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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 2 C-USA roundup

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Rice football couldn’t get past Wake Forest in their 2019 home opener. Much of the rest of Conference USA football didn’t fare much better in Week 2.

Team Week 2 Result Week 3
Charlotte at App St L, 41-56 vs UMass
FAU vs No. 18 UCF L, 48-14 at Ball St
FIU vs WKU L, 20-14 vs New Hampshire
LaTech vs Grambling W, 20-14 at Bowling Green
Marshall at No. 24 Boise St L, 14 -7 vs Ohio
MTSU vs Tennessee St W, 45-26 vs Duke
North Texas at SMU L, 49-27 at Cal
ODU at Virginia Tech L, 31-17 — OFF —
Rice vs Wake Forest L, 41-21 vs No. 9 Texas
Southern Miss at Mississippi St L, 38-15 at Troy
UAB at Akron W, 31-20 — OFF —
UTEP at Texas Tech L, 38-3 — OFF —
UTSA at Baylor L, 63-14 vs Army
WKU at FIU W, 20-14 vs Louisville

Notable Week 2 results

Scary stuff

Rice quarterback Wiley Green was down on the field for almost 15 minutes following a helmet-to-helmet collision with a Wake Forest defender on Friday night. He would leave the game and be transported to the hospital, where all post-injury testing came back negative. Rice would lose the game 41-21 with backup Tom Stewart accounting for a touchdown apiece through the air and on the ground in Green’s absence.

Sun not shining for Florida teams

Florida Atlantic and FIU were both projected to be among the upper echelon of C-USA East teams. Two weeks into the young season, both schools from the Sunshine State are 0-2. Florida Atlantic’s losses (Ohio State and UCF) have been more forgivable. It might be time to panic for FIU fans after dropping their first conference game to a Western Kentucky squad that fell to an FCS opponent in Week 1.

Isaiah still Green

Another C-USA East hopeful took a tumble in Week 2. The Marshall Thundering Herd went toe-to-toe with Boise State on the blue turf, including one final chance to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter. From midfield, sophomore quarterback Isaiah Green was picked off. Boise burned up the rest of the clock, winning 14-7. Once again, C-USA narrowly misses out on a signature win.

Week 3 storylines

Time for Fine?

North Texas quarterback Mason Fine has Heisman Trophy aspirations, but the Mean Green have a rigorous schedule and suffered their first loss in Week 2 against SMU. Keeping pace in C-USA is still in play, but any chances of fulfilling a New Year’s Six Bowl or more could fall away if North Texas misses on their marquee non-conference game. They trounced Arkansas on the road last year. Can they pull off another Power 5 upset against a stingy Cal team who knocked off Washington on Saturday night?

Give me a break

The quirky 2019 schedule has afforded teams two off weeks during the season instead of the traditional one. Old Dominion, UAB and UTEP each have their first off week in Week 3. All three of those teams enter their first respite with at least one win while UAB stands atop C-USA as the only 2-0 squad.

No rest for the weary

Most of C-USA suffered a loss in Week 2. Those losing teams won’t find much comfort from their schedules next weekend. Rice trades Wake Forest for a date with Texas. UTSA, who was rolled by Baylor, draws Army next. Southern Miss gets a feisty Troy team and Middle Tennessee trades Tennessee State for Duke. It could be another long weekend in C-USA.

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Rice Football: Meet Tom Stewart, the Owls’ presumptive new QB1

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For the second year under Mike Bloomgren, injuries have forced Rice football to make a change at quarterback. Meet Tom Stewart, the Owls’ tentative new QB1.

Mike Bloomgren watched with the same angst as the rest of the Rice Football team on Friday night as starting quarterback Wiley Green lay on the sideline. Green had been hit in an apparent head-to-head collision attempting to score the Owls’ first touchdown of the game. The team’s leader was down, but there was a lot of football still to be played.

So Bloomgren did what any coach would have done in that situation. He pulled the offense together, inserted the backup quarterback, and kept moving forward. This year that backup is Tom Stewart, a graduate transfer from Harvard who joined the Owls this summer.

Stewart battled. He led three touchdown drives against Wake Forest, with a fourth near-score turned away on the one-yard line. He wasn’t perfect — admitting he’d thrown too many balls low and short in his postgame comments — but he kept the Owls in the game in a trying time.

