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Rice Baseball: Owls drop fall scrimmage to Texas A&M at Reckling Park

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Rice baseball donned their blue and gray at Reckling Park, hosting Texas A&M in a fall exhibition game on a brisk October evening.

Rice hosted their first home exhibition of the fall against Texas A&M. On a cool night at Reckling Park, the Owls fell to the Aggies 9-6 in 12 innings.

Texas A&M struck first, putting up four runs on a flurry of fourth inning hits against Rice pitcher Evan Kravetz. The Aggie pitching staff held the Owls in check for much of the early action, but the home team broke through with a crooked number of their own in the sixth.

Rice designated hitter Khevin Brewer mashed a bases-clearing double down the left field line. A bases-loaded walk tied the game at 4-4 entering the seventh. Texas A&M pushed a pair of unearned runs across in the seventh and Rice answered with singles in the seventh and eighth to tie the game at 6-6.

The game stayed deadlock through the next three innings before Texas A&M pushed across two runs in the 12th. Rice had one last chance to answer in the bottom half of the frame but wasn’t able to fight back.

The result is somewhat trivial in a scrimmage atmosphere, overall the night gave the young guys some valuable experience and gave the coaches a chance to see their players in action.

Offensive player of the game – Justin Collins, catcher

Justin Collins was seeing the ball well off just about every pitcher he faced. He picked up the Owls first hit of the night with a double in the second inning. He followed that up with singles in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

It was Collins who delivered for the Owls in their exhibition against Sam Houston last week, mashing a grand slam to give Rice a commanding lead. He hit .265 with 12 extra base hits in 2017 and will be trusted for more this season.

Pitcher of the game – Addison Moss, pitcher

With Matt Canterino on the shelf, resting from a busy fall that included the Cape Cod league and Team USA appearances, the Owls turned to Moss to start their tilt against the Aggies. He faced seven batters, allowed one hit and struck out one, throwing 16 strikes on 24 pitches.

Moss wasn’t perfect, but he kept a potent Aggie lineup from making much hard contact. He’ll be a piece of the starting rotation for the Owls once again this spring.

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Keys to victory against North Texas

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Rice football has a tough task against them in Week 9. Can they travel to North Texas and win? Here’s how the Owls get it done.

1. Don’t give Mason Fine time

North Texas is has surrendered 10 sacks (2.5 sacks per game) in conference play, tied for the eighth worst rate in CUSA. On further examination, nine of those 10 sacks came in their two losses. North Texas was sacked five times by Louisiana Tech and four times by UAB.

Getting pressure on Mason Fine and limiting his chances to look downfield is a must on Saturday. That’s been an area Rice has struggled in. So far the Owls have three sacks spread across four conference games. They’re the only CUSA team averaging less than one sack per contest, and their susceptibility through the air has had a lot to do with the pass rush.

Both Louisiana Tech and UAB handed Rice a blueprint on how to beat North Texas. Getting the offense off schedule and behind the chains has to be the top priority.

2. Control the clock

Rice is no stranger to teams that can score fast, particularly through the air. Houston, Hawaii and Wake Forest all put together lightening fast scoring drives against the Owls’ secondary and North Texas is another team capable of taking a mile if given an inch.

12 different pass catchers have caught at least one pass of 20 yards or more for the Mean Green this season. Seven have a 30+ yard grab and two have touchdown receptions of 50+ yards this season. North Texas doesn’t need eight minutes and 12 plays to march down the field and score, they can do it in a play or two. That makes limiting those opportunities critical.

If Rice can hold onto the football and shorten the game they can take the ball out of the hands of Mason Fine. Stealing possessions and limiting the potency of the Mean Green offense is a must. To do that will require a lot more work proficiency from the running game and a strong performance on third down.

3. Be gutsy

Rice went eight quarters without scoring an offensive touchdown. That made the opening drive against FIU all the more important. Coming away with points, specifically with seven points, sent a message to this team. The offense was getting back on track and the Owls were going to have a shot to win.

That touchdown drive and confidence booster doesn’t occur without perhaps the best play call of the Mike Bloomgren era. After putting plenty of short plunges on film, Rice opted for a bootleg play-action pass, leaving quarterback Evan Marshman with plenty of real estate to scamper for the score.

Winning a college football game isn’t easy, and winning a conference game on the road is even harder. It’s going to take more gutsy calls like that to beat North Texas. Bloomgren hasn’t been afraid to roll the dice yet, which means fans could see some fireworks if this game is close in the fourth quarter.

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Meet Elijah Garcia, the defense’s unsung hero

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Rice football has come a long way on the defensive side of the ball since the start of the 2018 season, spearheaded by Elijah Garcia and a host of young starters.

Elijah Garcia will start the fifth game of his Rice football career on Saturday against North Texas. The redshirt sophomore defensive lineman from San Antonio, TX had five total tackles a year ago. From five tackles to five starts, Garcia’s growth has been tremendous and the impact his presence has made on this team cannot be understated. He registered a career-best eight tackles against FIU last weekend.

Garcia says his motivation is simple, but focused. “Every week I’ve been trying to tell myself ‘you need to do a little bit more'”. So far, that “little bit more” has resulted in a front seven that’s strongest up the middle. Opposing teams have been able to find success on the edges, but running up the gut is a dicey proposition.

