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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 1 Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 1.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Week 1 results

Tennessee def. Denver (Anderson, Callahan), 16-14
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. New York Giants, 26-16
Seattle (Willson) def. Atlanta, 38-25
Los Angeles Chargers def. Cincinnati (Covington), 16-13
Chicago def. Detroit (Fox), 27-23
Kansas City def. Houston (Gaines), 34-20
Baltimore def. Cleveland (Sendejo), 38-6

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson was active for the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Titans. This was the first game he was active since signing with Denver last year. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

Pittsburgh had their way through the air against the Giants in Week 1. McDonald caught one of two targets for three years with most of the offense running through receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Russell Willson connected with nine different pass catchers on Sunday but did not complete a pass to Willson. The Seahawks host the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell connected on field goals of 36- and 41-yards against the Giants on Monday Night Football. He made two of three extra points with the miss hitting the right upright. Last season Boswell was a perfect 28-of-28 on point-after tries. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan finished second on the team in tackles with eight in his debut game with Denver. Six of those were solo tackles. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in his Cincinnati debut, playing on 51 percent of the defensive snaps. Earlier in the week, he had this to say about learning the ropes with a new team:

The Bengals visit the Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox shined in his NFL debut, blasting a 55-yard punt and a 54-yard punt, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also registered his first career tackle. The Lions visit the Packers in Week 2.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines saw all of his action on special teams in his 2020 debut with Houston, playing seven snaps on Thursday night against the Chiefs. The Texans host the Ravens in Week 2.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo finished fourth on the Browns in tackles in Week 1 with four. Fellow safety Karl Joseph was the only member of the Cleveland secondary who had more (five). The Browns host the Bengals in Week 2.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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BREAKING: Rice Football games against Marshall, UAB officially postponed

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Rice football games against Marshall and UAB have been officially postponed pushing the season opener back to Oct. 24 vs Middle Tennessee.

Rice Football will not play their games against Marshall (Oct. 3) and UAB (Oct. 10) as previously scheduled. Per an announcement made Monday afternoon, the Owls tentative season start date has been pushed back to October 24. Rice will host Middle Tennessee that afternoon.

We told subscribers this development was coming when Rice announced a further delay in fall practices. The differences between the decision-making factors wouldn’t have changed much between Oct. 3 and Oct. 10. You can read more about that decision and what the Owls hoped to achieve with the delay in our recent update.

The delay marks the fourth time Rice football has modified its 2020 schedule. The LSU game was canceled on July 30 and Rice postponed games against Houston and Army on Aug. 10. The Lamar game was struck from the schedule on August 21.

If things go according to the revised plan, Rice would open their season 49 days after their first opponent (Middle Tennessee) opened their season against Army on Sept. 5. Assuming they were able to complete their games as currently scheduled, Middle Tennesee would have already played five contests, including three conference games (home against WKU and North Texas and away at FIU).

More: This week in Conference USA on The Roost Podcast

As the schedule currently stands, Rice has six opponents. The Owls are home against Middle Tennessee (Oct. 24), UTSA (Nov. 7) and UTEP (Nov. 28). Rice will play at Southern Miss (Oct. 31), Louisiana Tech (Nov. 14) and North Texas (Nov. 21).

Further modifications to the schedule are likely should the Owls proceed with the season. Should Conference USA be willing to move the championship game back, Rice would consider efforts to schedule UAB on Dec. 5 to give them seven conference games. That would bring the Owls back into alignment with the majority of their conference peers.

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Rice Football: Jack Fox dazzles in NFL debut with Lions

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Jack Fox made Rice Football fans proud in his NFL debut, excelling as the starting punter and kickoff specialist for the Detroit Lions.

Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox kicked played in his first NFL game this weekend. He showed no signs of any first-game jitters, blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback to start the game. He would go on to excel in a variety of roles in his pro debut.

Fox tallied two other touchbacks, put six kickoffs into the endzone. He had two punts travel more than 50 yards, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also handled holding duties for kicker Matt Prater. If that wasn’t enough already, he registered his first career tackle on kick coverage.

“Honestly I think I built it up in my head leading up to the game,” Fox said. “When I got on the field it just felt like a normal football game. But still a cool experience.”

For Fox, it took a “redshirt” year to master the finer details of the punting profession. A season spent on and off practice squads combined with an offseason working out with fellow specialists in Birmingham (at what has been dubbed the Punter Conclave on Fox’s recent appearance on The Roost Podcast) ended in a heated battle for the starting job in Detroit. Fox won the job at the end of camp. He proved on Sunday he was more than deserving.

