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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 6 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 6.

Team Week 6 Result Week 7
Charlotte at North Texas W, 49-21 vs FIU
FAU at USM CANCELED — OFF —
FIU vs MTSU L, 31-28 at Charlotte
LA Tech vs UTEP W, 21-17 vs Marshall
Marshall at WKU W, 38-14 at LA Tech
MTSU at FIU W, 31-28 vs North Texas
North Texas vs Charlotte L, 49-21 at MTSU
Rice — OFF —  — — OFF —
Southern Miss vs FAU CANCELED at UTEP
UAB — OFF —  — vs WKU
UTEP at LA Tech L, 21-17 vs USM
UTSA at BYU L, 27-20 vs Army
WKU vs Marshall L, 38-14 at UAB

Notable Week 6 results – Standings

This moral victory counts

UTSA football has lost two straight after starting their season 3-0, but we might have learned more about the Roadrunners in their two losses than their hot start. UTSA hung with UAB last week and came within one score of BYU this week — the same BYU team that beat Louisiana Tech by 31, Troy by 41 and Navy by 52. Against a juggernaut opponent, UTSA held its own.

Winless no more

Middle Tennessee joined the ranks of the victors on Saturday, earning a 31-28 win over FIU. O’Hara was the entirety of the offense once more for the Blue Raiders, but it was the defense that did enough to keep this game alive, keeping FIU contained outside of two 60+ yard breakaway scores.

Louisiana Tech survives … against UTEP

UTEP has moved into the “pesky” range of Conference USA opponents. The Miners probably don’t have the top-end talent to beat the majority of their foes, but they’ve proven a worth adversary capable of tripping teams up if they look too far past the Miners. Bulldogs quarterback Luke Anthony was not good on Saturday, throwing for only 85 yards on 20 attempts. The Louisiana Tech running game was kept in check too.

Week 7 storylines

Char-lit?

Despite starting the season 0-2, Charlotte could be in the thick of the race for Conference USA East with a win next weekend over FIU. The 49ers won their first conference game against North Texas on Saturday, tying them with Marshall and FAU in the win column in the East. With FAU missing this week, another win would allow Charlotte to keep pace with Marshall.

Who gets their first conference win next?

North Texas and FIU are the only programs who have played a C-USA game without a conference victory. Both have to go on the round in Week 7. ESPN gives North Texas a 59.1 percent chance of beating Middle Tennessee. FIU has only a 34.4 percent chance of upsetting Charlotte.

Is it time for WKU to make a quarterback change?

Western Kentucky lost their presumed starting quarterback to the Transfer Portal this summer before landing former Maryland signal caller Tyrrell Pigrome late in the offseason. Pigrome has ye to throw for 200 yards in four chances, topping out at 188 in a narrow victory over Middle Tennessee. Backup Kevaris Thomas came in midway through the third quarterback against Marshall and more than doubled Pigrome’s yardage and threw WKU’s only touchdown pass.

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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BREAKING: Mike Collins named Rice Football starting quarterback

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Mike Collins has won the starting quarterback job for Rice football in 2020. The TCU transfer will be the man under center when the Owls open the season.

Rice football will have a new starting quarterback when they open the 2020 season. Graduate transfer Mike Collins will be the Owls’ starting quarterback this fall. He beat out redshirt freshman JoVoni Johnson who had been competing with Collins for the starting job through the spring and into fall camp.

Throughout camp, head coach Mike Bloomgren was clear Collins had the leg up. “I think Mike Collins is just a little bit ahead still.” Bloomgren said, “Pretty much every day he’s just a little bit ahead.”

His arm strength and ability to command the offense has been noticeable thus far. For a bigger guy, he’s pretty fleet of foot too. Rice won’t lose too much in terms of mobility from the position by opting for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound TCU transfer.

Bloomgren noted earlier this year the Owls were guaranteed to have the starting quarterback on campus this spring. Rice did not bring in any new passers over the summer, a decision that proved fortuitous given the rapidly changing environment. Collins was present for spring practice, an added benefit the staff believes will pay dividends in the coming weeks.

Collins will become the latest new face to start a season opening game for Rice football. Prior to his forthcoming debut, Rice has started a different quarterback in their opening game every year dating back to 2015, when Dryphus Jackson returned as the Owls’ QB1.

