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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 9 C-USA Roundup

October 27, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football took Southern Miss to the brink, but couldn’t finish while a few other Conference USA Football teams had thrilling finishes of their own.

Team Week 9 Result Week 10
Charlotte vs North Texas W, 39-38 vs MTSU
FAU at Old Dominion W, 41-3 at WKU
FIU at MTSU L,50-17 vs Old Dominion
LA Tech at UTEP W, 42-21 — OFF —
Marshall vs WKU W, 26-23 at Rice
MTSU vs FIU W, 50-17 at Charlotte
North Texas at Charlotte L, 39-38 vs UTEP
Old Dominion vs FAU L, 41-3 at FIU
Rice vs Southern Miss L, 20-6 vs Marshall
Southern Miss at Rice W, 20-6 — OFF —
UAB — OFF —  — at Tennessee
UTEP vs LA Tech L, 42-21 at North Texas
UTSA — OFF —  — at Texas A&M
WKU at Marshall L, 26-23 vs FAU

Notable Week 9 results – Standings

Houston, we need a quarterback

An up and down day from Rice football quarterback Wiley Green ended in disaster. An endzone interception doomed the Owls to their eighth consecutive loss despite a rousing defensive performance which kept C-USA’s leading passer Jack Abraham at bay for what was a close football game until the final seconds.

And the high score goes to… MTSU

The Blue Raiders had moved the ball fairly well through the first eight weeks of the season, but their Week 9 showing against FIU was a 50-point thing of beauty. Asher Ohara, Javy McDonald and Terelle West combined for more than 427 yards rushing and six touchdowns against an FIU defense that entered the week in the middle of the pack in terms of rushing defense.

Doing their part

FAU’s C-USA title hopes hit a snag in a heartbreaking loss in Marshall. The Owls rebounded with a resounding win over Old Dominion on the road to keep pace in what has become a tight race in the East.  If there were any doubts as to the legitimacy of this team’s prowess on both sides of the ball, a 41-3 beatdown provided plenty of answers.

Week 10 storylines

Speaking of the East

WKU’s loss, which came despite a rally from a 23-7 third quarter deficit, sets up a pivotal Week 10 game between the Hilltoppers and FAU. With one loss apiece, the upcoming matchup could settle the pecking order in the East. The winner will still have some work to do to secure their spot while the loser will more than likely be out of the running.

North Texas’ postseason fate hanging in the balance

Despite being picked to win the conference in the preseason, North Texas is in dire straights. A brutal non-conference schedule and Charlotte’s upset over the Mean Green in Week 9 have to have heightened the nerves in Denton. North Texas has to win three of four their next four to reach postseason eligibility — they can’t afford to lose to UTEP, one of C-USA’s remaining winless teams.

Can Charlotte make the most of their momentum?

On the heels of four consecutive losses, Charlotte’s upset win over North Texas put a bowl game back on the 49ers’ radar. A win over MTSU next weekend would put them two wins away with games remaining against UTEP and Old Dominion. After a rocky start, Will Healy’s bunch could be in for a fascinating finish.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Filed Under: Football, Archive Tagged With: Conference USA football, Rice Football

The Roost Podcast | Ep 14 – Special interview with Calvin Anderson

October 25, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Former Rice football offensive lineman Calvin Anderson stopped by The Roost Podcast for a special interview with Matthew and Carter.

Despite the school’s smaller enrollment numbers, Rice Football has continued to churn out NFL talent. The Owls have several players in the NFL, CFL and XFL and should have more in the way in the coming years.

Current Denver Broncos offensive lineman Calvin Anderson, who recently made his home at South Main before stops in Austin and a few NFL practice squads, knows how crazy that journey can be first hand. Join us and Calvin as we talk about life in the NFL, Rubik’s cubes and what it’s like to practice against Von Miller in this special edition of The Roost Podcast.

Follow @TheRoostPod

Don’t miss our Southern Miss preview

This is the second podcast we’ve put out this week. We opted to split the show up instead of putting together a longer single show. Be sure to give the UTSA recap and Southern Miss preview show a listen as well. In that episode we work through the fallout of another heartbreaking loss and discuss what things Rice football needs to do going forward to find the breakthrough they’ve been searching for all season. Should Owls fans have hope? We think so.

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Podcast Tagged With: Calvin Anderson, podcast, Rice Football

Rice Football Recruiting: New targets emerging in 2020 class 🔒

October 25, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class continues to take shape with new targets emerging as the Owls work to finish off a strong class.

The results on the field haven’t been to the Owls’ liking, but things are looking up on the 2020 Rice Football recruiting front. The current commits remain locked in. The family atmosphere is already building with the next wave of Owls who are ready to make their own marks at South Main.

The most recent addition, defensive end Jalen Reeves, committed to the Owls in September over a slew of prominent programs. Here are a few additional targets who could join the 2020 Rice Football class:

Daylin McLemore – QB – Junipero Serra HS (CA)

Rice moved on their quarterback of the 2021 class recently, offering Cibolo Steele dual-threat Wyatt Begeal. At the same time, the Owls were doing their homework on a 2020 quarterback they have interest in. There have been a few names pop up here, but McLemore seems to have moved into the forefront of the Owls’ focus at the quarterback position. He has good touch through the air and some wheels, too.

