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Rice Football: Owls hit open week in need of a reset

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Rice Football hits an open week in need of an introspective look. The Owls must make their extra week of preparation as productive as possible.

There’s hardly even been an off week that didn’t come at the right time. If the team is winning, the rest offers time for injured players to return and the team to rest up for another string of games. If the team isn’t, it’s a respite from the toil and time to reassess. Rice football finds itself in the latter rather position than the former.

Owners of an 0-6 record, what the team does with this week will reverberate for months to come.

More: Takeaways from Owls’ waterlogged loss to UAB

“I think this bye is going to be a defining moment for us,” linebacker Blaze Alldredge said following the UAB loss. “Hopefully we can use it as a turning point in our season. I know the coaches are going to do their best to help us do that and it’s going to be on us players to keep the right mindset and treat this bye week like professionals and come the week after ready to play.”

Coming back ready to play starts with an honest assessment of where the team has left off.

Where the Owls stand

Among their Conference USA peers, Rice has the tenth-most efficient offense, ninth-most efficient defense and the fifth most efficient special teams. SP+, an opponent-adjusted metric meant to evaluate the entire team as a whole, pegs the Owls as the 12th best team in C-USA.

Those numbers highlight what most have been able to digest from watching the team play this year. There are facets of all three phases that have been undeniably great — but hitting those highpoints consistently has been a challenge.

As they search for their first win, the team knows they’re capable of so much more. Bloomgren knows it too.

“I’m so glad we’re going into an open week so we can get better at some real fundamental things that we’ve just got to continue to work through,” he said, “I still think there’s a lot in the future of this football team. I certainly don’t think this any kind of death sentence or anything like that. What I do think is if we work, we’re going to win some games. And I don’t know how many. But if we position ourselves and work our butts off for the next two weeks, it should start then.”

It gets easier from here

That first win might not be far off. The difficulty of the nonconference schedule has been well documented, but the quality of the opponents that remain on the Rice football schedule has taken a noticeable dip too. Here are the first six opponents:

Army | 3-2
No. 11 Texas | 4-1
No. 19 Wake Forest | 5-0
No. 22 Baylor | 5-0
LA Tech | 4-1
UAB | 4-1

Three of them are ranked in the most recent AP Poll. Two of them are undefeated. Altogether, the Owls’ first six opponents are 25-5 with losses to LSU, Texas, Michigan, current C-USA leader WKU and current AAC leader Tulane. That’s a sterling resume.

Contrast that to the road ahead:

UTSA | 2-3
Southern Miss | 3-2
Marshall | 2-3
MTSU | 2-3
North Texas | 2-3
UTEP | 1-4

The next six opponents on the schedule have six combined victories over FBS teams with wins over UTEP (twice), Troy, Ohio, Marshall and UTSA. One of those teams has a record of .500 or better (Southern Miss) and that includes wins over Alcorn State and UTEP. That’s a stark difference from what the Owls have faced so far in which no opponent has yet to lose multiple times in regulation.

The next two weeks will be a gut check for the Owls on both sides of the football. Senior Aston Walter says “It starts with looking in the mirror,” adding that he’ll “never put a defined ceiling on what this team can be.” If the team can take to heart that message, the next coming weeks of Rice football should offer more promising results than the first portion of the season.

Tweaks, not overhauls

Rice isn’t going to fully reboot on either side of the ball, rather they’ll work to perfect what has already paid early rewards.

On the offensive side of the ball, identifying ways to ensure open running lanes in the second half of games will be paramount. Aston Walter has broken off two long touchdown runs in the past two games, but both came early in the game. What does Rice need to change, if anything, schematically to ensure those runs can pop later in the game too?

The passing game has been better, but protecting the quarterback should be a priority. Keeping Wiley Green upright will enable the offense to be more efficient as a whole.

A more decisive pass rush would go a long way for the defense. The Owls have gotten pressure, but haven’t gotten home consistently. That’s led to added strain on the secondary.

Defensively, Rice has probably had two of their better performances under Bloomgren in the last three weeks (LA Tech, Baylor). The offense has been their best in the first halves of the games against LA Tech and UAB. If the team can find a way to sustain those good things and iron out the inefficiencies, this team could get a lot better, quickly.

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Rice Football 2019: Owls in the NFL Week 5 Update

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Phillip Gaines earns his first tackle with the Texans and other Rice Football products made big plays. Here’s how the NFL Owls fared in Week 5.

