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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 4 C-USA roundup

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Rice football closed out nonconference play as several Conference USA Football teams kicked off their first conference games of the season.

Team Week 4 Result Week 5
Charlotte at No. 1 Clemson L, 52-10 vs FAU
FAU vs Wagner W, 42-7 at Charlotte
FIU at Louisiana Tech L, 43-31 — OFF —
LaTech vs FIU W, 43-31 at Rice
Marshall — OFF — — OFF — vs Cincinnati
MTSU — OFF — — OFF — at Iowa
North Texas vs UTSA W, 45-3 vs Houston
ODU at No. 21 Virginia L, 28-17 vs East Carolina
Rice vs Baylor L, 21-13 vs Louisiana Tech
Southern Miss at No. 2 Alabama L, 49-7 vs UTEP
UAB vs South Alabama W, 35-3 at WKU
UTEP vs Nevada L, 37-21 at Southern Miss
UTSA at North Texas L, 45-3 — OFF —
WKU — OFF — — OFF — vs UAB

Notable Week 4 results – Standings

Another Rice rally falls short

Down 21-3, things looked dire at South Main. Then the Rice football defense pitched a shutout in the second half against a Baylor team which entered the game as the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense. The offense came up short, mustering only 10 points after the break, but Rice posted another tight result in a rigorous nonconference slate.

Mayday, mayday UTSA

Another C-USA defeat left the team on the losing end feeling much less optimistic. UTSA fell in a one-sided affair to North Texas despite Conference USA Football Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Mason Fine being limited to 195 passing yards and two touchdowns. UTSA Quarterback Frank Harris was knocked out of the game. His status is up in the air, making the mood in San Antonio rather dour.

It’s sweet to have three

With conference play only just beginning, there are only two C-USA teams who have reached the three-win mark after four weeks. UAB is 3-0 (0-0) and Louisiana Tech is 3-1 (1-0). The Blazers and Bulldogs both play their first conference road game next weekend.

Week 5 storylines

One last nonconference statement

Conference USA failed to connect on any of their major nonconference upset opportunities. North Texas couldn’t top Cal. Rice fell to a slew of Power 5 teams. Marshall dropped a close one to Boise State. The Thundering Herd get one more chance to shine the light on Conference USA football when they host a talented Cincinnati squad in Week 5.

The off week couldn’t have come any sooner

FIU was expected to compete for the C-USA East crown. They’re 1-3 with a close win over New Hampshire to their name. This is a team in massive need of a reset. Already 0-2 in conference play, the Panthers’ margin for error is shrinking. A break came at the right time.

Litmus test

Western Kentucky squandered a double-digit fourth quarter lead against FCS Central Arkansas in Week 1. They beat FIU 20-14 in Week 2 and lost a closer-than-expected game to Louisville their last time out. Week 5 will be a defining moment for the Hilltoppers when they face UAB at home. Which outing, the FCS loss or the C-USA win, will prove more predictive of Tyson Helton’s first year at the helm.

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Rice Football: Owls rally falls short against Baylor Bears

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Another hard-fought nonconference game ended in defeat for Rice football who couldn’t rally from an early deficit against the Baylor Bears.

Rice football concluded their nonconference slate with their second straight bout with an in-state opponent. Baylor struck first but the Owls mounted a comeback which fell just short. Here are a few immediate takeaways from the game:

1. Shortening the game worked

When the first quarter ended Rice and Baylor were locked in a one-score game and the sun was still hanging in the sky. Despite the 6:00 p.m. kick, the Owls were able to fit an entire quarter in, and then some, before the stadium lights were needed. This is a theme we’ll see throughout this season.

The offense picked up three first downs in the first quarter and possessed the ball for a little more than five minutes. The defense bent, but only allowed the one touchdown. The formula in the second quarter was the same, with the Owls finding more success on offense — including their first successful field goal of the season.

Recruiting update | Owls gaining ground on priority targets

A week removed from giving up four consecutive touchdown drives against Texas with zero offensive points, Rice put a much more competitive product on the field and kept the score close, so close in fact that the Owls found themselves in a one-score game in the fourth quarter against a team most expected to run away from them.

