Rice University

Type of Offense: Spread.  Zone read running plays and nearly all passing plays from the shotgun formation.  There is rare to no use of a fullback.  Tight End is used primarily as a blocking back (extra OL).  Nearly all runs are made by the RB and QB save the occasional end around with the WR.

Type of Defense: 4-2-5.  This defense is a rarity in college football. Most teams like to have at least 3 LBs on the field in all situations other than obvious passing situations. This defense is basically running “nickel” at all times during the game as your base. It works well against spread teams giving good matchups to the defense on nearly every snap. It struggles a bit against the power running teams as the extra DB is usually a poorer run stopping player than the WLB in a traditional 4-3.  

• Run/Pass %: 58/42
• Run/Pass Attempts: 494/360
• Points Per Game: 28.7
• Points Allowed Per Game: 38.5

Key Returning Players:
• Sam McGuffie, RB: Leading returning rusher with 883 yards and 6 TDs as well as 39 catches for 384 yards and 3 TDs in 2010. Should be the leading stat generator for an offense that at times looked very good and at other was not impressive.
• Corey Frazier, S: Leading returning tackler with 83 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 fumble recovery in 2010. He should be able to add on to those stats and hopefully add a couple more interceptions to put less pressure on the offense to play catch up against the better teams on the schedule.

Key Incoming Freshmen:
• Justin Booth, DE: This 3 star defensive end out of Texas is 6-6 253 pounds and runs an impressive 4.8 40 yard dash giving him nice speed to go with his size. May have the chance to get some snaps as a freshman and make some big plays in 2011.
• Jaylon Finner, DB: This 3 star defensive back out of Texas runs a very nice 4.5 40 yard dash to go with his 5-11 187 pound frame. If he shows the ability to stay on the corner and “make an island,” then the defense will be able to blitz more and make some big plays in 2011. 

Overall Assessment:
2010 did not get Rice very much closer to getting back to a bowl game as the defense had troubles all season and the offense had moments but did not have enough firepower to compete with the other teams in Conference USA. With a 2011 schedule that has all 4 OOC games against potential bowl teams (Texas, Baylor, Purdue, Northwestern) and 4 conference games against 2010 bowl games, this season looks to be more of the 2010 season and another 4-8 type of record. Best case would be a run of beating 2-3 teams the Owls shouldn’t and somehow pulling in a 6-6 record and sneaking into a bowl. That is not likely, but the future is looking better as more talent gets to Rice and they can better compete with a very good football conference.