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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 9 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2022 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 9.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 9 Result Week 10
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL) — OFF —  — at Titans
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) vs Packers W, 15-9 at Bears
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Patriots L, 26-3 at Raiders
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 at Falcons W, 20-17 vs Cardinals
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) — OFF —  — vs Saints
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) at Cardinals W, 31-21 at Bucs
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs LA Rams W, 16-13 vs Seahawks

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

The Broncos were on bye this week.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen was targeted once on Sunday but did not record a catch. He did, however, tally his first rush attempt of the season, which went for zero yards.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett earned his second start of the season on Sunday, playing every offensive snap and his usual special teams duties.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive this week for the Seahawks’ game against the Cardinals.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

The Chargers were on bye this week.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

The Chargers were on bye this week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted three times in the Lions’ win over the Packers on Sunday, including al long of 47 yards and one inside the 20. He also added one tackle.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

The Steelers were on bye this week.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Basketball fall to sharp shooting Pepperdine in opener

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Rice basketball was unable to keep pace with a torrid Pepperdine shooting barrage, falling to the Waves on the road to begin their 2022-2023 season.

Pepperdine visited Houston to open last season, with the Owls winning in commanding fashion. On Monday, the two squads reversed roles. Rice flew to California, put up an early fight, but eventually fell in lopsided fashion to the home squad.

Although the game ended with a one-sided result, it didn’t start out that way, The Waves got the first bucket, a layup to open the scoring before the Owls battled back. There were brief runs through the remainder of the first half, but neither side ever led by more than six points until the final minutes before the break when Pepperdine hit a triple at the buzzer to go up eight.

At that point, there weren’t any signs of panic. Despite the deficit, Rice had seemingly kept pace on both ends of the court with Pepperdine through the first 20 minutes. The Owls’ were aggressive, showcased by quick production from freshman Mekhi Mason who had clearly been given the green light to attack the rim. His first bucket gave Rice a 4-2 lead in the first 90 seconds of play.

More: Rice Basketball Season Preview

Unfortunately for the Owls, that late three to close the first half proved to be a harbinger of things to come. Pepperdine connected on its first four threes in the second half, finishing the game 15-of-30 from long range and a staggering 62.9 percent from the floor, rendering the Owls’ most earnest comeback attempts moot. They simply could not slow down the Waves’ attack.

“Their good shooters didn’t miss shots. Sometimes it’s a make-or-miss game,” Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera said in the aftermath. And as if that wasn’t direct enough, Pera made sure to circle back and own the Owls’ own shortcomings too. “Our defense was obviously less than stellar, horrendous at times.”

The Owls’ own shooting woes only exacerbated the issue. Rice shot just 38.1 percent from the field, struggling to get into a rhythm. Rice defended extremely well against Pepperdine in their season opener last season. That wasn’t the case on Monday resulting in a crushing opening game loss.

“This is something we can’t forget,” Pera said. “This is something that cannot happen. This is [not a] kind of loss this program should be taking.”

Rice will only have a few days to look at the film and move forward, with their home opener coming later this week.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

Olivari was missed last season, so seeing him back on the court was an encouraging sign in itself. He led Rice in scoring with 15 points, converting 4-of-11 opportunities from three. Olivari had three rebounds and added six assists, tying a career-high.

Final Box | Pepperdine 106 – Rice 67

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball returns home for their first game at Tudor Fieldhouse later this week where they’ll host St. Thomas in a double-header of Owls’ hoops contests. The women open their season later that evening, also at Tudor. Both games will be available to watch on CUSAtv.

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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 10 Roundup

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Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 10.

Team Week 10 Result Up Next
Charlotte vs WKU L, 59-7 at MTSU
FAU — OFF —  — at FIU
FIU at North Texas L, 52-14 vs FAU
LA Tech vs MTSU W, 40-24 at UTSA
MTSU at LA Tech L, 40-24 vs Charlotte
North Texas vs FIU W, 52-14 at UAB
Rice vs UTEP W, 37-30 at WKU
UAB vs UTSA L, 44-38 (OT) vs North Texas
UTEP at Rice L, 37-30 — OFF —
UTSA at UAB W, 44-38 (OT) vs LA Tech
WKU at Charlotte W, 59-7 vs Rice

Notable Week 10 results – Standings

Rice rallies past UTEP

The weekend started off with a bang in a thrilling back-and-forth Thursday night affair between UTEP and Rice. Both squads needed the win to move forward with realistic bowl expectations. Bradley Rozner called game with a 23-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback TJ McMahon with 25 seconds remaining in the game.

UTSA stays perfect in league play

Two conference heavyweights did not disappoint. UTSA appeared to have things salted away when Frank Harris found Zakahri Franklin in the endzone to take a 14-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter. Instead, UAB battled back to force overtime. Harris had the final say, though, tossing the game-winning touchdown to Joshua Cephus in 2OT.

Louisiana Tech finally finishes

The Bulldogs have come close to picking up their second conference win in recent weeks but were unable to finish, at least until Saturday. After dropping two straight overtime contests, Louisiana Tech delivered a dominant win over Middle Tennesee, putting the game out in the third quarter and coasting to the long-awaited win.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Keeping pace

North Texas played UTSA to the wire, but lost, putting the Roadrunners in the driver’s seat for first place in the regular season standings. The Mean Green are still in the running for a spot in the conference championship, though, making this coming weekend’s game against UAB a must-win. If they falter, that could open the door for someone else.

