Rice faces another high-powered offense in Western Kentucky

Most teams that play Baylor can breath a sigh of relief when the game is over. Win or lose, the next opponent likely does not present the same type of dizzying and high-paced offense.

Rice might not be so lucky. Western Kentucky likes to sling it all over the yard, too.

The Owls' next opponent may be viewed as a step down in competition from the Associated Press' No. 5-ranked team, but coach David Bailiff is not fooled. The Owls' defense faces yet another difficult test in the Conference USA match-up Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium.

Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty, a sixth-year graduate student, led the NCAA in passing yards (4,830) and passing touchdowns (49) last season. He is on the national watch lists for all of the major quarterback and offensive player awards.

Doughty already has 1,591 yards and 11 touchdowns in four games this season. Bailiff said Doughty is similar to Baylor quarterback Seth Russell in that they both are accurate and run their offenses almost to perfection.

"They're both NFL quarterbacks," Bailiff said. "We're going to have to play well defensively and once again we'll have to score some points to win this one."

Although the Hilltoppers can score as quickly as Baylor, they do it with a different approach. While Baylor runs a true spread offense, Western Kentucky often will line up with two tight ends or two running backs. The Hilltoppers aim for an uptempo pace, but not nearly as fast as Baylor.

Rice defensive end Brady Wright made his first collegiate start against Baylor. He said the Owls will have to be disciplined this week if they want to keep Western Kentucky from having as much success as Baylor.

"First we're trying to fit the run and make them throw the ball," Wright said. "Once they throw the ball we want to get after the passer, hopefully disrupt his game and make him throw some bad balls."

A win on Saturday would give Rice a big boost in its quest for a C-USA west division title. Western Kentucky was picked by the league media to win the east. The Hilltoppers already have a victory Louisiana Tech, which was picked to win the west over Rice.

If the Owls are going to gain that edge they'll have to solve a defense that is ever-changing. Last year Western Kentucky struggled on defense, but Bailiff said it appears to be settling in this season.

The Hilltoppers held Vanderbilt to 12 points and Miami (Ohio) University to 14 points. They are a rare team that switches its base looks every week.

"Every defense known to man is what they do," Bailiff said. "Every game that you've looked at they've changed from four-down to three-down to zone to man. We're going to see a lot of different fronts. I know the offensive (coaches) every video they put on last night that's all they could talk about."

While Western Kentucky has a lot going for it, Rice is not too shabby either. The running game is the best in C-USA, and the Owls are confident enough to have their sights set on winning the conference title for the second time in three years.

Winning on Saturday and improving to 2-0 in conference play will get the Owls closer to that goal.

"We're still in pretty good shape," Bailiff said. "We have to make sure we have our momentum and our attitude back. We will remind (the players) and show them we're pretty good. We're explosive offensively. We're a pretty good defense."

Corey Roepken is a freelance writer.