University of Houston Athletics
Football Concludes Rice Preps
8/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 31, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football wrapped up preparations for this weekend's season opener with a crisp two-hour workout Thursday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars kick off the 2006 season when they face Conference USA and crosstown-rival Rice at 8 p.m., Saturday at Rice Stadium. It will mark the Cougars' first trip to Rice Stadium since 2002, when Houston snapped a 15-game losing streak with a 24-10 victory in the season opener. UH has won 13 of 16 games against the Owls at Rice Stadium.
The Rice offense has seen a makeover with the addition of head coach Todd Graham. The Owls used to run a triple-option attack but now run a spread offense that has seen success at schools like Florida and West Virginia.
"Rice is going to be ready to go," head coach Art Briles said. "They were close to being a .500 team last year and just had some tough losses at the end of games. We have a lot of respect for Coach Graham. He's got a lot of good vibes going over there. "
Chase Clement will start at quarterback after seeing action in 11 games last season, throwing for 582 yards and five touchdowns. Last year's starter Joel Armstrong has moved to wide receiver. In fact, Briles would not be surprised to see Rice sprinkle in some option to go along with its new look.
"We're expecting Rice to use the personnel they have and to see some option out of the shutgun," Briles said. "Our guys have been preparing on defense for all of the scenarios we'll think we'll see and adjusting to them accordingly."
On defense, Rice returns eight players that saw action on defense in 2005. Chad Price and Andray Downs anchor the secondary and have a streak of 57 consecutive starts between them. Price led the team with 19 tackles for a loss, while Downs is a dual-threat who recorded 789 yards in kick returns.
"The Rice defense may be young on paper, but their secondary and defensive line is experienced," Briles said. "There's going to be a lot of excitement in the stadium Saturday night."
The game can be heard live on ESPN 790 AM with the pregame show beginning one hour before kickoff. Tom Franklin will handle the play-by-play duties, while former record-setting UH quarterback David Klingler will provide color analysis. Former All-Southwest Conference center Chuck Brown serves as the sideline reporter. All Cougar Football games can also be heard live on the Internet by logging onto www.UHCougars.com.
In addition, the game will be televised nationally on CSTV with Carter Blackburn handling play-by-play and Brian Jones on color. It will be the first of four nationally televised games for the Cougars in 2006.
