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19 Days: Mike Bloomgren the 19th coach in school history

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Mike Bloomgen is the 19th coach in Rice football history, joining a rich tradition which dates all the way back to 1912.

It all began with a 3-2 season in 1912 led by Phil Arbuckle, the first Rice football coach in school history. His 11-years in charge, albeit with a gap in 1918 when John Anderson led the team, set a precedent for long-tenured coaches at South Main.

Although there have been stretches with more turnover than others, Rice has had relatively few men in charge of the football program over the last three decades. Since Fred Goldsmith took over in 1989, Rice has had five head coaches: Goldsmith (five seasons), Ken Hatfield (12 seasons), Todd Graham (one season), David Baliff (eight seasons) and now Mike Bloomgren.

Limited turnover hasn’t necessitated sustained success. The Owls have two conference championships to their name over the last 60 years, a number which contrasts sharply with the six championships they won in the SWC from 1934 to 1957, a span of just 22 seasons. The majority of those championships came under the leadership of all-time great Jess Neely.

Neely’s career record of 144-124-10 isn’t awe-inspiring, but his 12-year stretch from 1946 to 1957 was arguably the most successful era of Rice football. During that period the Owls finished inside the top 10 nationally four times, climbing as high as No. 5 in the nation at the conclusion of the 1949 season.

Since Neely finished with a career 53.7 percent winning percentage no other Owls’ coach that lasted more than a single season has finished with an above .500 record. There have only been three coaches in school history to accomplish the feat, Neely, Arbuckle and Jimmy Kitts. If Bloomgren can get the Owls back to level he’ll already be among some of the most successful coaches Rice football has ever had.

19 is a lot of coaches, but if things break the right way, the Owls won’t have to start looking for No. 20 for quite some time.

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20 Days: Owls will use punting to their advantage

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Irrespective of struggles on offense and defense last season, the Rice football punting game via the leg of Jack Fox consistently produced impactful plays.

Rice football didn’t have many statistical boons to celebrate last season. Though the Owls issues on both sides of the ball the leg of their all-CUSA punter, Jack Fox, was not one of them. As a junior in 2017 Fox booted 56 punts. His 44.3 average was a top-20 mark in the nation and one of the brightest spots for the Owls last year.

Calling Fox an offensive weapon might be a stretch, but it’s true that he did more to flip the field than the starting 11 did most of the time. Just once in 2017 did he tallied fewer than 100 total punting yards, a loss to Southern Miss. Other than that Fox topped 200 yards with his leg six times and went over 300 yards on three separate occasions.

Fox blasted the eighth-most punts in the nation as a sophomore in 2016. His overall totals fell last season, but he’s got more than enough leg to kick it long whenever Rice calls upon him.

From his sophomore to his junior season Fox saw his effectiveness improve. He averaged 40.7 yards per punt as a sophomore before upping that average by more than 3.5 yards last season. Another bump up in distance would put him within range of last years’ leading punter, Michael Dickson of Texas. Dickson holds the distinction of being the first punter selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Fox was named to the Ray Guy watch list. He called it “an honor” to be listed alongside some of the best punters in the nation. Rather than be content there, Fox wants to get better. He hopes to boost his average to 45 yards per punt in 2018, a mark which would put him in the conversation to take home the award this fall.

If Rice truly intends to pick up a few more wins in 2018 out-punting their opponents won’t suffice. But that doesn’t mean an effective punter won’t play a meaningful role in the Owls future successes. Rice doesn’t have a roster overflowing with talent. Fox is one of the most talented players they have. While he’s here, the Owls had best make use of him.

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2018 UTEP Miners Season Preview

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Rice football’s lone victory of the 2017 season came against the UTEP Miners who have also moved on to a new coach. What can Dana Dimel accomplish in his first year in El Paso?

As Mike Bloomgren ushers in a new era at South Main, Dana Dimel hopes to bring an injection of new life into a UTEP program that finds themselves, with Rice, working their way up from the bottom of Conference USA. The UTEP Miners were the only winless team in the FBS last season, making the bar for improvement manageable in Dimel’s first season. It just might take some time.

