RICE PREVIEW

VANDERBILT (2-0) vs. RICE (2-0)
6 p.m. CT tonight (Saturday, Sept. 13) Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville

In Vanderbilt's favor:

• Athletes: Sure, this isn't the case very often for Vanderbilt. But it was proven when we played Miami of Ohio: Non-BCS teams don't have many athletes the caliber of Chris Nickson, D.J. Moore, Sean Walker, Myron Lewis, Broderick Stewart, Chris Marve, Brandon Barden and Thomas Welch. Our size, speed and depth is superior to that of the Owls.

• Something to prove: First, Vanderbilt couldn't beat a ranked team, and we beat Georgia in Athens. Then we couldn't beat a ranked team two years in a row, and we've beaten South Carolina twice in the past two season. Now Vanderbilt doesn't beat teams we should beat when we're coming off a big win (see MTSU in 2005). I think that'll be easier to accomplish than the first two, but we'll see.

• More options offensively: Last week the Gamecocks shut down Nickson on the ground, and pretty much shut down everything for the first two and a half quarters. The Commodores should discover quickly that they can move the ball against Rice.

• A good secondary: Rice has a high-flying aerial attack. But the Commodores have a hard-hitting secondary and have been putting pressure on the quarterback.

In Rice's favor:
• Nothing to lose: The Owls have a chance to beat an SEC team. Their hometown (Houston) has just been ransacked by Ike. Now they get to go out and play a game. And when you can throw it around like these guys can, you've always got a chance.

• Passing attack: Clement is an outstanding quarterback with a quick release and nimble feet, and Casey and Dillard are outstanding targets. The O-line's been together for two years now.

• The conservative factor: Vanderbilt is favored to win, as they were against — I hate to keep saying this — MTSU in 2005. Back then, the Commodores had superior firepower and tried to play a ball-control, grind-it-out game against a team with a big chip on its shoulder. Didn't work out then. I'd like to see us do what we did against the Redhawks in our opener: Put the game away. Actually, we did that against South Carolina too, and then we held on to win. And against a team that slings it around like the Owls do, we may need to hang on even if we've got a cushion early.

The Moral Victory prediction: VANDERBILT 34, RICE 24

And there will be no Moral Victory in this one. This is a game we've got to win.