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<td width="343" valign="bottom"><p class="date"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="date" --><a href="default.html">10/24/03 • Vol.
127, No. 26</a><!-- InstanceEndEditable --></p></td>
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<p><a href="football.jsp">Game Preview: Fresno State vs Rice</a></p>
<p><a href="women.jsp">Women's soccer in WAC tourney</a></p>
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<h1>Game Preview: Fresno State vs Rice</h1>
<p class="byline">By Eddie Hughes</p>
<p class="heading4"><strong>Bulldogs</strong></p>
<p> <strong>Quarterbacks</strong></p>
<p> Sophomore Paul Pinegar sparked the Fresno State offense two weeks ago
against Hawaii, but it wasn’t enough for a Bulldogs victory. Pinegar
threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions—a
promising sign for the offense. The Bulldogs should be able to finally
throw for more than 300 yards against the Rice defense.</p>
<p><strong> Running Backs</strong></p>
<p> The running game hasn’t suffered a bit since sophomore Dwayne Wright
took over for Rodney Davis. Wright has 500 yards this season and averages
5.8 yards per carry. Now the Bulldogs go into the easier half of the
schedule. Sophomore Bryson Sumlin is the second-leading rusher with 273
yards.</p>
<p> <strong>Receivers</strong></p>
<p> Bernard Berrian is one of the nation’s most talented receivers,
but the stats don’t show it. He averages just 40.7 yards a game.
Berrian is the only wide receiver with a touchdown catch this season—he
has three of them. Marque Davis had two catches for three yards against
Hawaii. If Berrian and Davis break out, it could turn the Bulldogs’ offense
into a force.</p>
<p> <strong>Offensive Line</strong></p>
<p> Hawaii had five sacks against the Bulldogs—just when it appeared
the young line was starting to play like veterans. Tackle Chris Denman
made his first start against Hawaii in place of injured Matt Stevenson.
At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Denman is the team’s smallest lineman.</p>
<p> <strong>Defensive Line</strong></p>
<p> Stopping Rice starts here. The Bulldogs will rely on the front seven
to slow the Rice option attack. Ends Brian Morris, Garrett McIntyre
and Claude Sanders have to be ready for the option coming outside of
the
tackles.</p>
<p><strong> Linebackers</strong></p>
<p> Bryce McGill’s 46 tackles lead the team. He’s likely to get
a few more of those Saturday against the one-dimensional Rice offense.
Todd Garcia had 14 tackles against the Owls last season. Expect him to
see plenty of time Saturday.</p>
<p> <strong>Defensive Backs</strong></p>
<p> Safeties James Sanders and Dee Meza are likely to play a larger role
against Rice than cornerbacks Raymond Washington and Awan Diles, considering
it’s not often that Rice passes. Sanders led the team with 11 tackles
against Hawaii and is second on the team with 42 this season.</p>
<p> <strong>Special Teams</strong></p>
<p> Brett Visintainer is 7 of 11 on field goals this season and has not
missed an extra-point attempt. Redshirt freshman punter Mike Lingua averages
38.7 yards per punt.</p>
<p> <strong>Coaching</strong></p>
<p> Coming off of two straight losses, coach Pat Hill has a shot to pick
up his 50th win since taking the job in 1997. Under Hill, the Bulldogs
are 34-15 in the WAC and 33-5 at home.</p>
<p> <strong>Intangibles</strong></p>
<p> The Bulldogs are 4-0 all-time against Rice and have scored 47 and 52
points, respectively, in two previous home match-ups with the Owls.</p>
<p> <span class="heading4"><strong>Owls</strong></span></p>
<p> <strong>Quarterbacks</strong></p>
<p> Junior Greg Henderson took over for incumbent starter Kyle Herm when
Herm broke two ribs in the season opener against Houston. Henderson
has completed just 47 percent of his passes for 367 yards, but has rushed
for 440 yards and five touchdowns. He is sixth in the WAC in rushing
yards.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p><strong>Running Backs</strong></p>
<p> Rice doesn’t come at teams with just one back, but sophomore Thomas
Lott has shown potential this year. Against Duke, he became the first
Owl halfback to rush for more than 100 yards in a game since 2001. Lott
averages 6.6 yards per carry on the season. Fullback Robbie Beck has
rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns on the year.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p><strong> Receivers</strong></p>
<p> Sophomore Marcus Battle (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) is the only Owl with
more than five catches this season. Battle has 15 receptions for 256
yards
and a touchdown. Rice’s primary personnel grouping includes just
one receiver and three running backs.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p><strong>Offensive Line</strong></p>
<p> The Owls have a relatively experienced line, compared to Fresno State’s.
Ben Stephens (6-2, 300) is one of the top centers in the conference.
Stephens and tackle Chris DeMunbrun are the unit’s two seniors.
The other three starters are juniors.</p>
<p> Edge: Even</p>
<p><strong>Defensive Line</strong></p>
<p> The Bulldogs have some blocking to do. Rice end John Syptak leads the
team with four sacks, tackle Jeremy Calahan has three and end Jimmy Shaw
has one. The Owls’ best shot at winning is pressuring Paul Pinegar
into making mistakes.</p>
<p> Edge: Even</p>
<p> <strong>Linebackers</strong></p>
<p> Senior Jeff Vanover leads the Owls with 52 tackles this season. Vanover
is the type of impact player that the Bulldogs have to watch out for,
but he’ll need the rest of the Rice defense to step up with him
if the Owls are going to pull off the upset.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p> <strong>Defensive Backs</strong></p>
<p> Freshman Chad Price is the only Owl with an interception this season.
Cornerbacks Patrick Dendy and Dustin Haynes have what could be a deadly
match-up against Bernard Berrian and Marque Davis.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p> <strong>Special Teams</strong></p>
<p> Freshman punter Jared Scruggs averages 45.8 yards per punt, the sixth
highest average in the nation. Sophomore Brennan Landry is 2 of 2 on
field goals this season, while senior Brandon Skeen is 1 of 4.</p>
<p> Edge: Even</p>
<p> <strong>Coaching</strong></p>
<p> Coach Ken Hatfield is 160-120-4 overall but just 47-58-1 at Rice. Hatfield
is 0-4 against the Bulldogs. He’s in his 10th season at Rice.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
<p> <strong>Intangibles</strong></p>
<p> Under Hatfield, Rice is 18-40-1 in road games. The Bulldogs don’t
lose often at home as it is. The two teams are meeting just a week after
it was announced that Rice was leaving the WAC for Conference-USA.</p>
<p> Edge: Bulldogs</p>
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