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The latest of the Rice Football coaching search

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No offers have been made, but the end is in sight as Rice football continues its search for its next head football coach.

It was reported Monday morning that Yale’s Tony Reno had emerged as the favorite to be named the next head coach of Rice Football. While The Roost can confirm Reno is among the finalists for the job, no formal offer has yet been made, and it’s still within the realm of possibility the Owls go elsewhere in their search.

At this time the candidate pool has been trimmed and Reno is just one of the names in the mix. The other candidates are have emerged from an extensive national search that began following the firing of Mike Bloomgren several weeks ago.

Reno fits a profile the Owls are seriously exploring with these finalists. They want a program builder with head coaching experience who has a winning tradition. Several rising coordinators were initially tossed into the consideration set among national reporters, but this is not the direction Rice intends to go at this time.

This report surfacing when it did further clarifies the narrowing time horizon with which Rice has to make this hire. The Early Signing Period opens December 4 and Rice would prefer to have a candidate in place at that time but the situation remains fluid.

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Rice Football 2024 Game Preview: USF

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Rice football is set for Senior Day and their final game of the 2024 season where they’ll host South Florida. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Any hopes of a five-win bowl berth for Rice football were squashed last weekend in a one-sided loss to UAB on the road. The Owls’ upcoming opponent, South Florida, faired much better, defeating Tulsa for their sixth win of the season to clinch a spot in the postseason ranks. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and USF.

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs USF on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

Rice football is playing for pride at this point. Led by an interim head coach with a roster full of seniors set to be recognized before the game, the Owls are hoping to end the final game of the Mike Bloomgren era on a high note. On the other side, South Florida hopes to build some momentum as they prepare for a second consecutive bowl season under Alex Golesh.

Series History

All Time | USF leads, 1-0
Last Five | USF leads, 1-0
Last Meeting | Away 2023, USF won 48-29

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Warner – 245/397 (61.7 percent), 2280 yards, 14 TD, 13 INT /  Devillier 2038 (52.6 percent), 137 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Connors – 142 carries, 740 yards (5.2 yards per carry), 8 TD / Jackson- 43 carries, 235 yards (5.5 yards per carry), 0 TD
Receiving | Sykes – 58 receptions, 664 yards (11.4 yds/rec), 5 TD / Campbell – 29 receptions, 320 yards (11.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Connors – 58 receptions, 394 yards (6.8 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Morris – 55, Taylor – 54, Awe/Hook- 46
Pass Breakups | Fresch – 9, Ahoia – 6, Taylor -5
Interceptions | Taylor/Flowers – 2, Fresch/Williams/Mutombo – 1

USF Stat Notables

Passing | Archie – 129/220 (58.6 percent), 1452 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT
Rushing | Joiner Jr. – 101 carries, 747 yards (7.4 yards per carry), 11 TD / Wright – 98 carries, 459 yards (4.7 yards per carry), 6 TD
Receiving | Atkins – 61 receptions, 567 yards (9.3 yds/rec), 1 TD / Brown-Stephens – 22 receptions, 294 yards (13.4 yds/rec), 3 TD / Porter – 24 receptions, 200 yards (8.3 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Harris – 65, Pettway – 54, Byard – 49
Pass Breakups | Austin – 9, Rucker/Knox – 5, Banks – 3
Interceptions | Austin/Ward/Schuler – 2, Five tied with one

USF X-Factor | In Archie we trust

Things got dark for South Florida when quarterback Byrum Brown went down midseason. It took the Bulls a while to get back on their feet and rekindle the offense, but backup quarterback Bryce Archie has been integral to that turnaround.

Archie completed 53.7 percent of his passes in his start against Memphis and has increased his completion percentage in each subsequent game until it fell for the first time from 68.8 percent against Charlotte to 67.7 percent last week against Tulsa in a rout, his first 300-yard game with the Bulls this year. If he stays locked in and gets this offense back up to it’s lofty standards USF will be hard to beat.

Rice X-Factor | Hold onto the ball

Rice turned the ball over four times against UAB and lose by four scores. The math doesn’t always work out quite like that, but it speaks to how slim the margins are for this team right now. The Owls fumbled the ball away in the second quarter when the game was still within a field goal margin. But three interceptions in a span of five drives doomed any chance of the Owls making this a competitive game.

UAB was only forced to perform one extended scoring drive after the first quarter last week. South Florida has proven their offense is capable of more than that. Spotting them any extra chances will take an already tall order and make it even more challenging.

If Rice can protect the ball and play complimentary football they’ve proven themselves able to hang with even the best of the best in the AAC. If they can’t this one might be over quickly.

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One Final Thing

Is it too cliche to call this coming Rice football game the end of an era? Perhaps. But it many ways the Owls will be closing the door on Mike Bloomgren’s tenure for good and opening themselves up to the great unknown. The Owls are in the midst of a coaching search — more on that front coming, hopefully, soon for our Patreon subscribers — and once that is finalized, new era will indeed be upon us.

However, there is still one more game to be played.

