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The Roost Podcast | Ep 213 – Rice Football rolls past Charlotte

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The first conference win of the Scott Abell era concluded on Thursday night with Rice Football cruising past Charlotte on the road. Here are our reactions to the win.

With the nation watching in Prime Time on Thursday night, Rice football was clearly the better team in their controlled takedown of Charlotte on the road. The Owls improved to 3-1 for the first time to start a season since 2001 and this year’s squad showed improvement in multiple phases of the game from last week to this week. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 213.

Episode Notes

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Rice Football vs Charlotte Game Recap

  • Start to finish, Rice football controlled a conference game
  • The offense is showing growth each and every week
  • Scott Abell and the Owls play aggressive, and it’s working
  • The defense is physical, and that’s okay
  • Another banner week for the Owls’

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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American Conference Football 2025: Week 4 Roundup

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American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army1-2 (0-1)vs North TexasL, 45-38 (OT)at ECU (Thrs)
Charlotte1-3 (0-1)vs Rice (Thr)L, 28-17— OFF —
ECU2-2 (0-0)vs BYUL, 34-13vs Army (Thrs)
FAU1-2 (0-0)— OFF — —vs Memphis
Memphis4-0 (0-0)vs ArkansasW, 32-31at FAU
Navy3-0 (2-0)— OFF — —vs Rice
North Texas4-0 (0-0)at ArmyW, 45-38 (OT)vs So Alabama
Rice3-1 (1-0)at Charlotte (Thr)W, 28-17at Navy
Temple2-2 (0-0)at Georgia TechL, 45-24— OFF —
Tulane3-1 (0-0)at Ole MissL, 45-10at Tulsa
Tulsa2-2 (0-1)at Oklahoma St (Fri)W, 19-12vs Tulane
UAB1-2 (0-1)at TennesseeL, 56-24— OFF —
USF2-2 (0-0)vs South Carolina StW, 63-14— OFF —
UTSA2-2 (0-0)at Colorado StW, 17-16— OFF —

Storylines // Standings // Preseason Poll

American On Top

The American Conference has put the nation on notice in the opening weeks of the 2025 season. The conference already holds six victories over Power Conference teams:

  • Army (def. Kansas State, Week 2)
  • Memphis (def. Arkansas, Week 4)
  • South Florida (def. Florida, Week 2)
  • Tulane (def. Northwestern, Week 1; def. Duke, Week 3)
  • Tulsa (def. Oklahoma State, Week 4)

That doesn’t include South Florida’s Week 1 win over a ranked Boise State team and a handful of other impressive non-conference wins. This week, Tulsa took center stage with a Friday national spotlight game in which they took down Oklahoma State for their first win in Stillwater since 1951. Meanwhile, Memphis has been playing so well that their come-from-behind win over Arkansas barely registers as an upset.

Mean Green Ace First American Conference Test

Don’t look now, but North Texas might be dangerous. The defense, if not legitimately good, is definitely better and the offense continues to hang points in bunches. They made things interesting on Saturday by allowing Army to come back and force overtime, but they finished the job to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2018.

New Look Owls

Another American team turning back the clock, Rice football reached 3-1 for the first time since 2001 with a suffocating win over Charlotte in head coach Scott Abell’s conference debut. The Owls’ new offense was the center of attention in the college football world on Thursday night and put up 28 points, their most against an FBS foe so far this season.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

So You Want to be First Place?

The winner of this coming weekend’s matchup between Rice Football and Navy will find themselves atop the American Conference Standings. For Navy, that’s old hat. The Midshipmen spent a good chunk of last season at least sharing the best record in the league. But Rice is in the first year of a new coaching regime and wasn’t supposed to be quite this good this early.

Shaky Ground

On the other hand, East Carolina and Army both entered the year with moderately high expectations and while a conference title might not have been expected, falling down the standings and picking up a third loss by Week 5 certainly wasn’t where either of these programs hoped to be. Both need a bounce back win, but only one will get it.

Can Tulsa do it again?

The story on Friday night in Stillwater was just as much a funeral dirge for Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State as it was trumpeting Tulsa’s arrival. The Golden Hurricane could earn some additional respect if they can prove they’re no one-hit wonder. They host Tulane in what has the potential to be one of the bigger games for the program in recent memory.

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Rice Football Races Past Charlotte in Prime Time

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Rice Football improved to 3-1 for the first time since 2001, dispatching the Charlotte 49ers in a prime time win on national television.

With the nation watching, Rice football put their gun-choice option offense on display on Thursday night, grinding out a road win over Charlotte in head coach Scott Abell’s American Conference debut. The Owls improved to 3-1 on the season.

