Watch a tape of just about any Rice game in the last couple of years, and it’s easy to spot wide receiver Jarett Dillard. He’s not the biggest guy in the world (5-foot-11, 185 pounds), and he doesn’t burn up the field with 4.3 speed. But he’s plenty fast enough, has outrageous leaping ability, runs razor-sharp routes and uses his exceptionally strong hands to catch anything near him. Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s premier receiver in 2007, and if he’s really the best, Dillard isn’t far behind.

Jarett Dillard is on the short list of the premier receivers in the nation (photo by Terry Callahan).

“He goes after the ball as well as anybody we’ll see all year,” said Mustang safety Rock Dennis, who finally will play his first game for the Ponies Friday night after sitting out last year with a broken shoulder. “He has a great vertical (jump) and great hands.

“You hear coaches talk about catching the ball at your highest point — he does that, and he does it really well. It’s really tough to outjump him.”

Despite Dillard’s gaudy statistics — in 2007, he caught 79 passes for 1,057 yards and 14 touchdowns — it’s not like he’s a one-man team. The notion that quarterback Chase Clement simply lobs the ball up in the air and let’s Dillard go get it isn’t exactly accurate. In fact, Clement also provides more challenges than simply tossing jumpballs up for Dillard and whatever defensive back is saddled with the assignment of covering the Dillard … who now is finally a senior.

“What makes him (Clement) so effective isn’t really what he can do with his arm — it’s what he can do with his feet,” sophomore defensive end Anthony Sowe said. “He’s a great scrambler and improvises well.”

Clement was the Owls’ leading rusher last year, picking up 535 yards on 144 attempts last season and running for eight touchdowns. He also completed 300-of-508 passes (59.1 percent) for 3,377 yards, so despite the perception that Dillard is on the receiving end of every pass, he actually accounted for less than one-third of the Owls’ total passing yards.

“We’ve got to keep containment with him,” Dennis said. “Our defensive ends and linebackers have to keep from getting outside. He can hurt you with his arm, but he really can hurt you when he gets outside the pocket and has room to run. If he gets outside and we go after him there, he can pull up and throw on the run really well.”

Quarterback Chase Clement is a solid passer, but is equally dangerous when he tucks the ball and takes off (photo by Terry Callahan).

The Owls’ third major threat is James Casey, the über-athletic sophomore receiver who looks like a tight end, at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, and creates matchup problems for defenses by lining up in a number of different roles. In just one season, Casey already has shown he is a threat running with the ball, throwing it, receiving or blocking. As a freshman in 2007, Case finished tied for second on the team with 46 receptions, which he turned into 585 yards and four touchdowns.

Like the Mustangs, the Owls had a good offense last year, but often wasted solid offensive performances when their defense allowed even more than their offense could score. Rice scored 31.4 points per game a year ago, a good total for a team that won just three games, but their pourous defense surrendered 42.9 points per game, including 42 in the Owls’ one-point win over SMU.

The hype surrounding this game has centered around June Jones and the potent offense PonyFans are hoping he will concoct for the 2008 Mustangs. But to beat Rice, the SMU defense is going to have to perform, as well. Perhaps no Mustang is more eager for the game to arrive than Dennis, who was projected as a starter a year ago before getting hurt right before the opener, and then spent the 2007 season as a spectator.

“I hated watching last year,” he said. “I was supposed to play last year, and when things didn’t go right, there was nothing I could do to help the guys. Now it’s time for my first game … finally … and it’s a big game, on national TV. This is what I’ve been dreaming about.”