The seniors playing in their final game put every ounce of effort into building this program from humble begins. To reach back-to-back bowl games was no small feat from where they started. And while it’s fair to be disappointed with the results this year, it’s hard to look at this class and these players with anything but gratitude for the groundwork they laid for what’s next.

This group proved that winning is possible here in the current climate of college football. They proved a program like Rice can go toe-to-toe with the best of the AAC and take them to the brink. What’s to say a new voice and renewed investment won’t be the catalyst to get the program to that next step?

Those answers will come in time. Right now, everyone inside the Brian Patterson Center is focused on one thing: beating South Florida. It sure would be a nice way to go out.

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AAC Football 2024: Week 13 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army9-1 (7-0)at Notre DameL, 49-14vs UTSA
Charlotte4-7 (3-4)at FAUW, 39-27vs UAB
ECU7-4 (5-2)at North TexasW, 40-28vs Navy
FAU2-9 (0-7)vs CharlotteL, 39-27at Tulsa
Memphis9-2 (5-2)— OFF — —at Tulane
Navy7-3 (5-2)— OFF — —at ECU
North Texas5-6 (2-5)vs ECUL, 40-28at Temple
Rice3-8 (2-5)at UABL, 40-14vs USF
Temple3-8 (2-5)at UTSAL, 51-27vs North Texas
Tulane9-2 (7-0)— OFF — —vs Memphis
Tulsa3-8 (1-6)at USFL, 63-30vs FAU
UAB3-8 (2-5)vs RiceW, 40-14at Charlotte
USF6-5 (4-3)vs TulsaW, 63-30at Rice
UTSA6-5 (4-3)vs TempleW, 51-27at Army

Notable Results and Storylines // (Standings)

Not All Interims

There are quite a few interim head coaches in the AAC right now. Most of them have inherited a tough situation and have continued to lose like their predecessor. Rice interim Pete Alamar lost. FAU interim Chad Lunsford lost. Temple interim Everett Withers lost. But ECU interim Blake Harrell? He’s 4-0 and has the Pirates surging up the AAC standings. Not all interims are created equal.

And then were was Tulsa

All those interim coaches are in place because underwhelming seasons necessitated a change in leadership. And then there’s Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane are 7-16 under Kevin Wilson and haven’t done much to impress during his tenure. Back-to-back seasons as one of the bottom dwellers in the conference haven’t been enough to force a change there, yet.

Army defeated

Army has largely run through everyone its faced in league play to this point, but they hadn’t played a team like Notre Dame, a fact which became evident in short time on Saturday afternoon. The Irish routed the troops emphatically and while this doesn’t directly change the quality of team they probably are, it does likely close the door on a dark horse College Football Playoff bid.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Tulane’s next test

With Army no longer undefeated, Tulane has a chance to make their case as the top team in the American. That overture has to start this weekend with a win over Memphis at home before they can start thinking about AAC Championship dreams and potentially more than that.

How far can the Pirates go?

ECU could very well finish third in the conference in the same season they fired their head coach. Those two things don’t often go together, but it’s on the table for the Pirates if they can beat Navy at home. The Midshipmen are reeling a bit and have lost three of four since their 6-0 start.

Will North Texas go bowling?

The postseason fates of every AAC team are sealed going into the final weekend of the regular season, except for the Mean Green. North Texas has lost five in a row after a 5-1 start. To drop their season finale against Temple on a sixth straight defeat would be crushing for a season which began with such promise.

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Rice Football bottoms out in loss to UAB

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Rice Football never got into gear on the road against UAB, sputtering in all three phases in a loss to the two-win Blazers.

The much-maligned Trent Dilfer won the day on Saturday, earning a lopsided win over a listless Rice Football squad that never found its way. “I don’t think we played the game I felt we were going to play,” interim head coach Pete Alamar said. “I don’t think how we played matched how we practiced. I thought we practiced well.”

The loss adds to the pain of an underwhelming season that has gone so far awry. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Out of Sync

UAB took a 14-7 lead early in the first quarter on the back of two plays. The first was a 90-yard kick return that set the Blazers up inside the five-yard line for a one-play touchdown drive. The next, a 48-yard touchdown run, came on the ensuing drive.

Six of the Blazers’ next seven plays went for first downs. The Rice football defense has been the backbone of this program all season long, if not longer. To see them struggle so severely was jarring, especially coming off the bye. Add on a fumble from tight end Elijah Mojarro and a picture began to form of a team that just wasn’t all on the same page.

To an extent, the apparent mental haze is understandable. This is a team coming off a bye with an interim head coach with two games left to play before an increasingly uncertain future begins might not have been as locked in as they’d been in previous weeks. These are human beings, after all.

Rice floundered even when handed 30 yards via penalties and set up with a first down at the three-yard line. Warner tossed his second interception of the day soon after, a 99-yard pick six that put Rice in a two-score hole at the break.