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

Week 5 results

Eagles 31 (Sendejo) – Jets 6
Packers 34 – Cowboys 24 (Covington)
Broncos 20 (Callahan, Anderson) – Chargers 13
Seahawks 30 (Ellerbee) – Rams 29
(OT) Ravens 26 – Steelers 23 (Boswell, McDonald)
Texans 55 (Gaines) – Falcons 32

Calvin Anderson, OT, Broncos

Anderson was signed from the Jets’ practice squad to the Broncos 53 man roster this week. He was inactive for his first game, a win over the Chargers. The Broncos host the Titans in Week 6.

Chris Boswell, K, Steelers

Boswell stayed perfect on the season (10-for-10), converting three field goals and two extra points for the Steelers against the Ravens. The Steelers travel to the Chargers for Sunday Night Football in Week 6.

Bryce Callahan, CB, Broncos

Callahan was inactive for the Broncos’ Week 5 game with the Chargers. He has yet to make an appearance for the team this season. The Broncos host the Titans in Week 6.

Christian Covington, DE, Cowboys

Covington led the Cowboys with two tackles for a loss against the Packers. He finished the game with three total tackles. The Cowboys travel to the Jets in Week 6.

Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB, Seahawks

Ellerbee was placed injured reserve prior to the start of the season. The Seahawks travel to the Browns in Week 6.

Vance McDonald, TE, Steelers

A game time decision on Sunday morning, McDonald was active and involved during the Steelers Week 5 game with the Ravens. He hauled in all three of his targets for 34 yards. The Steelers travel to the Chargers for Sunday Night Football in Week 6.

Andrew Sendejo, Saf, Eagles

Sendejo didn’t register any stats against the Jets in Week 5. The Eagles travel to the Vikings in Week 6.

Phillip Gaines, CB, Texans

In his third game of action, Gaines registered his first tackle for the Texans after signing with the team on Sept. 10. The Texans travel to the Chiefs in Week 6.

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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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 6 C-USA roundup

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UAB and Rice football battled through storms, playing late into Saturday night on an eventful day for Conference USA Football in Week 6.

Team Week 6 Result Week 7
Charlotte — OFF —  — at FIU
FAU — OFF —  — vs MTSU
FIU vs UMass W, 44-0 vs Charlotte
LA Tech — OFF —  — vs UMass
Marshall vs MTSU L, 24-13 vs Old Dominion
MTSU vs Marshall W, 23-13 at FAU
North Texas — OFF —  — at Southern Miss
Old Dominion vs WKU L, 20-3 at Marshall
Rice at UAB L, 35-20 — OFF —
Southern Miss — OFF —  — vs North Texas
UAB vs Rice W, 35-20 at UTSA
UTEP vs UTSA L, 26-16 — OFF —
UTSA at UTEP W, 26-16 vs UAB
WKU at Old Dominion W, 20-3 vs Army

Notable Week 6 results – Standings

Raining on Rice

It lasted more than six hours, had two lightning delays and finished in a humid rain shower after midnight. The net result,  for those who choose to avoid the deluge and late night waiting, was another relatively close loss for the Owls who played a sloppy contest.

Mayday for Marshall?

Six weeks into the 2019 season, it’s safe to start throwing preseason expectations out the window. One such belief, was that Marshall would be an obvious contender for the C-USA East title. The Thundering Herd have played a rigorous schedule, but things were supposed to get better with the first conference game against MTSU. They didn’t. Marshall sits at 2-3 and hasn’t played particularly well in any of their defeats. They’ll need to win some games before they start thinking about championships.

Somebody had to win

UTSA and UTEP had yet to defeat an FBS opponent entering their Week 6 game in El Paso. UTSA’s last outing was a 45-3 beatdown at the hands of North Texas. UTEP’s was marginally better — a 31-13 defeat at the hands of Southern Miss. Neither has done much to inspire confidence, but UTSA walks away with their first Conference USA win.

Week 7 storylines

For C-USA, third time the charm?

Rice and UTSA had their shot at Army earlier in the season. Rice came close, losing 14-7. UTSA hung around before the Black Knights pulled away to win 31-13. C-USA East-leading Western Kentucky will be the final team in the conference to play Army.

North Texas tries to regroup

Last week was weird for the Mean Green. Instead of facing D’Eriq King and the Houston Cougars as underdogs, the King-less Cougs blasted North Texas 46-25. Losers of three of their last four, albeit to quality teams, beating Southern Miss would do wonders to restore confidence as the team enters the heart of conference play.

How good is MTSU?

Three blowout losses to Power 5 teams with a beatdown of Tennessee State sprinkled in between, Saturday’s Week 6 win over Marshall was the best look we’ve gotten at the Blue Raiders. Which one is the most indicative picture of how good this team will be? We might found out next week when they face FAU on the road.

