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Rice Football: Owls frustrated after dropping winnable game

September 29, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football never trailed in regulation but left their own stadium without a win. That’s not something that will sit well with any Owls.

“This week was huge for us. This was supposed to be our breakout game… and it really stinks that we couldn’t finish it.” A Rice football team captain, Austin Trammell’s disappointed words were weighty as they hung in the air during a postgame press conference which lasted just over 10 minutes. Question were fired away. They were met with honest, frustrated answers.

Trammell said the goal of this week was to show everyone the Owls are “a lot better than our record shows.” Although they never trailed in regulation, they’ll have to wait at least one more week.

In a season littered with moral victories, Saturday’s overtime loss to Louisiana Tech doesn’t quite qualify. Once more, the Rice defense was superb, holding their opponent to multiple scores less than their season average through regulation. The offense didn’t hold up their end.

Rice scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. Then Mike Bloomgren stuck to the predetermined script, swapping quarterback Wiley Green for backup Tom Stewart. And all the momentum Rice had generated up to that point began to disintegrate. After a three and out, Stewart moved the ball down the field and into the redzone. That possession ended in an interception, the first thrown by a Rice quarterback this season.

In a game which ended in overtime, Rice could ill afford to leave points on the field. They did with that interception, a missed field goal and a three-play overtime possession which ended in a field goal instead of a touchdown.

More: Takeaways from Rice’s OT loss to Louisiana Tech 

“I’m sure there will be some calls that I regret as we watch this film, there’s no doubt about that,” Bloomgren admitted, “I don’t know if anybody in our program will watch this film and not have any regrets at their job or their position. I think we’ll all have things we wish we had done different.”

If Rice doesn’t throw that interception and instead kicks that field goal, they might have avoided overtime altogether. The same is true if they’d converted that missed attempt. The Owls might not have watch J’Mar Smith end the game with his overtime touchdown run had they found a way to get the ball into the endzone on their first overtime possession. Instead, Rice football is surrounded with “ifs”.

Bloomgren is tired of those “ifs”. He, more than anyone, wants answers to the Owls’ inefficiencies on the offensive side of the ball. Ultimately, he’s the one that’s going to have to. If Rice had a few mulligans, they could be sitting at 3-2. Instead, they’re a painful 0-5. But it’s the same team that sat in the locker room at the Patterson Center on Saturday night and began to process another tough defeat.

Regardless, they’re still fighting. Results aside, the Owls unquestionably continued to battle eright up until the final whistle. They’re playing for four quarters.

Trammell’s sneak peek into the mindset of the team proved to be a fitting way to end his comments. “Usually most people need that extra push, but our team right now,” he said,” everyone is in. Everyone is fully in. Everyone’s after the same goal, the same mission”

United, Rice football isn’t throwing the towel any time soon. They’ll take it in, breakdown the film, and move on, knowing they’re closer to breaking through than their now 0-5 record reflects.

The Owls tend toward of conservative approach on offense; So far it hasn’t worked. They need to find a way to finish, a way to turn three-and-outs into downfield successes, and more importantly, into points. Until that happens, Rice could continue to find themselves in this uncomfortable position.

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

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Austin Trammell, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football

Conference USA Football 2019: Week 5 C-USA roundup

September 29, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football fell in overtime, but they weren’t the only Conference USA Football to come down on the wrong end of a close game in Week 5.

Team Week 5 Result Week 6
Charlotte vs FAU L, 45-27 — OFF —
FAU at Charlotte W, 45-27 — OFF —
FIU — OFF —  — vs UMass
LA Tech at Rice W, 23-20 (OT) — OFF —
Marshall vs Cincinnati L, 52-15 at MTSU
MTSU at No. 14 Iowa L, 48-3 vs Marshall
North Texas vs Houston L, 46-25 — OFF —
ODU vs East Carolina L, 24-21 vs WKU
Rice vs Louisiana Tech L, 23-20 (OT) at UAB
Southern Miss vs UTEP W, 31-13 — OFF —
UAB at WKU L, 20-13 vs Rice
UTEP at Southern Miss L, 31-13 vs UTSA
UTSA — OFF —  — at UTEP
WKU vs UAB W, 20-13 at ODU

Notable Week 5 results – Standings

South Main’s first chance at victory soured late

The bottom line was the same for Rice football in Week 5 as it was in the Owls’ first four games. Defeat. This time the Owls pushed their heartbreak further than 60 minutes, falling in overtime to Louisiana Tech in a game in which they left too many points on the board.