Coming up next?

Western Kentucky is trying to be that someone else. The Hilltoppers’ only losses of the regular season came to UTSA and North Texas. Meanwhile at 3-2, Rice has yet to play either squad. The winner of this weekend’s game stays (mathematically) alive in that hunt.

Will bowl eliminations begin?

UTEP and Louisiana Tech each sit at six losses, needing to win out to reach the postseason. The Miners are on a bye while the Bulldogs face league-leading UTSA to keep their bowl hopes alive. It’s a tall order, but should Louisiana Tech find a way, the remainder of the conference title race could be fascinating.

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2022-2023 Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

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The 2022-2023 Rice women’s basketball season is around the corner and the team can’t wait to build on last season’s successes.

The most common word Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds would use to describe last season was whirlwind. Coming in as a first-time head coach in the midst of a program in transition with a minimal roster and the lingering challenges of COVID-19 was never going to be easy. Edmonds and her team persevered.

One year later the program seems poised to continue its ascent. For one, they have more bodies. Edmonds added the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA to supplement a much more experienced roster than they had at this point last season.

Edmonds joked that one of the biggest differences from last year’s squad to this one is readily apparent when you walk into the gym. “Last year we took half of a court to stretch,” she laughed. “[This year] we take up an entire sideline!”

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“If they forgot about him, shame on them”: Rice football wideout Bradley Rozner is back with a bang

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Bradley Rozner took a winding route to get to where he is right now, once again delivering game-winning moments for Rice football.

There was 3:20 left in regulation and Rice football was facing third and long from their own 14-yard line with a six-point lead. The North Texas Mean Green led by quarterback Mason Fine had gotten hot on offense, marching through the Rice defense with relative ease over the last two quarters. That left head coach Mike Bloomgren had a decision to make.

Bloomgren could easily have opted to play it safe and run the ball. That would have taken more time off the clock and forced North Texas to go the length of the field, again. Or, he could roll the dice. On that particular Saturday afternoon, with the game hanging in the balance, Bloomgren put his trust in the arms of Bradley Rozner.

A former JUCO wide receiver, Rozner was coming off an eight-catch, 130-yard, three-touchdown game against Middle Tennessee the week prior that propelled the Owls to their first win of the 2019 season. He had just 35 yards on four catches against North Texas on Saturday, a quiet outing by his standards. But Bloomgren believed in No. 2.

Quarterback Tom Stewart dropped back to pass and surprised everyone with a deep bomb to Rozner, who exploded past the defense and hauled in the 35-yard shot. The Owls would run out the clock on the ground shortly after, winning the game.

If there had ever been any doubt, Rozner had arrived. Then things took a turn. Rozner would play the season finale next week against UTSA, then, over the span of the next 1,000 days, Rozner would play in just one quarter. After missing the 2020 season with injuries, Rozner would play the first quarter of the Owls’ 2021 season opener against Arkansas before being shut down again,

By no fault of his own, the focal point of the Rice football offense had disappeared.

“The middle chapters of this thing weren’t real cool,” Bloomgren said when looking back at Rozner’s career at South Main thus far. “They were real rocky with a kid that had to go through a lot of challenges to get back to this point.”

What point is that? Another game-winning moment from Rozner that brought back memories of that game-sealing grab against North Texas almost three years ago.

This time Rice had the ball in a tie game against UTEP at the 23-yard line, 30 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Owls had plenty of time to hand the ball off again, spike it and attempt at 40 or so yard field goal to win the game. But Bloomgren hadn’t forgotten the playmaker he had lined up on the far side of the field.

Instead of taking the conservative route, Bloomgren dialed up another deep shot. Quarterback TJ McMahon took the snap, dropped back and delivered a dart to the pylon, finding Rozner with his hands fully extended for the game-sealing score. Number two had done it again, this time with a career-best 140 receiving yards in the process.

When asked about the gutsy call after the game, Bloomgren beamed. It’s kind of like [we] dare people to cover him one on one. That’s a heck of a weapon to have your X-receiver.”

Rozner’s explanation made the herculean grab sound remarkably commonplace. “I saw the safety kind of creeping over my way but he wasn’t far enough over,” he recounted. “I just gave the corner and inside move and TJ [McMahon] put the ball up there and I just made the play.”

More: Rice Football rallies past UTEP, game recap

Just making plays has become the norm for Rozner once again. Since returning to the field this season, Rozner has topped 100 receiving yards five times in nine games, the most of any player in Conference USA. His nine career 100-yard games are the most since Jarrett Dillard (12) and James Casey (10), who played their final season at Rice in 2018.

Dillard and Casey are among the all-time greats to catch passes at South Main. Rozner is starting to force his way into that conversation.

For Rozner, though, he’s just trying to win football games and his coach continues to put him in positions to do just that. “It’s huge,” Rozner said of the trust Bloomren continues to display in him. “When you’re able to go to your coach and you know you can tell him, ‘Hey, I got this.’ And they give it to you and it all works out.”

Things just keep working out for Rozner, who once again is back at the center of the Owls’ offensive success. Almost as if he never left.

“If they forgot about him, shame on them,” Bloomgren said. “He’s reminding them right now.”

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