RICE OWLS RUMORS & GOSSIP

2011 Record: (4-8, 3-5 in C-USA) Head Coach: David Bailiff (23-38 at Rice, 44-53 All-Time) Last Bowl Game: 2008 Texas Bowl: beat Western Michigan 38-14 Four Year Coaching Trend: 5 wins, 7.25 losses per year; avg of 3.75 wins and 4.25 losses in C-USA play   Schedule Glimpse: 2012 Schedule Link Must Win: 10/6 at Memphis, 10/13 vs UTSA Out of Conference: 8/30 vs UCLA, 9/8 at...

Today marks 100 days from the kickoff of the 2012 college football season. Accordingly, over the next 100 days Rant Sports will be previewing the top 100 teams in country. Today, the Rice Owls. — After enjoying one of the top finishes in school history in 2008 (10-3), things have been all downhill for the Owls. Coach David Bailiff is on the proverbial hot seat entering the...

With the 211th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Titans select Scott Solomon, DE (Rice). Productive, hardworking defensive lineman with a variety of skills. Plays with good balance and leverage and is tough to knock off his feet. Quick off the snap, immediately changes direction and displays the ability to make plays down the line of scrimmage in pursuit of the action. Effectively...

Rice cornerback Bryce Callahan and wide receiver Mario Hull are among 26 freshmen who have been named the 2011 Sporting News Freshman All America Team. Callahan picked up a second honor when he was also named to Scout.com's FoxSportsNext 2011 Freshman All America team.

Rice cornerback Bryce Callahan, who led all FBS freshmen with six interceptions and was second with 15 passes defended, has been named to Phil Steele's 2011 All-Freshman second team as part of his annual list of honors teams which were released on Wednesday. He also joined Kyle Martens, Luke Willson, Scott Solomon, Chris Boswell and Jake Hicks in earning a place on Steele'...

It seemed just for the 2011 season to end like this, with Rice senior quarterback Nick Fanuzzi playing the role of Sisyphus, laboring to move an offense that had sputtered far more frequently than it had succeeded. The Owls' defense, good but not great, provided an opportunity by stopping SMU one final time midway through the fourth quarter. The Owls' special teams, solid...

Rice sophomore kicker Chris Boswell has been honored by Conference USA as its Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Owls 19-7 win over Tulane on Senior Day last Saturday at Rice Stadium.

The ball was placed perfectly on a figurative tee for Rice senior quarterback Nick Fanuzzi to bash with a swing of deserved boasting. His greatest collegiate moment had recently concluded, and Fanuzzi stood before the assembled media in a team meeting room awash in congratulations and lionized for the Owls' 41-37 victory over UTEP last Saturday. He had set a career standard...

Jayson Carter is a first-year walk-on with the Rice football team and he has to be one of the smallest players playing college football at any level, coming in at a diminutive 4'9" and weighing only 130 pounds.

Rice University Athletics' Tomorrow's Leader segment begins its sixth year of existence highlighting exceptional Owl student-athletes. Rice Owl student-athletes not only compete at the highest level in their respective sports, but also in the classroom at one of the nation's most demanding universities.This week, Rice football player John Gioffre is featured.

There was only so much Nick Fanuzzi could do. By the time he entered the game in relief on Saturday night at historic Rice Stadium, no amount of his valiance could help the Owls escape the hole that had been excavated. Rice's defensive resilience was squandered, too, sacrificed to a three-score deficit built just beyond the midpoint of the first quarter. The second half of...

Taylor McHargue threw for 170 yards and a touchdown, and Turner Petersen rushed for two touchdowns as Rice defeated Memphis 28-6 Saturday. Petersen's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:34 left in the first quarter capped a 9-play, 69-yard drive to give the Owls (2-3, 1-1 Conference USA) a 7-0 lead. Petersen, who finished with 32 yards rushing, also scored from 1 yard with 4:57 left...