Craven: How Rice can upset Texas

[caption id="attachment_18409" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo courtesy Rice Athletics Photo courtesy Rice Athletics[/caption] Texas is ripe for the picking after a horrid performance in the season-opening loss to Notre Dame on the road and the Rice Owls are hoping to pull a huge upset this Saturday in Austin. On a national, and maybe in a state level, an Owls win would be shocking. But it wouldn’t shock anyone familiar with Rice football, a team expected to compete for a Conference USA title in 2015. It’ll take some luck to knock off the Longhorns, but Rice comes in with far less pressure and unrest. The Longhorns demoted co-offensive coordinators Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline in favor of Jay Norvell on Tuesday. Rice isn’t a cupcake, but it’ll take a lot of things going right to withstand the talent gap between the two schools. First, Rice must win the line of scrimmage. Texas struggled along the offensive line against Notre Dame. The Longhorns are young up-front, starting two freshmen against Notre Dame. The defensive line couldn’t put pressure on Notre Dame’s quarterback, who surgically broke down Vance Bedford’s defense throughout the game. Rice has a dangerous quarterback in Driphus Jackson. In Rice’s blowout win over Wagner, Jackson went 10-for-19 for 123 yards and a touchdown. It isn’t just Jackson’s arm Texas needs to worry about. Jackson is dangerous on designed runs and when the play breaks down. He had 79 yards rushing and a touchdown run of 43 yards last week. Rice is known for its running game and 2015 is no different. Austin Walter, a former star at Crosby High School, averaged 8.9 yards per rush against Wagner, racking up 107 yards on 12 carries. Darik Dillard is the workhorse in the backfield, and those two combined for 200 yards rushing against Wagner and bring unique sets of skill to the table. It’ll be hard to beat Texas with just a running game, however, and that is where Rice will need to surprise to pull the upset. The Owls are still searching for a No. 1 receiver in 2015. Texas will load the box against Rice until the Owls and Jackson can prove Rice can beat Texas on the edge in 1-on-1 battles against a young and inexperienced Texas secondary. In no way is Rice the favorite going into Saturday’s matchup, but if the Owls can win in the trenches and catch a few breaks, Saturday could be a monumental week for the Owls.