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Rice Football 2022 Game Preview: UTSA

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Rice football is preparing for their final home game of the season, a tall challenge against UTSA. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Neither Rice football nor UTSA played a competitive game last weekend. The Roadrunners ran past Louisiana Tech at home while Rice watched Western Kentucky run away with their contest in Bowling Green, KY. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s game.

Kickoff time | 12:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTSA on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.)

Sizing up the contenders

UTSA is playing out the stretch on their way to a second consecutive appearance in the Conference USA Championship Game. Meanwhile, tensions are much higher in Houston. The Owls have two more chances to reach six wins and an elusive bowl eligible season. This is the last home game of the year for Rice, who would love nothing more than to send their seniors out on a high note.

Series History

All Time | UTSA leads, 6-3
Last Five | UTSA leads, 5-0
Last Meeting | Away 2021, UTSA won 45-0

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 160/266 (60.2 percent), 2102 yards, 18 TD, 14 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 70 carries, 452 yards (6.5 yards per carry), 0 TD / Otoviano – 43 carries, 274 yards (6.4 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Rozner – 35 receptions, 733 yards (20.9 yds/rec), 8 TDs / McCaffrey – 51 receptions, 656 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 6 TD / Esdale – 29 receptions, 353 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 58 / Morrison – 53 / Taylor – 48
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 7  / Taylor – 6 / Fresch – 5
Interceptions | Taylor – 2 / Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Fresch, Narcisse – 1

UTSA Stat Notables

Passing | Harris – 246/356 (69.1 percent), 3039 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Brady – 146 carries, 623 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 9 TD / Barnes – 63 carries, 419 yards (6.7 ypc), 5 TD
Receiving | Cephus – 73 receptions, 823 yards (11.3 yards per reception), 5 TD / Franklin – 65 receptions, 791 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 9 TD
Tackles | Ligon – 64 / Chattman – 53 / Harmanson – 45
Pass Breakups | Chattman, Mayfield – 11 / Fortune – 5 / Taylor – 3
Interceptions | Mayfield – 3 / Griffin – 2 / Chattman, Morris, Jones – 1

UTSA X-Factor | Take away the air

UTSA hasn’t lost yet, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t survived a few scares along the way. They won one-score games against UAB, North Texas and Western Kentucky. What did each of those contests have in common? Aggressive quarterback play by the Roadrunners’ opponents. WKU averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. North Texas averaged 10.5 . UAB averaged 8.5.

Austin Reed has made a name for himself as a passer this season, but Austin Aune and Jacob Zeno aren’t world-beaters.

Conversely, UTSA has been pretty stingy on the ground, averaging less than 160 total yards per game allowed, fourth best in the conference. If the Roadrunners can limit Rice through the air and force them to run into their fierce front seven, they’ll cap the Owls’ offensive upside. So although it might sound counterintuitive to entice Rice to run, UTSA can find the most success if they stop Rice through the air.

Rice X-Factor | Take it away

At this point, it seems like wishful thinking to hope for a turnover-free game from Rice football. While that would, of course, be ideal, there is one other way for the Owls to find success in that respect: take the ball away.

More takeaways would also be a boon to a defense that has struggled to get off the field. At this points, more risks and more potential takeaways might be the best solution. Granted, defensive coordinator Brian Smith will put together a game plan that’s more nuanced than this, but at the end of the day, if you can’t stop them, take the football away.

Winning the turnover battle is something the Owls haven’t done with any regularity this season. If they’re going to try and beat the only team still standings that hasn’t lost a Conference USA game yet, they’ll need to do so on Saturday. There’s no way around it.

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One Final Thing

Rice football has not lost following a loss this season. Put another way, the Owls are undefeated following a defeat. If they can extend that streak to one more series, they’ll clinch bowl eligibility and secure another marquee win in a season smattered with highs and lows.

If we’ve learned anything this season about the Owls, it’s how frustrating and unpredictable this team can be. Every unit has gone through the same bouts of inconsistency and results have gone from encouraging to quite unwatchable on a week-to-week basis. Which version of the Owls shows up next weekend? Who knows?

What the Owls do possess is a certain level of fearlessness that goes beyond understanding. They aren’t scared when they step into the ring with the best Conference USA has to offer. And quite often, if they can start out on the right foot and avoid a disaster snowball, they’ll give the top teams a run for their money.

Perhaps that then is the x-factor of all x-factors. Can Rice throw the first punch and avoid shooting themselves in the foot? When they’ve been able to do that this season, they’ve won.

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Rice Women’s Basketball rallies past ACU at home

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Rice women’s basketball rallies in the second half to take down Abilene Christian, opening the season 2-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Maya Bokunewicz got the scoring going with a jumper, but that proved to be just the first points in another back-and-forth affair at Tudor Fieldhouse. There were five ties in the first quarter and three more in the third, with the vast majority of the first half being played within a four-point margin to either side.