2. Ground game goes quietly, again

Rice averaged 6.0 yards per carry in their season opener against Army. That included a long touchdown run by Nahshon Ellerbe, but even without the big gain, the Owls had success moving the ball on the ground. Since that Friday night, it’s been more than tough sledding.

The Owls tallied 67 rushing yards against Wake Forest, 87 against Texas and 64 against Baylor. For an offense that professes to live and die on pounding the rock, they were considerably less productive with the ground game controlled.

The opponents who were able to quiet the Owls’ rushing attack are all more talented and athletic than Army. They’re also more capable in the trenches than the remaining opponents on the schedule. Prior to Saturday, Rice hasn’t had an answer when the ground game isn’t working. The Owls needed the passing game to rise up, and it did.

3. This defense is going to win something

It might not be a championship (this year) but the Rice defense has proven themselves good enough to win games. Aside from a 50-yard touchdown against busted coverage — something which hasn’t happened as often this year as it did last year — the Rice defense played extremely well. In their previous two first halves, Baylor had scored 35 points against UTSA and 35 against SFA. Rice allowed 21.

Denzel Mims and RJ Sneed tallied 20 receptions for 244 yards and five touchdowns in their first two games. Rice held that duo to 126 yards and no scores on nine receptions.

Rice stopped Baylor on fourth down in this game, forcing a fumble in the process. They picked up another fumble on a botched exchange in the second quarter and should have gotten points off that turnover as well, but Chris Barnes missed the field goal.

Baylor hit a long pass down the sideline on their first possession of the third quarter. The defense responded by shutting down a wide receiver pass and stripping Brewer of the ball for their third forced fumble of the game.

3. Sustained drives make a difference

Getting to third and short has been a challenge for Rice. The Owls faced 18 third downs and converted eight of them. Five of those third downs were four yards or shorter. They converted four of those five. A good portion of that was the lack of effectiveness in the running game, but the passing game wasn’t consistent enough to set the Owls up in third and short often either.

Third down was a problem for this offense last year and a major factor in their inability to control games. Against Baylor, Rice converted three consecutive third downs on two separate occasions. Both possession ended with redzone field goals.

Better still, Rice found ways to move the ball before they found themselves in third down. Tom Stewart’s touchdown run came on the heels of a third and one conversion by Austin Walter.

4. The special teams dilemma

Bloomgren declined to make any public decisions regarding the placekicking entering Saturday’s contest. We saw incumbent Will Harrison come on and convert from 28 yards and 24 yards. Punter and team captain Chris Barnes missed late in the game from 44 yards.

Last year we saw Rice deploy a similar platoon situation. Jack Fox handled long field goals and Hayden Tobola kicked from roughly inside 40 yards.

Zach Hoban handled kickoffs against Baylor. He could be in the mix here as well once he’s fully recovered from an injury which kept him out of the first three games. Bottom line, this situation is still pretty hazy and we might not get clairt for a while.

5. The quarterback dilemma

Here are the final lines for both quarterbacks

Wiley Green | 13-of-23 passing for 128 yards
Tom Stewart | 5-of-8 passing for 50 yards with a 21-yard rushing touchdown

Green didn’t do much with his first two possessions of the game, ceding to Stewart as planned for the third series. Stewart made the most of his opportunity, connecting on two big third down throws, positioning Rice for two field goal attempts. Understandably, Bloomgren rode the hotter hand and kept Stewart in for the remainder of the first half.

Green started out the second half and was noticeably galvanized by the competition. He picked up a first down with his legs and drove the Owls the length of the field into the redzone ore the offense stalled. Stewart didn’t take a snap in the third quarter thanks to Green’s early success. Then Stewart reentered the game after Green got hit and promptly ripped off the 21-yard touchdown run.

Now Bloomgren is in a pickle. Both quarterbacks had their moments. At halftime I would have said Stewart was the better option. Then Green rallied in the second half. Conference play starts next week and it doesn’t look like Rice will have one definitive answer at the quarterback position.

5. No more mulligans. Conference play is here.

Slow starts have maligned the Rice offense through nonconference play. The defense has looked sharp, if not excellent. Next week those early themes will be put to the test in the first conference game of the season. An 0-4 start can fade quickly if Rice can find a way to reinvigorate the offense and keep the defense humming.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 and 2021 targets and commit updates

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The 2020 and 2021 Rice Football recruiting classes are in the works. Here’s the latest on the Owls’ efforts on the recruiting front.

