The Years of Rice and Sugar: An NCAA 12 Alternate History Dynasty

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"Why does Rice play Texas?"

This was the rhetorical question jokingly asked by former president John F. Kennedy before he proposed for the US to reach the moon before the end of the decade during a speech in Rice Stadium. This one quote sums up the majority of this program's whole history. Why does this little private school play the best teams the Lonestar state has to offer year in and year out? In our timeline that question was answered in the 1990s...it was because money from TV contracts hadn't become the main reason for conferences existing yet. Once that became the case UT and the larger programs of the Southwest conference left to create the Big 12. This left TCU, SMU, Houston, and poor Rice to find new homes in lower levels. Classic rivalries and regionalism were the only thing keeping these schools at the power conference level. Once that was replaced with TV money greed it was over for these less profitable programs (Current times continue to prove that history is not a line but a cycle).

In this alternate timeline the traditions of CFB old reign supreme. All conferences are based in regional ties and heated rivalries. Conferences aren't split into divisions and hold championship games, the team with the best record takes the title. Classic bowl matchups live on with each power conference team trying win it all and earn a bid to a New Years game.

With this old world living on who do we take over? Why no one else than the William Marsh Rice University Owls of course! A team with low group of 5 talent playing in a power conference will provide multiple challenges on our path to earn a coveted bid to the Sugar Bowl.

Link to Dynasty Tracking Sheet
https://onedrive.live.com/edit?id=C0...07185a71&wdo=2

Yearly Results

Spoiler

2011-2012: 2-10

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Fall Camp and Preseason Outlook
Article By: Tommy Rustfield of HootOwlNetwork.com

With Joe Mothers's first fall camp underway as new head coach of the Rice Owls there is a lot to look upon for the coming 2011 season. First of all is the growing pains of the new offensive system that Mothers is installing. When asked about what his offensive will look like this fall, he's been quoted in an interview as saying to "...watch any Nebraska game from the 90s". While this scheme has been proven in the past, how well this system will translate to modern SWC football has yet to be determined. While culture takes time to build and have the athletes buy in, it seems like this new staff has brought new energy to the program. While the fruits of their labor might not pay off this season or the next, if the AD and the boosters stay patient then they might have a slightly successful few seasons on their hands compared to the last decade of failure.

Position Summaries

Quarterback: The QBs on this roster are all similar in talent but it's not the most impressive talent. Ryan Fields is the assumed leader of this group with seniority being his main advantage. The lack of impressiveness of others at his position and the fact that he's probably the fastest QB they got will probably give him the week 1 start.

Running back: Ryan Wise is probably the only bright spot in a rather bleak RB room and offense for that matter. The 6'0 200lbs redshirt Junior is built like a receiver and can catch the ball like one too. He has solid speed and great acceleration with the only thing preventing him from playing for a bigger school is his field awareness. Wise will be this team's workhorse back because the guys that will be spelling in for him won't be doing much.

Fullback: You can't have the Nebraska I-Bone style without the fullback. Over Coach Mother's tenure this group will fill up but all they have right now is Sophomore Ty Luke. Junior TE Ken McKinney will also be seeing some time at that position for a more athletic weapon at that spot, but Luke is seen as the better blocker which means he will get the majority of snaps.

Wide Receiver: Only 4 WRs will see time this year if all goes to plan. Any other program would be holding walk-on tryouts to fill the empty spots, but the new run centric and 21/12 personnel-based system is allowing Rice to get away with the low number this year until they can fill the ranks in the upcoming recruiting class. Not one of the eligible WRs have been able to prove that they deserve a starting spot, letting this battle come down to the smallest of things. Junior Antonio Barnes and Senior Justin Harris have impressed coaches the most with their blocking abilities standing tall above that of the other two receivers. While I would love to see a WR earn his job for his playmaking ability, with this level of talent what will earn the starting jobs this year will be run blocking talent.

