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AAC Football 2023: Week 5 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 5.

Team Record  This Week Result Up Next
Charlotte 1-4 at SMU L, 34-16  —
ECU 1-4 at Rice L, 24-17  —
FAU 1-3  —  — vs Tulsa
Memphis 4-1 vs Boise St W, 35-32  —
Navy 1-3 vs USF L, 44-30 vs North Texas
North Texas 2-2 vs ACU W, 45-31 at Navy
Rice 3-2 vs ECU W, 24-17 vs UConn
SMU 3-2 vs Charlotte W, 34-16  —
Temple 2-3 at Tulsa L, 48-26 vs UTSA
Tulane 4-1 vs UAB W, 35-23  —
Tulsa 3-2 vs Temple W, 48-26 at FAU
UAB 1-4 at Tulane L, 35-23 vs USF
USF 3-2 at Navy W, 44-30 at UAB
UTSA 1-3 —  — at Temple

Notable Results (Standings)

Memphis delivers a message

Picked to finish fourth in conference in the preseason media poll, Memphis notched one of the most notable non-conference wins of any AAC school so far this season. The Tigers knocked off Boise State, staying perfect at home and putting themselves near the forefront of the conference race. They’re currently tied with Tulane as the only four-win teams in the league through five weeks.

Trouble in Greenville

UAB, Charlotte and FAU are all breaking in new head coaches. UTSA has dealt with some tough injury luck and a rigorous non-conference slate. ECU, on the other hand, has been relatively healthy but has no FBS wins to show for it. The Pirates fell on the road to Rice over the weekend, unable to overcome a hobbled JT Daniels or a Rice defense that had four fourth down stops in the second half.

Antennas raised

Neither South Florida and Tulsa had much in the form of expectations entering the 2023 seasons. With new coaches at the helm and plenty of question marks on the roster, a slow start would have been forgiven, if not expected. Instead, both programs are 3-2 and a combined 3-0 in conference play so far. Sustaining the hot starts will be a challenge, but they deserve credit for getting to this point.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Make or break for the birds

It’s been a challenge start for both Temple and UTSA, who square off against each other in Week 6, UTSA’s first-ever AAC game. Should the Roadrunners falter, they’ll be 1-4 heading into the remainder of league play after being picked second in the preseason. Meanwhile Temple will look to prove their loss to Tulsa was a bad night instead of the continuance of a negative defensive trend.

How much fight is left?

FAU was dealt a tough blow when they learned starting quarterback Casey Thompson would miss the remainder of the 2023 season. Beaten and bruised, the Owls would be forgiven if they wrote 2023 off as a year where everything went wrong. That said, rallying despite the circumstances would be equally encouraging for Tom Herman and his staff in year one.

First to 100

South Florida has shown some sparks of life on defense so far this season. North Texas has not. For both, it hasn’t mattered too much because they have offenses that pile up the points in bunches. When they meet next weekend, one touchdown won’t be enough. Five might not either. This has shootout written all over it.

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Rice Football grinds out first AAC win, edging ECU at home

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Rice Football trudged through a slow start and made just enough plays to earn their first-ever AAC win, topping East Carolina at home.

It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t even pretty most of the time, but Rice football found a way to come out on top. The Owls took the lead for good in the fourth quarter, then got a punishing stop courtesy of Josh Pearcy. Then another from Daveon Hook. Then another from Chike Anigbogu. Before the offense could take some knees and secure their first ever AAC win. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Complimentary football

The formula for the first few weeks of the season was pretty straightforward for Rice football: let quarterback JT Daniels cook. With him playing at his best, he carved up opposing defenses and set the tone for this entire team. There were doubts he would be able to suit up at all against ECU on Saturday. The Owls were happy they did, but even with Daniels’ at the helm, the offense was out of sync.

On the first drive, Daniels missed a wide open Dean Connors for what should have been a walk in touchdown. On the second, a tipped pass resulted in an interception. Next, an injury to backup quarterback Chase Jenkins, who had subbed in to provide a spark with his legs, gummed up the offensive gears again. Through the first 15 minutes, Rice had just 45 total offensive yards.

In prior weeks, that might have been problematic. It wasn’t against ECU thanks in large part to strong starts from the other two phases, defense and special teams. The latter set up the Owls’ first points with a long punt return from Sean Fresch and a crisp 41-yard boot from Tim Horn. Then the defense kept the game deadlocked with an interception by Chris Conti on an ECU screen pass.

This might very well be a team that goes as the offense goes, but getting contributions from the defense and special teams is going to be crucial as the season progresses. Seeing life from both units was a big plus.

Split-reps experiment yields mixed results

Jenkins took almost all of the reps during practice with the first team offense this week and looked exceptional. Head coach Mike Bloomgren told The Roost he’d earned the chance to play and, on the surface, the rationale made a lot of sense. With Daniels operating at less than 100 percent, having a chance-of-pace option as fleet of foot as Daniels seemed prudent.

The first time Jenkins touched the ball, those hopes were fulfilled with an explosive, 28-yard scamper, the longest run for Rice on the day. Unfortunately, Jenkins immediately left the field with the medical staff and quarterback-turned-receiver JoVoni Johnson was dropped for a loss on a direct snap the very next play.

When Jenkins was next able to re-enter the game he was greeted with a long field that quickly got longer. ECU seemed more prepared to see Jenkins than Rice might have been expecting, quickly getting the Owls’ into third and long backed up near their own endzone.

Having Jenkins in for a third and long in such a pressure-packed situation in lieu of a quarterback as experienced as Daniels seemed unnecessarily risky. It didn’t pay off, with Rice punting the ball after a three-and-out.

Jenkins redeemed himself in the second half with his first-career touchdown run, putting the Owls in front.