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Rice Football: Owls fall to UAB in delayed downpour

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Rice Football traded blows with UAB before the offense dried up under heavy rains as the Owls fell to the Blazers in a sloppy night.

Rain and lightning turned a promising start into a drawn-out, waterlogged affair on Saturday night in Birmingham. The Owls put together a strong first half but couldn’t overcome the elements, falling to UAB on a dreary night at Legion Field. UAB won by the final score 35-20 a few minutes past midnight. Here are a few takeaways from the game.

1. Throw the first punch. Check.

Playing with the lead is always a good thing, but it’s especially important if you want to run an offense predicated on grinding out games. Controlling the clock and running the football don’t complement comeback attempts well. That’s why it’s a good thing to have a smart running back and great blocking to set up plays like this:

Rice struck first against Louisiana Tech and never trailed in regulation. The encore performance against UAB included a shutout pitched by the Rice defense through the first quarter before UAB eventually equalized the score. Rice threw punches with UAB for a while before the Blazers pulled away in the second half.

2. Opening things up on offense

Rice snapped the ball in a five wide formation twice in the first quarter, including the very first play of the game. Wiley Green went downfield on the first play, looking for Bradley Rozner who drew a flag for defensive holding. The Owls converted the second five wide play on a post to Jake Bailey before it was called back on a hold by Rice.

Neither play will show up in the box score because of the penalties, but both were a clear indication Rice is willing to open up the offense and try some new things.

It wasn’t just new formations; Rice noticeably took more shots downfield than they had in previous weeks. Green was actively scanning further than the line of scrimmage and he connected on a few throws that traveled vertically down the field, rather than trusting his receivers to do most of the work after the catch.

Green had a season-high 161 yards passing, two touchdowns and somewhere around 100 yards of pass interference penalties along the way.

3. Secondary shows some leaks

UAB running back Spencer Brown left the ball after the first drive of the game. Not only was Brown a critical piece to the Blazers offense, he became the school’s all-time leading rusher this season. Without him in the game the Blazers took to the air, finding plenty of early success.

Quarterback Tyler Johnston connected on touchdown passes of 46-, 36- and 57-yards in the first half. UAB’s longest score driving lasted 2:41.

This wasn’t the first team to test Rice deep. Wake Forest took shots, so did Baylor. Rice had given up a few deep balls, but the secondary seemed nowhere near as suspect as it did last season when the Owls surrendered an average of 2.5 pass plays of 30 yards per game allowed. Entering the UAB game Rice had given up eight such plays, an average 1.6 per contest, a mark that sits roughly in the middle of C-USA.

Even with the imperfect pass defense, the Owls hung around. George Nyakwol registered the Owls’ first interception of the season in the closing minutes of the first half. Treshawn Chamberlain added to the total with a third quarter pick.

4. Loud and clear

An emphasis on downfield passing wasn’t the only noticeable change with the Rice offense on Saturday. The Owls played an aggressive brand of football. Even when Rice didn’t complete their passes down the field they forced UAB into uncomfortable situations. The opposing secondary was littered with flags all night for defensive holding and pass interference.

A few other decisions stood out. Trailing by seven in the second quarter, Rice went for it on fourth and 10 from the UAB 36 yard line. Not only did they get it, they finished the drive with Green’s first touchdown of the season — an endzone jump ball to Brad Rozner.

In like fashion, Rice rolled the dice before the halftime whistle. After getting possession of the ball with 90 seconds to play, Rice chose to push down the field rather than run off the final seconds. The Owls made it to midfield and did not score, but the decision not to neal the ball was a tone-setter for what this offense could become.

5. Messy, messy, messy

UAB didn’t play a perfect game by any means. Multiple turnovers and flags all over the defensive secondary made it a relatively sloppy night for the home team. Then the rain — which somehow managed to stay away for nearly the entirety of the hour and a half lightning delay — began to come down in buckets.

Conveniently for the Blazers, Mother Nature opened the heavens around the time the home team had scored their second touchdown of the third quarter. Trailing by two scores, The Rice offense never got back in sync. Tom Stewart, inserted for his running ability, put the ball on the deck.

Including two rain-induced fumbles, the Owls tallied a season-high four giveaways. Rice also committed six penalties for 65 yards. That was bad, but not early as careless as UAB’s 167 yards of penalties. You can’t write a loss off based on weather, but there’s no doubt the rain played a significant factor in the second half of this game.

Rice football has played too well over the past month to not have any wins to show for themselves. A lengthy weather delay and sudden pouring rain made this most recent defeat a soggy one. There’s a lot of hurt in the Owls’ locker room right now making this the perfect time for an off week and a cooling off period.