“It’s exciting. It shows the world, it shows everyone that it’s different this year for Rice,” said senior linebacker Andrew Awe. “A lot of times [in the past] when we were down, we were down and out. But this year it’s different. We’re a contender for conference this year. We play hard every snap.”

Awe’s 11 tackles led the team and paced a defense that racked up six sacks and nine tackles for a loss. Turning in another solid performance in which many were, understandably, fixated on the new offense. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Hello, America

Rice football was the standalone game on Thursday night on ESPN, giving anyone slightly curious about the Owls’ new offensive scheme the chance to flip on the game — on their TV, not via a streaming service — and take in the option attack. Rice did not waste the opportunity to showcase it.

After allowing a field goal on defense, the Rice offense took the field and calmly marched 75 yards down the field in nine plays, churning through 4:26 on the clock and ending in the endzone. Rice attempted just two passes, the second of which was a pop pass over the top of the run-hunting defense for a score.

Charlotte entered the game allowing more than 4.5 yards per carry against FBS opponents, so there was expectation that Rice would be able to find success on the ground. On the opening drive, it was Quinton Jackson who ripped through the defense and drove the offense down the field. Quarterback Chase Jenkins would enter the fray a few drives later, cutting back for a massive 34-yard scamper just before halftime.

For those onlookers who wanted to see what this Rice football offense could be, those two drives showcased it at its best. However…

With the Good, Comes the Bad

A run-first offense looks brilliant when it works, but what happened between the Owls’ first half touchdown drives showcased the dangers that come with building an offense that often eschews the passing game. Those two scoring drives accounted for 15 plays and 150 yards, but they were bookends to three consecutive three-and-outs — nine plays, 14 yards.

The difference between 10 yards per play and roughly 1.5 yards per play was palpable.

Abell didn’t seem overtly concerned. He mentioned they’d tried more triple option concepts on those drives that didn’t work before pivoting to different components of the offense. “It’s kind of just football, right?” Abell remarked. “At time they’re going to stop us. They’re going to force us to punt. And that’s okay. We’ve been good on special teams all year. We’ve been good on defense.”

And while it wouldn’t ever be used as an excuse, it’s hard not to connect Charlotte’s consecutive scoring drives to open the second quarter with a Rice defense given very little breathing room by it’s counterpart on the other side of the field. Charlotte ran 40 plays before halftime. Rice ran 24. That’s too many plays to ask a defense to defend without missing a step.

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The negative play is a very real threat to this offense. Rice had a second-half drive torpedoed with a holding penalty that put them in second and long. They settled for a 55-yard field goal, which Enoch Gota pushed just right. That’s not a special teams problem; that’s a flaw inherent to this offense.

Offense Clicks and Finds Redemption

Fortunately those woes would prove to not be fatal on Thursday. Rice opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive to go up by two scores and was much more successful moving the sticks in the second half.

After closing the second quarter with a touchdown drive, they marched down the field to open the third quarter with another 75-yard scoring progression. They outscored Charlotte 14-3 in the middle eight, seizing control of the game.

“We did a good job responding before the first half ended and we came out in the third quarter rolling,” running back Daelen Alexander said. “I think we showed in the third quarter what we can do with the offense, fully.”

Once again, after a slower start, the final stat sheet looks rather impressive for the Rice offense. The Owls had three different players with at least 70 yards rushing and probably could have stretched those totals further if they hadn’t ratcheted things down in the final frame. Quinton Jackson rushed for 80 yards. Alexander and 73 yards and two touchdowns. Jenkins ran for 71 yards and a score. All three averaged north of 6.7 yards per carry.

He Just Wins

Scott Abell was hired because he’d won at places where it was historically hard to win. There was tremendous optimism (and expectation) that he’d be able to bring winning to South Main, but even the most ardent believers probably didn’t see this coming. With the win over Charlotte on Thursday, Rice improved to 3-1 the season. It’s the first 3-1 start for Rice football since 2001.

But that’s not all. Abell became the first coach to open their Rice tenure 3-1 since Bo Hagan did so in 1967. The win was the first win Rice football has ever had in their American Conference opener, falling in their first two tries since moving to the league. In fact, Rice hadn’t won a conference opener on the road since 2017.

The statistics like that are plentiful. They all painted slightly different variations of a reality that’s becoming more believable with each passing weekend. Rice football might just be in a different place than they’ve been in quite some time and Abell is the unquestioned catalyst.

“I’m not surprised, but I am very proud of this team and this group,” Abell said. “I’m proud of where we are. I’m not surprised, and for those who are seeing this for the first time, we’re just at the beginning of this. Stay tuned. There’s more to come. And I look forward to what’s next for us.”