Rice would have been in the cellar themselves, had it not been for a 31-14 victory over the Miners last season. The Owls and Miners have met 21 times; the Owls lead the series 14-7. The two squads will square off next on Nov. 3 in a game will serve as a benchmark for the rebuild being undertaken by each program.

UTEP has the fortune (or perhaps misfortune given 2017’s results) of returning a fair amount of starters on both sides of the ball. That puts the onus on Dimel to coach up a group of largely veteran players who he hopes have learned a lot over an extremely challenging season that led to the dismissal of his predecessor, Sean Kugler.

Here’s how UTEP stacks up on both sides of the ball in 2018:

Offense

Dimel will have to start from scratch in more ways than one. Last year’s starting quarterback Zach Greenlee is gone, so is leading receiving Tyler Batson. Those are two significant holes that will need to be filled, quickly.

At quarterback, the Miners will choose between two distinctly different commodities. Dual-threat Kai Locksley, the 2017 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year put up 2,238 passing yards, 705 rushing yards and 40 combined touchdowns for Iowa Western. He’ll battle it out with returning senior pocket passer Ryan Metz. Metz was less impressive a year ago, throwing three touchdowns and six interceptions in eight appearances.

UTEP opens against Northern Arizona. ESPN FPI projections give UTEP a 49.9 percent chance of winning their season opener against NAU, a decidedly more lenient opponent than last year in which they fell to eventual College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma, 56-7.

There are no “sure things” after the 0-fer campaign in 2017, but there won’t be another contest this winnable for the Miners, who could choose to put both guys through some live game action to finalize the quarterback battle if that’s the route Dimel chooses.

Whoever wins the starting job will have the benefit of an experienced offensive line in front of them. The Miners bring back four of their five starters from a year ago, led by 6-foot-2, 305-pound center Derron Gatewood.

The Miners are fairly well set up at the skill positions as well. Senior wideout Kavika Johnson (15 receptions, 178 yards and two touchdowns in 2017) leads the receiving corps and Quardraiz Wadley and Treyvon Hughes will battle for the starting job in the backfield.

Defense

Similar to the offense, the defense is also filled with returning players at several key positions. Again, not necessarily a good thing. The UTEP secondary was one of their stronger units last season, surrendering 212.3 passing yards per game, the 48th best mark in the country. Outside of the 496-yard thrashing from Baker Mayfield, UTEP allowed just one other opponent top 230 yards through the air against them in 2017. The Miners return almost the entirety of that unit, which should see a step up in production immediately if the front seven can give them more help.

UTEP registered 11 sacks in 2017, one more than Air Force who finished last in the entire nation in the metric. The Miners couldn’t figure out how to get the quarterback, no matter how hard they tried. If the upperclassmen tandem of C.J. Reese and Denzel Chukwukelu can be even the slightest bit more disruptive this year they could make an already strong secondary that much better.

The linebackers are where the optimism fades. Gone are Alvin Jones, Dante Lovilotte and Julian Jackson. That leaves Jayson Vanhook as the only member of the 2018 unit with meaningful playing experience. The youth infusion leaves the position group wide open. Players like incoming freshman Cal Wallerstedt and returning juniors Jamar Smith (34 tackles, four for a loss) and Dylan Parsee (26 tackles, two for a loss) will be thrust into starting roles. If this unit can anchor the middle of the field the Miners have a chance to make significant strides on this side of the ball in 2018. That’s a big if.

Schedule

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22 Days: Owls’ staff excited about the 2018 recruiting class

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22 freshman joined the Rice football team as members of the 2018 recruiting class with several others walking on. The new staff is thrilled by their early results.

Mike Bloomgren was introduced as the new head football coach at Rice University on Dec. 6, 2017. Two weeks later the Owls went through the inaugural early signing period, which was admittedly challenging for the Owls’ new staff. 

Rice earned five signatures on the short turnaround and added another 17 members before all was said and done, giving them 22 members in the 2018 class. Others would join the Owls during the summer, bringing the final tally closer to 30 first-year players this season.

A little more than five months after National Signing Day in February, the entirety of that class has finally arrived on campus and is participating in regular practice with the rest of the team. Bloomgren and his staff could not be more complimentary of the fresh faces on campus, glowing about their on-field performances during practices and in the weight room this summer.

