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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 9 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 9.

Team Week 9 Result Week 10
Charlotte at Duke L, 53-19 at MTSU
FAU vs UTSA W, 24-3 vs WKU
FIU vs Marshall CANCELED at UTEP
LA Tech vs UAB W, 37-34 (OT) at North Texas
Marshall at FIU CANCELED vs UMass
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Charlotte
North Texas at UTEP CANCELED vs LA Tech
Rice at Southern Miss W, 30-6 vs UTSA
Southern Miss vs Rice L, 30-6 vs N Alabama
UAB at Louisiana Tech L, 37-34 (OT) — OFF —
UTEP vs North Texas CANCELED vs FIU
UTSA at FAU L, 24-3 at Rice
WKU at BYU L, 41-10 at FAU

Notable Week 9 results – Standings

That didn’t last long

Week 8 marked the first time this season that Conference USA had no games canceled and all teams planning to play this season underway. That brief honeymoon lasted a few days before two Week 9 games were canceled, including a highly contentious postponement between North Texas and UTEP.

Welcome to the win column

Rice football shook the rust off quickly. Following an overtime loss to Middle Tennessee, Rice crushed a downtrodden Southern Miss squad on their third head coach of the season. The Owls kept Southern Miss out of the endzone, allowing just two field goals. That marks the first time Southern Miss has failed to score a touchdown in a game since 2014.

Wild, wild west

Marshall still holds a commanding lead in the East, but C-USA west is officially wide open thanks to Louisiana Tech’s overtime victory over UAB in Week 9. Now four teams: UAB, Louisiana Tech, UTSA and Rice have records of .500 or better in conference play. If things stay tight, a yet to be officially rescheduled UAB visit to Rice could have division title implications.

Week 10 storylines

One is better than none

Marshall has dealt with the impacts of 2020 scheduling as well as could be expected. The Thundering Herd added a game against UMass midseason which, although it should be an easy win, will have the added bonus of keeping Marshall from another multi-week bye, an oddity multiple C-USA teams have already had to deal with to this point.

Texas-sized tussle

When Rice and UTSA met last season the two teams were a combined 1-10 against their other 11 FBS opponents. It was a race to the bottom of the conference standings. This time around, the winner will keep themselves among the leaders in the West. What a difference one year can make.

At the bottom

With Rice picking up their first victory in Week 9 against Southern Miss, there are only two remaining teams without a conference win: FIU and UTEP. One of those will be walking away a victor next week when FIU visits El Paso, assuming that game is played as scheduled.

Rice Football Opponent Scouting Report

A weekly update on who the Owls will be playing this season including updates on key storylines, injuries and more.

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Rice Football: Austin Trammell’s explosion leads Owls to new heights

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Rice football team captain Austin Trammell scorched the field at M.M. Roberts Stadium, setting career bests in the Owls’ big road win.

To some extent, Austin Trammell walked into M.M. Roberts Stadium as the last man standing. A team captain and an unquestioned leader of the 2020 Rice football team, his peers in the receiving room were not yet able to hold a candle to what he had accomplished over his collegiate career.

There was talent waiting in the wings. Jake Bailey is one of the highest-rated recruits in school history. Andrew Mason is coming off a historic high school career in Tennessee. But neither had scored a touchdown in a college game. Mason had yet to catch his first collegiate pass.

Mason had two catches against Southern Miss for 44 yards. That included a nice adjustment to give a scrambling Mike Collins and outlet for a 33-yard gain. Jake Bailey snagged three balls, including his first career touchdown reception. The future is bright for both of the Owls’ up-and-coming receivers.

But Trammell, he went above and beyond.

Trammell exploded for three touchdowns, seven receptions and 143 yards. The touchdown outburst was one-shy of his season total from a year ago and marked a career-high for a single game. The receiving yards were also a career high and the third time he’s surpassed the century mark in his four-year Rice football career.

On a day when he knew the offense would need him to burn bright, he went supernova.

More: All treats, no tricks: Rice Football crushes Southern Miss on Halloween

“He never surprises me,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said of Trammell, “but gosh he came through in a big, big way tonight.”

In a way, Trammell was merely picking up where he left off. The Owls’ veteran receiver did not catch a pass until the fourth quarter in the team’s previous game against Middle Tennessee. He promptly ripped off three consecutive catches, including the go-ahead touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Thanks in large part to Trammell’s dazzling last five quarters, Rice has scored 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his Rice career. The offense is starting to take flight and Trammell is at its center.

Trammell did offer one additional insight into his mindest entering his career game. “If we win our one on ones, we’re going to win the game,” he told his fellow wideouts during the week. He won. Bailey won. Mason won. And Trammell’s prediction turned prophetic: Rice won.

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All treats, no tricks: Rice Football crushes Southern Miss on Halloween

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Rice Football put together a complete team performance as the Owls took down Southern Miss on the road for their first win of the 2020 season.

There was plenty of frustration following Rice football’s season-opening loss to Middle Tennessee. The Owls did so many things well, but mental lapses and killer turnovers ended in a heartbreaking defeat.

The Owls took out all of that angst against Southern Miss. From the opening kickoff, Rice dominated Southern Miss. The atmosphere of The Rock turned quiet quickly as Rice found success on offense and defense, scoring points and forcing turnovers in what looked to be one of the most complete team performances of the Mike Bloomgren era.

