The Rice Owls lost 27-10 on Saturday, but they provided a blueprint for success for the 10 remaining teams on the Spartans’ schedule.
With a relentless blitz, Rice confused MSU’s offensive line all day. The result: One week removed from a 625-yard performance against Eastern Michigan, MSU gained just 271 total yards.
“That team wasn’t bad. They came ready to play,” junior quarterback Jeff Smoker said. “They gave us a little more than we expected. They were definitely better than I thought.”
Smoker finished the game 16-of-26 for 213 passing yards and three touchdowns. But he spent most of the afternoon running from the Owls’ front six.
Last week, Smoker enjoyed a comfortable pocket in which he had plenty of time to find his target, plant his feet and follow through. That wasn’t the case Saturday as Rice sacked the Spartan signal caller four times.
So what happened up front? After last week the offensive line appeared to be MSU’s strength. But after Saturday’s performance it reverted to last season, when it was a constant question mark.
“They blitzed a lot, but we were ready for that. We practiced it all week, but we just didn’t execute,” junior center Brian
Ottney said. “It’s just a mental thing. We didn’t come ready to execute assignments the way we were suppose to and those things happen when you do that.
“We can’t have this kind of performance against anybody.”
Ottney said its good MSU came away with the win, but added it’s a win the offensive line can’t take pride in.
After last week’s performance, MSU head coach Bobby Williams said the Spartans’ offense starts at the line of scrimmage. And that was never more evident than Saturday, as everything MSU tried to do fell apart as the line failed to get the job done.
Not only was Smoker constantly scrambling, but also the running game never got going. Last week the Spartans rushed for 369 yards on 48 carries. This week MSU carried the ball just 32 times, but could only manage to gain 58 yards. That’s a paltry 1.8 yards per carry.
“We didn’t play as good as we should of,” junior right guard William Whitticker said. “We didn’t get the running backs good holes or anything.”
Whitticker said it wasn’t just the fact that Rice blitzed every play, but that the Owls constantly mixed up their blitz packages while relentlessly utilizing line shifts.
Senior left tackle Ulish Booker had one explanation for the Spartans’ frustrations up front.
“They were so small,” he said. “Our offensive line is so big it was hard to get up under those guys.”
Indeed, Rice’s defensive line averages 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, compared to MSU’s offensive line and tight ends, which average 6-5 and 295 pounds. But Booker admits the size difference was only a small detail, as he also said the Spartans simply failed to execute.
In fact, it was Rice linebacker Jeff Vanover who gave the Spartans the most trouble with his three sacks. At 5-11, 210 pounds, Vanover is easily the smallest of the Owls’ front six.
“That kid, No. 4, he’s a football player,” Williams said. “He really gave us some problems.
“We had some passes open, but they put some pressure on us.”
Williams said Saturday’s performance up front is certainly reason for concern.
“They did some things that they hadn’t shown on film, and they did it pretty good,” he said. “As a result, they got to our quarterback. That’s always a concern.
“They must have saw something in the film from last week and come in here with a plan. We’ve got to look at the film.”