“First off, we had a lot of confidence in Tom,” Blomgren said. “This is not the first time Tom Stewart’s been in this situation. This is the world he’s lived in. Whether it’s him going into his sophomore year as a starter and getting banged up, or him going into his last year at Harvard.”

Unlike graduate transfer Shawn Stankavage who started for Rice much of last season, Stewart comes to Rice with 14 games of experience. He started his senior year, throwing for 1,614 yards and 14 touchdowns with two interceptions. On Friday, Stewart finished 19-of-30 with 185 passing yards and one touchdown. He also added a 10-yard rushing touchdown.

Rice Football, Tom Stewart
Stewart takes off for a 10-yard touchdown run, the first touchdown of his Rice football career

“It’s my first significant football since November 17th of last year.  So it’s been about 10 months since I’ve strapped the pads on and played someone else,” Stewart relayed following the loss, adding “I think I got confidence by the end of the game, that it’s the same game I’ve always been playing.”

Stewart’s team won that game. He threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in the process.

The knock on Stewart when he transferred to Rice was never his ability; it only takes one look at his highlight film from Harvard to see his natural ability is evident. What Stewart lacked when he arrived, and has subsequently been working to master, is a complete understanding of the Rice football offense.

To call the Owls’ scheme complicated would be an understatement. As fall camp progressed, the staff could see Stewart thinking more and more as his play on the practice field grew inconsistent. He could make the throws, provided he knew where to go with the ball and who was supposed to be there to catch it.

“I think I got confidence by the end of the game, that it’s the same game I’ve always been playing.”Tom Stewart

That learning lag is what kept Stewart from ever truly having an edge in the battle for the starting quarterback job, putting him second to Green throughout camp. Now it’s real.

Stewart’s latest chance to work with the starting offense didn’t come with the benefit of a red no-contact jersey. He was sacked three times in what he called “a good learning experience… kind of getting thrown into the fire.”

It’s not going to be easy, though. If Green can’t go next week — his status is still very much so up in the air — Stewart’s first FBS start would come against a ranked Texas Longhorns squad at NRG Stadium. Wake Forest flashed plenty of speed and size on both sides of the ball. Texas is supposed to be even better.

Stewart says he’s appreciative of the chance to get his feet wet before he has to potentially play anyone else. He praised the athleticism of the Wake Forest defense, but said he kept coming back to something a former coach of his always used to say. “The essence of playing quarterback is finding the open guy and throwing it to him accurately. And if the guy’s open, it’s just like playing routes on air. You put the ball where you want and good things will happen.”

More: Takeaways from Owls’ Week 2 loss to Wake Forest

That’s easier said than done, but if the injury to Green proves to be anywhere near as serious as it looked, Stewart will get that very test. Friday’s game against the Demon Deacons will serve as Stewart’s reminder to himself, ” I was like, Oh, you know, we’re just playing football.”

There haven’t been any declarations from anyone on South Main yet, and there won’t be. Bloomgren and his staff are too seasoned to hand out free bulletin board material. But the Owls are ready to proceed with Stewart as their starter for the near future.

“We have a lot of confidence when a kid like that can get every rep. It’s gonna have tremendous value for him,” Bloomgren said, “We’ll see where it goes. But we’re going to keep coaching him and he’ll keep growing.”

Stewart is going to have to learn on the job. It won’t be easy, but the Owls have his back. 100 percent.

You can read more on Stewart and the rest of the Rice football quarterback room in The Roost’s 2019 Rice Football Season Preview
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Rice Football: Wiley Green knocked out, Owls fall to Wake Forest

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A week removed from a near-upset of Army on the road, Rice Football fell to Wake Forest in a hard-fought home opener, showing growth through adversity.

Through one quarter, Rice football was tied with Wake Forest 14-14. The Owls had withstood the Demon Deacon’s initial charge and rallied, showing more resilience than they had during coach Mike Bloomgren’s first season at South Main. The end result was not according to plan, but to their credit: Rice fought.

The moment generated from a strong Week 1 showing was tested, seeing mixed results. Here are a few immediate takeaways.