Tight End: Junior Dan Patrick will be the man heading this TE squad this coming season. Standing at 6'5, Patrick has nice hands and blocking ability that will be of great use to this offense. These abilities earned him Preseason 2nd Team All-Conference. As talked about for the FBs, Ken McKinney's so-so blocking ability might have this team stick to personnel groupings that wont require more than one TE.

Offensive Line: The OL this year brings some surprising promise. While power conference wise, below average, this is an old and experienced squad. This line is very run blocking focused and have just lucked their way into a very run focused system. Junior C Logan Watkins and Senior RG George McNair earned 1st and 2nd Team All-Conference respectively. But once this senior class leaves new talent will have to be brought in at these positions because as it stands now this bench is terrible.

Defensive Line: The 4 men that will be playing D-Line are in for quite the tough season. Varied in age and overall low in talent, when you look at this schedule, you'll have to highlight the team that WON'T run all over this line instead of the vice versa.

Linebackers: The LBs don't fair much better in terms of ability. This group is lead by Senior MLB Jason Lowe who will be flanked by Junior Rashaad Bradley and Sophomore Vincent Thomas at the OLB positions. The backers represent the overall summary of this team... undertalented and urgently needing new guys.

Defensive Backs: To defend against the offensive powers of the SWC the DB group is probably the best thing Rice has to throw at them. Corners are headlined by Senior Cam Fellows who earned 1st Team All-Conference honors. He's the slowest of the starting cornerbacks but makes up for it with his 6'1 frame and solid technique. Senior Darrius Wilson will be the starting FS for the Owls this year and is another DB with length and surprisingly good athleticism. At the SS spots in this 4-2-5 system we have Junior Donald Johnson who's pretty much a carbon copy of his FS counterpart. His partner in crime will be Senior Jeff Richardson who is quite lack luster compared to the other safeties.

Special Teams: Senior Jon Kerr will bring consistent punting to a team that will probably do a lot of it. Kicker Sophomore Brian Duncan is young and will probably not be nailing anything beyond 45 yards, but he could be a solid player at that spot for his remaining years here. Ryan Wise will take on the return duties for the Owls, while not named to 1st team All-Conference for RB he did earn it for Returner.

Around the Conference

The SWC will look to be a four-way scrap for the top spot between #9 A&M, #14 TCU, #18 Arky, and #22 Texas. One team I personally think could be a sleeper is SMU who is projected 8th despite having a solid squad on paper. Rice is projected 9th, only in front of the boys from Denton of North Texas. While no big hopes this year for the Owls perhaps we can play spoiler for a team or two. My recommendation for Rice fans this year is maintain hope for the future and enjoy watching Ryan Wise carry this team.

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"Perfect Storm" Leads to Rice Miracle in Provo!
By: Robby Brass of HootOwlNetwork.com

Coach Joe Mothers's tenure at Rice starts with a true perfect storm that led to the victory over the BYU Cougars in Provo, UT 30-24! Even though BYU put up 41 more yards in total offense, the Rice Owls dominated time of possession and made key plays along with having an answered prayer.

The game was scoreless until the early 2nd qtr. when Rice kicked a field goal. BYU then responded with back-to-back TD drives, the former of which came off BYU QB Aaron Bolden running for a 78 yard QB keeper and the latter off a 21 yard TD reception from Chris Owens. For the Owls the power run game was in full motion as ,before the end of the half, Rice star and captain Ryan Wise ran in for the TD.

As predicted, Wise was the main man for this Rice offense earning 143 yards off of 28 carries on the ground. Add 1 rushing TD and 2 receptions for 36 yards leads to a potential candidate for conference player off the week. His impressive performance is further elevated from the fact both starting QB Ryan Field and back-up Tim McNamara left the game due to injury in the 1st and 2nd half respectively. This left Sophomore Kyle Underwood to take over the starting role in crunch time.

After the Cougs tacked on a rushing TD in the early 3rd they were marching again with a chance to take a 28-10 lead. In the redzone Rice's Sr MLB Jason Lowe picked off Bolden to prevent the potential game icing score.