Daniels was clearly not his usual self on Saturday. He missed a deep shot on the first drive and overthrew a pair of open receivers midway through the second. He entered halftime completing just 40 percent of his passes for 64 yards, a far cry from the man who threw for 400 yards in three quarters just a week ago.

Jenkins completed one pass on one attempt and rushed for 29 yards on three attempts with one score. Daniels was 18-of-32 (56 percent) for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

When Daniels is fully healthy, there won’t be a need to throw Jenkins into games as a true freshman, beyond situations like the one above that favor his skillset. Time to develop will do him good, especially with Daniels as a mentor. When will Daniels be feeling his usual self again? That’s the question all Owls’ fans want to know.

Leaning into the bend-but-don’t break

Five weeks in, the defensive showings have congealed into a trend. The sacks and tackles for a loss are there, buoyed by some fourth down stops and turnovers. The consistency between the 20s has been sorely lacking. The age old “bend-but-don’t-break” adage looks to fit this 2023 Rice football defense like a shoe.

In the first half, Rice allowed 205 yards of offense, multiple fourth down conversions and 13 first downs. But, they had one interception, one sack, two tackles for a loss and did not allow a touchdown.

The opening drive of the second half was even more telling. ECU drove down to the one-yard line, but the Owls stonewalled the Pirates and kept them off the scoreboard entirely. After the first 35 minutes of regulation, ECU had 290 total yards, but just nine points.

The defense came close to another impressive stonewall midway through the fourth. ECU drove down the field into the redzone, appearing to falter on a third down interception. Instead, pass interference was ruled. It took ECU three additional plays to punch in their first touchdown of the night.

In the fourth quarter, this unit came alive. Had it not been for three consecutive stops in the final minutes, the Owls might not have won this game.

You play to win the game

In terms of their total team performance, that was far from an A-game from the Rice Owls. It might not have even been a B-worthy performance. Each unit had their struggles. But at the end of the day, as Bloomgren is oft to say, they scored one more point than the other team and they won the game.

Rice has come along way from where they started in the early years under Bloomgren. Winning in any capacity, is good. But more often than not, it’s taken some of the Owls’ better efforts on one side of the ball or another to get it done. This one probably won’t be held up as one of those better showings, but it will go down in the standings as a win, the Owls’ first ever in the AAC.

Pick your favorite euphemism. Winning ugly. Stole one. Got away with one. Did just enough. The end result is the same. Rice was far from their best and found a way to win. Tonight, that’ll do. Tomorrow, they can look a the film and make sure they’re better next week against UConn.

Digging deeper

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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with an ECU Insider

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East Carolina is next up on the 2023 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with ECU insider Stephen Igoe from the 247 Sports.

Pirates’ insider Stephen Igoe from 247 Sports’ Hoist the Colors was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and East Carolina. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Baseball 2023: MLB Owls Update – Sep 26

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The 2023 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

Stay tuned for a full update of all the Owls’ who made an appearance in the major leagues this season following the conclusion of the 2023 regular season. Chargois’ Marlins are in the midst of a battle for a playoff spot and we’ll know whether or the fish are postseason bound at that point as well.

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

Chargois saw action in two games this week. He appeared last Wednesday against the Mets and tossing a scoreless frame and two days later on Friday against the Brewers, registered 0.2 innings pitched with two walks and no runs allowed.

Through September 26, Chargois has a 3.59 ERA with a 1.210 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Injured List

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

With just days remaining in the 2023 regular season, Angels’ manager Phil Nevin announced this week Rendon was not expected to return this season, mentioning Rendon has been able to do some baseball activities, but wouldn’t be ready before the end of the season.

Through September 26, Rendon is hitting .236 with eight extra-base hits, 25 walks and 27 strikeouts. His OPS is .678 and he’s collected 22 RBI.

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Rice Football 2023: ECU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts East Carolina this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped last week’s game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with ECU.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs USF

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

“JT’s health is better today than yesterday, and certainly better and Sunday… I certainly don’t expect him to go full speed today, but he’s preparing to start this weekend… [Number] 18 is playing pretty good football and we’re not going to take him off the field on purpose.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of quarterback JT Daniels

“You look at their defense, a lot of similarities to what they did last year. Offensively with the new quarterbacks that they’re rolling through, it’s a little bit different, but we can’t forget that this is a balances offense in a lot of ways, right? They’re going to have the ability to take shots. It’s going to look more pro-style, than maybe a collegiate offense.” – Mike Bloomgren on ECU

“My relationship with [ECU head coach Mike Houston] goes back to 2002 when he was the head coach of TC Roberson High School and Asheville, North Carolina and I was coaching Catawba College and I was recruiting his school and going in there talking ball and just hanging out. And now the fact that we’re playing each other on a Saturday in major college football, it’s pretty cool.” – Mike Bloomgren on ECU head coach Mike Houston

“I feel like they’re pretty balanced. They want to run the ball. I feel like the’re a pretty good group, well well coached. Definitely a lot of strain on their offensive line. It’s always good going against competitors so we can’t wait to get in there. But for the most part, they’re pretty balanced.” – Defensive linamen De’Braylon Carroll on ECU

“It was the first time I’ve ever looked up at the jumbotron driver to see if there’s anything behind me. I’ve always watched athletes do that and I was like, ‘How do they do that?’ I don’t understand how they look up while they run, but I just kind of saw it in my peripheral [vision] and used it as a tool.”– Running back Dean Connors on his long TD against USF 

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

The depth chart continues to lack much in the way of fireworks and, as usual, that’s probably a good thing. The uncertain status of quarterback JT Daniels did see the Owls list a third quarterback as a precaution, despite head coach Mike Bloomgren’s optimistic comments at the podium on Tuesday. We’ll have more updates on the latest on the Owls’ quarterback situation in practice notes later this week for subscribers.

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