1. Green goes down

The speed of the game seemed to get to Wiley Green early. The redshirt freshman quarterback fumbled the ball on the Owls’ first offensive possession. His next turn on the field was much better. Green commanded the offense well, completing passes of 14- and 40-yards.

Green looked as good, if not better than we’ve ever seen him play. He drove the Owls down to the two-yard line before disaster struck. Green took a bootleg run toward the right pylon where he was hit helmet to helmet and went down hard and stayed down. Here’s the hit, for those who want to see. It’s rough.

The stadium went quiet. Green was down for about 15 minutes as his shoulder pads and helmet were removed. He was transported by a cart to an ambulance which took him to a nearby hospital. Green finished the game 3-for-5 passing for 69 yards, markedly better than his line against Army, 7-for-14 for 62 yards.

2. The offense responds, but can’t sustain

The concerns with Stewart were never talent based. The Harvard transfer has a big arm but wasn’t able to master the offense to the same level as Green, who had more than a year in the system under his belt. When Stewart took over the offense didn’t miss a beat.

Whatever coach Bloomgren told the team in the huddle worked. Trailing 14-0, Rice punched back. Aston Walter took in a 2-yard run on the first play after the resumption of play. The defense forced a three and out. Austin Trammell returned the punt 34 yard and newly inserted quarterback Tom Stewart tied it up with a 10-yard touchdown run.

The second half was a different story. Rice had three consecutive three and outs before Stewart engineered a 71-yard drive down to the 1-yard line. Wake Forest held on fourth and goal, turning Rice away with no points. Stewart would connect with Austin Trammell late in the fourth for his first touchdown pass with the Owls.

3. The good and bad from the Rice secondary

The truth is, the Rice defense matched up significantly better with the Army offense than they did with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons’ ability to use tempo with speed on the edges put the Owls at a disadvantage. As quickly as Rice practiced the tempo, it took live action for the team to adjust. Losing starting corner Tyrae Thornton six minutes into the contest did not help.

Wake Forest was able to move the ball through the air, but the secondary held up much better than it had at any point last season. I counted three explosive plays through the air in which the Wake Forest pass catchers got behind the Rice defense

  1. 34-yard reception down the seam to tight end Jake Freudenthal in the second quarter
  2. 39-yard laser down the sideline to Scotty Washington in the third
  3. 59-yard touchdown to Washington in the third quarter

One touchdown and three deep shots against an offense that threw for 400 yards last weekend against Utah State is progress.

Wake Forest’s third score in the endzone summed up the difference between the two teams. Corner Andrew Bird matched wideout Scotty Washington stride for stride before quarterback Jamie Newman tossed the ball toward the endzone. Then the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Washington muscled out 6-foot-1, 171-pound Bird for the football.

4. Bend but don’t break

The tenacity and aggressiveness displayed by the Rice defense against Army was equally present against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons found success through the air, but had trouble in the redzone. After two first-quarter scores the Rice defense settled in. Wake was held to short field goals, allowing Rice to hang around well into the second half.

Newman held the ball deep into plays before actioning the run-pass option type plays, but the Owls defense stayed home. Anthony Ekpe and Blaze Alldredge were effective, leading the team with nine and eight tackles, respectively. The safeties kept the plays in front of them.

Film Room: Evaluating the Owls’ fourth down stop against Army

Newman was able to complete passes and move the ball, but this game never got out of hand. When Rice lost on defense, they lost to superior athletes who made superior plays. That’s frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world.

Before Rice moves to contend on the national stage, they’re going to have take control of Conference USA. Losing a talent battle is going to happen when Rice plays some Power 5 opponents, but the Owls will be neck and neck with their CUSA peers.

5. Final thoughts

When the halftime whistle blew on Friday Rice trailed Wake Forest 24-14. Last season the Owls trailed 42-3 at the break. That year-over-year change would have been enough to prove the Owls had gotten better on both sides of the ball. And Rice was missing their starting left corner and their starting quarterback for the majority of that half.

Rice is tired of moral victories. The coaching staff has made that abundantly clear following their close loss to Army in Week 1. The box score didn’t paint the home team in a favorable light, but the evidences of change in the right direction are abundant.

