Rice Owls College Football Pregame Quote, 11/23/2021

Talking about the previous game, I thought we came out fast and competed well, and overcame a lot of adversity in the first half. I thought we finished that (first) half in almost a perfect fashion, going down and scoring with a minute thirty, (UTEP) trying to get a two-minute drive going, Gabe Taylor forcing the turnover, and then two plays later, Ced Patterson finds himself in the end zone. That’s a 14-point swing in the game in the last 1:30in the second quarter is a big-time way to go into the half. That’s exactly where we wanted to be, going up 21-14. In the second half, there are a lot of things we have to fix. From finding a way to extend that lead on offense and putting more points on the board and putting the game in a different place and on defense, I don’t know, aside from the Texas game, if anyone has scored on them four straight drives like that and there are some things we have to get fixed there. We’re working towards that. The thing that I love about this team, is how much they care. I love how they are competing and trying to get better and I know that they will. When we play well in all three phases of the game, I believe we can beat anyone on our schedule. There’s nobody in the locker room who is flippant about winning or losing in the locker room. They care a lot and they are going to try and find a way to go 1-0 this week.

On Louisiana Tech:

They are a team that has had a very similar season to us. An identical record as us and also on their third quarterback of the year. They had one they thought would be their starter going into the season just as had originally thought Mike Collins would be ours when we started planning last January. A lot has changed, we both have battled a lot of injuries and overcome adversity. I know what kind of coach Skip Holtz is and I know we’d both like to end the season on a high note. I know Skip will have his team ready and they are going to give us their best game.

On Senior Day:

This week we get to honor a group of men that are really important to me and incredibly important to this program. We have five Super Seniors that came back for their sixth, and in one case seventh, year and they care more than words can express. I had each of them talk to the team yesterday about why they love football and about what it would mean to go out with a win in Rice Stadium on Senior Day. It was pretty emotional. I know this team had a great practice yesterday and I certainly expect that they will prepare the right way to have a great one today and the rest of the week.

On the importance of winning the final game at home:

Going back to the Seniors and what they have put into the program, the blood, sweat, and tears through the years, and us wanting to send them out the in the right way with a victorious locker room one more time.

On the status of QB Jake Constantine:

Jake did not practice yesterday, but we are hopeful he can practice today. We’ll see what the trainers say and how that thing is coming along. We have some very different game plans in place. We have a game plan for Jake Constantine, we have a game plan if it is Luke McCaffrey and we’ve got some other things will different people at quarterback with some Wildcat stuff that we’ve tinkered with throughout the year that’s looked pretty good. We’ve got some very defined game plans depending on who is in there. My sense is that Jake is going to try and play. It’s his last college football game and I think if there is any way he can play, he will. We certainly won’t put him out there if there are things he is unable to do, but I’d bet on Jake right now.