Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/366772
GAME PREVIEW: RICE a returning base to build on despite losing their top two producers on that side of the ball as well. Linebacker Michael Kutzler (96 tackles) and safety Paul Porras (81 tackles) were both part of the massive group of fifth-year se- niors on last year's team. The names to know on defense this season belong to tackle Christian Covington and line- backer James Radcliffe. Radcliffe, a fifth-year senior line- backer, has 19 career starts under his belt and is the team's top returning tackler (63 stops). Covington, a redshirt junior, is the son of Canadian Football League Hall of Famer Grover Covington. He had 11.5 tackles for loss last sea- son and served as the focal point of Rice's front seven. Duarte said the 6-3, 300-pounder may have the talent to skip his final year of eligibility and jump to the pro level. "He is a beast," Duarte said. "His numbers last year didn't really show it completely, but he was always the center of attention for opposing teams." But does Covington have the star power to help replace a large batch of senior leadership and continue Rice's virtually unprecedented success? Others, like Jackson and Davis, could also emerge as new stars with an up- set victory on the road in South Bend. Rice is a favorite to run through its Conference USA schedule more or less unscathed until a meeting with Marshall in mid-November. A non- conference win against Notre Dame in the opener or Texas A&M the fol- lowing game would be a major state- ment above Bailiff 's program and their ability to sustain success. ✦ 2014 RICE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 30 at Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at Texas A&M (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Sept. 20 Old Dominion (FOX) TBA Sept. 27 at Southern Miss (FCS) 7 p.m. Oct. 4 Hawai`i (ASN) 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Army (CBSSN) 12 p.m. Oct. 25 North Texas (FOX) TBA Nov. 1 at Florida Int'l (ASN) 12 p.m. Nov. 8 UTSA (FOX) TBA Nov. 15 at Marshall (FOX) TBA Nov. 21 UTEP (FS1) 8 p.m. Nov. 29 at Louisiana Tech (CBSSN) 12 p.m. FCS — FOX College Sports, ASN — American Sports Network, FS1 — FOX Sports 1, CBSSN — CBS College Sports Network 2014 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 30 Rice (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 6 Michigan (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 vs. Purdue* (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 vs. Syracuse^ TBA Oct. 4 Stanford (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 North Carolina (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Florida State TBA Nov. 1 vs. Navy+ TBA Nov. 8 at Arizona State TBA Nov. 15 Northwestern (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 22 Louisville (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at USC TBA * at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; ^ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; + at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.