The Owls’ non-conference slate was projected to be a grueling before the season began. No one would have batted an eye if Rice began the season 0-4. They’re not 0-4, they’re 0-2. And we’ve learned a lot about the potential this team has, hopefully avoiding any more injuries.

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The Roost Podcast | Episode 6 – 2019 Rice Football Army Recap, Wake Preview

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Carter and Matthew break down the Army game and look ahead to Rice Football’s Week 2 tilt with Wake Forest in Episode 6 of The Roost Podcast.

Prognosticating is (somewhat) over and the time to break down real football games is here. The podcast hits its weekly rhythm now, settling into a series of shows in which we break down the previous game and look ahead at the next opponent. If you want to look back at any prior shows, you can find those on our podcast page.

In Episode 6, Carter and Matthew break down the heartbreaking one-score loss to Army, then jump ahead to the first home game of the 2019 Rice Football season. The Owls host Wake Forest on Sept. 6 at 7:00 p.m. at Rice Stadium. Get ready for the game by checking out the show.

Give a listen to Episode 6 below.

Episode 6 Notes

  • News and notes — Read more about Wake in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview. Update on Week 1 of our season-long pick’em challenge on the forum. It’s not too late to jump in and join the fun.
  • Breaking down the Army game — Where does this game fit in the realm of “moral victories”? More importantly, we talk through which aspects of the Owls performance were encouraging and sustainable. What questions still remain for Week 2 and what solutions are there to some of the Owls early struggles?
  • Previewing the Wake Forest game — Wake is going to run a lot more plays and try to attack the Owls down the field. Can the same physicality Rice employed against Army translate to an opponent that is going to play this fast? What does the Rice offense need to adjust to keep pace?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football: Week 2 Wake Forest Press Conference quotes

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Rice Football suffered a close loss to Army, but Mike Bloomgren and the Owls are looking forward to getting another shot against Wake Forest in Week 2.

One week down and 11 more to go. Rice Football is ready to move on from their Week 1 loss as they prepare for a rematch with Wake Forest. Hear from coach Mike Bloomgren and a few of the Owls’ players as they recap the loss and look forward to Week 2.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the offensive philosophy against Army…

“Offensively, going into the game, I wanted to match their style of play. I didn’t want them to be able to hold the ball for 40 minutes. I wanted to be able to have a pretty even time of possession, which, at the end of the third quarter it was really close. I wanted to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter by taking them to deep water. That’s exactly what we had. We had a drive to go down and score. I told the team this, I had no intention of kicking an extra point. We were going to go for two because we were there to win the game. ”

On kicker Will Harrison…

“In college football, when you line up to kick them, they have to go through the pipes. That’s the kicker’s job. I had a good conversation with Will Harrison. Our team has his back. We’re trying to get him to do his job and be confident that he can do his job. We’re really trying to get his confidence back so he can be the kicker that we know he can be this week. We’re going to need it.”

On preparing for Wake Forest…

“They’re a unique offense with what they do. It’s a great challenge for our guys. The other thing that’s going to be a great challenge is that I heard it’s going to be Houston Hot on Friday. They’re saying 102 degrees. So we’re going to prepare for that as well. We got the advantage we can go out in it and get ready for that. So we’re going to go out in it today and tomorrow and we’re going to be battle-tested.”

On how the offense changes against Wake Forest…

“In the flow of a normal game, we’re going to have more possessions. Maybe we’ll throw a ball on possession-and-10, the first play of a drive, which we did zero times on Friday night on purpose. We’ll have more opportunities and, hopefully, find more of a rhythm. But, we have to make the most of every opportunity in the passing game.”

From Nahshon Ellerbe

On fullback Reagan Williams…

“I call him Moses because he just parts the defense on every play.”

From Antonio Montero

On the transition from practice to stopping Army on the field…

“The speed of the game didn’t feel much different, comparing Army to our scout teams. That’s a testament to how Coach Svoboda had them prepared, the effort they put into practice.”

On the confidence level of the team…

“Playing a really good team like Army, playing them that close shows that we can play with anybody. So obviously, I’m incredibly optimistic about that too. And now we have another really good challenge coming up in Wake Forest and I think we can do, if not the same, even beat Wake Forest.”

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