Rice running back Sam McGuffie is a talented athlete, by all accounts. A four-star prospect out of high school, McGuffie received a lot of attention, in large part because of a YouTube highlight video from his high school days that now has more than three million views.
The Houston native first went to Michigan and immediately saw playing time his freshman year. McGuffie started six games at superback, compiling 486 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Wolverines. At times, he showed flashes of greatness his freshman year, including a remarkable 131-yard performance against Notre Dame.
There’s no doubting his speed. The sophomore has been running sprints for the Owls track team ever since enrolling at Rice in January of 2009.
“He moves very fast,” senior linebacker Quentin Davie said. “He’s hard to tackle too. He’ll just spin out. I told him after the game that he was a great back and ‘keep it up and something special will happen.'”
But McGuffie was able to produce very little against a stout Wildcats defense. NU held him to just 30 yards rushing and 48 yards receiving after the sophomore running back put up 109 all-purpose yards the weekend before against North Texas.
The Cats also held running back Tyler Smith in check after the junior notched 92 running yards against North Texas.
NU’s run defense played a big part in the team’s 30-13 win over Rice. The Cats gave up just 86 rushing yards, surrendering only 3.7 yards per carry. And exactly half of those running yards, 43, came on the Owls’ final drive, when the game was already well out of reach.
“You come out to practice quite a bit and you see the emphasis we put on it,” Fitzgerald said. “The defensive staff does a great job. We work diligently in our fits, where each position belongs on each specific play.”
McGuffie ran effectively in the first quarter, picking up 19 yards on three carries, but the Cats made some adjustments.
“They made a little tweak on a couple of things that we had to adjust to in the first quarter,” Fitzgerald said. “The credit goes to Rice. They tried to get around us on the field, but we shored that up pretty well. We run well laterally on the second level. Our defensive line runs well too.”
NU was especially effective getting into the backfield. The team notched a season-high 12 tackles for a loss. Junior defensive end Vince Browne came up with three and led the team, while senior defensive tackle Corbin Bryant wasn’t far behind with two-and-a-half.
“We had a very good attacking scheme,” Bryant said. “They coach us to get on the ball with all that we have, and we were able to get in the backfield and make plans. I give credit to the coaches for putting us in the right places at the right times.”
Certainly, the Cats have shown great improvement from the season opener at Vanderbilt, when they gave up 192 rushing yards.
“(Defensive Coordinator Mike Hankwitz) calls the plays and puts us in the right position,” Bryant said. “All we have to do is go out and attack and execute. As long as we continue to execute, no one’s going to be able to run on us. We just have to keep that attack mentality and we will be fine.”
NU will need to bring the same intensity next week when they take on defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan. Running back Paris Cotton ran for 209 yards last week, averaging 10 yards a carry, and notched three touchdowns.
“As soon as I turned on the film, he’s one of the guys that stuck out to me,” Davie said. “He’s an explosive back. On plays where he didn’t have blocking, he found a way. He’s a great back. We’re not going to target him. We’re just going to do what we do in and out every week.”
Cotton is just one half of a dynamic duo. Zurlon Tipton ran for an additional 54 yards last weekend.
“They catch it well, protect it well and are great fits for their offenses at Central,” Fitzgerald said.