“Right now to run between the tackles against our defense is an uphill battle,” remarked head coach Mike Bloomgen. Garcia alongside team captain Zach Abercrumbia have turned the defensive line into one of the most consistent units on the defense.

Having guys like Abercrumbia, Roe Wilkins and Graysen Schantz to learn from has been invaluable for Garcia. He picks their brain as much as he can and enters every game trying to emulate their successes.

Garcia also credits the coaching staff with their constant message and direction. He reiterated a few phrases and maxims he’s heard more than once this fall, such as defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun’s reminder that “your assignment and technique aren’t always going to be perfect but your effort can be perfect.”

More: True freshman Wiley Green to start Saturday against North Texas

Effort has been front and center as the Owls fight through a prolonged drought between wins. Rewriting the narrative is going to require guys to do what Garcia is doing, working hard, being aggressive and attacking every drill and play with relentless effort.

One defensive lineman playing with effort won’t rewrite a season. But Garcia’s infectious personality and culture building attitude are the kinds of building blocks that this program needs to get to where Bloomgren wants to take it. Garcia is a fighter. Eight tackles against FIU are just the beginning of what he’s capable of doing for Rice football in the coming weeks and years.

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Owls on pace to improve passing stats amidst quarterback shuffle

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Rice football played four quarterbacks last season and four quarterbacks in 2018. Even in challenging circumstances, the Owls are finding positive results.

In fall camp head coach Mike Bloomgren said he’d love to see one guy grab control of the starting quarterback job and carry it through the season. Vanderbilt transfer Shawn Stankavage looked to be that guy early on, but an injury suffered against UAB forced Bloomgren and the offensive staff to go further down the depth chart.

Evan Marshman started against FIU. Wiley Green will start against North Texas. Jackson Tyner’s turnover concerns have kept him as a reserve player for the time being, but he’ll be in the mix alongside some former high school quarterbacks that have played various other skills positions for the Owls.

Here’s how the Owls’ passers have faired thus far in 2018:

Player Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int
Shawn Stankavage 99 174 56.9 1011 9 7
Jackson Tyner 9 19 47.4 132 0 1
Evan Marshman 17 31 54.8 164 0 1
Wiley Green 1 6 16.7 8 0 2

That’s a mixed bag, especially considering the various different scenarios and game situations each of those quarterbacks experienced. All told, though, Rice is actually on pace to produce better numbers from the quarterback position in 2018 than 2017, even with another lengthy list of participants.

Year Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int
’17 Rice QBs 121 244 49.6 1721 6 16
’18 Rice QBs 126 230 54.8 1315 9 11
’18 Projected 205 374 54.8 2137 15 18

At a bare minimum, the improved passing numbers in such challenging circumstances has to be encouraging. Preparing an offense for “three vastly different quarterbacks in three different weeks” isn’t easy, and what the offensive staff has been able to do this month has been nothing short of incredible.

Bloomgren detailed the team’s mental processing that has to go on with they insert yet another new face under center against North Texas on Saturday. “It’s always going to be next man up,” Bloomgren said, “but anytime you have a next man up, especially at that position, everybody has to tighten their belts. Everyone has to play better and do your job that much better to make that person comfortable so they can do their job.”

The job on Saturday will be to get true freshman Wiley Green plenty of space in the pocket to deliver a calm, accurate throw. Green has an arm that can get the ball anywhere, but as we saw against FIU, that can include the wrong hands if he’s pressing. He has the talent and the coaching that’s produced encouraging results from a few passers already for Rice this season. Now it’s his turn to take the reigns.

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Mike Bloomgren wraps up FIU and looks ahead at North Texas

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Rice football prepares for another Conference USA opponent in Week 9, hitting the road once again to play North Texas.

Looking back at FIU

“It’s disappointing to lose a football game, and that’s something I’m stressing to our team continually. Losing is not okay. It should not feel good. It should hurt, and it should make you want to work that much harder.”

On the fast start…

“We started out fast, the way we want to as a football team which I think was very important. Offense took the opening drive right down the field… the defense got a couple of stops…. that was really positive. That was something we needed to do.”

On the youth movement…

“We had 10 true freshman play in that game, five of which started. And the moment didn’t seem to big for them. In almost all the cases they went in there and lined up beside these guys… and just played.”

On committing zero penalties…

“We played penalty free. I can’t remember the last time I was part of a team that had zero penalties. I think it’s a testament to these guys and their discipline … and the techniques their coaches are teaching them.”

On the team’s overall effort…

“I’m pleased with the effort these guys are putting forward. I’m pleased with the way they continue to fight.”

Looking forward to North Texas

“Offensively, they’re scoring almost 40 points a game. Mason Fine was the conference preseason offensive player of the year. He’s a gritty kid that makes throw after throw and keeps fighting. He’s tough as nails and any time you think he’s down or hurt he just pops right back in and finds a way to get the ball downfield to one of his great receivers.”

On the North Texas offense…

“It’s dynamic. I really believe it all starts with him, with Mason Fine. I think he’s such a scrapper. I think he does more than you think he can with his legs but just his ability to stay in there and find a way to get the ball downfield to those receivers is so impressive.”

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