Armaj Adams-Reed – OT – Desoto HS (TX)

Adams picked up a Rice offer last week following a visit from the Rice staff during the bye week. From Desoto HS, Reed is a tremendous athlete at the offensive line position and he looks the part. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound holds down the blindside for his school and could serve the Owls well at the next level.

Will Sheppard – WR – Mandeville HS (LA)

The Owls will be selective about when it comes to the right pass catchers to round out the 2020 class. Sheppard clears that bar and could be a difference-maker at the position for the Owls. For that reason, he’s been near the top of that list and has been pursued by Rice for several months now.

River Woods – DB – Dallas Episcopal HS (TX)

Woods has been in the mix for a while now. The two-way player from Dallas remains a priority for the Owls on the recruiting front. Reinforcing the secondary will be an emphasis in this class, making the looks into Woods important.

Mike Leone – OT – Hun School (NJ)

Pulling Mike Leone out of New Jersey would be a big pickup for the Owls. He’s a highly regarded offensive line recruit who is currently committed to Yale, but his offer list seems to be growing quickly. Rice has beaten out Power 5 schools already to land some of their top members in the 2020 class. Snagging Leone would require some work, but Rice is certainly in the mix.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 13 – 2019 UTSA Review, Southern Miss Preview

October 24, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football must regroup and move on after a tough loss to UTSA. Carter and Matthew debrief the game and preview the Owls’ next opponent: Southern Miss.

The most recent Rice football outing produced results that were hard to swallow. But, as they say, the show must go on. There’s plenty of things to break down from the UTSA game. We start there and move on to the Owls’ upcoming matchup with Southern Miss.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 13 below.

Follow @TheRoostPod

Episode 13 Notes

  • News and notes —  Rice Men’s Basketball starts up on Oct. 31. Anthony Rendon is crushing it in the world series. Stay tuned for a special podcast dropping tomorrow with a guest Rice fans will enjoy.
  • UTSA Review — Turnovers have become a serious problem for the Owls and getting to the passer remains an issue as well. On the plus side, Bradley Rozner is emerging as a go-to guy and Blaze Alldredge continues to make play after play.
  • Previewing the Southern Miss game — Jack Abraham and the Southern Miss offense are going to pose a big challenge for the Rice defense. The Owls have been improved against the pass this season, but they’re going to have to stay disciplined for a full sixty minutes to contain one of the most lethal units in C-USA. On the other side of the ball, Rice should find some of their success.

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice Football Film Room 2019: UTSA review and Southern Miss preview

October 23, 2019 By Carter

This week’s edition of the Rice Football film room features two very different teams starting with a review of UTSA and looking ahead at Southern Miss.

Hey everybody and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. Today we’ll be looking at a play from Rice’s heartbreaking loss to UTSA, as well as one from upcoming opponent Southern Miss in their Week 5 win against UTEP.

UTSA

As Matthew noted in his breakdown of the loss, Rice has turned the ball over a stunning *nine* times in three conference games. It’s not a stretch to think that if they’d maintained the low turnover rate from their brutal non-conference schedule (a mere two turnovers in four games) or even stayed close to it, they might be 2-1 or even 3-0 in C-USA play now. But the UTSA game in particular featured some backbreakers, including the play I’ve included here.

Rice Football, film room

Setup

It’s the first play of the third quarter. Rice is leading 10-7 and on offense at their own 25. They’re in a 21-personnel I-formation look, with a TE to the right. Bradley Rozner is the wide receiver to the top of the screen. Somewhat surprisingly, UTSA is in a two-deep 4-2-5 nickel look, ceding numbers to Rice in the box. As a quick note, the FB is Brendan Suckley and I think that’s Aston Walter as the RB, but I can’t tell who the TE is from the clip.

The Play

Now we see what UTSA’s up to—they rotate into a single-high look at the snap, with the boundary corner blitzing and Austin Trammell being picked up in man by the free safety. Both the LBs drop into shallow zones, so with six blockers up front (the TE runs a route but Suckley stays in). Rice stymies the 4 DL. Walter does a nice job cut-blocking the blitzing CB, so Green gets time to throw off this short drop.

We’ve talked on the pod about how Rice’s offense and their use of heavy personnel allows them to get one-on-one match-ups outside and how they’ve been particularly effectively lately throwing jump balls to Rozner and August Pitre in the end zone out of these looks. Understanding how personnel and formations dictate what the defense gives you is a key quality for a quarterback: by processing these things pre-snap and knowing what looks you’re likely to get, you can make quick decisions about what to do once the ball is snapped.

But this can also be a trap: defenses routinely show QBs one thing pre-snap and then change it up post-snap. If you’ve already made up your mind about where you’re going pre-snap—and what’s more, if the defense is guessing that’s what you’ve decided to do and has a counter in mind—then what looks like a sound read can turn into a horrible mistake. Note that this happens to even the best of quarterbacks: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa has thrown 70 touchdowns and only 8ight interceptions in his 22 starts for the Crimson Tide. At least half of the interceptions have come on plays like this, when savvy defensive coordinators have used Tagovailoa’s aggressiveness and rapid decision-making.