The end of summer lull in the recruiting calendar has come and gone. While the team has been busy on the field the Rice Football recruiting staff has worked equally hard off of it.

The Owls hosted dozens of players in their first two home weekends. Several commits and key targets took in the game at NRG Stadium against Texas last weekend following a get together on campus with plenty of food and football watching to do in the hours before Rice kicked off.

Here are some updates on the current 2020 commits and a few names to know in the 2020 and 2021 classes. Find the latest info on all the 2020 commits on our recruiting tracker.

Injury update

Last week was a tough one for a pair of 2020 Rice Football commits. Linebacker Geron Hargon suffered a torn ACL while he sacked an opposing quarterback. Uncertain as to the extent of the injury, Hargon returned to the field a few minutes later, scooped up a fumble and dashed 60-yards to the endzone. That play will be the final one of his high school career.

Khalan Griffin will also miss the remainder of his senior season. He suffered a torn meniscus at the start of the 2019 season, but didn’t find out until he played on during multiple games. He ran for 158 yards in his first game and 208 yards in game two — all on a torn meniscus.

It’s a tough blow for both Hargon and Griffin, but both remain in good spirits. They’ve become champions of the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class over the last several months. Both should be 100 percent in time for their Rice careers to begin next year.

2020 Quarterbacks

The beginning of the fall has been crucial for the Owls’ quarterback evaluation. Rice is continuing to trim their list of priority targets at the position. The staff’s find out Jovoni Johnson late in the cycle last year has lessened the pressure to fire off offers too quickly.

The Owls are going to do their homework before they land on their QB1 for this class. Right now, two Austin-based passers are beginning to emerge. Kirkland Michaux from Westlake HS and Wilson Long from Regents HS. Both have been on campus and liked what they’ve seen thus far.

Long has been on the radar for some time. The Owls are following his senior season, along with Michaux’s, before they make their next move.

Michaux said the buy in from the staff and the investment in the future of the program was evident, noting that the facilities were top-notch. He went so far as to say, “it really felt like I was at a Power 5 school” when he visited South Main.

More 2020 names

Jalen Reeves – Defensive End – University School (Fort Lauderdale, FL) | This pass rusher from the sunshine state has a handful of impressive Power 5 offers, but the Owls are going to take their best swing. He’ll be on campus for the first time this weekend against Baylor.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

Zack Haaland – Wide Receiver/Corner – Dallas Christian HS (Dallas, Tx) | A starting quarterback, Haaland has the complete package of athleticism and speed. He could be another guy who finds his position once he gets to campus, but right now it’s looking like he’ll play wide receiver or corner, it wouldn’t shock me if he winds up at safety either.

River Woods – Defensive Back – Episcopal HS (Dallas, Tx) | This two-way high school athlete is a highlight reel waiting to happen with great hands and plenty of quickness. His pursuit is savvy and he’d fit in well with the Rice secondary.

2021 Names to keep and eye on

Aaron Session –  Guard – Morton Ranch HS (Katy, Tx) | Big bruiser on the offensive line who’s already caught the eye of several teams in state. He was impressed with the facilities in his visit for the Wake Forest game and puts Rice squarely in his top schools, along with Texas, Baylor and Colorado.

Joseph Manjack – Wide Receiver – Tomball Memorial HS (Tomball, Tx) | Called the atmosphere on campus “electric” and really enjoyed his conversations with the coaching staff. He hasn’t come close laying out a pecking order for his top schools, but the connection he has with current Rice commit Braedon Nutter and a positive early impression put the Owls in great position this early.

Bryce McMorris – Corner – Bridgeland HS (Cypress, Tx) | Having the opportunity to talk with Bloomgren directly was big for McMorris, who’s already taken multiple trips to see the Owls in person this fall. He’s excited to see more of campus and continue developing a relationship with defensive coordinator Brian Smith and corners coach Gerrard Wilcher.

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Rice Football Film Room: Texas review and Baylor preview

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Rice football has three games in the books and a lot of film to look through. This week Carter reviews Texas and previews Baylor.

