College Football: 5 schools at risk of going winless in 2019
By Shane Lunnen
1. Rice Owls
Rice bookended their 2018 season with victories against FCS Prairie View A&M and Old Dominion. Not much else to say about the 10 losses that occurred in between those wins. The 2019 season looks even worse for the Owls.
Last season the rushing attack lacked fire power under first year head coach Mike Bloomgren. On the ground, the Owls could only muster 1,867 yards and averaged under four yards per carry.
Overall, they failed to hit the 30-point mark against any FBS opponent and only averaged 19 points per game. If the Owls are to improve, they will need to do it without their two leading rushers who are now gone.
The defense was terrible too last season. They finished at the bottom of Conference USA in points allowed, yielding 36 points per game. They were particularly bad against the pass, but their young secondary did gain a lot of experience by the end of the season. The Owls have to hope experience translates into better play this season.
Next. NFL Mock Draft 2020: Way-too-early edition. dark
The schedule is brutal and it is difficult to find a win. Rice opens the season at Army and then gets three Power Five opponents at home. Those games include Wake Forest, Texas and Baylor. It would be shocking to see Rice win a game in September. There are no FCS opponents this season and the two toss-up games are on the road against UTSA and UTEP. Far and away, the Owls are the likeliest of FBS teams to finish 0-12 this season.