Army 2-4

Can you to take away some positives from the game?
-Certainly. The offense had some great moments, which is nice considering some of the attrition across the line this year.
-In general, the situational misdirection that's coming off of Brent Davis' playbook is pretty impressive. I can see that the players have put a lot into learning and implementing the coaches ideas. I think Army will be fine in the coming years based a lot on how the coaches are motivating the athletes.
Some of the clock management ideas could be adjusted - and I think need to be adjusted. Despite the unimpressive results in some games this season, I think the offense is in a positive place and capable to put together winning games. The Army offense has pretty good mechanics and with Santiago under center - I'm telling you defenses have to remain disciplined every single play or this offense can make you pay in a hurry.


There was a stretch after the half where Rice dominated in all phases of the game - taking a 17 point lead and stretching it to  24. That's what winning teams can do. Rice is a strong team to come up to Michie Stadium and win the way they did.


The longer inside runs: Larry Dixon's 43-yarder and Angel Santiago's touchdown were both results of Rice not having the center covered. If you're going to let Matt Hugenberg, or any Army center, out into the linebacker level you can expect to get gashed inside by Dixon and Santiago. The offensive line did yeoman's work Saturday, but there were too many negative plays strung together to beat a team like Rice.


The tackling issues continue to haunt Army's defense, and it's the opponent's defense that turned the game.
Rice's defense completely won in some big situations and the Owls looked completely dominant in all phases of the game. I mean the Rice defense goes out and strings together huge stops - and they come off and Rice has this guy under center.


Driphus Jackson had a huge game. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 209 yards with 3TDs and zero INT. That's the kind of play that settles the game by the half. In fact 14 of Jackson's first 15 passes were complete and by the time he missed for the second time the game was headed to the 4th quarter and pretty much decided already. Jackson was afforded much praise.

Jackson took his coach’s compliment in stride. “I carry myself as such,” he said when asked if he views himself as the finest passer in the conference. “It’s important for me to have that kind of swagger on the field. I feel I have that confidence from him and the team, so it makes it easier to go out there.”

14 of 15 to start the game will go a long way for swagger.


That's the story. Rice/Army stats and highlights here







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