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the film room. Not a lot of positives to take out of that Texas game, sadly, but I do want to highlight one play that shows some great work by the Rice football front seven on defense. Then we’ll switch things up and make this a preview column by looking at a particularly illustrative play from Baylor’s offense in their win against UTSA, so y’all can get an idea of what to expect from them on Saturday.

TEXAS: UT Ball, 2nd and 3, 8:04 3rd quarter

Setup

Texas is in an 11 personnel shotgun spread set. The back is behind Ehlinger and to his right and an H-back to that side of the line. Rice is showing a three man front, with JaVante Hubbard at a 0-tech nose and Myles Adams and Kenneth Orji as stand-up defensive ends.

Prudy Calderon is off the line to the strong side, ready to either cover the H-back or contain a backside QB run. Blaze Alldredge and Anthony Ekpe are at off-ball linebacker, and George Nyakwol has crept up in between the two and is already blitzing into the A-gap at the snap.

The Play

It looks like this is a zone read, because Ehlinger appears to be focusing on Myles Adams at the snap. Since Adams has to go around the H-back, he doesn’t crash quickly enough to tackle the back, and so Ehlinger makes the right read and hands it off. It could be that it’s a called hand-off, with the H chipping Adams long enough to keep him from making the play, but it looks more like he’s trying to get to Prudy Calderon in case Ehlinger keeps it.

Blaze Alldredge’s is the star here. He flows to the B gap, stacks and sheds the right guard, and slides into the backfield to make the tackle. But the rest of the Rice front is great on this play as well. The right tackle can’t stay engaged with Ekpe, who might have managed to stop the play for no gain had the back gotten by Alldredge.

Hubbard backs the reaching right guard two yards into the backfield, as does the 182-lb Nyakwol with UT’s 300-pound center (!!). Both are eventually overpowered, but not till after they’ve clogged up the interior gaps. Orji turns the left tackle perpendicular to the line to seal the edge, preventing the back from bouncing the play outside (which is critical—if Orji doesn’t hold the edge, the back is gone by the time Alldredge sheds his blocker). Even Adams stays in pursuit long enough to have chased down the back if Alldredge had merely plugged his gap instead. It’s a loss of one.

BAYLOR: BU Ball, 1st and 10, 9:45 1st Quarter

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Setup

Here’s a play from early in Baylor’s win over UTSA in Week 2. I picked it to illustrate the kind of headaches an aggressive spread run scheme like Baylor’s can cause. Baylor’s in 11 personnel, with all three receivers and the back to the right and the TE to the left. UTSA is in a basic 4-man front nickel package.

The Play

The base run play here is called GT Counter, in which both the backside guard and tackle pull to clear the way for the running back. It’s a popular play these days, in particular being the staple of Oklahoma’s run game. It can be run out of a number of variations and with a variety of options built into it, so it’s a versatile play to have in your book.

Here, it starts with a basic spread option read. The backside defensive end is left unblocked, and the QB will read him, exactly like zone read. If he stays wide, the QB hands it off. If he crashes inside, the QB keeps. Here the DE does what’s called “attacking the mesh”—he sprints upfield to the mesh point, hoping the QB won’t make the read quickly enough and that he’ll be able to make the play no matter who has the ball. It’s a good way to defend these plays if you’ve got a really athletic end, but it’s risky because if the QB decides quickly you can get burned.

Here, Charlie Brewer does what every QB should in this situation (handoff as quickly as possible), and the end takes himself out of the play. From there, UTSA has clogged the middle enough to force Trestan Ebner to cut it back, but once he does there’s nobody in between him and the first down marker, and it’s a big play all the way to the red zone.

The Roost Podcast | Rice Football vs Texas review and Baylor Preview

But this isn’t just a basic option run play—it’s an RPO. Take a look at the innermost slot receiver (what the defense would mark as the No. 3 receiver). As the outer two receivers clear out and set up to block, he goes out for a screen. So actually Brewer’s read here is probably that if the end doesn’t crash inside (or attack the mesh), he pulls the ball out and throws the screen. Some teams, Oklahoma included, will run plays like this but keep the QB run option, making it a true triple option with the screen replacing the pitch.