We’re not taking a break

Rice football has the week off, but there will still be content going up on the site and on the podcast. A portion of next week’s episode is up for y’all to decide. Carter and I are going to work through some of your questions in a mailbag segment. We’ll cover everything from the UAB game to midseason thoughts and beyond.

Leave a question in the comments here or on the podcast post, shoot it to us on Twiter or email it to [email protected].

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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with UAB expert Evan Dudley

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UAB is the next team up on the 2019 Rice football schedule. To get to know a bit more about the Blazers we go behind enemy lines with Evan Dudley of AL.com.

Rice Football is still looking for its first win of the season and figures to have another big test this weekend on the road against UAB. To get the inside scoop, we talked with Evan Dudley of AL.com.

Q. How does the 2019 team compare to the one that won last season’s 2018 C-USA Championship? Are expectations in Birmingham still set on another title?

Evan – It’s still very much a work in progress.

The Blazers have demonstrated proficiency in the passing game – despite Tyler Johnston having his worst game as UAB’s starter with four picks against Western Kentucky – but are still working out the kinks in the rushing attack.

The offensive line play has been pristine when it comes to pass blocking and decent in run blocking this season, but there are some concerns with senior center Lee Dufour after sitting out the last game with an undisclosed injury. UAB head coach Bill Clark said in his weekly press conference that they’re “hopeful to get (Dufour) back soon” so it may be a game-time decision relative to the matchup with Rice.

Defensively, the Blazers are right back where they were last season and lead the conference in three of the four major defense categories. Those ranks also translate nationally with the Blazers ranking 23rd in passing yards allowed (186.5 ypg), 15th in scoring defense (15.5 ppg) and 12th in both rushing (79.8 ypg) and total defense (266.3 ypg).

More: The Roost Podcast – LA Tech review and UAB preview

Additionally, UAB ranks 18th in tackles for loss per game (7.8), 12th in third-down defense (27.3 percent) and eighth in sacks per game (3.75).

Although the Blazers dropped their conference opener to the Hilltoppers, their conference title defense is still very much alive. After everything that has transpired that past two seasons, fan expectations are high – relative to repeating as league champions – but tempered.

Q. Spencer Brown is a talented running back, but he’s been relatively quiet this season. What needs to happen for him to have a breakout game?

Evan – Brown’s lack of production isn’t from a lack of trying as the junior running back averages 19.5 carries per game, even with the Blazers becoming a more proficient downfield passing team this season.

As far as what needs to happen for Brown to have a breakout game, the obvious answer is more consistency in run blocking from the offensive line. The commitment to that part of the offense is present but there’s an absence in rhythm that the Blazers have been accustomed the past two seasons.

As the offensive line becomes a more cohesive unit, the chances of Brown returning to his full dominant form increase exponentially.

Q. The Blazers lead C-USA in scoring defense. Can UAB maintain their impressive defensive start?

Evan – Short answer. Yes.

This defensive unit may be more talented than the last two editions and has yet to hit its peak this season. The Blazers have allowed no more than 20 points in any game this season and were even impressive in the loss to Western Kentucky in giving up only six points off four turnovers.

As long as the offense can get back on track with consistent scoring possessions, UAB will have no trouble keeping its defense fresh and aggressive throughout games.

Q. Who is one player on offense and defense Rice football fans need to know?

Evan – There are obvious names on offense like Spencer Brown, Tyler Johnston, Myron Mitchell, Kendall Parham and Austin Watkins, but look past the main attractions and you’ll find Markus Grossman.

The redshirt junior is the fourth leading receiver for the Blazers but with only six catches for 52 yards. However, five of his six receptions have come on third down with Grossman converting four for a first down and coming up a yard shy of the other. Such success on third down has easily earned him clutch status among a talented group of wideouts.

Garrett Marino is the alpha dog of the defense but it would be wise to be aware of linebacker Noah Wilder. A Gardner-Webb transfer, Wilder had an impressive fall camp resulting in a starting spot alongside Kris Moll in the middle where he currently leads the team with 25 total tackles.

Q. What does UAB absolutely have to do to beat Rice on Saturday?

Evan – Simple. Don’t turn the ball over.

Turnovers kept the Blazers from extending a close lead in the season opener against Alabama State and led to the loss in Bowling Green. When winning he turnover battle, UAB is as dangerous team as any in the league.

However, I expect a challenge from a Rice team that has showed obvious improvement in Year 2 under Mike Bloomgren. Both teams are built on physicality and the Owls have embraced their “Intellectual Brutality.” I don’t expect Rice to succumb to another lopsided shutout this time around.

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