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The Roost Podcast | Ep 126 – Rice Football vs Louisiana Recap

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Rice football kept on winning this week, upsetting Louisiana in a marquee nonconference victory. We break it all down on this week’s show.

From start to finish, Rice football was more or less in control against a Louisiana team projected to beat them by double digits. Had it not been for generous turnovers by the Owls, the score might not have been even that close. How did Rice do it and what does it mean for this team moving forward? Carter and Matther dig into the details in this week’s episode of The Roost Podcast.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 126.

Episode Notes

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Rice Football vs Louisiana game recap

  • Double-digit underdogs show up big from the start
  • Best defensive performance since….?
  • TJ McMahon starts wild, finishes with a series of incredible plays
  • Luke McCaffrey has his breakout game
  • Where does this win rank among recent Rice football victories?
  • How much of this can the team carry forward into the next game?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 2 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 2.

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 2 Result Week 3
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL) vs Houston W, 16-9 vs 49ers
Detroit Jack Fox (P) vs Washington W, 36-27 at Vikings
Indianapolis Kylen Granson (TE) at Jacksonville L, 24-0 vs Chiefs
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB) at Kansas City (TNF) L, 27-24 vs Jaguars
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) vs New England L, 17-14 at Browns
Seattle Myles Adams (DL) at San Francisco L, 27-7 vs Falcons
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) at New Orleans W, 20-10 vs Packers

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson played on special teams again this week, seeing four snaps of action in the Broncos’ win over the Texans on Sunday.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Thank you to reader James Saduske for the note to include Kylen Gransen, who played two seasons at Rice before transferring to SMU. Gransen was credited with his first career NFL start this week, hauling in two receptions for 14 yards, returning one kick for 15 yards and making one tackle.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was active but did not play for the Bucs in their Week 2 victory over the Saints.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks’ Week 2 loss to the 49ers.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

Callahan posted two tackles in the Chargers’ Week 2 victory over the Chiefs.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington was elevated from the Chargers’ practice squad to the active roster last week but did not play in their Week 2 win over the Chiefs. He was inactive.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

In the Lions’ Week 2 victory over the Commanders, Fox punted five times, averaging a gaudy 55.4 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards. He put one inside the 20. Through two games, Fox ranks top five in the league in average punt distance and net punting distance.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell did his part in the Steelers’ Week 2 loss to the Patriots, converting on both of his field goal tries including a long conversion from 52 yards. He did not attempt any extra points.

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 Fight: Rice Football battles for big win over Louisiana

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On Saturday, Rice Football went toe-to-toe with Louisiana, outlasting the Ragin’ Cajuns and earning a signature win for head coach Mike Bloomgren and the Owls.

As Rice football quarterback TJ McMahon walked away from the podium on Saturday night following a monumental victory over Louisiana, he voiced one final exclamation, “Rice Fight!”

Over the years, I’ve been to many postgame press conferences. To the best of my memory, things have never ended that way.

To be fair, Rice football had never won a game quite like this one, snapping the nation’s longest winning streak in the process. As 12-point underdogs, Rice had won by exactly 12 points. And it probably could have been even more one-sided.

But as for McMahon’s exhortation, that was new. Part of the reason for that, unfortunately, has been the somber nature of many of those gatherings. Even in the Owls’ better games, things had gone the wrong way on the scoreboard more times than any of the blue-and-gray-clad faithful might have hoped. Postgame gatherings didn’t often end in celebration. And even the victories offered less fanfare.

Now entering Year 5 of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure, there might be no more fitting words to describe what happened at Rice Stadium on Saturday night than “Rice fight”.

In his second career start, quarterback TJ McMahon tossed three interceptions, all of which came before halftime. The Owls squandered a redzone possession late in the first half and entered the break trailing by one. Then we saw Rice fight.

Rice football came out of halftime and scored the go-ahead touchdown. Then the defense, which had only given up one score to this point, blanked Louisiana in the third quarter. Leading 19-14 entering the fourth quarter, the Owls were on the verge of something special.

“We know we can stick around. We know we can play with anybody,” corner Jordan Dunbar said about an hour later following the postgame festivities. “We gotta finish.”

His words proved true. After Rice took a two-score lead at the beginning of the final quarter, Louisiana drove the length of the field and saw running back Chris Smith thunder into the endzone from 22-yards out. One defensive stop and the Ragin’ Cajuns would have the ball down by six, one touchdown away from ruining the Owls’ celebrations. The outcome of the game hung in the balance. Right fought.

McMahon and company responded with a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that took 6:14 off the clock. Rice kicked the ball back to Louisiana leading by two scores with less than three minutes to play. The defense made one more stop, then it was over. Rice had fought and Rice had won.

More: Rice Football upsets Louisiana, snaps nation’s longest winning streak

“There’s been some great wins in this program since we’ve been around,” head coach Mike Bloomgren couldn’t help but reminisce afterward. “Whether it’s beating Marshall [on the road] in ‘20 or beating UAB at their place last year, the first time they’ve lost at home [since the program restarted]. We’ve done some cool things, but to do this in our third game of the 2022 season… it feels great.”

