Best Case/Worst Case in 2016: Rice Owls

[caption id="attachment_17851" align="alignright" width="350"]Photo by Diana Porter Photo by Diana Porter[/caption] Will this season be a dream or a nightmare for your favorite FBS program in the state of Texas? In this series, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 12 teams. Rice 2015 Record: 5-7Best Case Rice’s chance to eliminate the 2015 season from memory takes place in the season opener. The Owls, fresh off a disappointing season filled with youth, injury and more time on their hands in the winter than normal, face off with defending conference champion Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are expected to repeat as Conference USA champions, but Week 1 might be the best time of the year to play Western Kentucky because of a change at the quarterback position. A win at Western Kentucky sends a clear message to Conference USA: the Owls are back. A home game against Baylor seems more winnable with each passing day in Waco. The Bears look vulnerable heading into the season and a win over Western Kentucky and Army to start the season gives the Owls confidence heading into that game. The season finale against Stanford is the only other “unwinnable” game on the schedule. Rice finds a quarterback in senior Tyler Stehling, rides a loaded backfield and gets improvement from an older defense to win the division over in-state rivals and Louisiana Tech to set up a rematch with Western Kentucky for the CUSA Championship. Worst Case Rice’s defense was dreadful last season. The coaching staff is chalking it up, largely, to inexperience and circumstance. It is possible the Owls' defense doesn’t improve even with more experience and a few returning players, preventing Rice from reaching a bowl game for the second straight season. If Stehling struggles at quarterback, Rice is forced to go young with freshman J.T. Granato and 2016 becomes another rebuilding year. A big loss to Western Kentucky lowers the optimism of the team. A loss against Baylor a week later sends the Owls into conference play with a losing record. A home loss to North Texas on Sept. 24 would signal a need to re-evaluate in the middle of the season with showdowns at Southern Miss and home to UTSA waiting in the wings. Losses to both teams makes reaching a bowl difficult with Louisiana Tech, UTEP and Stanford waiting at the end of the schedule.

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