Next up for Rice football, a road game at UTSA. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the FAU Navy game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UTSA.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
He’s a talented guy. He understands their system really well. He can make a lot of throws and he’s really athletic. His feet are the thing people don’t talk about enough… He’s just a mature guy, a good quarterback for them – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the UTSA quarterback Owen McCown
I think it’s best front seven we’ve seen all year. I really do. I think they’re athletic. I think they’re physical. I think there’s a lot of talent there. That jumps off at me… There’s no shortage of athletes running around. They play a lot of guys. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the UTSA defense
I think he’s the guy that makes it go. If you watch their success offensively, when they’ve been real explosive, he’s making them go. When they haven’t been quite as explosive it’s when he’s not on the field… They’re still good, but they’re not as explosive. I think he’s the key. We’ve got to contain him. We have to tackle well in space. He’s one of the nations’ leading rushers. That’s our defensive challenge this week.- Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on UTSA RB Robert Henry
It’s been a steady, slower pace than any of us would want, but it’s certainly making strides in the right direction. I’m excited about it. I think the players see that now. There’s been more explosive plays over the last three weeks, now you gotta put it all together. You’ve gotta be able to sustain drives. –Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the growth of the offense
Their defense is very athletic. Their front seven is very big, very physical. They fly to the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles. I think it’s going to be a good game for us up front. I think we have to match their intensity, be more physical. The UTSA defense is very physical. They’re fast. They’re athletic. They’re going to fly around the ball so I think it’s going to be a very good game come Saturday night. – Running back Quinton Jackson on the UTSA defense
It’s always been a game that I really want to win against these guys, especially. They’re a good football team, play well, play hard. That’s what we like to do, so it’s a battle of wills at this point.- Linebacker Andrew Awe on the rivalry with UTSA
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There are two notable additions to the two deep this week, wide receiver Payton Matthews and safety Jack Kane. The latter’s inclusion is a positive sign that he might be available for the Owls after missing the last several games with an injury. Matthews has moved up the ranks, displacing a few veterans that didn’t make their mark in non-conference play. His role should continue to grow moving forward.
As always, there are plenty of moving parts. Edge Michael Daley, who was a surprise inactive last Saturday, is not listed on this depth chart. I’ll have more updates on his potential availability in this week’s practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be out later this week.
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Garcia saw inactive for the Giant’s Week 5 game against the Saints. This was the first time he’s been inactive this season after appearing in the teams’ first four contests.
McCaffrey made another highlight play this weekend, hauling in a 50-yard bomb from quarterback Jayden Daniels. The catch was the longest reception of McCaffrey’s career.
Granson saw his highest snap count of the season in Week 5 against the Broncos, splitting time between the offense and special teams. He didn’t record any receptions, but he does have at least one tackle in every game this season.
Fox punted five times in the Lions’ Week 5 victory over the Bengals, averaging a 44.8 yards per kick with a long of 64 yards. He pinned four of his five kicks inside the 20 yard line.
From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.
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Here’s the complete list of FBS teams that are bowl eligible as of the end of Week 6: Memphis. That it’s. That’s the list. The Tigers became the first and only team to clinch bowl eligibility this week, cleanly dispatching of Tulsa without much concern. 6-0 heading into a bye week. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Not the Same Old Owls
Speaking of high notes, Temple stunned UTSA on Saturday on the arm of quarterback Evan Simon, who threw two touchdowns to secure the Owls’ first conference win under head coach K.C. Keeler. Additionally, Temple is the only FBS team to have not committed a turnover of any kind so far this season.
Getting in the (Conference) Win Column
It’s been an eventful start to the season for both Army and South Florida, with the Black Knights on the wrong end of an FCS defeat and USF falling just short of a miracle run through a gauntlet that included Boise State, Florida and Miami. None of that matters in the battle for a spot in the conference championship game. Their comfortable wins this weekend do. Both squads are 1-0 in league play.
Looking ahead – Key storylines
American Showcase
Few had a Week 7 game between North Texas and South Florida circled as one that might have College Football Playoff implications, but here we are. The two teams have combined to start 9-1, with the only loss coming at the hands of a Top 10 Miami team. The winner gets a leg up in the race for a conference championship berth and an all-important potential tiebreaker in what is expected to be a contentious race.
Keep an Eye on the Big Easy
While it might not draw too much initial focus, next weekend’s battle between the Pirates and Green Wave could be particularly intriguing. An ECU win would emphatically announce their intentions to contend under first-year head coach Blake Harrell while Tulane has an opportunity to post what could be their most impressive conference win of the season thus far.
Owls Facing Gut Checks
This week it was Florida Atlantic staving off a lost season with an upset win over Rice. Next week the other Owls in the league face potential turning-point games in their respective seasons. Rice can bounce back above .500 and keep those bowl hopes alive with a win over UTSA while Temple could firmly cement themselves as ahead of schedule should they find a way to shock the Midshipmen.
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Rice Football threw the first punch, but was unable to go the distance, dropping their home conference opener to FAU on Saturday, 27-21.
