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Conference USA Football 2021: Week 1 C-USA 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 1.

Team Week 1 Result Week 2
Charlotte vs Duke W, 31-28 vs Gardner-Webb
FAU at Florida L, 35-14 vs Georgia Southern
FIU vs Long Island W, 54-10 vs Texas St.
LA Tech at Miss St. L, 35-34 vs SE Louisiana
Marshall at Navy W, 49-7 vs NC Central
MTSU vs Monmouth W, 50-15 at Virginia Tech
North Texas vs Northwestern St. W, 44-14 at SMU
Old Dominion at Wake Forest L, 42-10 vs Hampton
Rice at Arkansas L, 38-17 vs Houston
Southern Miss at South Alabama L, 31-7 vs Grambling
UAB vs Jacksonville St. W, 31-10 at Georgia
UTEP vs Bethune-Cookman W, 37-28 at Boise St.
UTSA at Illinois W, 37-30 vs Lamar
WKU vs UT Martin W, 59-21 at Army

Notable Week 1 results – Standings

Power 5 performances

Charlotte put future foes on notice with their first-ever win over a Power 5 program, upsetting Duke behind a masterful game from quarterback Chris Reynolds. He threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, leading not one, but two go-ahead scoring drives in the fourth quarter. UTSA followed up with an encore performance for C-USA, topping Illinois on big days from Sincere McCormick and Zakhari Franklin.

Power 5 (gut) punches

Rice and Louisiana Tech each held double-digit leads over their respective Power 5 opponents. Then the fourth quarter hit. Both schools surrendered 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points, erasing the fleeting moments of anticipation and replacing them with heartache.

2-0 UTEP !!

UTEP won two games in their first 24 outings under Dana Dimel. The Miners won three contests last year, but for the first time in Dimel’s tenure, they’re 2-0, defeating New Mexico State and Bethune-Cookman to start the 2021 season on the right foot.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

More marquee moments?

After one massive upset in Week 1 and a few close calls, only one Conference USA school takes on a Power 5 opponent in Week 2 — Middle Tennessee. Their opponent, Virginia Tech, upset North Carolina in Week 1 while MTSU beat Monmouth. Knocking off the Hokies will be no small feat.

Big Bucket

Rice missed a golden opportunity at an upset victory in Week 1, faltering down the stretch against Arkansas. Now 0-1 with a date against Texas looming in Week 3, the Owls’ Week 2 rivalry game against Houston becomes all the more important.

AAC Auditions

Rumors are swirling regarding the various levels of realignment that have started to surface in recent weeks, among them, which schools could make the jump to the Big 12 and consequently, which schools could move into spots vacated in the American Athletic Conference. Rice and North Texas draw AAC opponents in Week 2 and both would be interested in making a positive pitch on the field.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls update – Sep 4

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The 2021 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 from this week.

Glen Otto – Texas Rangers

Otto made his second major league appearance this week, allowing his first earned runs (two) in 4.2 innings of work against the Los Angeles Angles. He struck out four and left the game with a no decision.

Through September 4, Otto has a 1.86 ERA with a 0.724 WHIP. He’s averaging 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt has yet to appear in a game for the Rangers since being placed on the injured list on August 23, a span of almost two weeks to this point. Reports indicate he did rejoin the team on Sunday.

Through September 4, Holt is hitting .208 with 14 extra-base hits, 22 walks and 40 strikeouts. His OPS is .580 and he’s collected 19 RBI.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey worked one perfect inning this week, striking out all three batters he faced on Tuesday against the Cubs. He’s up to 45 strikeouts this season in 48.1 innings pitched.

Through September 4, Duffey has a 3.54 ERA with a 1.448 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lucas Luetge – New York Yankees

Luetge checked into two games for the Yankees this week. On Tuesday he threw two scoreless innings, striking out three. On Saturday he worked 1.2 innings, adding one more strikeout to his totals and allowing one walk.

Through September 4, Luetge has a 2.93 ERA with a 1.125 WHIP. He’s averaging 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

J.T. Chargois – Tampa Bay Rays

Chargois picked up his fifth win of the season on Sunday, working a two-hit, two-strikeout fifth inning against the Orioles. He returned to the mound on Wednesday, completing two-thirds of an inning with one walk and one strikeout.

Through September 4, Chargois has a 2.28 ERA with a 0.969 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

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Rice Football: Questions abound at quarterback after opening defeat

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Rice football finds itself in an uncertain quarterback situation entering Week 2 of the 2021 season after Wiley Green struggled in the Owls’ opening game.

In mid-August, Rice football head coaches and players gathered (virtually) to discuss the upcoming season. How the quarterback situation would unfold was, understandably, the focal point of many of the questions they fielded on that day.