Blazers bow out of the ranks of the undefeated

UAB was the lone remaining unbeaten in Conference USA, but wins over Alabama State, Akron and South Alabama weren’t on par with the level of competition they’ll face in Conference USA. Finally faced with their first big test, the Blazers came up short — to a Western Kentucky team which fell to an FCS squad not that long ago. The Hilltoppers have improved a lot, but UAB fans have reason to be concerned.

FAU could be on to something

Early losses to Ohio State and UCF took the early spotlight off the Owls this season. Since then, they scored 40+ points in three consecutive games. FAU routed a quietly impressive Charlotte squad. Now 1-0 in C-USA, the Owls are squarely back in the race for a division crown, especially considering the struggles of Marshall and FIU.

Week 6 storylines

Time to sound the alarm?

Both 1-3, UTSA and UTEP meet in a telling Week 6 matchup. The winner earns their first conference victory of the season while the loser falls to 0-2 with a rigorous slate ahead of them. It’s pretty early in the season to call anything a “must win”, but both teams will have an extra push to lock this one down.

Brick by brick

It’s been a long season for FIU. The Panthers sit at 1-3 with a close win over New Hampshire their only bright spot. The road to salvaging the season and getting back on track starts Saturday against a 1-4 UMass squad who earned their first win over 0-4 Akron last week. If there’s such a thing as a must-win game, this is it.

Take 5

Thanks to the extended calendar this season, each Conference USA Football team will have two open weeks. The first big wave comes in Week 6 with five teams each taking their first open weekend at the same time — Charlotte, FAU, Louisiana Tech, North Texas and Southern Miss. This is the second-most idle teams C-USA will have this season. Six teams are off in Week 12.

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

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

Rice Football: Owls believe C-USA offers even playing field

September 28, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

After four grueling battles, Rice Football has finished nonconference play. The Owls hope for better fortunes as Conference USA play begins.

The positive side for Rice Football is clear. Mike Bloomgren sees his team as battle-tested. As he said following four games against teams who hold a combined 13-2 record, “who the heck are we going to be scared of?”

The Owls might not be scared, but they do need to find their offense.

Rice football averaged 6.0 yards per carry in their season opener against Army. The Owls’ executed their gameplan to a tee, controlling the game and putting themselves in position for a game-winning drive. That drive stalled out just outside the redzone. The Rice offense stalled with it.

In subsequent games against Wake Forest, Texas and Baylor the Owls averaged 1.8, 2.8 and 1.8 yards per carry, respectively. Rice just wasn’t winning in the trenches against those three Power 5 opponents to the same degree they did against Army.

On the basis of talent alone, that makes sense. All three of those programs ranked inside the Top 60 in weighted four-year recruited rankings. Rice checks in at No. 119 and Army at No. 103. So, in theory, once the Owls resume playing opponents of a similar caliber, the offense should get back on track. At least, that’s what Rice offense coordinator Jerry Mack is counting on.

“The speed of the game is just so much different when you play those upper-tier top 25 teams,” he said, “Those guys are still really talented in Conference USA, but the size of the guys is a little bit different… Now those guys are a couple of inches smaller or 20 pounds lighter. So it should balance out a little bit more just from a physicality standpoint.”

More: Rice vs Louisiana Tech Game Preview

Closer to even in terms of team talent. Rice will stick to their guns and run the ball. They’ll have the benefit of tackles Clay Servin and Justin Gooseberry, both of whom missed the Owls’ most recent game with injuries. Not having bruising fullback Reagan Williams will be a big loss, but the Owls have a stable of backs ready to give it their best shot.

Mack is sticking to his guns. “You can’t panic. You have to stay the course. I think at the end of the day, we know want to have a physical brand. We know we want to be a run-first style of offense and we have to stay committed to that.”

The Owls are committed. On Saturday we’ll see whether or not that resolve is well placed.

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

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Rice Football Film Room: Baylor review and LA Tech preview

September 26, 2019 By Carter

Rice football embarks on conference play this week, but first, there’s some film break down. This week Carter tackles three key plays.