More succinctly, Bloomgren began his remarks this way: “That’s a big-time win for our program.”

It’s a big-time win for a myriad of reasons.

First, Rice has now won a game as a double-digit underdog in each of the last three seasons. Second, Rice is now 2-1 for the first time under Bloomgren and four games away from win number six and a trip to the program’s first bowl berth since 2014.

But most importantly, it’s because of the effort it took from the collective group of coaches, players, administrators and support staff to get Rice football to this place.

“I felt like we didn’t doubt we were going to win today and that’s why the locker room was really fun today,” Dunbar said. “That was my favorite win, personally.”

The Rice defense held Louisiana to 175 yards of total offense, that’s the Ragin’ Cajun’s worst offensive output since September 9, 2011 against Kent State, more than a decade ago. This was a program that had won nine or more games eight times in the last 12 seasons and been bowling 10 times over that span. They’d become accustomed to being the bully. Then Rice knocked them down a notch, or maybe wo.

“Obviously we would love to be 3-0,” Bloomgren said in his closing comments. “But for the steps this program has taken and for the quality of this win and what it means for our team. Just to be in that locker room and see them celebrate the way they did and know they earned it, and they earned it from the work they put in all week. It’s really cool. So yeah, I’ll take win number two right now.”

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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 3 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 3.

Team Week 3 Result Up Next
Charlotte at Georgia State W, 42-41 at South Carolina
FAU vs UCF L, 40-14 at Purdue
FIU — OFF —  — at WKU
LA Tech at Clemson L, 48-20 at South Alabama
MTSU vs Tennessee St W, 49-6 at Miami
North Texas at UNLV L, 58-27 at Memphis
Rice vs Louisiana W, 33-21 at Houston
UAB vs Georgia So. W, 35-21 — OFF —
UTEP at New Mexico L, 27-10 vs Boise St
UTSA at Texas L, 41-20 vs Texas So.
WKU at Indiana L, 33-30 (OT) vs FIU

Notable Week 3 results – Standings

Streak Snapped

The nation’s longest winning streak ended on Saturday night in Houston, Texas as Rice football took down Louisiana in what was the biggest home win of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure. Early turnovers kept the game close for a while but quarterback TJ McMahon rebounded for a strong second half and the team rode a dominant defensive performance to the upset. Conference USA went 3-0 against the Sun Belt this weekend.

So close…

Western Kentucky was in the driver’s seat in the fourth quarter against Indiana and let one slip away. Leading by eight points with less than two minutes to play, the Hilltoppers watched the Hoosiers march the length of the field and converted a two-point try to tie it up. Then WKU missed what would have been a walk-off-field goal. Indiana won in overtime.

The seesaw continues

Florida Atlantic opened their 2022 season with a lopsided victory over Charlotte, who would go on to struggle severely until quarterback Chris Reynolds was back in the lineup. Since then the Owls have lost to Ohio, beaten SE Louisiana and lost decidedly to UCF. They’ve only played one truly competitive game this season and lost. How good is this team? The jury might still be out.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Battlin’ for the Bucket

It’s been an up-and-down non-conference run for Rice football and crosstown rival Houston. Both the Owls and the Cougs will be looking for a win as they enter the conference portion of their schedules. The Cougars will likely be favored and have dominated the rivalry in recent years, but the Owls have shown some fight over their last few games while Houston just lost to Kansas at home. This one could get interesting.

Miners enter make-or-break stretch

UTEP had high expectations entering the 2022 season, but the Miners sit at 1-3 through four games and needed a redzone stop to secure their lone victory. They draw Boise State at home next week in a game in which they’re likely to be heavy underdogs. That could drop their record to 1-4. More winnable games are on the horizon, but UTEP is running out of margin, quickly.

Litmus test game

Louisiana Tech is three games into the Sunny Cumbie era with a challenging road trip looming at South Alabama. If the Bulldogs want to reach a bowl berth, a 2-2 split in nonconference play would be ideal. It won’t come easy. The Panthers took UCLA to the brink on the road on Saturday, falling 32-31.

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Streak Snapped: Rice Football knocks off Louisiana at home

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The nation’s longest winning streak is no more. Rice football improves to 2-1 on the season as they knock off the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at home.

When Rice football took the lead early in the first quarter against Louisiana, the crowd applauded. Jumping out in front of the Ragin’ Cajuns, who owned the nation’s longest winning streak — 15 games dating back to last season — was a big deal. The two sides would trade blows, but it became clear by the midpoint of the second half that this Rice team was more than capable of going toe-to-toe with UL. The question became, could they pull it out.

A true heavy weight fight took place between the hedges for four quarters. Then Ari Broussard burst through a goal line scrum with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, delivering a knock out blow. Rice football had done it. The Owls had taken down the Ragin’ Cajuns and scored their biggest home victory of the Mike Bloomgren era. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Defense and special teams set the tone

For the majority of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure at South Main, the defense has been the leading edge of the program. While the offense has come on stronger of late, the Owls leaned up their bread and butter to get things started against Louisiana.

