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September 7, 2007 > Sports > An overabundance of water washed away our win

An overabundance of water washed away our win

By Casey Michel | Thresher Editorial Staff

In sports, underdogs are everywhere — the two go together as well as Rice and poor drainage. And every once in a while, the underdog overcomes a great obstacle to succeed. Stories of the little guy trouncing the dastardly foe run the gamut from the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s “Miracle on Ice,” to the 1969 “Miracle” Mets — is the term “Miracle” a bit overused? — and are nowhere more prevalent than in the sports world.

But these miracle triumphs can’t hold a candle to the greatest underdog story of all time, The Waterboy. Set on the Louisiana Bayou, this film spins the ultimate underdog yarn, a tale of “medulla oblongatas” and foosball-hatin’ mommas: Bobby Boucher, a boneheaded yet endearing bench-warmer, channels his hatred of Gatorade into a Bourbon Bowl Victory for his South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs. Once again, the underdog wins.

You may be wondering what a synopsis of The Waterboy has to do with Rice sports. Well, if you were one of the many who hunkered down and outlasted the rain last Saturday at Rice Stadium, you’ll see the similarities right off the bat. Nicholls State, the “Harvard of the Bayou,” arrived in Houston as Rice’s first Division I-AA opponent in 14 years. And I, like many others, assumed it would be our first easy win in a season opener in a long while.

But something must have been in the water the Colonels had that evening. Or maybe Nicholls State just wanted to defend their waterboy’s honor after Owls fans in the first row (myself included) heckled the H2O hauler. Whatever the reason, our football team was thrust into the awful, unfamiliar position of being the Goliath to Nicholls State’s David. How’s that for a Renaissance?

At an apologetic, disheartened media luncheon two days later, head coach David Bailiff and his assistants claimed responsibility for the loss, citing poor play-calling and lack of preparation as the causes for the defeat. Sure, it didn’t help that we called a fake three times in a row, but did poor play selection really cause us to lose in such a disheartening fashion?

Let’s look at the facts: Prior to the first rain delay, Rice was playing up to expectations. Maybe we were a bit porous on the defensive line, but our new 4-2-5 defense was brand-new, and without any preseason games in college football, I expected there to be some obvious kinks that needed to be ironed out. Although neither team put points up on the board, the Owls displayed a surprisingly gritty ground game in addition to the high-flying act of Jarett Dillard.

But then the rain came. I don’t know if that monsoon Saturday night came from an influx of warm tropical air or perhaps something more insidious (bayou voodoo?) Whatever the case, as soon as the rain fell, so too did our skill level. The pigskin became slippery, and fumbles, interceptions and general mayhem ensued. This all but destroyed our passing game, making Dillard a non-factor. Our running game also suffered, hampered by the loss of C.J. Ugokwe — whose leg injury flared up during the rain delay.

Now, I’m not excusing our play-calling or our lack of preparedness. All I’m saying is that we need to look beyond the headlines at what really took place on the field. In today’s ultra-competitive, hyped-up world of college football, athletes from across the country will attend the same camps, subscribe to similar regimens, and work year-round at honing their skills to compete for a limited number of positions. The differences in skill sets between Division I-A and I-AA programs are shrinking, and have been for a while. Take a look at another game last weekend: Michigan, ranked fifth in the nation, fell to Division I-AA foe Appalachian State. The only difference is that Michigan can’t use inclement weather as an excuse.

Last week’s loss was not the upset that everyone made it out to be. Division I-AA schools are no longer the cupcakes of yesteryear, no longer the underdogs that we once thought. The Owls learned that lesson the hard way but are better for it. As we look toward Baylor tomorrow, our first Division I-A opponent of the year, we need to keep our confidence up and stick to the basics: Don’t turn the ball over, stop the run, and look for Dillard. Or if that doesn’t work, just picture your arch-enemy’s head on your opponent. It worked for Bobby Boucher, didn’t it?

Casey Michel is a Brown College sophomore and sports editor.

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