In a game that shared many similarities to previous contests, Rice football waded through sluggish offensive waters, surrendered some key third downs on defense and came up just short of what could have been a big win for the program. Sitting at 3-3 with a road trip to UTSA looming, here are a few immediate reactions from the game:
Offense Strikes First, but Remains Work in Progress
Getting the offense going more quickly was the primary focus of Rice football practice all week long. They’d been slow out of the gate and forced to rally, an ill-advised strategy for a team committed to an option offense. Head coach Scott Abell backed up the talk by opting to receive the opening kickoff, a first this season after the Owls had deferred all four of the previous tosses they’d won.
Abell and the Owls were rewarded by a perfectly executed option play with quarterback Chase Jenkins correctly sticking the ball in the belly of Quinton Jackson, who did the rest, scampering 68 yards up the middle for the game’s first score.
Unfortunately, that one play would not absolve the Owls of their struggles. Jackson would rip off a 20-yard carry on the next possession, giving the Owls 92 yards of offense on their first four plays. The problem was what came next; Rice tallied 96 yards on their next 34 plays, failing to add any more points to their total in the first half.
Things did get better, including another resurgent second half performance. Rice converted 10-of-16 on third down and did not post a single three-and-out for the duration of the game.
“I hate it for our older guys, our seniors,” Abell said, reflecting on the disappointing result amidst an offense in media res. “Our younger guys, we talk about it all the time, we’re building something. A build doesn’t happen overnight, so you recognize that. But for older guys, their future is now. And we recognize that.”
Negative Plays Persist
Those growing pains have been exacerbated by the ease with which opposing defenses have been able to break plays in the trenches. Some of the Owls’ scheme allows for unblocked linemen, so a free rusher isn’t always the chief concern. What is problematic, however, is the frequency with which Rice football is being struck behind the line of scrimmage.
“It should be the opposite. When you run the football you should have few tackles for a loss,” Abell quipped. “It’s a stat we gotta improve on because we can’t play behind the sticks.”
FAU tallied eight tackles for a loss on Saturday night, a number that will only add to the Owls’ league-worst mark in that regard. No offense has allowed more TFLs per game than Rice, an indication that either the blocking or the keep-give decisions being made in the backfield are not operating as optimally as they should.
Much of this is supposed to get better over time. That’s good news for the future of Rice football, but the current 2025 team needs to find answers now. Rice showed a remarkable amount of resiliency to overcome so many of those negative plays, but it’s not a pattern that can continue if the team wants to turn the corner on offense.
To the Skies?
The passing offense has grown by leaps and bounds since the season opener against Louisiana. For most traditional offenses, 137 yards through the air won’t trigger any celebratory response, but for a Rice football offense devoted to the ground game, this represented a season-high in passing yardage.
Quarterback Chase Jenkins completed 71 percent of his passes and looked sharp on throws down the field. Outside of a trick play that resulted in a throw into triple coverage, the rest of the looks were clean.
Frankly, Rice was much more consistent in their passing attack than they were in their running game. And without the commitment to the running game, plays like Drayden Dickmann’s streaking score probably aren’t available to the same degree:
How fast is Drayden Dickmann? Watch where he is when Jenkins throws this ball and watch how many yards he puts between him and the defender when he hauls it in. Glorious. pic.twitter.com/0W9b5cWXcn
Still, it might be worth exploring the question. How can Rice incorporate a growing passing game as they work to establish an option attack that’s in its fledgling stages of development?
Abell credited a portion of that to looks that are more prevalent in those late game situations, but it’s something he and his staff will have to consider moving forward. An injury-plagued receiving corps won’t help those aspirations.
Make Your Own Breaks
Winning the turnover battle by two is usually a good sign, and while it was proof that not all the things broke the wrong way against the home team, it wasn’t enough good will for a team still learning as they go. This young program is going to need a few breaks. And while there is talent enough to overcome a few negative bounces, once again Rice seemingly came up short on the luck factor.
Where do we start? Jenkins being ruled an inch short of a first down on his second drive? And while it’s often not the officials fault for any particular result, that Florida Atlantic converting a massive third quarter third down on a pick play that left a wide receiver streaking wide open across the middle certainly did the home team no favors. Likewise, the same was true when the Owls’ opening third down conversion in the fourth quarter came back on a holding call.
On mic, Abell said all the things he must and refused to gripe about some officiating decisions that did his team no favors. He did make this comment though, which rings true of the place this team is right now.
“Sometimes you want to get a break or you need to get a break but you also have to go make your own breaks. Especially when you find yourself where it’s hard,” he said. “Right now, it’s hard. No games are going to be easy. We shouldn’t expect it, and I don’t think our guys do. You hope to get a break or two, but more importantly you’ve got to figure out how to make your own breaks.”
Staring down the barrel of their first sub-.500 record if they drop their game to UTSA next weekend, Rice football desperately needs to find a way to generate that luck.
What’s more, the trajectory of this season feels like it’s hanging in the balance as Rice football faces one of the toughest remaining schedules in the conference after their bye week. A win this week would have given the Owls six tries to win two games and secure a postseason berth in Abell’s first season on campus.
As of now, it’s easy to readjust those pesky expectations and treat a bowl bid as an upside play for a season that began with very muted hopes. Yet it would be disingenuous to discard that zeal generated by a 3-1 start which faded to distant memory on Caden Veltkamp’s quarterback keeper to ice this game.
Digging Deeper
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FAU is next up on the 2025 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with Owls’ insider Garon Bach from The Owl Nest.
Owls’ insider Garon Bach was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and FAU The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.
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