Bolden would go 25/38 327 yards with the previously mentioned rushing and passing TDs. While a good showing by BYU, the rainy conditions seemed to leave the majority of their Air Raid offensive power in the hanger.

RB Mike Cole would run in from 10 yards out but a missed PAT would leave it 21-16. A short run into the endzone off the pitch option play by Underwood would make it 23-21 after Coach Mothers played it safe and kicked the PAT. BYU would continue to steadily move themselves down the field and a 45 yard Kevin Taylor FG would look to seal it 24-23 with 13 seconds left. Wise would take the kick-off to Rice's 33 and 5 seconds remained. All they could bet on was a Miracle. On what looked to be a play to set up for a better Hail Mary chance, Rice WR Antonio Barnes beat his man off the line and created separation on a go route down the field. 3rd Stringer Underwood saw the receiver and hoisted up a prayer. The ball was caught, and Barnes streaked for 67 yards to end the game. Rice players rushed the field as triple 0s showed in Provo with the Owls on top.

The Owls will meet a solid lower-level team in ECU who will bring heavy offensive firepower to Houston next week in Mothers's first home game as Rice HC.

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Rice(1-1) Brought Back Down To Earth In 49-21 Loss To East Carolina(1-0)
By: Robby Brass of HootOwlNetwork.com

After the incredible win at BYU last week, it seems like they had a weeklong hangover leading up to a sluggish Saturday performance.

The Owls offense looked focused on their opening drive but had their spirits crushed after a Ryan Field fumble was picked up by Tyrell Campbell for an 86 Yard ECU TD. The Owls responded with a passing TD by Ryan Wise early in the 2nd but when the Pirates offense took over it was too much for Rice to handle.

ECU's Mike Byrd took his offense on 3 straight TD drives with all of them ending with Byrd connecting with one of his receivers. Rice could only respond with one TD of their own coming off a massive catch and run from Ryan Wise.

The 28-14 ECU lead was further expanded during the 2nd half opening kick as Lewis Davis returned it 102 yards to glory. After a TD in the 3rd qtr. Rice would not reach the endzone the rest of the day while ECU put up 14 in the 4th.

"Our defense was picked apart in the air and we as a staff have to figure out what we need to change to force some stops because this won't be the last Air Raid team we will face this year." said Coach Mothers as he picks up his first loss in his reign as HC.

The Rice offense was led once again by Ryan Wise who despite leaving the game banged up in the 3rd logged a great day of 92 rushing yards off of 20 carries and 116 receiving yard off of 5 receptions. 2 of those receptions ended in the endzone off the arm of Ryan Field who was 13/27 for 215 yards. When asked if he was pleased with his offense's performance he said "We had a solid day on offense in my eyes. We ran the ball pretty well at times and the passing game showed some sparks. While 10 years ago a 21 point day might have won us a game it's just not enough in today's environment.".

Mike Byrd was the maestro for the Pirate's offense throwing for 342 yards and 4 TDs off a 66% completion rate. For their WRs it was a group effort as all four starters earned over 50 yards receiving. While the Rice rush defense was left untested, the pass defense was thoroughly destroyed.

The Owls will look to make the needed adjustment in their bye next week. After that they will face rival Tulsa(0-1) and after that they play their conference opener against #22 Texas(1-0).

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2011 Recruiting Update for Rice Owls
By: Rusty Tune of Rivals.com

Joe Mothers since his hiring has been hitting the road and hitting the landlines to find the newest crop of Owl athletes and the results have been surprisingly successful. Before the start of the season Mothers landed 2 quality recruits who will be expected to produce early in their careers.

*** Derrick Osborn #76 DT 6'3 312, LA- Mothers brought in this hefty gap stuffer in his attempt to slightly branch out of the Texas pond and into Louisiana. Don't let his size fool you as Osborn is considered a pass rushing threat but no matter what his skill set is, Rice will welcome a quality body in the trenches.