Amidst all the noise, Mike Bloomgren’s comments on that day resonated. “I think Wiley [Green]’s incredibly comfortable in our system,” he said on that Saturday morning following the first scrimmage of fall camp.

“Incredibly comfortable” might have been the antithesis of how Green looked in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s season-opening loss to Arkansas. Although Bloomgren offered an emphatic “no” post-game when asked if he considered pulling Wiley after his second of three interceptions, the damage had seemingly already been done.

Rice led Arkansas 17-7 early in the second half. The Razorbacks would rally, scoring 31 unanswered points thanks in large part to three turnovers from the arm of Wiley Green. A tipped ball on his first pick might have gone overlooked, but subsequent miscues when the pressure started to mount and the drives became more and more important proved to be unavoidable.

And that’s what makes the situation Rice football coaches will walk into on Monday morning all the more strenuous.

Green has looked comfortable throughout fall camp. His teammates look up to him. He was named a captain this past week. He knows the system, perhaps more than some of the coaches — and that’s not hyperbole. But when the lights shined brightest. He wasn’t able to deliver. And it wasn’t the first time.

Evaluating how much of those shortcomings can be attributed to the caliber of opponent Rice faced on Saturday, the influx of injuries suffered by the Owls throughout the game and some good old-fashioned bad luck rests on Bloomgren and his staff.

Can Green bounce back against a perhaps less-intimidating opponent next week? Has his body of work on the practice field earned him another chance? Should it?

The reality is, questions were always going to come. Opinions were going to be given, from those inside and outside the program.

More: Rice football loses halftime lead, falls to Arkansas 

And if Luke McCaffrey, a former blue-chip recruit and one of the most highly-rated prospects to ever arrive at South Main, had not been waiting on the bench behind him, the pressure of these questions might not have reached this level of intensity.

But because McCaffrey is on campus and because he’s fared well enough in his limited action thus far, the comparisons are going to keep coming.

For the umpteenth time, Green has had the deck stacked against him. He’s always found a way to battle back before. At the very least, doubting his resolve has been a fool’s errand to this point.

But even he was starkly honest following the defeat. “The guys expect more from me,” he said. “And I expect more from myself.” He didn’t she away from his mistakes, but he didn’t throw in the towel either.

Green is going to put together another strong week of practice. McCaffrey will continue to do his best to absorb as much of the offense as he can. But come next Saturday, it’s possible no one knows how Rice will deploy their top two passing options.

That’s more or less where Bloomgren left the conversation on Saturday, with the impact of the loss still fresh in his mind. “We’re going to watch this film. We’ll talk about it as a staff,” Bloomgren said, responding to a question regarding who would be the starting quarterback next week. “We’ll get back to you on that.”

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Rice Football squanders halftime lead as Arkansas rallies past Owls

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Rice Football put Arkansas on the ropes in Fayettville, but couldn’t muster enough on offense to finish the job as the Owls fall in their season opener.

Those inside the hedges believed 2021 could be a special season for Rice football. The Owls’ schedule wasn’t going to allow them to ease into the season, opening on the road against Arkansas. Rice hadn’t won a game against an SEC opponent since 1980, but the defense came out throwing haymakers and made it clear from the start this was going to be a competitive game.

Arkansas would score first, but Rice would chip away, taking a 10-7 lead into halftime courtesy of a touchdown run from Jordan Myers. Then Wiley Green turned up the volume on the Rice football offense on this connection from Green to August Pitre:

That touchdown pass put Arkansas on notice. From that point, the game was officially on. Rice withstood Arkansas’ initial second-half surge, but the momentum turned when Wiley Green made a crucial mistake. Green was intercepted on a pass in which his arm was hit while he threw. Perhaps excusable, even if costly, Green doubled-down with an interception on his very next pass: a third down attempt in relief of McCaffrey whose helmet had come off on the prior play.

When the dust settled, Arkansas would score 24 unanswered points. The defense which had held up for so long was unable to support a Rice offense that was shut out for the final 25 minutes of regulation after the touchdown from Green to Pitre to start the second half.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week 

Green was given the vast majority of the snaps and finished 12-for-25 with one touchdown, three interceptions and a fumble. McCaffrey attempted seven passes, completing four of them for 60 yards and carrying the ball four times for eight yards. Head coach Mike Bloomgren will have a lot to think through when it comes to how he handles the quarterback position moving forward. Green finished extremely poorly and even still, McCaffrey never really got much of a chance.

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Surviving early missed opportunities

Whether it was early game jitters or just bad luck, there were a few significant moments early in this game that did not favor the Owls.

