Rice vs. Tulane: Five things to watch

Ask Rice senior defensive end Scott Solomon to assess the legacy of the Class of 2007, the first for David Bailiff, and a nebulous answer follows. How does one easily reconcile four losing seasons against a magical 10-win campaign that concluded with a historic triumph in the 2008 Texas Bowl? Even now occasional moments of frustration yield to glorious memories of three years ago. The losses submit to that season-ending seven-game win streak, to that dominating win over Western Michigan. Football is a complex game rife with conflicting emotions. There has been good and bad for the 25 seniors who will be honored on Saturday at Historic Rice Stadium, particularly for those nine fifth-year seniors who will close their careers against Tulane (2-9, 1-6 Conference USA). "I feel like a lot of our class contributed to that (Texas Bowl triumph)," Solomon said. "We saw that success and I feel like we tried to carry that on. Other guys have looked at our work ethic, and we laid down that foundation for the next years to be successful." All legacies aren't measured in wins and losses. The Class of 2007 arrived to a program in turmoil, one reeling from a fleeing snake oil salesman disguised as a coach and just two years removed from a stretch of 18 losses in 20 games. It followed a bowl team but was signed to bolster a program in shambles and in dire need of reinforcements. Stardom shone on some like Solomon and senior left tackle Jake Hicks, while linemen Davon Allen, Keshawn Carrington and Tyler Parish were entrenched as multiyear starters. Others, like senior tailback Tyler Smith and senior receiver Randy Kitchens, can share redemptive tales of overcoming catastrophic injuries. Others still plugged along and produced where they could, switching positions on cue and doing the dirty work to keep the program humming along. The contributions of safety Tanner Shuck and tight end Brent Hotard must not be minimized. But they all signed to win, and while that one taste of success was sweet, it wasn't enough. That desire to achieve never waned, even as the setbacks mounted, even in the face of adversity against superior teams. "I've realized lately that what I enjoy might not be what's best for the team," Hicks said with a laugh. "It's not all about one-on-one battles, it's about team effort. Sometimes they'll be better than us at a certain position. Yeah it is frustrating to lose, especially to those big teams, because you know you're better than them. It's just that the scoreboard doesn't show it. This is felt by more than one guy on this team." The scoreboard will reflect that Rice is 22-37 since Bailiff arrived, with nearly half of those wins coming in 2008. For some it will be difficult to move beyond that bottom line, to do anything other than label this class as middling at best, substandard at worst. Of course, that is inaccurate. It doesn't take a discerning eye to recognize the transition underway. The underclassmen are a little bit bigger and a tad faster. The athleticism is superior across the board. If it's solely about Jimmies and Joes, the Owls are ascendant. The process might be creeping along, but better days appear to be on the horizon. That's the prevailing narrative. But these seniors wanted a bowl berth to call their own. While they have provided intangibles for teammates to mimic, that longing will linger. There is pride in bridging the gap between that special class of seniors in 2008 and what some believe will be a bright future, but it's difficult to avoid haunting thoughts of what a few more wins might have yielded. "Right now it feels a little disappointing that we're not going to a bowl game, but I think there's definitely more stability in the program," Solomon said. "I really feel like we're setting it up for success. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens the next few years. "It's a process, but really I felt like we should have been in that bowl game. A few missteps this season and it just didn't go our way." Rice vs. Tulane: Five Things To Watch. 1. Paying Homage. Senior Day is special. An individual introduction and flower bouquet presentation doesn't fully reflect the sweat equity invested in a program. Players transfer, succumb to injury, and lose the desire to play the game. For those that preserve through four or five seasons of countless practices and conditioning sessions, this is their deserved moment of appreciation. It mustn't be taken lightly. Applause is appropriate. 2. Susceptibility. Tulane appears to more closely resemble UTEP than Northwestern, which means the Owls should have some success running the football. Attacking Northwestern, even with its middle-of-the-road B1G defense, on the ground proved fruitless. Tulane ranks sixth in C-USA in rushing defense (172.9 yards per game), so perhaps Tyler Smith and Turner Petersen can enjoy another stellar afternoon out of the Wild Owl formation. 3. Youth Serving. Tulane might be a program in disarray but the Green Wave has skill players deserving of the Owls' rapt attention. Tailback Orleans Darkwa has followed a breakout freshman campaign with 775 yards and 11 touchdowns. Receivers Wilson Van Hooser and Justyn Shackleford, a sophomore and freshman respectively, have combined for 60 receptions, 810 yards and five touchdowns. The Green Wave isn't completely inept offensively. 4. The Playmaker. How will the Owls block Green Wave junior linebacker Trent Mackey? He leads C-USA in total tackles (136) and tackles per game (12.4), a figure that ranks third nationally. He is developed into a defender offenses must account for, so the challenge is obvious for the Owls as they attempt to reestablish their ground attack. If they fail to consistently put a hat on Mackey, he's quite capable of disrupting an inconsistent offense. 5. Let's Go Streaking. For a program that is 16 games under .500 since the start of the 2009 season, there is nothing more bizarre than the Owls' eight-game November home winning streak. Rice hasn't lost at HRS during the final month of the season since Tulsa survived 48-43 on Nov. 24, 2007. That defeat was the second in succession at home for Rice, with Green Wave tailback Matt Forte bulldozing the Owls in Tulane's 45-31 victory the week before. Follow me on Twitter at FSH_Owls