*** Jon Walker #64 G 6'5 312, TX- The lineman out of Waco who makes his name mainly known in run blocking which is a great fit for the Rice system. His biggest trait is his ability to get from 0-100 in no time. His ability to go from his stance to block a LB is as good if not better than most power 5 guards.

Rice also landed ** Nathan Stegall #83 MLB 6'1 211, TX which field a crucial need for more MLBs on the depth chart.

Some highlight guys that Rice is targeting are *** Stan Wright #60 RB 5'11 206, TX who we can likely expect a commitment from to Rice in the coming weeks as Texas Tech and Baylor are falling behind. The most exciting prospect on the board is *** Alex Washington #95 QB 6'5 206, TX who comes out of Dallas. The tall statured QB is no statue in the pocket as he runs a 4.70 and would be a day 1 fit for the Owls offense. His arm talent is much to be desired but that can be developed.

Overall promise is high for the recruiting abilities of Mothers but the question is that can he start doing it on a Power conference quality level?

'Round the League With John Jumbles
By: John Jumbles of JJsportsofFacebook

Hey yall, different week same style of me giving you the biggest things you need to know from around the NCAA in the shortest time possible!

PAC-10 dominates the polls as Oregon and Stanford are #1 and #2 with undefeated records. That matchup on 11/12 can't come soon enough!

Stanford QB Dylan Holman still the leader for the heisman trophy. Multiple NFL fan bases are already calling to "Dip for Dylan!".

Since I'm from the DFW area(Pony Up!) here is the scoop from my beloved SWC.

A&M Remains the highest ranked in the conference at #6.

Arky is 4-0 in conference play with OT wins against TCU and Baylor while also beating TTU and UT-Austin. Their lost to Bama in a non-conference match-up broke their undefeated record but will be able to defend their unbeaten conference record against A&M at home.

Houston QB JD Todd was 3 straight SWC Offensive POTW with crazy passing games against Marshall, LA Tech, and North Texas.

Now that I got you guys the news, I'll see yall next time. Be free to debate in the comments and follow my Facebook page if new!

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Heartbreak in Houston. Rice(1-2) Loses to Rival Tulsa(1-1) Off a Missed Last Second FG 30-28.
By: Bobby Brass of HootOwlNetwork.com

In a non-conference rivalry game versus Tulsa the Rice Owls looked refreshed after their bye week but it just wasn't enough to beat the Golden Hurricanes.

Rice's defense was bend but don't break in the 1st half with them forcing 3 Tulsa FGs. The Golden Hurricane offense would march down the field with ease, but the drives would always stall out around the 30 yard line.

Rice's Ryan Wise would be the producer of 2/3 of the Owls' first half TDs putting them up 21-9. One TD came off an electric 93 yard KO return and the other was off a massive 76 yard run when Wise navigated and broke his way out of the horde of players. The final TD of the 1st half came when Ryan Fields ripped a pass to WR Chris Watson.

Tulsa finally got into the endzone Travis Bennett aired it out to Joe Ervin. Tulsa had a great stat day when the ball was in their hands. They nearly put up 500 yards on the air and ground. It was run by committee as 7 players ended up touching the ball on the ground for the Golden Hurricanes.

In the 4th Ryan Fields threw his first INT of the season and costly pick six to LB JT Upshaw making it 24-21 after Tulsa went for the 2 point conversion. Looking to take back their blown lead Rice took a long drive down the field and was aided by an unlikely hero. 6'3 275 Sophomore DT Joe Owens played backup fullback where, when subbed in, rushed for 15 yards off 3 carries. Owens said after the game "They gave me the ball and I ran forward.". He finished the long Rice drive with a dump off pass for a 5 yard TD. "He's a really good blocker when he gets a full head of steam. He obviously showed some of his athleticism. We all love him; we always joke that we don't know how he got into such a smart school." said Coach Mothers on the big man's performance. Owen's dad is a major booster for multiple Owls sports team.

