CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Rice

2–⁠10 (2–⁠6 Conference USA), coached by David Bailiff.

Schedule and results

Rice in 2009, game by game: lost at UAB 24–44; lost at Texas Tech 10–55; lost at No. 16 Oklahoma State 24–41; lost vs. Vanderbilt 17–36; lost vs. Tulsa 10–27; lost vs. Navy 14–63; lost at East Carolina 13–49; lost vs. UCF 7–49; lost at SMU 28–31; won vs. Tulane 28–20; won vs. UTEP 30–29; lost at No. 25 Houston 14–73+8−59Lost 24–44 at UAB-20UABLost 10–55 at Texas Tech-45Texas TechLost 24–41 at No. 16 Oklahoma State-17No. 16 Oklahoma StateLost 17–36 vs. Vanderbilt-19VanderbiltLost 10–27 vs. Tulsa-17TulsaLost 14–63 vs. Navy-49NavyLost 13–49 at East Carolina-36East CarolinaLost 7–49 vs. UCF-42UCFLost 28–31 at SMU-3SMUWon 28–20 vs. Tulane+8TulaneWon 30–29 vs. UTEP+1UTEPLost 14–73 at No. 25 Houston-59No. 25 Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atUABL 24–⁠4462%
Sep 12atTexas TechL 10–⁠5526%
Sep 19at16Oklahoma StateL 24–⁠4130%
Sep 26vsVanderbiltL 17–⁠3660%
Oct 3vsTulsaL 10–⁠2734%
Oct 10vsNavyL 14–⁠6341%
Oct 17atEast CarolinaL 13–⁠4928%
Oct 24vsUCFL 7–⁠4948%
Nov 7atSMUL 28–⁠3133%
Nov 14vsTulaneW 28–⁠2059%
Nov 21vsUTEPW 30–⁠2951%
Nov 28at25HoustonL 14–⁠7314%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Houston 73–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 92nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
2–⁠6 10th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
219–⁠517
Coach
David Bailiff
Elo
1341 −210 this season
SP+ rating
-26.0 No. 116 of 120; offense No. 112, defense No. 114, special teams No. 113
SRS
−19.1 No. 116 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 83
Offensive coordinator
Ed Zaunbrecher
Defensive coordinators
Chuck Driesbach and Craig Naivar
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense111th of 120
  • Defense115th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0338%0.84111th of 120
Defense0.1447%0.95115th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.01 off
0.11 def		38% off
45% def		—123rd off
123rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 293% allowed
Defense-0.1own 352% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsNick Fanuzzi QB1,598 yds
Passing touchdownsNick Fanuzzi QB11 TD
Rushing yardsCharles Ross RB491 yds
Rushing touchdownsCharles Ross RB11 TD
Receiving yardsToren Dixon WR660 yds
Receiving touchdownsToren Dixon WR6 TD
InterceptionsJarrett Ben CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Chris Boswell K★★★No. 865
Taylor McHargue DUAL★★★No. 1026
Andre Brackens CB★★★No. 1188
Bobby Janisch OT★★★No. 1229
Phillip Gaines CB★★★No. 1237

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.850
Receivers32.00.737
Offensive line42.50.801
Defensive line22.50.787
Linebackers22.50.804
Defensive backs72.40.801
Athletes and specialists42.50.805
Whole class232.40.794

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 94

The 2009 roster

94 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
East Carolina7–⁠19–⁠5
Houston6–⁠210–⁠4
SMU6–⁠28–⁠5
UCF6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.