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Rice Football 2025: Charlotte presser quotes and depth chart

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Next up for Rice football, conference play against Charlotte. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Prairie View A&M game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Charlotte.

The Roost Podcast: Rice Football vs Prairie View A&M Game Recap

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

I think they’re beginning to find their DNA offensively. They’ve opened up their passing attack. They have a really nice group of receivers with different talent sets that they’re utilizing very well. I think the quarterback has now settled into his role – he transferred there from UNC – I think he’s playing with confidence. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the Charlotte offense

It’s an incredible honor for Plae and for our program. I think Plae is the fourth Owl in history to be named to the Allstate Good Works Team. For me, personally, he’s my fourth now in my career. And I told Plae this yesterday, he’s joining an incredibly select group of young men that I’ve known personally that have been selected to that team. Incredible humans, which he is. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on safety Plae Wyatt be named to the Allstate Good Works Team

I think last week was a really nice growth week for Chase, a great momentum builder, confidence builder. I think we saw things out of Chase that we knew were there, but you really have to get comfortable in this system and your reads to get to that point where you see some of that come out and Saturday we saw that. He hurt the defense with his feet. He hurt them with his arm, his ability to be a dual-threat guy… I’m really pleased with his growth. The exciting point for all of us is that I think we’re just scratching the surface still of what he’s capable of inside this offense. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the development of Owls’ quarterback Chase Jenkins

I could not be more excited. It’s year one for both programs, so I’m sure they feel the same way, the opportunity to play on the national stage to have your program out there. We’re a program that here in Houston, Texas, the hotbed of high school football, but we do have some connections in recruiting across the country landscape and so to on a national scale, to have our broadcast out there, where from coast to coast, everyone is going to see the Owls play, is exciting and should be a great opportunity for us. Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on playing in prime time on ESPN this week

I got in on defense last game vs PV. Before I even got in the game I had tears coming from my eyes, it was just a surreal moment, a full-circle moment. I remember all the times I couldn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t walk, knee swelled up and going through two surgeries. It really took a toll on me physically and mentally, but just being able to bounce back and being out here with a great team on the verge of doing something big. It’s a real blessing. – Safety Plae Wyatt on returning to the field after injury

Chase is my guy, we’re really close… Seeing this for him, I’m just super happy for him because I think this is really good for him. This [offense] fits him really well. Last week I think you just saw a glimpse of what he can really do. I think he can do so much more. I think the sky’s the limit for him and I think he’s going to do really good in this offense… People just haven’t seen what he can truly do yet, especially with his feet and his legs and how he throw. – Slot receiver Drayden Dickmann on the growth of quarterback Chase Jenkins

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

There was only one change to the depth chart this week. Center David Stickle, who left the Prairie View A&M game late in the second quarter with an injury, has been removed with Nate Bledsoe taking his place. We’ll have more news on Stickle and his potential availability going forward in the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published shortly.

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Rice Football 2025: NFL Owls Week 2 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2025 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 2.

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

TeamNFL Owl(s)This WeekResultNext Week
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)at Packers (TNF)L, 27-18vs Raiders
Philadelphia EaglesKylen Granson (TE)at ChiefsW, 20-17vs Rams
New York GiantsElijah Garcia (DL)at CowboysL, 40-37 (OT)vs Chiefs (SNF)
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)vs BearsW, 52-21at Ravens (MNF)
Green Bay PackersBrant Banks (OL)vs CommandersW, 27-18at Browns
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		vs SeahawksL, 31-17at Patriots

Defense

Elijah Garcia – DL, Giants

Garcia made quite an impact in limited action on Sunday against the Cowboys. Garcia played just 19 defensive snaps, but notched this huge sack in overtime:

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson was active but did not play in the Steelers’ Week 2 game against the Seahawks.

Brant Banks – OL, Packers

Banks made his NFL debut on Thursday Night Football against former Rice football teammate Luke McCaffrey.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey caught one reception for 19 yards and a two-point conversion against the Packers on Thursday Night Football. He also had a 25-yard kick return.

Kylen Granson – TE, Eagles

Granson drew his first start of the season in place of an injured Dallas Goedert, catching one pass for five yards against the Chiefs. He also was heavily involved on special teams, making three tackles.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted three times in the Lions’ Week 1 beatdown of the Bears, averaging a robust 49.0 yards per kick with a long of 62 yards. He pinned two balls inside the 20 yard line.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell didn’t have a 60-yarder this week, but he more than did his part for the Steelers against the Seahawks on Sunday, converting all three of his field goal tries. He’s a perfect 5-of-5 field goals this season.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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