Rice football couldn’t get anything going against Southern Miss, falling to the Eagles 40-22 to start conference play 0-1.
The offense sputtered and the defense couldn’t keep a potent Southern Miss offense contained, resulting in the Owls’ third loss of the 2018 season. Southern Miss put Rice in their largest deficit of the season (25 points), and the Owls weren’t able to rally.
The loss was a tough pill to swallow for the Owls. Even though they’d dropped back-to-back games, the momentum seemed to be trending in the right direction following positive comments during the bye week. Instead, Rice saw a similar final result and the schedule doesn’t get any easier.
Rice stays on the road in Week 5, traveling to Winston-Salem to play a dangerous Wake Forest team before getting back to Conference play in Week 6 against UAB. For Mike Bloomgren and his staff, it’s time to take what they can from the Southern Miss game and move on. And that’s the difference in this team, this year. They can move on.
The 2018 Owls aren’t going to wallow in what could have been or try to write the rest of the season off after the three-game skid. This team is going to fight. They’re going to look at the film, figure out what changes need to be made and be ready for the Demon Deacons next weekend.
Owls’ fans knew this season was going to have some growing pains. That’s what happened on Saturday against Southern Miss. Rice needs to do some growing up across the board, and they will. The process is working, and the Owls are still very much so alive and well in Conference USA. One win won’t disqualify them, and they won’t be content to settle with where they’re at now.