More: Three critical mistakes Rice football must fix soon

That’s what happens to Wiley Green here. He thinks he has Rozner in single coverage and plans to go there right from the beginning, staring down Rozner the whole way. Based on the alignment, Green probably thinks the nickel DB is going to stay closer to the box to play in run support, but instead he bails and sinks to double Rozner. Green doesn’t see him, and the ball is picked and returned for a touchdown.

Even if the DB hadn’t been there, it’s not a great play by Green. He probably needs to get that ball out at the top of his drop, because:

1) it’s a long throw, and while Rozner’s break gets him space, the corner probably would have had time to close and make the play as is; and
2) by the time he makes his throw the pocket has been pushed back enough that he can’t step into the throw, and so the ball is underthrown.

If he gets it out at the top of the drop and doesn’t take that extra step forward, he’s got more space to step into the throw and drive the ball. That would mean getting the ball out well before Rozner is out of his break, but a throw off a 5-step drop like this one is usually a timing-based throw. You’ve got to get the ball out when you’re supposed to and trust that the receiver will be in the right spot to make the catch. I don’t mean to dog Green too much here; I know that all sounds harsh, but these are mistakes Rice cannot afford to make in winnable games.

Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles are led this year by their high-flying passing offense, directed by coordinator Buster Faulkner, who came in this offseason and installed his version of the Air Raid. (Faulkner played and coached at Valdosta State under Chris Hatcher, who was an assistant at Kentucky under Air Raid architects Hal Mumme and Mike Leach). The engine of this offense is QB Jack Abraham, who’s been a bit turnover-prone (8 INTs), but has also thrown for over 2200 yards and 13 TDs on a 70.5 percent completion percentage.

Their offense will primarily run out of four receiver sets, with plays designed to get those receivers in space. One of those plays, mesh, is one of the staple concepts of the Air Raid (which, in its purest forms, actually only includes four or five passing concepts). We’ll take a look at a version of mesh that Southern Miss runs below.

Rice Football, film room

Setup

It’s late in the second quarter in Southern Miss’ win over UTEP. and the Gold Eagles are up 14-3, with the ball at the UTEP 38 yard line. Southern Miss in a four receiver set, with three receivers in a bunch to the left. UTEP counters with a two-high look out of dime (6 DBs) personnel, with three down linemen and two linebackers.

The Play

As I said above, Southern Miss runs “mesh”, which is a core concept of the Air Raid but also shows up in playbooks across all levels of football these days. It involves a pair of shallow crossing routes from opposite ends of the field nearly meeting in the middle of the field. There are many variations, both in terms of formation and the other routes being run, but the crossers are the key. It’s a great play because it can put stress on both man and zone coverages, and having versatile plays which work against different defensive looks is a core Air Raid philosophy.

More: Southern Miss week press conference quotes

The version here is pretty classic, though the bunch allows for a variation. Normally an inside receiver to the strong side runs the crosser from that side, but here’s it’s the outside (or No. 1) receiver, running under the No. 2 (who’s on the line) and the No. 3 inside. The No. 2 runs a corner route, the No. 3 runs to the flat, and to the weak side the back leaks into the flat and the receiver runs the other crosser.

It looks like UTEP’s in 2-Man coverage, with two deep safeties and everybody else playing man. The press corner is on the strongside No. 2, the boundary corner is on the weakside No. 1, and the weakside LB has the back. I can’t be sure but I think the other two underneath DBs to the trips side are playing banjo coverage on the two other receivers to that side.

Basically, that means the outside DB will pick up whichever receiver (in this case, the No. 3 receiver) goes outside, and the inside DB will pick up whoever goes inside (in this case, the No. 1, who’s running the crosser). Receivers often run “rubs” or “picks” (or “illegal offensive pass interference” if you’re a defensive guy) on DBs out of these bunches to get free releases for the other receivers, and banjo is a common strategy for preventing that.

More: Previewing Rice Football vs Southern Miss

In this case, it seems to be the inside DB that makes the error, chasing the No. 3 receiver to the flat instead of picking up the no. 1 receiver (Jaylond Adams) running the crosser. That crosser is actually usually the fourth read in most versions of mesh (the corner, the other crosser, and the flat route to that side are the first three), but I don’t think Abraham gets that far. Based on how quickly he turns his head and gets to the open man, I think he quickly sees that inside DB start to flow to the flat and knows that means that Adams will be wide open, which he is. The safety to that side does a great job slowing down and then tackling Adams to prevent a TD, but Adams still turns it into about a 15-yard gain.

So the Rice secondary, likely down top CB Andrew Bird, has its work cut out for them this week against this Southern Miss offense. They’re going to have to play smart and disciplined to keep these receivers from picking up chunk after chunk against them. Let’s hope the Owls are up to the challenge.

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Filed Under: Football, Archive, Featured Tagged With: Aston Walter, Austin Trammell, Bradley Rozner, Brendan Suckley, film room, Rice Football

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