Jazzy Owens-Barnett gave Rice a six-point lead on the final shot of the first quarter, but that advantage was quickly erased in the first minute or so of the second frame. ACU then closed that quarter out on a run of their own, taking a seven-point advantage into halftime courtesy of back-to-back threes.

Down at halftime, the Owls resolved to keep fighting. “We challenged them and I thought they stepped up and showed who they can really be in that third quarter,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

Rice went on the offensive in the third quarter, quickly erasing the halftime deficit and creating a new lead of their own. The Owls outscored ACU 24-11 in the third with Ashlee Austin leading the way. Up by six entering the final quarter, Rice was able to withstand ACU’s final push and secure their second-straight win to open the season.

“I thought we showed up a little unfocused and not ready and our defense showed that,” Edmonds said after the final buzzer. “And then I think the second half I think we showed up and showed how we can be the defensive team that we can be. We rebounded the basketball and because of our defense and our rebounding we were able to create easier offensive opportunities for us.”

Five Owls reached double-digits, Austin’s 10 points coming entirely in the second half. The team shot 50 percent from the floor after halftime, turning a seven-point deficit into a 16 point victory.

Player Spotlight | Ashlee Austin

This season Rice women’s basketball boasts one of the deepest rosters it has had in some time. Given that influx of young talent, coach Edmonds has been able to spread the ball around, getting contributions from several different players early in the season.

On Sunday though, trailing by seven at half to ACU, Rice needed someone to take charge and seize control. As she’s done time and time again, Ashlee Austin rose to the occasion.

“Our main message coming out of halftime was just to be us,” Austin said. “Especially as a senior, I personally felt a need to be as perfect as possible and try and do everything I can.”

Austin finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, a modest line by her standards, but it was when that production came that mattered most. Austin tallied eight of those points and four of those rebounds in the third quarter, leading the comeback charge and putting the Owls ahead for good.

Final Box | Rice 85 – ACU 69

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball won’t be back in Tudor Fieldhouse until early December, playing their next four games away from home. That road trip begins on Wednesday at Saint Mary’s — a late tip scheduled for 10:00 p.m. CT — then at Pacific on Friday. Both games will be streamed on WCC Sports.

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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 11 Roundup

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Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 11.

Team Week 11 Result Up Next
Charlotte at MTSU L, 24-14 vs LA Tech
FAU at FIU W, 52-7 at MTSU
FIU vs FAU L, 52-7 at UTEP
LA Tech at UTSA L, 51-7 at Charlotte
MTSU vs Charlotte W, 24-14 vs FAU
North Texas at UAB L, 41-21 — OFF —
Rice at WKU L, 45-10 vs UTSA
UAB vs North Texas W, 41-21 at LSU
UTEP — OFF —  — vs FIU
UTSA vs LA Tech W, 51-7 at Rice
WKU vs Rice W, 45-10 at Auburn

Notable Week 11 results – Standings

Owls implode

Rice turned the ball over a staggering six times in their road loss to Western Kentucky. The Owls controlled the ball and reached the redzone on their first two possession, but costly interceptions sent them into a spiral from which they were never able to recover.

Shula bowl statement

FAU has now won six consecutive Shula Bowl rivalry games against FIU, this one coming at a key juncture for head coach Willie Taggart, who had been facing questions regarding his job security in recent weeks. The Owls aren’t out of the woods just yet, but this win puts them within reach of a bowl berth, a must for Taggart this season.

No quarterback, no problem

Middle Tennessee was without quarterback Chase Cunningham against Charlotte on Saturday. At times, that seemed to matter, but in the end, the Blue Raiders managed to take care of business. The 49ers led 14-7 at halftime but were shut out after halftime as Nick Vattiato led three scoring drives to secure the win.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

One more shot

The preseason rumors circulating around Auburn’s expected coaching change have come to fruition. Despite a win over a historically bad Texas A&M team, the Tigers aren’t infallible and Western Kentucky has plenty of firepower to work with. If Conference USA is going to pull a P5 upset, this might be the one.

“Elimination” game

UTEP and FIU are running out of time. Both programs enter this coming weekend’s matchup with 4-6 records. The Panthers might be slightly ahead of schedule, making good progress in Year 1 under head coach Mike McIntyre. UTEP had high expectations in Year 5 of Dana Dimel. Neither program can clinch a bowl berth with a win, but a loss would drop them to seven losses and no postseason opportunity.

Who’s number two?

UTSA has a two-game lead plus some tiebreakers over the rest of the conference. They’ve had a few close calls but so far, nobody has been able to unseat the defending champs. The Roadrunners will be playing in the conference championship game. For now, they need to stay healthy and figure out who they’ll be matching up with in a few weeks.

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Rice Football cedes too many turnovers into road loss at WKU

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Too many turnovers turned an otherwise promising Rice Football start into another Owls’ loss, this time on the road against Western Kentucky.