The first was a third-down snap for Arkansas. Quarterback KJ Jefferson was greeted in the backfield almost immediately by a charging Treshawn Chamberlain but was able to bounce free. His 245-pound frame was too much to bring down with the glancing blow. Then he rumbled for a the first down. Rather than punt or attempt a long field goal, Arkansas would score late on the drive.

On the ensuing Rice possession, Arkansas linebacker Grant Morgan was ejected for targeting, setting the Owls up near midfield. They were unable to score. The Owls’ next two drives would begin at the Arkansas 35-yard line and the Arkansas 21-yard line. They walked away with three points.

Rice football kept this game at arms-length early, but it’s not unreasonable to think they should have been leading Arkansas at the start of the second quarter, quite possibly by two scores.

Quarterback carousel

Bloomgren announced before the game that Wiley Green would start and Luke McCaffrey would enter the game for the third series. He was true to his word, with one exception: McCaffrey did enter the game for one play following Grant Morgan’s ejection, presumably so Green could regroup after the hit. Green was back in on the next play.

McCaffrey led the offense from the Arkansas 35-yard line to the 18-yard line, but wasn’t able to hit Cedric Patterson in the corner of the endzone on third down. That would be his final full drive of the first half, but not his final snaps.

McCaffrey would return to the game for two third down plays later in the first half. On both occasions, he handed the ball off, creating a rather odd sequence. Green would operate the offense on first and second down before McCaffrey entered for a running play to someone other than himself. The lack of cohesion was evident.

The offense did not move the ball well under Green, but the flip-flopping mid-drive didn’t seem to do either quarterback any favors. McCaffrey would get a series in the third quarter. When he was allowed to operate he moved Rice down the field with a big completion to August Pitre.

Field position and time of possession

Neither field position, nor time of possession, are particularly “sexy” stats. Most people, understandably, turn their eyes to touchdowns, yards and points in the boxscore at first blush. But those two less-than-glamorous stats proved pivotal for Rice in this game, and they’ll like be staples in how the Owls hope to play this season.

Rice football controlled the time of possession battle. The defense forced five three-and-outs in the first half, stopping the Razorbacks’ up-tempo offense from gaining much momentum. Then the Owls took over and grinding out the clock.

Rice dominated the field position as well. There were a couple of touchbacks they’d like back on Charlie Mendes punts, but the special teams and the defense more than made up for those with a white-hot start. Rice’s average field position in the first half was the 50-yard line. Night and day different from Arkansas’ average start of their own 17.

In the first half alone, Rice began drives at the Arkansas 49, Arkansas 24, Arkansas 7, Rice 48 and Arkansas 49.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers.

Defense, Defense and more defense

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Rice Football 2021: Captains, position battles and practice notes

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Rice football announced captains this week and solidified some of the final starting spots for Saturday’s opener against Arkansas.

The 2021 Rice football season is approaching quickly. Rice football has wrapped up its final full practice prior to their flight to Arkansas. And has been customary over the last several years, the Owls announced their captains for the season at what is officially the end of fall camp.

This update will kick off with more on who those captains, including a significant quarterback inclusion, then we’ll turn our attention to (primarily) good news on the injury front, updates on key position battles at linebacker and corner and some last-minute notes from practice before the season begins on Saturday.

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2021 Rice Football Captains Announced

As has been customary under Mike Bloomgren, Rice football announced its 2021 captains after wrapping up the final full practice prior to their season-opening game.

Jordan Myers and Cam Riddle are making repeat appearances after being chosen as captains by their teammates last season. Wiley Green, Trey Schuman and Naeem Smith are new additions this season.

This is Schuman’s fifth season at Rice. He made his collegiate debut at Stanford as a true freshman in 2017 and a fixture in the starting lineup when healthy since 2019.  Smith arrived at Rice in 2019 and became a vocal leader for the defense quickly. Like with Myers and Riddle, their teammates are quick to listen when they offer advice.

The Roost Podcast: Arkansas Game Preview

Green’s journey has been somewhat unique. He began his Rice career as the scout team quarterback in 2018, rising to starter midseason. He battled for the top job in 2019, making seven starters before falling behind in the pecking order in 2020, seeing only one relief appearance.

Many college football players have thrown in the towel after much less daunting odds, but Green persevered and remains the most probable man to get the opening snap against Arkansas. That speaks volumes to Green’s character and perseverance and how highly his teammates value his leadership. Starter or not, Green’s spot in the captain’s circle is significant.

Key players returning to practice

Rice has seen significantly better injury luck during fall camp this year compared to last year, but there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. It’s likely Rice will be without a handful of players on Saturday — but some good news, too — a few key players did return to practice this week.

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