That play pretty well encapsulates the basic idea of Baylor’s offense. They’re built around a couple of core run concepts, which they use to build out a playbook filled with option runs, play-action and RPOs.

I made the Oklahoma comparison a couple of times, and it’s similar to what they do in their run/option/RPO packages, but without the Air Raid passing roots of Lincoln Riley. It’s more wide open than the old school offense Matt Rhule ran as the head coach at Temple, but it’s still built on running the football. It’s relatively simple for the offensive players to run but deceptively difficult for defensive players to recognize and stay disciplined on the plays. Hopefully Rice football is up to the challenge.

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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with Baylor expert Sam Bradshaw

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The Baylor Bears are the last nonconference opponent Rice football will face this season. Sic’em 365’s Sam Bradshaw takes us behind enemy lines.

Rice Football is three weeks into their 2019 slate with one final nonconference test remaining. To get the inside scoop on Baylor, we talked with Sam Bradshaw of Sic’em 365.

Q: How is the rebuilding process going in Waco? What are the expectations for Matt Rhule in Year 3?

Sam — The rebuild is going well after winning a bowl in year two after a bare bones roster at key positions in 2017. He’s really rebuilt the roster across the board and installed a very different culture in Waco which was an important step given the circumstances.

As for expectations, that will obviously vary from fan to fan but easily making a bowl up to winning 8-10 games is what fans are thinking is realistic this year. Baylor returns a ton of talent and experience across the roster from a team that went 7-6 last fall but many fans think could have won up to three more.

Q: What’s the confidence level in quarterback Charlie Brewer? Can he take the next step and become one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks?

Sam — Baylor fans have a lot of confidence in everything about Brewer except maybe his deep throws. He’s accurate, makes good decisions, is a capable runner, and will play very tough.

Most Baylor fans would argue Brewer has already taken that step into being one of the Big 12’s best. He’s at worst fourth best in the league and Baylor fans would argue much higher than that.

Q: Two games into the season, has the Baylor defense shown improvement over last year?

Sam — When the starters held their first two opponents to one combined score and around ten combined yards per drive it’s safe to say they look good. They have shifted from a 4-2-5 to what is more of a 3-3-5 defense to get more coverage flexibility and to limit big plays. It’s been successful and they ask a lot of their DL with some two gap techniques and ask their LB’s to take on a lot more action inside. It’s a big shift from their usual fronts which are a lot like Rice’s base looks. It will be interesting to see how well the new tactics hold up against Big 12 blockers.

Q. Who is are some under the radar players to watch?

Sam — On offense I would say that tailback Trestan Ebner is one of the most dynamic open field threats in the Big 12. He has the ability to reverse field like few Baylor players I have seen. Receivers Chris Platt and Tyquan Thornton are somewhat under the radar but are among the fastest sprinters at their position in the Big 12 with incredibly good track speed.

The Roost Podcast | Texas review and Baylor Preview

Sam — Defensively the jack of all trades is SLB/Nickel LB Blake Lynch. The former HS QB came to Baylor as a receiver where he played in 2016. That season he saw spot duty at RB due to injuries, then moved to corner in 2017, then to Safety, and finally to SLB last year. He’s 6-3 225 and still has the same speed and agility he had as a receiver and corner.

The biggest freak athlete up front is James Lynch (no relation) who was an unheralded recruit they’ve developed who is 6-4 285 with 9.5 career sacks and runs a 4.8. He can play inside or outside on the line.

Q: What’s the biggest question make for the Bears entering their Week 4 game against Rice?

Sam — Just how good is this team?

They dominated a rebuilding FCS team and an improved but clearly overmatched UTSA team that admittedly had played Baylor tough in 2018. Aside from that limited detail it’s not clear how good this team really is.

Last week we saw two 2-0 Big 12 teams with similarly dominant starts go on the road to play a P5 school and we found out a lot more about them. Texas Tech was humbled against an Arizona team that lost to Hawaii while Kansas State went to Starkville and won against an unbeaten Mississippi State squad. Furthermore that KSU game probably wouldn’t have been close had KSU not muffed two punt returns and an interception return. Which one is Baylor most like? Unless Rice makes it interesting this weekend we won’t really have an idea until Iowa State comes to Waco next week.

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