The Rice defense orchestrated a three and out on their first defensive possession before Sean Fresch reversed field and scampered 40-yards on a punt return, setting the Owls up inside the Louisiana 35. A penalty would kill that drive, putting the onus back on the defense.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice football vs Louisiana

On third down, George Nyakwol stepped in front of a Chandler Fields pass and returned it to the Rice 38. That was the first turnover of any kind the Louisiana offense had committed in the last seven games. It would set the Owls up in positive field position yet again, leading to a field goal and an early lead. The third series was a similar story. A few yards, no first downs and a punt.

Following the offense’s second turnover of the day, the defense held on fourth-and-one in the redzone, turning the Louisiana offense again without points yet again. The defensive line was absolutely dominant in this game, creating pressure and filling running lanes all night long. Even without De’Braylon Carroll, this front was as good as it’s ever been.

Rice limited Louisiana to 74 total yards in the first half. Exactly zero Louisiana drives went longer than 30 yards until the Ragin’ Cajun’s first possession of the fourth quarter. It was a masterpiece by a Rice defense that was frequently dealt rough hands and always was able to rise to the occasion.

McMahon falls back to earth, then bounces back

Everything came up roses for Rice quarterback TJ McMahon last week against McNeese State. He completed 20-of-29 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns last week. He did not turn the ball over at all and added a rushing touchdown, too. That wasn’t the case against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

McMahon threw a pick-six in the first quarter, his third pick-six thrown this year. This pass wasn’t deflected like the prior two miscues, rather McMahon was attempting a screen pass to a wide receiver in the flat and had the route jumped with nobody behind them. It was an easy, walk-in score for Louisiana.

On the next drive, Louisiana got a free rusher on third down on what looked to be some sort of stunt. Rather than eat the ball, McMahon panicked and threw it straight ahead into the waiting arms of a linebacker over the middle. With a chance to extend their lead before halftime, McMahon tossed his third INT of the game, resulting in another Louisiana touchdown.

It wasn’t all his fault — the offensive line was more inconsistent than they’d been last week against McNeese — but McMahon certainly looked much more like a quarterback in his second career FBS start than the savvy passer who led the team up and down the field the week prior.

To his credit, the highs were as impressive as the lows were painful. McMahon engineered two lengthy scoring drives in the first half, putting the turnovers out of his mind as he accounted for more than 300 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Simply put, he settled down and played incredible football.

McMahon used his legs to elude defenders and scramble for positive plays. He went through his progressions and found open men down the field. After an extremely suspect start, his ability to flush the past play and move forward was critical in the Owls’ success on Saturday. His two-point pass to Bradley Rozner exemplified his ability to extend plays and create big moments.

Luke McCaffrey breakout game

Through Rice football’s first two games, Luke McCaffrey led the team with nine receptions but it didn’t really feel like he’d made his mark as a go-to guy in this offense. This week during practice, I asked both McCaffrey and Bloomgren when that game was coming.

“I think it could happen this game. It could happen the game after. It could also happen every game,” Bloomgren told The Roost this week. Then No. 10 stepped onto the field and dominated.

McCaffrey was the focal point of the Rice offense and absolutely delivered upon expectations. His first receiving touchdown as a Rice Owl was a beautiful throw and catch to put the Owls ahead in the second quarter.

The quarterback-turned-receiver was targeted a team-high 14-times and hauled in 10 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. He had another score pulled off the board at the end of the first half when officials ruled he stepped out of bounds on the play. Otherwise, the stat line could have been even more impressive.

If McCaffrey can do this against this defense, he’s going to be a problem in Conference USA.

Owls soar

Rice football is 2-1. Outside of a walk-off win over Prairie View A&M in Bloomgren’s first game with the Owls, this is the only other occasion in which the program has been above .500. And their second win of the season snapped the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun’s 15-game winning streak, the longest in the nation at the time.

Bloomgren has had a few “signature wins” to this point. The 20-0 shutout at Marshall was incredible. The upset of UAB on the road last season was remarkable as well. But both of those games happened on the road. And neither season resulted in the bowl berth this program has been searching for since Bloomgren and his staff arrived.

That’s what makes this victory different. In front of the Rice faithful, the team secured a marquee non-conference win and ensured at least a .500 record entering conference play in a few weeks. Rice needs to go 4-4 in Conference USA to reach the postseason. That feels doable, especially considering the quality of the team the Owls felled on Saturday night.

Next week it’s on to Houston — which lost to Kansas at home on Saturday. For now, celebrate and be happy. This will go down as one of the most significant wins the program has experienced in quite some time.

Digging deeper

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All three phases

Rice football talks about winning all three phases every week: offense, defense and special teams. On Saturday against Louisiana, the interceptions — three very costly turnovers — were the only true negatives for the Owls across the board.

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