Hey y’all, it’s time for the Rice Football Film Room again! This week we’re gonna look at a couple plays from Rice’s game last week against Baylor, breaking down an early defensive highlight from Blaze Alldredge (of course) and then Tom Stewart’s late touchdown run to put Rice within a score. Then we’ll look at an early play from Louisiana Tech’s win over FIU in Week 4, to show the improvement in their run game, spearheaded by RB Justin Henderson.

BAYLOR

Blaze Alldredge—Defensive End?

Rice Football

Setup

It’s Baylor ball, 4:36 left in the first quarter, 1st and 10 on the Rice 23, no score. Baylor is in 12 personnel, with the QB in the gun and the back behind and to his right. There’s an inline TE on each side of the line, with the one on the right being No. 91 Rob Saulin, a 6-foot-5, 302-pound behemoth whom Baylor lists as a “TE/DT” on their roster.

Notice, though, that Saulin is “covered up”—the wide receiver to the boundary is also on the line of scrimmage. That means that Saulin is not an eligible receiver; only players on the ends of the line of scrimmage and in the backfield are eligible on passing plays. So if this ends up being a pass, Saulin cannot get more than three yards down the field; the formation (and indeed his very presence on the field) suggests that this is probably going to be a run play.

Rice has a normal group of personnel out there, but as is DC Brian Smith’s wont, they’re in some unusual spots. Anthony Ekpe is playing the Viper position instead of his usual Rush OLB. Typical starting Viper Treshawn Chamberlain is standing directly behind MLB Antonio Montero at the snap. And WLB Blaze Alldredge is on the boundary side of the defensive line with his hand in the dirt as a defensive end.

The Play

It is indeed a running play, and in fact, it’s GT Counter, the same play I highlighted for Baylor in last week’s Film Room. The only difference is that they’re in 12 personnel instead of 11, with a backside TE (Saulin) to help seal off the DE (in this case Alldredge).

But the 302-pound Saulin isn’t nearly fast enough to block Blaze Alldredge, who knifes inside through the C-gap at the snap and meets the back five yards behind the line of scrimmage for a TFL. Even if Saulin manages to slow him down or block him completely, this play was probably doomed for Baylor regardless. Take a look at the pullers: the guard gets his block on Rice DE Jacob Doddridge, but Antonio Montero slips by the tackle, who lunges for him and falls. Maybe the RB would have managed to reverse direction, but in that case, one of Alldredge, Myles Adams, or Isaiah Richardson (No. 23 for Rice) would have probably made the play.

Ramblin’ Tom Scores Again!

Rice Football

Setup

Rice ball, 8:49 to go in the fourth quarter, 1st and 10 from the Baylor 21, Baylor leading 21-6. Rice is in 12 personnel, with Stewart in the pistol, Jaeger Bull and Jordan Myers lined up at H-back, Austin Trammell and Brad Rozner split wide, and Austin Walter as the RB.

Baylor is in 3-3-5 personnel, with all three linebackers bunched up close to the line. Note that Rice has numbers in the run game: seven blockers to six in the box. If Rice can get a hat on a hat, Baylor will need its DBs to play extremely aggressively in run support to stop this play.

The Play

The play is meant to look like split zone—a running play that’s similar to inside zone, except that the frontside H-back (in this case, Myers) runs parallel to the line for what’s called a slice block to help seal off the backside. Right tackle Brandt Peterson climbs to the second level, chipping a linebacker before passing him off to Bull and heading further downfield. Bull engages with that linebacker, leaving the defensive end unblocked initially. The end, thinking it’s split zone, slips inside of Myers to make the tackle on Walter (if it were actually split zone, the end would be Myers’s responsibility on the slice block).

Except it’s not split zone—it’s good ol’ inside zone read, with the added wrinkle that Myers is actually doing an arc block instead of a slice block. The end crashes inside to go for Walter, and it’s an easy read for Tom Stewart to pull the ball, with Myers now essentially lead-blocking for him. Myers, seeing that the linebacker has pushed his way past Bull, moves in to double team him, clearing the way for Stewart to get the edge.

More: The Roost Podcast Ep 9 – Baylor Review and LA Tech Preview

Now it’s up to one of Baylor’s three interior DBs to make the play, since Rozner’s vertical route has cleared the cornerback. No. 1 and No. 8 take themselves out of the play because they don’t realize that Stewart has the ball and not Walter! The man in the middle, No. 3, correctly diagnoses the play but Peterson does an excellent job to square him up in the open field, and by the time he disengages Stewart is already past him.