Up 28-24 Rice then let up 2 FGs, the latter of which came with 53 seconds left. In a last minute effort Rice made multiple big passes down the field but could only manage to set up a 43 yard field goal. Brian Duncan's kick was about a foot too short and the Owls picked up their 2nd loss of the season.

Ryan Wise once again has a good day on the ground with a 130 yard game off of 17 carries and 1 TD. Ryan Fields goes 12/21 with 119 yards coming through the air. His 2 TDs in this game make it 4 total on the year.

Next week Rice start SWC play hosting #20 Texas(2-1). With arguably the easiest part of the Rice schedule over they enter into the grinder that is conference play.

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No Mercy for the Owls as Texas(3-1) hands Rice(1-3) Their First Conference Loss 52-14
By: Bobby Brass of HootOwlNetwork.com

In Rice's first SWC game of the season the boys from Austin blows out the Owl in Rice Stadium. The demoralizing loss is further compounded by the serious injury suffered by offensive star [b]Ryan Wise, who will look to miss maybe the whole season with a torn shoulder.

After the first UT TD, late in the 1st qtr. Rice's Jon Kerr punted one perfectly into the corner of the field pinning Texas on the 2 yard line. Two plays later Rodeny Rivera ran off the tackle for a backbreaking 98 yard TD run. It was already 14-0 with no end to the scoring in sight.

Texas scored two more TDs before Ryan Wise would punch in a score from 32 yards out, little did anyone know it would be Wise's last TD for a while. Coach Mothers when asked about the injury in post-game said "It's a terrible injury, he does so much for us. He's a captain and a leader and guys were pretty distraught about it. But he has a solid guy behind him who we think can handle the load.". The man behind him he was talking about was Mike Cole. Cole would mid-way in the 4th crack off a massive Wise-like 69 yard TD to get the Owls into double digit scoring.

UT's David Roth would throw for 160 yards but would add 3 TDs to his season total. On the ground Rodney Rivera would have an insane game putting up an easy 269 yards with 3 TDs. The last TD came with 2 minutes left in the game, which displeased many Rice players, coaches, and fans. UT obviously wanted to display to Coach Mothers in his first conference game who runs the state of Texas even though they stand behind 2 fellow Texas schools in the SWC standings.

For Rice the brightest spots were RB Mike Cole who rushed for 111 yards just off 10 carries and MLB Jason Lowe who logged 9 total tackles, 2 TFLs, and 1 sack.

Next week will be a bye for the Owls but after that it doesn't get any easier as Rice will play #15 Arkansas(4-1) who are undefeated in conference play.

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Arkansas(5-3) Snaps 3 Game Losing Streak, Crushing Rice(1-4) 59-14
By: Bobby Brass of HootOwlNetwork.com

Even after the bye week Rice can't change their losing ways against the Razorbacks of Arkansas. Arkansas, who had lost 3 straight to ranked teams, let their frustration out against the defenseless Rice Owls.

The game started with Rice and Arky trading TDs but a Fred Mitchell 49 yard TD pass and a Billy Cox fumble return off a pitch option mishap by Ryan Field made the game 21-7. Ryan Field left the temporally leaving Tim McNamara to lead the offense down the field and into the endzone thanks to his own two legs. Going into the locker the game was a close 21-14.

The only problem was that Rice would remain scoreless the rest of the day as the Rice offense couldn't get anything going. The Razorbacks on the other hand out-powered and out-talented the Owls defense dropping nearly 40 2nd half points. "This isn't an NBA game. How are we letting up 40 points?" asked one Rice fan on Twitter.

For a more professional statement Joe Mothers said "Sometimes teams are better but there's a line where it becomes our fault as a team and coaching staff. We clearly have schematic things to work on for next week and the future.".

The absence of RB Ryan Wise seems to be dearly missed as replacement Mike Cole was only able to put 70 yards off 23 carries averaging 3 yards a carry.

The Owls will travel to Lubbock next Saturday to face a 3-3 Texas Tech squad.