From 2015 on, Rice turned to Tyler Stehling (2016), Sam Glaesmann (2017), Shawn Stankavage (2018) and Wiley Green (2019) in their openers. Only one, Stehling maintained the starting job for the entirety of the year.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 55 – The Rice Football Rankings Show

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The Rice Football season is two weeks away. In preparation for the games, Carter and Matthew ranked the Owls position groups and opponents.

Rice football is back on the practice field. For the first time in months, we’ve had the chance to see the Owls in action. (Our subscribers can get access to all those practice updates here.) After getting a closer look, Carter and Matthew rank every position group by confidence level.

They also turned their gaze beyond the hedges toward the rest of the Owls’ 2020 opponents. Could another team on the Rice football schedule be more beatable than UTEP? It’s certainly possible.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 55.

Episode 55 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
    Become a Patron!
  • Rice Football opponent rankings
    • Which teams on the Owls’ schedule should Rice have the greatest confidence against?
    • UTEP is NOT the easiest game on the schedule this year
    • The Owls’ toughest opponent might not technically be on the schedule just yet
  • Rice Football positional rankings
    • The defense is ahead of the offense, but one offensive position group is near the top of the list
    • What’s most important? Top end talent or having plenty of depth
    • Unknowns at quarterback remain a quandary until we see it on the field.

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Quarterbacks, specialists and injuries

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Rice football is nearly halfway through fall camp. The quarterback situation is clearing up but the running back depth chart is heating up.

On Monday, Rice football had its first practice following Scrimmage No. 1. That extra session, combined with time to break down the scrimmage film, gave head coach Mike Bloomgren a better feel for where the team stands as the midpoint of fall camp approaches.

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The quarterback situation is starting to crystalize, but Khalan Griffin is making the running back depth chart extremely hard to parse out. I’ve got more notes on both position battles, how the special teams situation is looking right now and an update on injuries including three players that I haven’t seen take the field for the Owls this fall.

Timetable for a QB1 decision

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 class already proving its worth

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class was announced on National Signing Day. Eight months later, they’ve become fixtures on the Owls’ roster.

On National Signing Day, head coach Mike Bloomgren addressed the media and fans with a beaming smile. For the first time since the process began more than a year ago, he could talk publically about the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class.

“According to all the experts, this is the highest-rated class in Rice history,” Bloomgren said with confidence, referring to the rankings compiled by 247 sports.

For college football coaches, a new signing class is something akin to new children. None have ever done anything less than sing the praises of their newest additions. Bloomgren, however, doesn’t have to stand on platitudes or flowery language. The players he and his staff have signed have done enough during their time in high school to warrant merit of their own.

Incoming freshman safety Gabe Taylor is the highest-rated recruit Rice football has ever signed. Along the way, Rice signed a collective of players with offers from Washington State, Colorado, NC State, Syracuse,  Boston College, Kansas State, Houston and more. The Owls took their national recruiting mandate seriously, scouring the country for the talent they needed. Then they worked tirelessly for months to ensure those players signed on the dotted line.

Listen – The Roost Podcast: Fall camp updates and injury news

With the exception of roughly a dozen players remaining from the class prior to Bloomgren’s arrival, the 2020 roster will be comprised almost entirely of players his staff handpicked. “I think we’ve [raised the ceiling and the floor],” Bloomgren said in early February. “[There’s] a little bit different speed than we’re used to having in this program.” From the speed to the raw athleticism, the talent profile of the current Rice football roster is as high as it’s been in some time.

In many ways, Rice football has come a long way from National Signing Day. They’ve persevered through uncertainty to the brink of their 2020 season. Injuries and setbacks have put their depth to the test early on in fall camp.

Players like Brad Rozner, Naeem Smith and Andrew Bird were expected to be key members of the team. None have participated in team drills so far during camp. Instead, it’s been members of that 2021 class stepping up. Gabe Taylor has had his moments, so to have freshmen corners Jordan Dunbar and Sean Fresch. With running back Juma Otoviano sidelined, Khalan Griffin and Kobie Campbell have shined bright. Braedon Nutter has played everywhere on the interior of the offensive line.

Bloomgren and his staff had high hopes for the class of 2021 when they signed. They might not have expected them to make their mark this early, but this class is proving to be just what the doctor ordered.

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