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Rice Football Film Room 2020: Southern Miss Review, UTSA Preview

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Rice quarterback Mike Collins might be the real deal, but so is UTSA running back Spencer McCormick. We look at both guys in this week’s Rice Football film room.

So that was fun! I, for one, would enjoy it if Rice won by 24+ points every game. For this week’s Rice Football Film Room, we’ll look at one of my favorite plays from the offense this week (somehow from a drive that resulted in no points for the Owls, oddly enough), and then get a quick look at Sincere McCormick and the UTSA offense. 

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(I’d have loved to do a defensive play from Southern Miss, but it was pretty slim pickings in terms of readily-available-online highlights from the defensive side. Check this week’s edition of The Roost Podcast for mine and Matt’s thoughts on the defense.)

This play showcases what we hoped all offseason, which has been validated in the first two games for the Owls: Mike Collins is a serious talent, y’all.

Mike Collins: The Real Deal

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Rice Football 2020: Post Southern Miss presser and practice notes

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There’s a lot going on in the world of Rice football. Here’s a rundown of the weekly press conference and an update from practice headed into the UTSA game.

The season is back in full swing and we’ve got a full slate of Rice football updates on deck for everyone this week. I’ll include a few snippets from today’s press conference here as well as updates from practice on Monday. The players were off on Tuesday for the Election.

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Press conference notes and quotes

Head coach Mike Bloomgren did note a few players of the week following the victory:

  • Defensive Player of the Game – Chike Anigbogu
  • Offensive Player of the Game – Austin Trammell
  • Special Teams Player of the Game – Charlie Mendes
  • Offense Scout Team Player of the Week – Caleb James
  • Defense Scout Team Player of the Week – TJ McMahon
  • Special Teams Player of the Week – Terreance Ellis

“Anytime you are giving up big plays the way we did in the first game, that’s never a good thing. I think we talked a lot about eliminating the big plays, keeping it in front of us, and I think the guys got the message and we played a lot better in those critical situations at the end of the half and on third down.” – Brian Smith on the what the defense did differently from game one to game two

It felt good to get a win, it really did. It felt great to get a win on Saturday. An incredible effort from start to finish from our guys. I think, really the opening kickoff all the way through the fourth quarter you saw a lot of strain, a lot of physicality. And I can’t say enough about how proud I am of that team for continuing to work the way they did.” – Bloomgren on the Owls’ first win of 2020

“Mike [Collins] is the biggest change. It’s the best play we’ve had out of a quarterback in our time here… Mike is changing the game for our football team. He’s giving everybody a chance to showcase their talent. And it sure doesn’t hurt that the offensive line and the blocking unit is giving him time as well. Everything’s working together, but if I were to identify one change, so far, it would be Mike Collins.” – Bloomgren on the biggest change in the offense from last year to this year

“Two games in, we’re in a good spot… I just don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves I think we’ve got so much we can improve on right now. Yes, we’re better, but that was a pretty low bar. I want to see how good this offense can perform.” – Bloomgren on how the offense meets his expectations

Practice updates and Southern Miss takeaways

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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 9 C-USA 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 9.

Team Week 9 Result Week 10
Charlotte at Duke L, 53-19 at MTSU
FAU vs UTSA W, 24-3 vs WKU
FIU vs Marshall CANCELED at UTEP
LA Tech vs UAB W, 37-34 (OT) at North Texas
Marshall at FIU CANCELED vs UMass
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Charlotte
North Texas at UTEP CANCELED vs LA Tech
Rice at Southern Miss W, 30-6 vs UTSA
Southern Miss vs Rice L, 30-6 vs N Alabama
UAB at Louisiana Tech L, 37-34 (OT) — OFF —
UTEP vs North Texas CANCELED vs FIU
UTSA at FAU L, 24-3 at Rice
WKU at BYU L, 41-10 at FAU

Notable Week 9 results – Standings

That didn’t last long

Week 8 marked the first time this season that Conference USA had no games canceled and all teams planning to play this season underway. That brief honeymoon lasted a few days before two Week 9 games were canceled, including a highly contentious postponement between North Texas and UTEP.

