play a single game, making this game an enigmatic one to read.
ESPN has made an effort to get a read on the game. Their FPI predictor index gives Rice a 90.2 percent chance to come out with a victory. They are also a 3.5 point favorite.
All we mainly have to go by at this juncture is what Middle Tennessee State has brought to the table, which is lackluster play.
Another thing to take under consideration is the lack of tape to study. For most of MT's other opponents, there has been available game tape for Middle to digest and study prior to the game. This is obviously not the case with Rice. Middle will likely be feeling out Rice early in the game, attempting to get a read on their game plan.
Looking in the rearview mirror
Again, there is no book to go by this season when it comes to looking at and evaluating the Rice Owls. We are left to go back in time and look at what transpired on the field last season.
During their 2019 campaign the Owls were a dismal 3-9. In fact, they came out on the wrong end of the stick the first nine ballgames, going 0-9 to start the season. They did rattle off three victories in a row, beating Middle Tennessee State, North Texas and UTEP. The Middle Tennessee State and UTEP games were on the road, while the North Texas game was at home.
Not every one of their losses was a complete shellacking. They lost by seven at Army, by eight against power-conference Baylor, by three in overtime against Louisiana Tech, and by four at UTSA.
Again, they did beat out Middle last year, edging the Blue Raiders at Floyd Stadium, 31-28. In that contest the Owls lead 31-10, before letting MT back in the game, prior to winning by only three points.
What Rice brings to the table
The Rice Owls replace former quarterback Tom Stewart. Stewart came to Rice season by way of Harvard. Stewart was in fact a graduate transfer from Harvard. Last season Stewart was called upon to essentially be a game manager.
He only attempted 153 passes during the entire 12 game season. He completed 92 of those passes, which added up to a completion percentage of 60.1 percent.
Stewart slung the rock for eight touchdowns to go against only two interceptions. One deficiency to Stewart's overall game was that defenses were able to lasso him to the ground somewhat consistently. He was sacked 20 times. Even though Stewart is gone now, this stat points to a weakness with Rice's offensive line up front.
On the flip side, in 2019 Rice implemented somewhat of a ground and pound offense. They totaled 433 rush attempts on the season. The bell cow of the group was Aston Walter, who is now gone from the program. in 2019 Walter accumulated 771 yards on 145 rushing attempts. That was 5.3 yards per carry.
In the running back department Rice will likely turn to Juma Otoviano, the sophomore out of Arlington, Texas. Otoviano has 478 rushing yards during his stint at Rice. Out of his two seasons playing at Rice, his banner year was in 2018 when he averaged 5.6 yards per carry, to go with 364 yards on 65 attempts.
Their leading returning receiver is Brad Rozner. Rozner averaged 14 yards a snag last year, totaling 770 yards.
If last season is any indicator, Rice will allow points. They gave up 30 plus points in a third of their games in 2019.