(WRMSOX photo; previous weekly reviews are here)
As expected, the Owls (10-3) rolled to an easy win in the Texas Bowl last Tuesday as star QB Chase Clement (30-44/307 yds/3 TD’s/12 carries for 72 yds/1 TD/1 catch/13 yds/1 TD) and the potent Rice offense overwhelmed the Western Michigan defense (9-5). Any further question why Notre Dame opted for the Aloha Bowl over facing the Owls in the Texas Bowl?
The victory gave the Owls their 10th win in a season for the first time in almost 60 years and their first win in a bowl game since the 1954 Cotton Bowl.
Inasmuch as I’ve been watching the Rice offense develop over past three seasons under Clement, I was not surprised by the Owls’ performance this season. Clement, WR Jaret Dillard and WR-TE-RB James Casey were as talented a trio of offensive players on one team as any in the nation.
The problem that the Owls face is whether they can sustain that level of performance.
Clement and Dillard are both seniors, as is a substantial part of the Owls’ offensive line. Casey is a likely NFL draft choice, so it is unlikely that he will take the risk of uncompensated injury by returning for another season at Rice. Tom Herman, the Owls’ offensive coordinator who really ignited Rice’s spread offense over the past two seasons, left Rice last week to take the same position at Iowa State.
So, Owls head coach David Bailiff is going to have his hands full trying to maintain the performance level that the Owls attained this season. I hope he can, but I have my doubts.
Houston Cougars 34 Air Force 28
The Cougars (8-5) completed a successful first season under new head coach Kevin Sumlin with a victory over a plucky Air Force (8-5) squad on New Year’s Even afternoon in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth.
The game should not have been as close as it was. The referees inexplicably took away a second half TD from Houston even though it was clear from the replay that RB Bryce Beall had possession of the ball while breaking the plane of the goal line before fumbling (see picture above). Also, the Air Force’s only second-half TD, which allowed the Falcons to narrow the Coogs’ lead to three, was set up by star Cougar TE Mark Hafner allowing an easy pass reception to ricochet off his chest into the hands of a Falcon defender. But for that blown call and Hafner’s gaffe, the Coogs would have won this one going away.
Nevertheless, the Coogs will take the victory, their first bowl win in nine tries since their last bowl win the 1980 Garden State Bowl. Beall, the Cougars’ true freshman RB, was the star of the game as he shredded the Falcons’ defense for 135 yds on 22 carries (6.1 ave) and a TD, while catching four screen passes for an additional 92 yds.
Meanwhile, Cougar QB Case Keenum managed the Cougar offense magnificently (no college QB sets up and throws a screen pass any better), guiding the Coogs to over 400 yds total offense while spreading the ball around to seven different Cougar receivers.
And as noted above, the Cougar defense — which has been the team’s weak point all season — really stepped up in the second half and did a fine job of containing the Falcons’ wishbone offense.
With almost all of their offensive playmakers returning, the Cougars should possess one of the most potent offenses in college football next season. The challenge will be to upgrade the defense, which has suffered the past two seasons from several years of under-recruiting by former Houston coach Art Briles’ staff. Given the probable productivity of the Cougars offense, even a relatively small improvement in the Cougars’ defense next season is likely to vault Houston to the top tier of non-BCS Conference football teams.
The Longhorns (11-1) take on Ohio State (10-2) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl at 7 p.m. tonight in Phoenix on FOX. The Vegas line on the game began at Texas minus 11, but it has since moved to Texas minus 8 and, at a couple of casinos, Texas minus 7.5. Take that for what it’s worth.
As predicted, head coach Gary Kubiak didn’t waste any time after the conclusion of the season in firing defensive coordinator Richard Smith and two of his assistants.
As noted since his hiring, I’m not convinced that Kubiak is the best fit as a coach to develop the Texans into a playoff caliber team. However, I am impressed with his willingness to recognize mistakes and take actions to attempt to correct them. Stubbornness is a common characteristic of unsuccessful NFL coaches and Kubiak does not appear to be afflicted with it. Hopefully, he will hire a seasoned NFL defensive assistant who can develop the Texans’ young talent into a unit that is as productive as the Texans’ offense.
On the other hand, I couldn’t help but note the following passage from this NY Times article on the recent firing of long-time Denver Broncos head coach and Kubiak mentor, Mike Shanahan:
Although [QB Jay] Cutler gave the Broncos hope for the future, Shanahan was ultimately undone by an increasingly leaky defense, something a revolving door of defensive coordinators could not seal, and a string of questionable draft picks and free-agent signings that Shanahan made as the team’s executive vice president for football operations. In Shanahan’s absence, the Broncos are in the market for a general manager as well.
The Broncos’ defense was ranked among the league’s top seven in seven of the nine seasons beginning in 1997. In the last four years, however, the defense plunged to middle-of-the-pack status, then to No. 29 in 2008.
If Kubiak hires a Denver retread as his new defensive coordinator who doesn’t improve the Texans’ defense markedly, then similar words will be written about him within a year or two.