I think the only players on the field Tom Stewart is faster than is his own offensive line, but this is now his second 10-plus yard zone read touchdown on the year. RUN IT TILL THEY FEAR YOU, TOM.

LOUISIANA TECH

Henderson Off to the Races

Rice Football

The Setup

9:36 left in the first half and FIU and Louisiana Tech are locked in a 3-3 tie. It’s Tech ball at the FIU 29, 2nd and 5. The Bulldogs are in 10 personnel, with two receivers split wide to either side and QB J’Mar Smith in the shotgun with RB Justin Henderson. FIU is showing a 4-2-5 look, with a single high safety out of view (looks like they’re in Cover 3).

The Play

It’s a tackle-lead option run, though not one I’m familiar enough with to know of a universally-accepted name for. It’s not exactly zone read because the tackle pulls, but it’s maybe closer to that than tackle-power read, because power read usually involves reading the edge defender on the front side of the line of scrimmage (that is, the side that the puller is heading for).

Names aside, it’s easy to see how the play works. The tackle pulls to lead the way if it’s a handoff, leaving his defender unblocked for the QB to read. For the QB, then, it’s exactly like zone read: if the end stays home, hand it off. If he crashes, pull the ball.

In this case, the end does what’s called “slow playing” the option. He doesn’t exactly crash, but he sort of shuffles his feet while keeping his shoulders parallel to the line. The idea is to muddle the QB’s read, slow his decision-making, and be in a position to make the tackle regardless of who gets the ball. Normally a QB should react to this by handing the ball off, because that’s the quicker-hitting play. That’s what Smith does, although the end gets so far inside by the time they’re at the mesh point that a more athletic QB (no offense to Smith, but his career YPC is 2.6) probably could have pulled it and beaten him around the backside.

More: Check out the game preview for Rice vs Louisiana Tech

The OL has done its job (the LG, in particular, does a stellar job of getting leverage and turning his man toward the sideline), and there’s a big hole for Henderson to run through. But in this case, the end’s slow play has worked to perfection and he’s there to make the play. One of FIU’s DTs, who’s engaged with the RG, also manages to free an arm in time to grab Henderson as he runs through the hole.

Justin Henderson has other ideas, however. He simultaneously breaks free of both the end (who should have him dead to rights) and the DT’s attempted arm tackle, stiff arms another defender, accelerates, bounces the run outside, and scores to give Tech the lead.

No doubt Louisiana Tech’s offense will run primarily on the arm of Smith, but Henderson’s emergence in the run game gives them a new tool to maintain balance on offense. Rice’s front seven will need to continue to wrap up and gang tackle as well as they did in nonconference play to keep the Bulldogs off schedule and behind the chains.

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

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Anthony Ekpe, Antonio Montero, Blaze Alldredge, film room, Rice Football

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 9 – 2019 Rice Football Baylor Recap, Louisiana Tech Preview

September 25, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Conference USA play is here. Carter and Matthew recap Rice Football vs Baylor before jumping into the Owls’ Week 5 game with Louisiana Tech.

The Rice football nonconference schedule was brutal. Sitting at 0-4, the Owls are ready to flip the script and have that opportunity against a familiar opponent. Miss part of the journey? You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page.

In Episode 9, Carter and Matthew assess the good and the bad from the Baylor loss and breakdown how that should translate into the start of Conference USA play. Saturday’s game kicks off at Rice Stadium on Sep. 28 at 6:00 pm.

Give a listen to Episode 9 below.

Follow @TheRoostPod

Episode 9 Notes

  • News and notes — Thanks to TFW for writing a review on iTunes. Your words and your stars help! Leave a review wherever you listen, we might just read it on the show.
  • Breaking down the Baylor game — What’s the problem with the Rice offense and can conference play offer a respite from the heightened level of athleticism the Owls have faced thus far. Should there be significant concerns or will things get better soon? And what do you do with two quarterbacks?
  • Previewing the Louisiana Tech game — How do the Owls matchup with the Bulldogs? What will the team need to do to keep the Louisiana Tech offense from having a big game led by quarterback J’Mar Smith. That and a few names to note on the defensive side of the ball for the Bulldogs.

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: Podcast, Archive, Football Tagged With: Game preview, game recap, podcast, Rice Football

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