Turnovers, injuries and a porous defense produced a gut-punch on the road as Rice football fell in what ended up becoming a lopsided affair, despite the many early opportunities. Western Kentucky clinched a bowl berth. Rice didn’t.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren summed it up in a blunt, but honest postgame comment. “We picked a bad day to have a bad day,” he said. “You just can’t win football games [when you play] like that.”

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The offense *almost* goes according to plan

The formula for Rice football to beat Western Kentucky wasn’t complicated. In fact, it was a script the Owls had leaned on before, often to much success. Rice wanted to control the football, keeping Austin Reed and the Hilltoppers’ offense off the field as much as possible.

When it came time to execute, Rice worked the plan nearly to perfection. The Owls’ first offensive drives were almost pristine. On 10 plays, Rice went 55 yards in 5:08. Then on the ensuing possession, Rice went 50 yards on 12 plays, taking 7:34 off the clock. The problem? Both of those drives ended in redzone interceptions by TJ McMahon.

The third possession was a disaster — McMahon was sacked on third down and injured — as WKU scored a defensive touchdown. The fourth possession was perfect. 13 plays, 75 yards and a one-yard touchdown run to finally get Rice on the board.

If Rice simply did not turn the ball over (yes, a feeble dream at this point), the Owls could have entered halftime tied or even leading. Instead, they faced a 24-7 deficit which spiraled further after the break. Rice moved the football really well on Saturday. They just convulsed at the wrong moments, and when they did, disaster ensued.

Houston, you’ve got a turnover problem

If there were still any doubts, Rice football has clearly moved from unlucky to clearly deficient when it comes to turnovers. The Owls did have another tipped pass interception in this game for good measure, at least the seventh time that’s happened this season, but the overwhelming inability to protect the football was frankly exhausting.

Rice turned the ball over on their first three possessions, spoiling what should have been a very competitive game and forcing the team into comeback mode as a double-digit favorite on the road with backup quarterback Shawqi Itraish at the helm. If you were to write a horror story for any college football staff, that’s how it would start.

What makes this problem particularly frustrating is the lack of one person to point to as the root cause. On some days, it’s McMahon. On others, it’s the return game. Yet others still, it’s the running backs that put it on the ground.“It’s not one person,” Bloomgren said. And therein lies the problem. One person you can bench. A whole team? Some other solution has to emerge.

“I think you talk about it. I think you coach it the right way. I don’t know really what else to do,” Bloomgren admitted.

Rice turned the ball over a staggering six times against WKU. If they can’t fix that, they’re not going to find a way to win most of their games, regardless of how well they play in literally every other aspect of the game.

Third down defensive nightmares continue

Getting off the field on third down was a talking point for the Owls all week long. They knew it was something they had to do better if they were going to win. On Saturday against Western Kentucky, they might have actually gotten worse.

As the Rice offense milked the clock but failed to score, the defense forced Western Kentucky into six third down tries in the opening half. They converted five of them, including a deflating 62-yard touchdown pass on third and long in the second quarter.

Western Kentucky finished the game  8-of-11 on third down. Rice was nearly as good (7-of-11), but there was no keeping up with the Hilltoppers’ offense, especially with turnovers aplenty.

The extra plays led to extra big plays. Not only did Western Kentucky move the ball well, they got yards in chunks. Austin Reed clinically picked apart the Rice secondary. Five different receivers had a reception of at least 19 yards. Two caught touchdowns, with Reed running one in from the one-yard line himself. WKU punter John Haggerty never stepped on the field.

The Owls can run the dang ball?

It might have taken a quarterback to force the Owls’ hand, but when push came to shove, Rice ran the ball as well as they have in any game this season against Western Kentucky. Juma Otoviano led the way with 14 carries for 96 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per tote. Cam Montgomery and Dean Connors were both north of 4.8 yards per carry, too.

The running game was absolutely superb, perhaps even more so given the situation into which they were asked to run into. Western Kentucky knew what was coming and still couldn’t stop them. Had it not been for a holding penalty that negated a touchdown run, the numbers might have looked even more impressive.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs WKU

The unfortunate part, in this instance, was the disastrous way Rice started this game. Had they not handed over two red zone possession with interceptions, the running attack would have been able to do its job. Instead, Rice was forced to juggle a successful rushing attack against an ever-ticking clock. The result wasn’t what the Owls had been hoping for.

The bright spot — if there is any — was a resurgent performance by the offensive line and a strong rushing attack. If McMahon does miss further time, they’re going to need both aspects to succeed to scratch out another win. And even if McMahon does return, a balanced offensive attack is clearly the answer right now.

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Rice Football 2022: WKU Insider gives his take on the Hilltoppers

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Rice Football hits the road this week to square off with Western Kentucky. Hilltoppers’ insider Steven Moffett fills us in on what to expect in this game.

Hilltoppers’ insider Steven Moffett was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and WKU. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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