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Rice Football: Assessing the Owls’ Year 2 coaches through history

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It takes some time to build a program. How have the various Rice football coaches faired in their second year at South Main?

After a two-win season in 2018, Rice football coach Mike Bloomgren enters 2019 with a renewed vigor. The Owls went through the growing pains expected with a coaching change last season, rebuilding as they went. That season was all about installing the right schemes and educating the younger players. 2019 marks a transition from training from what most coaches call “Year Zero” into the “real world” of sorts.

Officially in his second year of command, Bloomgren joins the ranks of 14 Rice coaches who stayed at the school for multiple seasons. Eight of those coaches won had a better winning percentage in Year 2. Six fell short.

Interestingly enough, the best Year 2 season in school history came in 2008 with David Bailiff at the helm. Rice won 10 games that season, capping things off with a Texas Bowl win over Western Michigan. Bailiff’s squad was coming off a 3-9 start the year before, a hair better than Bloomgren’s 2-11. Fortunately for Bailiff, he had the benefit of senior quarterback Chase Clement as well as pass catchers Jarrett Dillard and James Casey.

Other coaches had more work to do in Year 2. Jimmy Kitts (8-3 in 1935), Jack Meagher (8-4 in 1930) and Jess Neely (6-3-1 in 1941) are the only other Rice coaches to finish with a winning record in their second season.

Coach Year W L T Pct
David Bailiff 2008 10 3 0 77%
Jimmy Kitts 1935 8 3 0 73%
Jack Meagher 1930 8 4 0 67%
Jess Neely 1941 6 3 1 60%
Fred Goldsmith 1990 5 6 0 45%
Al Conover 1973 5 6 0 45%
Phillip Arbuckle 1915 5 3 0 63%
John Heisman 1925 4 4 1 44%
Watson Brown 1985 3 8 0 27%
Ken Hatfield 1995 2 8 1 18%
Jerry Berndt 1987 2 9 0 18%
Ray Alborn 1979 1 10 0 9%
Homer Rice 1977 1 10 0 9%
Bo Hagan 1968 0 9 1 0%

Ultimately the successes (or failures) of Bloomgren’s predecessors have a negligible impact on his team’s outlook for 2019. For the most part, those that have come before him have taken a few seasons to get things up and running. Legendary coach Jess Neely’s best season came in Year 10. Time will tell where Bloomgren fits amongst the ranks.

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Rice Football: Linebacking corps set for breakthrough season

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Here come the tackling machines. The 2019 Rice Football linebacker rotation could be one of the Owls best units on the field.

A groundswell of optimism is emerging around South Main regarding the 2019 linebackers. Blaze Alldredge and Antonio Montero made their marks at the tail end of the 2018 season, taking over starting roles midway through the year. Firmly entrenched as the alphas at their position, this duo has had an incredible spring. Expectations are sky high.

Both Montero and Alldredge have the talent and the drive to cement themselves among the most productive linebackers in Conference USA this season. If they play to their potential, they’re well within the range of 100-tackle seasons, something which has happened at Rice just twice in the past 20 years.

Travis Bradshaw racked up a staggering 121 tackles in 2009. Cameron Nwosu notched 108 tackles in 2011. None of the dozens of other linebackers who took the field for the Owls over that time cracked the 100-tackle mark.

A season of that magnitude would put either of those two defenders in rarified air. The impact on the defense as a whole would be tremendous. That kind of production would vault them into consideration for individual recognition, too. Eight CUSA players reached the 100-tackle plateau in 2018. UTEP linebacker A.J. Hotchkins, FIU linebacker Sage Lewis and North Texas linebacker E.J. Eliya all finished with more than 120 takedowns.

Whether it’s 120 tackles of 70, it’s hard to envision a scenario right now in which both Montero and Alldredge don’t make the defense significantly better in 2019 than it was in 2018. They’re the kind of vocal leaders in the middle of the field who spark change and lead with effort and physicality. The Rice linebacker room is primed for a special season.

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Rice Football: Best records across every conference

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Rice Football only plays a few games a year outside of Conference USA, but the Owls rich history stretches across almost every college football conference.

In 2005 Rice joined Conference USA. They left the WAC that year, a pitstop after spending decades in the Southwest Conference. During that time Rice has played dozens upon dozens of schools and amassed favorable records across several of the sport’s most notable names.

More than 100 years of football later, here are a few of the Owls more impressive series wins across nine different conferences and a few independent squads.

Power 5

  • ACC – North Carolina (1-0), Pittsburgh (2-1)
  • Big 12 – WVU (1-0), Kansas (2-1), Iowa State (3-2)
  • Big Ten – Northwestern (4-3)
  • Pac-12 – Arizona (4-0), Utah (3-1), Colorado (1-0)
  • SEC – Alabama (3-0), Auburn (2-0), Georgia (1-0), Florida (4-3-1)

Quick… how many active college football programs are undefeated in games against Alabama, Auburn and Georgia? Six of the Owls’ 82 wins against current SEC teams came over three of the truest blue-bloods in college football.

