Football opens season against UH
The Rice football team kicks off its final season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference Sunday at 4 p.m. The Owls will play the University of Houston in the annual Administaff Bayou Bucket game, which will take place at Reliant Stadium this year and next.
Sunday’s game will mark the final non-conference meeting between the Owls and the Cougars before Rice joins UH in Conference USA next year.
The Cougars drubbed the Owls 48-14 last year in UH’s first game with a new offense and a new coach, and Rice stumbled to a 1-6 record to begin the season.
“I remember being out there in shock and disbelief that this was actually happening,” senior cornerback Raymorris Barnes said. “That wasn’t the Rice football I knew.”
After the slow start to the 2003 campaign, Rice rebounded to win four of its last five games and score in each of its last 20 quarters.
“Having the end of the season that we did, we think we can carry that over to the start of this season,” senior quarterback Greg Henderson said.
With 16 starters from last year’s team returning and 18 seniors on the squad, the Rice team that plays UH tomorrow will feature much of the same personnel as played in the Bayou Bucket game in 2003 but with another year of experience.
“There’s no value you can put on the experience — you can’t get [it] anywhere else,” head coach Ken Hatfield said. “There’s nothing to simulate the game speed.”
Henderson was perhaps the lone bright spot in last season’s loss, as he ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Hatfield said Henderson is ready for his role as leader and for the start of the season.
“Greg has shown that he’s prepared to have his best season yet,” Hatfield said. “He’s worked as hard as any quarterback I’ve ever coached.”
The Cougars have won the last two meetings and hold a 22-8 edge in the all-time series against Rice. Despite the desire to retake the Bayou Bucket after last season’s embarrassing defeat, Barnes said that the Owls have their eyes set on the bigger picture.
“Revenge makes it sound like that’s the only thing you’ve thought about,” Barnes said. “This year it’s about finishing well in the last year in the WAC, and it starts with the first game.”
Last year at Reliant, Rice was never competitive against the University of Texas, eventually losing 48-7. In 2002 at Reliant, the Owls defeated Louisiana Tech University on the strength of quarterback Kyle Herm’s (Sid ‘04) 251 yards of total offense.
After an off week, Rice will open its conference season against the University of Hawaii Sept. 18.
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