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“We were not at our best”: Rice Football wrestling with AAC opening dud

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Rice football did not impress in their first-ever American Conference game, squandering a halftime lead in disappointing fashion.

Even before star quarterback JT Daniels left the game with an injury in the third quarter, it was a disappointing showing across the board for Rice football in its first-ever American Conference game. The Owls defense got torched for a staggering 597 yards. The running game posted just one (not a typo, that’s literally just one) total yard on the ground. Special teams contributed two missed field goals and a series of well below-average punts.

“Every phase of this game that we played today, offense, defense special teams, we were not at our best, to say the least,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said in the aftermath, specifically singling out his teams’ second half performance.

The Owls led 14-13 at halftime and were outgaining the Bulls while limiting their opponents to just 2-of-5 conversions on third down. When the second half arrived, everything fell apart, starting with the opening series in which USF raced down the field and took the lead before the team was (mentally) back from halftime.

USF scored touchdowns on three successive drives in the second half. Slicing and dicing a Rice defense that had no answers. Rice lost one-on-one matchups over and over again.

“I didn’t think anybody could do that to our defense,” Bloomgren said, stunned.

Even though it reached 29 points, the offense had its own woes. Bloomgren said he decided to “scrap the run game” because of how the Owls were having success down the field. That fizzled when Daniels left, giving way to backup quarterback AJ Padgett who took some time to settle into the game. Unfortunately for the Owls, time was not on their side.

The typically even-keeled Luke McCaffrey, who reeled in nine passes for a career-best 199 yards, owned up to the team’s lackluster day. “I don’t think next Saturday can come soon enough,” he said. “I think this is one of those games you want to make up for.”

Rice plays its first AAC home game next Saturday against East Carolina. JT Daniels’ status is uncertain, but no matter who plays quarterback, Rice has a lot to fix before they return to the field again.

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American Conference Football 2023: Week 4 Roundup

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American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 4.

Team Record  This Week Result Up Next
Charlotte 1-3 at Florida L, 22-7 at SMU
ECU 1-3 vs Gardner Webb W, 44-0 at Rice
FAU 1-3 at Illinois L, 23-17  —
Memphis 3-1 at Missouri L, 34-27 vs Boise St
Navy 1-2  — vs USF
North Texas 1-2  — vs ACU
Rice 2-2 at USF L, 42-29 vs ECU
SMU 2-2 at TCU L, 34-17 vs Charlotte
Temple 2-3 vs Miami L, 41-7 at Tulsa
Tulane 3-1 vs Nicholls W, 36-7 vs UAB
Tulsa 2-2 at N. Illinois W, 22-14 vs Temple
UAB 1-3 at Georgia L, 49-21 at Tulane
USF 2-2 vs Rice W, 42-29 at Navy
UTSA 1-3 at Tennessee L, 45-14  —

Notable Results (Standings)

First place Bulls

Losers of their last 18 games against FBS opponents, a streak that dated back to the 2021 season, USF has found the win column. The Bulls rallied from a first-half deficit, throwing all over the Rice defense en route to a huge conference win for first-year head coach Alex Golesh. Picked to finish 13th in the league before the season, USF is currently tied for first.

Skilletless

In what was the final scheduled meeting between TCU and SMU, the Horned Frogs claimed the Iron Skillet for the foreseeable future. This rivalry is, ostensibly, a casualty of conference realignment, despite there seeming to be plenty of workable solutions to continue the series. Alas, the Mustangs might not get a chance to avenge this loss anytime soon.

Almost upset

Memphis briefly led Missouri 10-7 in the early goings of their game and mostly played catch-up from that point onward, never falling more than two scores behind, but running out of time after their final fourth quarter touchdown. FAU’s bid was more heartbreaking. After taking a 10-0 lead, they allowed 23 unanswered points before a drive in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter got them back within one score.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Can the Owls bounce back?

Entering Week 5, East Carolina and Rice share one combined FBS win. The Owls upset Houston to win the Bayou Bucket, but some of the wind was knocked out of their sails when quarterback JT Daniels was injured in the second half against USF. Both programs could use a conference win to keep things from going sideways, setting up a particularly important midseason bout.

Where does Memphis rank?

Boise State has been the gold standard for Group of Five football for decades now. The Broncos have struggled this season, but edged San Diego State in Week 4 and played UCF to the wire a few weeks ago. The G5 spot in the New Year’s Six is up for grabs. If Memphis wants to make their case they belong, this might be one of their best remaining chances.

First-year fortunes?

Navy put a scare into Memphis two weeks ago and USF is riding high off their first AAC win. One of these two first-year head coaches can extend their case and send a message they’re ahead of schedule with a win on Saturday. Which one will it be?

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USF outguns Rice Football, hands Owls first AAC loss

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Rice Football traded blows with a potent USF offense early, but was unable to sustain the fight for four quarters, falling in their AAC opener on the road.

As if the loss wasn’t painful enough, the added insult of an injury to Rice football quarterback JT Daniels cast a further shadow over what was meant to be a hopeful beginning for the Owls in AAC play. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Set the tone

The opening quarter didn’t quite go according to plan for Rice football on Saturday. They were forced to punt on their opening drive and allowed a 12-play, 62-yard scoring drive by the USF offense, aided by some penalties and missed tackles along the way. Holding their opponents to a field goal was a good start, but the Owls needed to ensure they gave their defense a breather by producing an extended drive the next time out.

Not only did JT Daniels and Co. deliver, they delivered their message emphatically. Dean Connors converted a short third down and moved the sticks on the ground. Then Luke McCaffrey hauled in a 47-yard reception to get Rice inside the redzone.