Rice has a rich rivalry with some of the premier academic institutions across the nation. They’ve played Duke and Stanford six times and Northwestern seven. The Owls and Wildcats are scheduled to meet again in 2029.

Group of 5 and Independent

  • AAC – Tulane (20-15-1)
  • CUSA– UTEP (14-8), Charlotte (2-0), FAU (2-1)
  • MAC – Western Michigan (1-0)
  • Mountain West – New Mexico (3-0), UNLV (2-0), Colorado State (1-0), Hawaii (5-3)
  • Independent – New Mexico State (1-0), Army (4-3)

Rice has a winning record over their first opponent of 2019, Army, but the Black Knights could even the series with a home win in August. Among Group of 5 teams, Rice and Tulane have some of the richest history. The series has had several starts and stops but always been close with Rice winning seven of the last 10.

Within the confines of the Owls’ current conference affiliations, Rice has controlled UTEP with the most regularity. The Miners got the upper hand in 2018, but Rice will look to avenge that defeat in El Paso this fall.

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Rice Football: Searching for reliable starters in 2019

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Finding a consistent starting lineup was nearly impossible for Rice football in 2018, something they’ll look to change next season.

Rice shuffled so many different players in and out of their weekly lineups last year. Many true freshmen were asked, not just to play, but to assume starting roles. The tumultuous fluctuations prevented any sort of consistency along the way.

18 true freshman stepped onto the field for Rice last season. 10 played in less than four games and retained a season of eligibility. The remaining eight averaged a little less than 11 games played each, with four true freshmen — linebacker Antonio Montero, safety Prudy Calderon, corner Treshawn Chamberlain and long snapper Campbell Riddle — playing in all 13 contests.

The rise of so many freshmen was proof positive of an underlying trend of inconsistency. 55 different players started games for Rice on offense or defense last season. Seven started all 13 games. Injuries and scheme make it unrealistic to expect the same 11 to go the duration on each side of the ball, but seven is startlingly low.

Here’s how the listed starters looked at each position last season:

Position Unique Starters True Freshman Starters Position Unique Starters True Freshman Starters
LT 3 2 DT 1 0
LG 2 1 NT 1 0
C 1 0 DE 2 0
RG 2 0 OLB 1 0
RT 1 0 ILB 2 1
WR 1 0 ILB 4 0
WR 4 0 OLB / S 3 1
WR 6 0 CB 4 1
TE 5 0 CB 2 0
RB 4 1 S 2 1
QB 3 1 S 1 0
Total 32 5 Total 23 4

The plethora of freshman who played meaningful roles last season are sophomores (or redshirt freshmen) now. In theory, it should be harder for so many true freshmen to contribute in similar ways in 2019 because of the experience of the group ahead of them.

Each side of the ball repeated a lineup just once. They’ll look to grow that consistency this season. Rice will likely start less true freshman in 2019, opening the door for less varied starting lineups and more consistent play from the team as a whole.

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Rice Baseball: Anthony Rendon’s All-Star nomination long overdue

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Former Rice Baseball slugger Anthony Rendon’s All-Star caliber play has finally been rewarded. The honor is long overdue.

The fact that Anthony Rendon received his first All-Star nod during his age 29 season is baffling. Rendon was the No. 6 overall selection by the Washington Nationals in the 2011 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 2013 hitting .265/.329/.725. Since then he’s become even more productive.

Currently in his seventh season, Rendon is in the midst of his third consecutive year with a .300+ batting average. He’s hit 68 home runs over that span and still has half of the 2019 season to play. His OPS+ has been better than 135 in each of those seasons and he’s finished in the Top 11 of MVP voting in each of the last two seasons, ending up as high as sixth in 2017.

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By every measure, Rendon is one of the most outstanding players in professional baseball. Since 2014, his first complete season in the big leagues, Rendon has an fWAR (Fangraph’s measure of WAR) of 27.9. That’s seventh best among all position players during that time.

Perhaps he was overshadowed by the super-ego of Bryce Harper or perhaps the Nationals’ postseason failures limited his opportunities to gain more exposure. Whatever the reason, Rendon’s numbers speak for themselves. He is one of the best players in the sport right now and is well deserving of his 2019 All-Star selection.

Rendon’s banner year might have come at just the right time. He’s in the final season of his current contract with the Nationals and will be eligible for free agency following this year. He’s due to make a significant payday one that should put him among the elite third baseman in terms of salary. Maybe that will be enough to put his name at the forefront of public perception, too.

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