The win moves Rice to 1-1 on the season, staying a perfect 1-0 against teams from the C-USA West. Here are a few immediate thoughts with an exciting nugget for our subscribers on the end.

Defense starts start strong

You couldn’t have asked for a much better start on defense than Rice got on Saturday, especially considering the circumstances. Neither Kirk Lockhart or Treshawn Chamberlain made the trip to Hattiesburg, further depleting a secondary already running low on bodies.

Southern Miss didn’t waste any time, going straight at the Rice secondary early in the game. It was true freshman Gabe Taylor with a fourth down breakup to stop the Golden Eagles’ first drive. On the second drive, Miles McCord picked off Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham, his first career interception.

The defense gave up yards, 85 total on the first two Southern Miss drives, but no points. That’s a recipe for success, especially with so many important pieces absent.

The third Southern Miss drive went three and out as the clock ran out to end the first quarter. Rice has now held their last 11 opponents scoreless on their first possession of the game and has not allowed a point in the first quarter this season.

Seem good? Here’s the first half drive chart for the Southern Miss offense: Downs, Interception, 3-and-Out, Fumble, Field Goal, Fumble, 3-and-Out, Field Goal.

Offensive explosion

It was fairly evident things were off to a good start when Rice ripped off first downs on four consecutive plays on the way to a 14-play scoring drive in the first quarter. The Collin Riccitelli field goal marked the fifth consecutive game in which Rice had scored first, but settling for three points after first and goal from the five was disappointing.

From that point onward, Rice didn’t squander many possessions. Mike Collins hit Austin Trammell for a 72-yard touchdown on the following possession.

The very next play, Collins found Jake Bailey for a 25-yard touchdown reception.

Rice averaged 17.9 points per game last season. Despite the loss of so many receivers, the addition of Collins and strong play from the offensive line have elevated this offense to heights previously unknown in the Bloomgren era. Rice has scored 64 points in their first two games. For reference, it took the Owls five games to reach that point threshold in 2019.

Takeaways help

Both the defense and the offense had fantastic outings against Southern Miss, but those strong days were amplified by takeaways. After losing the turnover battle 3-1 against Middle Tennessee, Rice had three takeaways on Saturday to one for Southern Miss. Better still, Rice scored 17 points on possessions immediately following a Southern Miss turnover.

The Owls’ lone misstep came at the end of the second quarter. The Rice punt coverage unit bumped into return man Jordan Myers, causing a fumble. The mistake cost Rice three points before half, not nearly as damaging as it could have been.

Turnovers amplify production. If the Rice offense wasn’t clicking, they wouldn’t have proven as impactful as they ended up becoming. Combing those turnovers with a dangerous offensive attack proved too much for Southern Miss to handle.

All gas no breaks

The lack of aggressiveness in overtime last week against Middle Tennessee proved costly when Riccitelli’s kick sailed just a few inches too close to the post. There wasn’t an ounce of passivity in the gameplan the Owls’ employed on Saturday. Rice had their foot on the gas from the first possession and never waived.

The team was playing so well that Bloomgren elected to call timeouts to give the team another chance at points in the final minute before halftime. The move would backfire when the Owls’ fumbled on what looked to be a mistake from the coverage unit, but the message was clear: we’re not slowing down.

You saw that aggressiveness repeatedly. Following a special teams fumble from Southern Miss, Collins immediately went to the endzone and found Jake Bailey for a touchdown. Rice rolled the dice on fourth down early in the second half, failing to convert, but showing the intent to go for the jugular and put the game out of reach.

There were execution problems, but no one can accuse this team of playing it too conservative or too safe. And the results, well, Rice picked up its first win in Hattiesburg since 2014 and move to 1-1 on the season.

Digging deeper

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

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Breaking down the wide receivers

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The Rice football receiving corps is running low on bodies. How will the Owls move forward and who will take the field against Southern Miss?

I was paying close attention to the wide receivers at practice this week and had some time to catch up with Rice football wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw. Between the injuries Rice had coming into the season opener against Middle Tennessee and the loss of a starter in the opener itself, the need for answers at the position has never been more pressing.

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Beyond the individuals, there’s also some insight below on the offense as a whole as a result of the thinned out receiving corps. How the Owls will line up against Southern Miss could be impacted by their limited numbers. If you’re looking for a deeper dive, I dug into the reasons I believe the offensive uptick can continue despite the injuries in this month’s All-American Q&A.

And then there were five…

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Is this Rice Football offense for real? All-American Q&A

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All-American Level subscribers on Patreon get access to a monthly Q&A with me. The October edition focuses on the sustainability of the Rice football offense.

Q. Rice football scored 34 points against Middle Tennessee. Was the offensive “explosion” caused by how bad MTSU’s defense was or because the Rice offense has actually figured things out?

A.  The story almost writes itself, doesn’t it? Journeyman quarterback transfers to a small school for one last ride. He steps onto the field and leads the team to more points in his debut than the school had scored in the previous 27 contests.

Rice last scored at least 34 points in a losing effort against Southern Miss in 2017. With the Owls set to face the Golden Eagles the weekend after this new offensive outburst, it’s only fitting this question arises.

So, can the Rice offense keep it up?

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