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Rice Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – September 17

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of September 17.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

The shortened season hasn’t put a damper on Anthony Rendon’s effectiveness. He and Mike Trout have been the bright spots in an otherwise erratic Angels lineup that ranks a tad south of the midpoint among MLB offenses. At the plate, Rendon is pushing the former MVP with a strong season of his own. As of this week, Rendon was on pace for several career-bests:

Holding up these numbers over the course of a 162 game season would be more arduous than this shortened campaign, but the eye-popping nature of some of these rates is impressive nonetheless. Rendon has proven to be everything the Angels could have hoped for when they signed him this offseason.

Through September 16, Rendon is hitting .277 with 17 extra-base hits, 33 walks and 24 strikeouts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was off for five days following his first blown save of the year last week. He entered a Sep. 12 game against the Indians in the eighth inning with one out and finished the frame, walking one and striking out another. Duffey, who always wears the No. 21 jersey, was joined that day by teammates Nelson Cruz, José Berríos and Eddie Rosario who also wore the number in honor of Roberto Clemente. He tossed three more scoreless innings over the next five days, allowing one hit and striking out four.

Through September 16, Duffey has a 1.77 ERA with a .836 WHIP. He’s averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Washington Nationals

Holt appeared in 12 games with the Nationals following his release from the Brewers. His next appearance in DC will have to wait, but for good reason. Holt was placed on the Paternity list this week. During the offseason, he announced he and his wife were expecting a baby in late September.

Through September 16, Holt is hitting .221 overall and .316 with the Nationals. Since signing with Washington, Holt is 12-for-38 with four extra-base hits.

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Rice Football: What happened to playing in the spring?

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The 2020 Rice Football season is cloaked in uncertainty, but playing in the spring is unlikely to be the answer for the Owls.

Over the past several months I’ve had conversations with several folks about the feasibility of spring football. Should Rice football not play a fall season, could they play later in the academic year? The answer: it’s theoretically possible, but unlikely.

I’ll start with something that most everyone I’ve spoken to at Rice seems to agree with. If a fall season can be played, that’s the best option.

Plan A, if you were to call it such, would enable Rice to play for a conference championship. That would be the closest semblance to a “normal” schedule the Owls could achieve. Rice has already chopped that “normal” down to a slightly less recognizable “familiar”, but the general theme remains.

Moving to the spring would bring with it a new set of challenges that go beyond whatever the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic were at that point.

It’s hard to count on relief from other conferences. The Big Ten announced today they’re going to attempt a fall season after all. The Pac-12, which (as of now) is not playing this fall, could reconsider too.

Unless the Mountain West or the MAC choose to have multiple schools make Rice their non-conference game in a hypothetical spring slate, the pickings for opponents will be slim to none.

Without any conference affiliated opponents, a spring slate might not be plausible. Rice’s best-case scenario might be two home-and-homes with New Mexico State and Old Dominion. That might be better than no season at all, but the optics certainly don’t look great. For those reasons, the focus remains squarely on playing this fall.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 1 Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 1.

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

Week 1 results

Tennessee def. Denver (Anderson, Callahan), 16-14
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. New York Giants, 26-16
Seattle (Willson) def. Atlanta, 38-25
Los Angeles Chargers def. Cincinnati (Covington), 16-13
Chicago def. Detroit (Fox), 27-23
Kansas City def. Houston (Gaines), 34-20
Baltimore def. Cleveland (Sendejo), 38-6

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson was active for the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Titans. This was the first game he was active since signing with Denver last year. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

Pittsburgh had their way through the air against the Giants in Week 1. McDonald caught one of two targets for three years with most of the offense running through receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Russell Willson connected with nine different pass catchers on Sunday but did not complete a pass to Willson. The Seahawks host the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell connected on field goals of 36- and 41-yards against the Giants on Monday Night Football. He made two of three extra points with the miss hitting the right upright. Last season Boswell was a perfect 28-of-28 on point-after tries. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan finished second on the team in tackles with eight in his debut game with Denver. Six of those were solo tackles. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in his Cincinnati debut, playing on 51 percent of the defensive snaps. Earlier in the week, he had this to say about learning the ropes with a new team:

The Bengals visit the Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox shined in his NFL debut, blasting a 55-yard punt and a 54-yard punt, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also registered his first career tackle. The Lions visit the Packers in Week 2.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines saw all of his action on special teams in his 2020 debut with Houston, playing seven snaps on Thursday night against the Chiefs. The Texans host the Ravens in Week 2.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo finished fourth on the Browns in tackles in Week 1 with four. Fellow safety Karl Joseph was the only member of the Cleveland secondary who had more (five). The Browns host the Bengals in Week 2.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others 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 Football: Jack Fox dazzles in NFL debut with Lions

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Jack Fox made Rice Football fans proud in his NFL debut, excelling as the starting punter and kickoff specialist for the Detroit Lions.

Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox kicked played in his first NFL game this weekend. He showed no signs of any first-game jitters, blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback to start the game. He would go on to excel in a variety of roles in his pro debut.

Fox tallied two other touchbacks, put six kickoffs into the endzone. He had two punts travel more than 50 yards, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also handled holding duties for kicker Matt Prater. If that wasn’t enough already, he registered his first career tackle on kick coverage.

“Honestly I think I built it up in my head leading up to the game,” Fox said. “When I got on the field it just felt like a normal football game. But still a cool experience.”

For Fox, it took a “redshirt” year to master the finer details of the punting profession. A season spent on and off practice squads combined with an offseason working out with fellow specialists in Birmingham (at what has been dubbed the Punter Conclave on Fox’s recent appearance on The Roost Podcast) ended in a heated battle for the starting job in Detroit. Fox won the job at the end of camp. He proved on Sunday he was more than deserving.

Despite Fox’s efforts, the Lions were unable to win the game. Running back D’Andre Swift dropped what would have been the go-ahead touchdown pass from in the closing seconds. Had he hauled it in, the Lions would have won and made Fox’s NFL debut that much sweeter. Even still, Fox had a stellar start to what continues to look like a promising professional career.

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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 2 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 2.

Team Week 2 Result Week 3
Charlotte  at App State L, 35-20 at UNC
FAU — OFF —  — at G. Southern
FIU — OFF —  — — OFF —
LA Tech  at Baylor Canceled at Southern Miss
Marshall — OFF —  — vs App State
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Troy
North Texas — OFF —  — vs SMU
Rice — OFF —  — — OFF —
Southern Miss — OFF —  — vs LA Tech
UAB at Miami L, 31-14 — OFF —
UTEP at Texas L, 59-3 vs ACU
UTSA at Texas St W, 51-48 OT vs SFA
WKU at Louisville L, 35-21 vs Liberty

Notable Week 2 results – Standings

Jay Hopson out at Southern Miss

Southern Miss didn’t have a game this week, but the program still lost, this time their head coach. Hopson leaves after being upset by South Alabama in the Golden Eagles’ season opener. We talked with Jamie Arrington and Jason Bailey of To The Top Talk Podcast on The Roost Podcast this week to get an insider’s perspective on what happened in Hattiesburg and what Southern Miss fans think of the news.

Miami finally gets a win over C-USA

After taking successive losses to FIU and Louisiana Tech, Miami prevailed against C-USA’s UAB to kick off Week 2 of college football. UAB couldn’t stem the Canes on the ground (337 yards, 3 touchdowns) and stubbed their toe with 11 penalties. The Blazers have now played a clearly inferior opponent and one a step above them and yet to play their best game but still should be a formidable C-USA contender.

Off with a bang

New UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor was dealt a rough hand when he inherited a program at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges he and his staff faced, the Roadrunners pulled out an overtime victory against an upstart Texas State team.

Week 3 storylines

FAU debut

Willie Taggart’s first game as the head coach at FAU is this week. The Owls should be slight favorites when they visit Georgia Southern in Week 3. How FAU responds to a new quarterback could prove to be the difference-maker in a season with high expectations despite the offseason turnover in personnel and on the coaching staff.

Conference play is here

Weeks before Rice and FIU are scheduled to begin their 2020 season, the first C-USA conference game is on the docket. The interim coached-Southern Miss hosts Louisiana Tech in a game that could prove pivotal for the C-USA West Division race.

Two-win UTEP?

When we previewed UTEP on The Roost Podcast this summer, we talked about the real possibility of a winless season. With a win over SFA already under their belt, the Miners could surpass their entire 2019 win total by beating Abilene Christian next weekend. That’s kind of a big deal, especially in the midst of this uncertain season.

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