Welcome to the win column

Rice football shook the rust off quickly. Following an overtime loss to Middle Tennessee, Rice crushed a downtrodden Southern Miss squad on their third head coach of the season. The Owls kept Southern Miss out of the endzone, allowing just two field goals. That marks the first time Southern Miss has failed to score a touchdown in a game since 2014.

Wild, wild west

Marshall still holds a commanding lead in the East, but C-USA west is officially wide open thanks to Louisiana Tech’s overtime victory over UAB in Week 9. Now four teams: UAB, Louisiana Tech, UTSA and Rice have records of .500 or better in conference play. If things stay tight, a yet to be officially rescheduled UAB visit to Rice could have division title implications.

Week 10 storylines

One is better than none

Marshall has dealt with the impacts of 2020 scheduling as well as could be expected. The Thundering Herd added a game against UMass midseason which, although it should be an easy win, will have the added bonus of keeping Marshall from another multi-week bye, an oddity multiple C-USA teams have already had to deal with to this point.

Texas-sized tussle

When Rice and UTSA met last season the two teams were a combined 1-10 against their other 11 FBS opponents. It was a race to the bottom of the conference standings. This time around, the winner will keep themselves among the leaders in the West. What a difference one year can make.

At the bottom

With Rice picking up their first victory in Week 9 against Southern Miss, there are only two remaining teams without a conference win: FIU and UTEP. One of those will be walking away a victor next week when FIU visits El Paso, assuming that game is played as scheduled.

Rice Football Opponent Scouting Report

A weekly update on who the Owls will be playing this season including updates on key storylines, injuries and more.

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Rice Football: Austin Trammell’s explosion leads Owls to new heights

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Rice football team captain Austin Trammell scorched the field at M.M. Roberts Stadium, setting career bests in the Owls’ big road win.

To some extent, Austin Trammell walked into M.M. Roberts Stadium as the last man standing. A team captain and an unquestioned leader of the 2020 Rice football team, his peers in the receiving room were not yet able to hold a candle to what he had accomplished over his collegiate career.

There was talent waiting in the wings. Jake Bailey is one of the highest-rated recruits in school history. Andrew Mason is coming off a historic high school career in Tennessee. But neither had scored a touchdown in a college game. Mason had yet to catch his first collegiate pass.

Mason had two catches against Southern Miss for 44 yards. That included a nice adjustment to give a scrambling Mike Collins and outlet for a 33-yard gain. Jake Bailey snagged three balls, including his first career touchdown reception. The future is bright for both of the Owls’ up-and-coming receivers.

But Trammell, he went above and beyond.

Trammell exploded for three touchdowns, seven receptions and 143 yards. The touchdown outburst was one-shy of his season total from a year ago and marked a career-high for a single game. The receiving yards were also a career high and the third time he’s surpassed the century mark in his four-year Rice football career.

On a day when he knew the offense would need him to burn bright, he went supernova.

More: All treats, no tricks: Rice Football crushes Southern Miss on Halloween

“He never surprises me,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said of Trammell, “but gosh he came through in a big, big way tonight.”

In a way, Trammell was merely picking up where he left off. The Owls’ veteran receiver did not catch a pass until the fourth quarter in the team’s previous game against Middle Tennessee. He promptly ripped off three consecutive catches, including the go-ahead touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Thanks in large part to Trammell’s dazzling last five quarters, Rice has scored 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his Rice career. The offense is starting to take flight and Trammell is at its center.

Trammell did offer one additional insight into his mindest entering his career game. “If we win our one on ones, we’re going to win the game,” he told his fellow wideouts during the week. He won. Bailey won. Mason won. And Trammell’s prediction turned prophetic: Rice won.

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Breaking down the wide receivers

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The Rice football receiving corps is running low on bodies. How will the Owls move forward and who will take the field against Southern Miss?

I was paying close attention to the wide receivers at practice this week and had some time to catch up with Rice football wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw. Between the injuries Rice had coming into the season opener against Middle Tennessee and the loss of a starter in the opener itself, the need for answers at the position has never been more pressing.

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Beyond the individuals, there’s also some insight below on the offense as a whole as a result of the thinned out receiving corps. How the Owls will line up against Southern Miss could be impacted by their limited numbers. If you’re looking for a deeper dive, I dug into the reasons I believe the offensive uptick can continue despite the injuries in this month’s All-American Q&A.

And then there were five…

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