Rice Football (1-3) led at halftime, but never recovered from a woeful third quarter, surrendering too many big plays and falling to the Bulldogs on the road.
If Fresno State had been caught a bit flat-footed out of the gate, they hit reset at halftime and never looked back, erasing a 17-14 Rice lead in minutes. The Bulldogs took the lead for the third time in the third quarter and never relinquished it, handing the spunky underdogs another defeat. The Owls fall to 1-3 despite threatening another quality Group of 6 squad. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:
Offense Starts Fast
Balanced was the word head coach Scott Abell used to describe his offense in the days leading up to this game and that’s exactly what he got from his program as soon as they took the field. Ben Grice delivered the first big blow, taking a pitch from Jacurri Brown and racing 88 yards for the opening score. The run was the longest run by an Owl in 15 years and the fifth-longest carry in program history.
Brown just missed another long touchdown to Grice on the ensuing possession, overthrowing the speedy receiver on third down. The Owls’ triggerman put in on the money on the next drive, though, finding Max Mosey for a 40-yard score.
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The game had all the initial makings of another multi-dimensional success for Brown, who dazzled on the ground, rushing for 141 yards and a score in addition to 119 passing yards and a touchdown through the air. He also read the triple option well, setting up the big score to Grice, as well as powerful inside runs from the tandem of Tyvonn Byars and D’Andre Hardeman.
Rice racked up 342 yards of total offense before halftime and went into the break with a lead, something they had yet to do in either of their two games against FBS opponents thus far.
Meat Left on the Bone
In many ways, it felt like it was destined to be one of the more complete performances a Rice football team has displayed since Abell took charge. Still, there were so many yards left on the field. Brown was clearly a bit amped up with the prospect on throwing the ball a bit more, throwing his first interception as an Owl on the first drive of the game. That turnover killed a promising nine-play, 40-yard drive.
Brown also missed a potential walk-in touchdown to Grice later in the first quarter. The Rice offense ended every other drive in the first half with a touchdown or a kick. The deep shot was an aggressive call by Abell, but one that seems prudent given how close it came to connecting and the Owls’ status as double-digit road underdogs. Had those chances gone the other way, Rice might have been up two scores at the break, if not more.
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The defense and special teams have their fair share of moments they’ll want back, too. Seth Clarke had his first career sack erased by lining up in the neutral zone just inside the two-minute timeout. Rather than second and long, Fresno received a first and five. They converted and ended the drive in the endzone. That touchdown became the tying touchdown because Owls’ kicker Enock Gota hit iron from 54 yards out.
Gota delivered a 22-yard kick to put Rice in front at the half, a sure-thing from close range but still 0-for-3 on tries from 48+ this season. Abell maintained his support of Gota postgame, stating “he can make that,” despite the discouraging results. However, Abell did follow that comment with praise for freshman Tommy Bauchiero, noting that the Owls had “two good kickers” and could explore alternatives for long-range tries.
And yet, even with those errors, Rice was still right in the mix when Fresno State opened the second half with a surprise onside kick. The Bulldogs were clearly not backing down and the Owls were quickly forced to reckon with their inability to strengthen their advantage earlier in the game, adding a penalty-reversed 42-yard touchdown run from Brown to the ledger of missed chances.
Four Quarter Fight
Simply put, Rice football got blitzed out of halftime. The defense, which had allowed a combined 18 yards on the Broncos’ first three possessions, started to bleed yardage on the edges. Fresno State opened the half with the surprise onside recovery and proceeded to turn in five consecutive scoring drives, four of which ended in the endzone.
Turning the game into a track meet would have been trouble enough for the Owls, but back-to-back poor drives from the offense, their only possessions of the quarter, netted them a woeful minus three yards in the period.
“When you’re on the road, you’re not going to win many games when that happens. You’re just not, especially when you’re the underdog,” Abell said, referring to the costly third quarter swing
“We’re just not good enough to give up momentum and then go get it back against a good team on the road.”
An otherwise promising game turned on those momentums and went south. Abell noted that Fresno State carries which had gone for minimal gain to the edges in the first half had turned into gashing runs late, some of which he attributed to a young, tired roster battling through a slew of injuries to key veteran leaders.
A Better Football Team
Despite a third consecutive defeat, which dropped his team to 1-3 on the season. Abell maintains that reasons for optimism persist. “I said this to the team, and I can say this without hesitation,” Abell declared. “We’re a much better football team than we were last year and we were 3-1 at this point. The schedule looks different and we’re growing through it..”
An explosive offense, learning to move the ball effectively without Quinton Jackson, wowed for three of their four quarters. The defense showed some grit and made big plays early before faltering late.
There are no moral victories; Abell knows that. He knows he’ll be evaluated by the wins and losses on his resume, just like every other coach to ever take the sidelines in this sport. However, he’s no worse than on pace considering oddsmakers had the Owls as double-digit underdogs in their last three games, the latest of which they played without three of their four captains because of injuries.
“I’m an incredibly optimistic human. It’s one of God’s gifts to me, and I mean that. My Lord and Savior gave me a few gifts,” Abell noted. “I’m probably not the smartest guy in the room and I was never the most talented athlete, but I was positive, and upbeat every game I ever played as an athlete or coached and every team I’ve been on.”
This team needs that hope right now. Better days should be ahead.
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