Despite Fox’s efforts, the Lions were unable to win the game. Running back D’Andre Swift dropped what would have been the go-ahead touchdown pass from in the closing seconds. Had he hauled it in, the Lions would have won and made Fox’s NFL debut that much sweeter. Even still, Fox had a stellar start to what continues to look like a promising professional career.

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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 2 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 2.

Team Week 2 Result Week 3
Charlotte  at App State L, 35-20 at UNC
FAU — OFF —  — at G. Southern
FIU — OFF —  — — OFF —
LA Tech  at Baylor Canceled at Southern Miss
Marshall — OFF —  — vs App State
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Troy
North Texas — OFF —  — vs SMU
Rice — OFF —  — — OFF —
Southern Miss — OFF —  — vs LA Tech
UAB at Miami L, 31-14 — OFF —
UTEP at Texas L, 59-3 vs ACU
UTSA at Texas St W, 51-48 OT vs SFA
WKU at Louisville L, 35-21 vs Liberty

Notable Week 2 results – Standings

Jay Hopson out at Southern Miss

Southern Miss didn’t have a game this week, but the program still lost, this time their head coach. Hopson leaves after being upset by South Alabama in the Golden Eagles’ season opener. We talked with Jamie Arrington and Jason Bailey of To The Top Talk Podcast on The Roost Podcast this week to get an insider’s perspective on what happened in Hattiesburg and what Southern Miss fans think of the news.

Miami finally gets a win over C-USA

After taking successive losses to FIU and Louisiana Tech, Miami prevailed against C-USA’s UAB to kick off Week 2 of college football. UAB couldn’t stem the Canes on the ground (337 yards, 3 touchdowns) and stubbed their toe with 11 penalties. The Blazers have now played a clearly inferior opponent and one a step above them and yet to play their best game but still should be a formidable C-USA contender.

Off with a bang

New UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor was dealt a rough hand when he inherited a program at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges he and his staff faced, the Roadrunners pulled out an overtime victory against an upstart Texas State team.

Week 3 storylines

FAU debut

Willie Taggart’s first game as the head coach at FAU is this week. The Owls should be slight favorites when they visit Georgia Southern in Week 3. How FAU responds to a new quarterback could prove to be the difference-maker in a season with high expectations despite the offseason turnover in personnel and on the coaching staff.

Conference play is here

Weeks before Rice and FIU are scheduled to begin their 2020 season, the first C-USA conference game is on the docket. The interim coached-Southern Miss hosts Louisiana Tech in a game that could prove pivotal for the C-USA West Division race.

Two-win UTEP?

When we previewed UTEP on The Roost Podcast this summer, we talked about the real possibility of a winless season. With a win over SFA already under their belt, the Miners could surpass their entire 2019 win total by beating Abilene Christian next weekend. That’s kind of a big deal, especially in the midst of this uncertain season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls hand out two new 2021 offers

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Two offers were extended this week to prospective members of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, one on each side of the ball.

For the first time in roughly a month, Rice football extended new offers toward members of the 2021 class. Prior to the Owls offering this pair, Rice hadn’t offered anyone since offers to wide receiver MJ Singleton and offensive lineman Graham Keating on August 7.

You can find the latest on all of the Owls’ offers for this class as well links to highlights, recruiting services and commitment profiles on our Offer Tracker. This list is updated daily and reserved for our subscribers.

WR Peyton Stevenson – Demopolis, AL

The Owls don’t have a wide receiver in the fold in this class yet but they have a few uncommitted targets they’re still working on. In particular, the roster needs someone with size to fill the outside role behind Brad Rozner in the future.

Stevenson fits that mold. He’s 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with some vertical ability. He’s versatile, also lining up at corner and some quarterback. No matter where the ball is, he’s ready and willing to push through contact.

Rice was the first FBS school to offer Stevenson. Prior to the Owls, his existing offers included Jacksonville State, North Alabama and Culver-Stockton.

DL AJ Sargent – Wichita Falls, TX

Size also seems to be a priority for the Owls along the offensive line. Current commits Elroyal Morris (6-foot-2, 270-pounds) and Blake Boenisch (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) make for a sturdy foundation up front. Rice would like to add another big guy to that mix in Sargent

Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 290 pounds, Sargent is able to make plays from the interior as well as the outside. Missouri State was the only school to offer him before the Owls swooped in this week.

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