This running scheme is broken

This is probably a moot point with a coaching change looming, but the lack of rushing production from this team has been one of the most unexpected mysteries of the season. UAB entered this game dead last in the AAC in rush defense allowing 230 yards per game on the ground. And it wasn’t just some bad days against option teams. This run defense was actively bad.

Yet, Rice tallied 35 rushing yards in the first half en route to 115 total yards rushing in the contest. Game script wasn’t the reason the Owls weren’t able to run the football. They’re just not set up to do so, a mind-melting reality when one considers the years of talk of Intellectual Brutality and “pounding the rock”.

The lack of a running game has put more pressure on EJ Warner. While Warner has been better of late, there aren’t many offenses in the country that get better when they throw everything onto the back of their quarterback and ask them to be Superman each and every play.

Regardless of how things got to this point, this reality isn’t sustainable. It’s probably fitting the program will be forced to go back to the drawing board and find a new solution on offense this offseason.

Flashes of (Defensive) Brilliance

Even though turnovers have largely eluded them, the Rice football defense has been one of the better chaos-creating units in the conference this season. Rice entered this game second in the conference in sacks per game and fourth in tackles for loss per game.

Gabe Taylor picked up the Owls first sack of the afternoon, exploding off the edge and knocking the ball out in the process.

Plays like this have enabled this unit to thrive. Even when the ball doesn’t come out, putting the opposing offense in second-and-long and third-and-long situations has largely paid off.

That aggressiveness proved to be an important tone-setter early in the second-half, too. A five yard tackle for a loss by Ty Flowers helped secure a quick three-and-out, giving the Owls’ offense another chance to wake up. It’s not the defenses fault the offense

Just one more

Over the past month, sources confirmed to The Roost that Rice football was prepared to accept a bowl berth should they qualify under the five-win APR exception. That’s how the Owls made their first bowl trip under head coach Mike Bloomgren.

It won’t be in play this year. The loss to UAB in Birmingham on Saturday was the eighth loss of the season for program, officially closing the door on any bowl hopes, however faint they might have been.

Alamar said that although there was an understanding what this loss meant for those bowl hopes, he did not directly address it with the team postgame. “There was a ton of reasons to come out here and play well and win this game,” he said. “We did not play well enough to win.”

Instead of playing for a miracle against South Florida next weekend, Rice will officially be ending an era. The program will honor its seniors who helped raise the floor of this program from a one-win team to a consistently competitive force will be thanked. At the same time, Rice will be eagerly awaiting a new leader.

Whoever this new head coach will be, he’ll be tasked with achieving what Bloomgren was never able to do here at South Main: find the ceiling.

Digging Deeper

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A Salute to Dean Connors

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Rice Basketball escapes Sharp Gym with win over HCU

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Rice Basketball struggled from the start, overcoming poor possessions and bad breaks to escape with the victory over Houston Christian on Friday.

Days removed from a dominant road win over Louisiana, it took Rice basketball some time to recover from some sort of post-win funk. Rice turned the ball over six times in the first six minutes against Houston Christian, spotting the hosting Huskies an eight point lead.

The Owls entered this game with an 14-3 all-time record in the series and certainly didn’t expect to find themselves trailing by such a sizable margin so quickly. Spotting the Huskies 10 points off turnovers in the first half alone played a significant role in that deficit. Fortunately Rice was able to regroup quickly and take better care of the basketball, committing just two turnovers in the remainder of the half while turning that deficit into a 29-29 tie at the break.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

The grimy slugfest endured into the second half. Alem Huseinovic was bound to the bench with foul trouble, picking up his third at the start of the half and a fourth before the 13th minute. Houston Christian had three players with three fouls to that point, but was able to skirt serious foul trouble.

It didn’t seem to matter who was on the court next, though. HCU went on a 16-3 run as Rice went cold from the floor, making one of six shots with four more turnovers.

With their backs against the wall, Rice found a way. Trae Broadnax spurred the team back from the brink. Rice would go on to outscore HCU 25-11 in the final 12 minutes, knocking down their free throws and procuring a final, excellent defensive possession in the clutch to sneak out of Sharp Gym with a win.

Final Box | Rice 61, Houston Christian 58

Key takeaway | Turnover troubles

Perhaps no moment summed up this contest better than the sequence following a Rice timeout taken with 12:43 to play in the second half, a timeout that was called in response to sloppy play which put Rice in its second eigh-point deficit of the evening.

Out of that stoppage Rice turned the ball over. Houston Christian scooped it up and went the other way, laying it up for two points plus the foul. Rice finished this game with 16 turnovers. Houston Christian had 4 The Owls’ dominant 46 to 25 edge on the boards was rendered moot by their inability to do anything with the basketball in their hands.

Fortunately for Rice, they made their free throws tonight and were able to maintain their defensive intensity while they toiled on the opposite end of the court. These are the kind of games that aren’t fun to review in the film room, but they’re much easier to work through when you find a way to come out of top.

Up Next: Nassau Championship vs Hofstra (Fri, Nov. 29), vs Arkansas State (Sat, Nov. 30), vs Iona (Sun, Dec. 1)

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