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Little Rice Could Cause Big Trouble For Bulls

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2007

TAMPA - Rutgers University junior Ray Rice is not the fastest running back in America. He's definitely not the biggest (5-foot-9, 205 pounds).

But in the minds of many opposing coaches and players, he might be the best.

And he's reason enough for the South Florida Bulls - in the stratosphere of national attention with No. 2 status in the BCS standings - to stay grounded.

The Bulls (6-0, 1-0) travel to Rutgers (4-2, 1-1) for Thursday night's nationally televised Big East Conference game against the Scarlet Knights with a clear mission - shutting down Rice.

No easy task.

'You've got to get that guy going east and west,' USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said. 'You can't have him going north and south. He'll rip you apart.'

'I could say the same thing about South Florida's defense,' Rice said Monday by telephone after practice. 'They're fast, fast, fast. They'll hit you and hit you good. Playing against them is nothing but an opportunity.'

An opportunity to get better.

Rice, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, already is the all-time leading rusher at Rutgers (3,732 career yards), even though this season hasn't gone to form. But it seems back on track following Saturday's 36-carry, 196-yard, three-touchdown performance against Syracuse.

It followed three consecutive sub-100-yard games, effectively taking him off the Heisman radar.

'He hadn't been as productive as he was used to being,' Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. 'All he did was work harder in practice. I was glad to see him have another Ray Rice-type game. He does things the way we'd like Rutgers football players to do things, on and off the field.'

Rice, a Maxwell Award finalist and second-team All-American in 2006, was the last player to surpass 100 yards against USF's defense. That was 14 games ago.

In Rutgers' 22-20 victory against USF on Sept. 29, 2006, at Raymond James Stadium, Rice carried 35 times for 202 yards and two touchdowns. By season's end, he had 1,794 yards and 20 scores.

'He never stopped pumping his legs,' USF defensive end George Selvie said. 'He was just running and running. We were hitting him, but he kept coming back strong. You like to compete against a guy like that.'

USF nose tackle Richard Clebert said he has had Thursday night's game circled for months. He didn't play against Rutgers last season because of a groin injury. He remembers watching helplessly as Rice gained his yardage.

'I want to play against Ray Rice, but it's not just him,' Clebert said. 'You take away Ray Rice's offensive line and who is Ray Rice? No one.'

True to his humble nature, Rice wouldn't get caught up in that debate. But he did pass credit along to his offensive linemen, who tower over him. And sometimes, that creates another problem.

'His size is to his advantage,' Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said. 'Sometimes, you lose sight of him. He can dart and dash. If you give him 36 carries, eventually something's going to go good for him.'

'When you do find him, if you try to arm tackle him, he'll put you on the sideline next to the trainers,' USF defensive line coach Dan McCarney said. 'I saw a lot of good backs in my years in the Big 12 Iowa State and Big Ten Iowa. Ray Rice matches up with any of them.'

For USF's defense, that's about the size of it.

Little man.

Big challenge.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be

reached at (813) 259-7353

or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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