Rice brought the jumbo package in, but Daelen Alexander was stopped for a minimal gain on third down, setting up a critical fourth and one. For the brand and for the psyche of his team, head coach Mike Bloomgren had no choice to make. He absolutely had to go for it. But how he elected to get that final yard and change, that had some room for creativity.

The big men trotted onto the field once again after a timeout, but this time Bloomgren and offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo threw a curveball that nobody on the USF defense was ready for. Daniels faked to Alexander, then calmly tossed the ball to the freshman tailback for the go-ahead touchdown.

Rice found themselves in a similar “momentum moment” in the final minute of the second quarter. Trailing for the first time that day, quarterback JT Daniels led a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to put Rice back in front that included a big fourth down conversion.

There have been times in recent seasons when it has felt like everything was breaking the wrong way for this team. There were a few plays on Saturday that served as small counterpoints.

One-on-none

USF goes as Byrum Brown goes. The Bulls quarterback is a lethal threat on the ground, but Rice was able to neutralize that aspect of his game. His arm was the problem, or at least, what his arm was able to do to the Owls’ secondary.

After a sluggish start to the game, Brown and the USF offense got into gear and started their aerial assault. From the middle of the second quarter on, Brown completed passes of 53, 51, 59, 42, 49 and 52 yards. One long bomb is too much. Three is a problem. But six pass plays allowed of 40+ yards? That’s a disaster, regardless of which offense is on the other side of the field.

Getting prepared for the furious tempo USF plays with was a focal point all week. But the defensive backs in coverage had plenty of time and space to make sure the ball wasn’t able to get behind them and it didn’t seem to matter.

The pass rush has been a huge boost to a young secondary so far this season. But when the pass rush doesn’t get home (or doesn’t have time to reach its target) the downside is terrifying. Rice experienced what had to be pretty closer to the worst-case scenario on Saturday and they’ll have plenty of film to watch as they attempt to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Don’t beat yourself

The notion of not beating yourself has saturated the Rice football culture this season. Bloomgren reiterated the concept quite eloquently during his midweek availability.

“I just can’t sell these guys enough that it’s all about us. That’s a very good football team on the other side,” Bloomgren said. “They’re playing with a lot of belief right now. I think Alex [Golesh] is doing a great job instilling his culture there, but right now, this game is not going to be about what South Florida does. It’s going to be about the Rice Owls do.”

Although there were plenty of big Rice moments, what the Rice Owls did on Saturday was littered with sloppy play and self-inflicted wounds. Kicker Tim Horn missed two field goals. Punts were short. The Owls had their fair share of inconvenient penalties. USF’s lone first quarter touchdown run would not have happened had Rice not allowed a deep shot earlier in the drive and then missed several tackles on the run itself.

And that’s all before accounting for the secondary’s terrible day. Most of the time, playing sloppily on the road results in a loss. On Saturday, it did.

Gut punched

Including Rice football’s debut game in the Southwestern Conference in 1915, more than 100 years ago, Rice has yet to win its conference opening game. That includes a loss to start SWC play, WAC play, C-USA play and now AAC play.

On Saturday, Rice had the chance to begin the season 3-1 for the first time since 2001 and squash some uncertainty lingering within the program. They missed that chance. Instead of looking at the standings this weekend and seeing Rice tied with Memphis for first place in the conference, the Owls are tied for last.

The road ahead looks (somewhat surprisingly) more manageable than it might have before the season began. Both East Carolina and UConn entered Saturday winless. Rice gets both teams on their home turf. Making the most out of that pair of games is paramount now after the Owls missed their first opportunity to find their first American Conference win.

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Rice Football 2023: South Florida Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hits the road for their first-ever AAC game against South Florida. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Hoping to be 3-1 for the first time since 2001, Rice football heads to Florida to take on USF and first-year head coach Alex Golesh this weekend. The Owls had plenty of film to review following the Texas Southern win and had a few changes to make as a result.

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This week’s roundup focuses on how Rice football plans to address the tempo USF plays with as well as some potential personnel decisions at linebacker and running back that could be intriguing as the team prepares for Week 4.

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Tempo, tempo, tempo

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Rice Baseball 2023: MLB Owls Update – Sep 19

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The 2023 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

Tristan Gray – Tampa Bay Rays

Gray made his MLB debut on Saturday, September 16 and picked up his first pro hits and runs on Sunday, including this towering blast to deep center field to give the Rays the lead.

Through September 19, Gray is hitting .400 with one extra-base hit, no walks and no strikeouts. His OPS is 1.400 and he’s collected one RBI.

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

It was an incredibly busy week for Chargois, who saw action in four games over the span of six days. He worked a total of 3.1 innings across those contests, allowing just one run while striking out a pair. It was one of his most heavily utilized weeks of the season thus far.

Through September 19, Chargois has a 3.49 ERA with a 1.211 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Dane Myers – Miami Marlins

Myers was optioned back to AAA on Sunday after a couple of weeks with the big league team. He appeared in two games this week, once in center field with the second appearance coming as a pinch runner.

Through September 19, Myers is hitting .269 with four extra-base hits, two walks and 19 strikeouts. His OPS is .644 and he’s collected nine RBI.

Injured List

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon’s stint on the 60-day injured list is eligible to be ended at any time with the calendar moving past the September 9 earliest return date. There have been little updates on Rendon’s status to this point.

Through September 19, Rendon is hitting .236 with eight extra-base hits, 25 walks and 27 strikeouts. His OPS is .678 and he’s collected 22 RBI.

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