There have been moments of frustration, but by and large, the staff is impressed with the performance of the “young bucks” early on. Special teams coach Josh Lembo acknowledged several hard workers that had impressed early: Jacob Doddridge, Prudy Calderon, Juma Ocotviano and Miles Adams, among others. On the whole, there doesn’t seem to be a wink link, at least not yet.

Judging from what Bloomgren has already said about the fluidity of the depth chart and the progress being shown by the 2018 class there could be a few newcomers that crack their way into the starting lineups early on in the season. The effort of the young guns is unmistakable and it’s already feeding through to the rest of the team. So far, the freshmen are putting in the work it takes to be successful. Those dividends will pay off in the fall.

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2018 LSU Tigers Season Preview

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A road trip to Death Valley awaits Rice Football at the tail end of the 2018 season. How will the Owls stack up against the LSU Tigers in 2018?

The toughest test for Rice Football in 2018 will come on Nov. 17 when the Owls travel to Death Valley to take on the LSU Tigers. The SEC heavyweight has been in a state of flux since the firing on long-time head coach Les Miles and the start of the Ed Orgeron era.

After taking over as the interim coach midway through 2016, Oregon’s first full season came in 2017 and it was a bumpy ride. The Tigers started out 2-2 losing at home to eventual Sun Belt champions, Troy. The pressure on Coach O continued to mount, but a 7-1 end to the regular season quelled those calling for his job, at least for the time being.

The Tigers will be talented in 2018 thanks to an ever-abundant pool of talent in the south. Their success (or lack thereof) will depend entirely on their level of coaching and quarterback play. The 2018 game with Rice marks the first time these two teams will meet on the football field in 23 years.

It would take an upset for the ages for this Rice team to beat this LSU team, but there’s always the chance Rice is aided by chaos in the LSU camp. If the wheels fall off and Coach O struggles out of the gate again the team could elect to give him the boot before LSU meets Rice the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. If that does happen, all bets are off.

Here’s what to expect from LSU in 2018.

Offense

The Tigers primary objective of the offseason will be deciding on Danny Etling‘s successor under center. The former starting quarterback was selected in the NFL Draft this spring, which at the time seemed to open the door for sophomore quarterback Myles Brennan. The latter was uninspiring in limited action last season.

Brennan appeared in six games, completing 14 of 24 passes for 182 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It was Brennan that replaced Etling midway through the Tigers home loss to Troy, only to be benched in favor of Etling later on in the game.

The starting job was between him and redshirt freshman Lowell Narcisse until Coach Oregon landed what he hopes will be an impactful grad transfer in former Ohio State backup quarterback Joe Burrow. He, presumably, will be handed the starting job at LSU after failing to beat out Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State.

Along with a new name at quarterback, LSU will have to break in several skill players. Texas Tech transfer Jonathan Giles should take over for DJ Chark as the No. 1 receiver while the running back position is completely wide open. There is no Derrius Guice waiting in the wings to replace a departing superstar. This year the Tigers will be forced to rely on a committee with the load shared between Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Nick Brossette.

LSU has a few new faces along the offensive line as well, but the Tigers depth and experience should enable them to plug and play. Don’t expect any major gaps on that front.

Defense

Only in the SEC West can a team lose their top three tacklers and not miss a beat. Arden Key, Donnie Alexander and Corey Thompson are all gone.  Still, potential first-round pick Devin White leads will lead the front seven from the linebacker position. White led the Tigers with 133 tackles, a mark which ranked 11th in the nation.

Averaging slightly more than 10 tackles per game, White had more total tackles than any two other defensive players combined. He also had 13.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception.

Backing White up in the secondary is another potential first-round pick, Greedy Williams. He nabbed six interceptions last season, accounting for half of the team total of 12 picks. He’s as lock-down as they come and will draw the task of shutting down the No. 1 pass-catching option in each of the Tigers’ games this season.

The defensive line will see some turnover too, most prominently the loss of veteran player Christian Lacouture. Waiting in the wings are a handful of less experienced, but still talented pass rushers including Texas Tech transfer Breiden Fehoko and host of incoming freshman.

Schedule

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