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Week 13 Statpack – Juma Otoviano’s touchdown and Old Dominion’s streak

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Rice football has one game left in the 2018 campaign and we’ve got 10 stats that paint a picture of the LSU loss and the upcoming matchup with Old Dominion.

1 – career rushing touchdown for Juma Otoviano. He entered the year buried on the Owls’ running back depth chart. He became the team’s wildcat quarterback midway through the season and scored his first career touchdown on Saturday, at night, in Death Valley. That’s pretty cool.

2 – consecutive games. With a win over VMI in Week 12, Old Dominion has won two games in a row and four overall. That’s their first winning streak of any kind since they beat Rice last year, their third win in a row.

3 – different kinds of touches for all-purpose talent D’Angelo Ellis. Listed as a corner on the preseason depth chart, Ellis registered one tackle, one carry and a team-leading three receptions for 66 yards against LSU.

4 – forced fumbles by Old Dominion defensive end Oshane Ximines, the most of any player in Conference USA.

5 – Old Dominion players with 100 or more yards rushing, part of a balanced attack that ranks second in yards per game in Conference USA. ODU ranks in the top eight in both passing and rushing yards.

6 – points separating Rice and Old Dominion in two meetings all-time between the schools. The Monarchs have won each of the games by a field goal margin, the first in 2014 and the most recent game last season.

7 – completions by Rice quarterbacks against LSU, the lowest number of completions registered by the team this year. The 101 total passing yards ranked third from fewest.

8 – yards per attempt by Old Dominion quarterback Blake LaRussa, a top five mark in Conference USA. He leads an offense that has produced 53 pass plays of 20 yards or more, the most in the conference.

9 – receiving touchdowns by Old Dominion receiver Jonathan Duhart which leads the Monarchs and ranks second-most among all CUSA pass catchers.

10 – field goals this season for Hayden Tobola. His 51-yard kick against LSU was a career long and the longest field goal made by Rice this season.

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Practice notes – Thanksgiving plans and more Wiley Green

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Rice football has one more game left in 2018 against Old Dominion. The Owls are hard at work doing everything they can to make it a victory.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and be with family, but there’s still plenty of football to be played. Coach Mike Bloomgren has found a way to do both. Rice will practice in the morning on Thursday before joining together for a family-style feast. The meat will be catered and the families will bring sides and share the meal together at the Patterson Center.

Bloomgren has spent his tenure at Rice working to build a family. Nothing says family more than a shared Thanksgiving meal together. Culture is built over time — and over food. Now, a few notes on practice from Wednesday.

More quarterback shakeup?

Shawn Stankavage started against Louisiana Tech and LSU after returning from injury, giving freshman Wiley Green enough of a break to ensure he would retain his redshirt this season. Green is eligible to play one more game in 2018 and should be in the mix to see significant minutes on Saturday.

Neither of the other backup quarterbacks are expected to play meaningful roles on Saturday. Jackson Tyner attempted one pass against LSU. Parker Towns has run a spread package which incorporated his legs and saw limited success.

D’Angelo Ellis continues to impress

Ellis led the team in receptions and yardage against LSU with a pair of acrobatic sideline catches. His ball skills might be the best on the team. Combine those with top-flight speed and Rice has a weapon they’ll continue to feature on offense. He had a few more head-turning catches at practice on Wednesday.

Injury update

  • Collin Whitaker suffered a foot injury in the second quarter against LSU and was in a boot during practice on Wednesday. He won’t be available against Old Dominion.
  • Wide receivers August Pitre and Brendan Harmon are both doubtful. Harmon will be evaluated on game day and has the better chance to play of the pair.
  • Prudy Calderon injured his shoulder against LSU but will be available to start and play as usual.
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Defensive back Kirk Lockhart commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class continues to pick up steam, this time with the commitment of Cedar Hill defensive back Kirk Lockhart.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

As the early signing period approaches the only thing better than one commitment is two. Safety Hunter Henry made his pledge Sunday. The Owls got another commit on Monday. Rice doesn’t intend to fill every spot in their 2019 recruiting class by mid-December, but getting some key pieces in early will go a long way toward building momentum for the stretch run into National Signing Day.

The latest addition to the 2019 Rice football recruiting class was Cedar Hill safety Kirk Lockhart from Cedar Hill High School. His teammate, defensive back Josh Landrum is also on the Owls radar.

Rice had 10 members in their 2019 class before Lockhart made his commitment. That number now sits at 11 meaning the Owls are likely about halfway through a haul that could be rather sizable for head coach Mike Bloomgren’s first complete class after taking over the job last winter.

Lockhart had offers from East Texas Baptist and Carroll College. His offer list isn’t very long, a fact that is somewhat surprising giving the intensity and aggression he plays with on the defensive side of the ball. He flies to the ball quickly and makes tackles — something that Owls’ fans have learned not to take for granted this season.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound safety plays like he was shot out of a cannon. He knows where the ball is at all times and puts himself in position to make a play, whether that’s in the air or taking a player to the ground himself.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 13

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Rice football got a firsthand look at Death Valley under the lights but came up short. What’s next for Conference USA football in Week 13?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte vs FIU L, 42-35 at FAU
FAU at North Texas L, 41-38 vs Charlotte
FIU at Charlotte W, 42-35 vs Marshall
LaTech at Southern Miss L, 21-20 vs WKU
Marshall vs UTSA W, 23-0 at FIU
MTSU at Kentucky L, 34-23 vs UAB
North Texas at FAU W, 41-38 at UTSA
ODU vs VMI W, 77-14 at Rice
Rice at LSU L, 42-10 vs ODU
Southern Miss vs LaTech W, 21-20 at UTEP
UAB at Texas A&M L, 41-20 at MTSU
UTEP at WKU L, 40-16 vs Southern Miss
UTSA vs Marshall L, 23-0 vs North Texas
WKU vs UTEP W, 40-16 at LaTech

Notable Week 12 results

Nothing to see here

Three CUSA squads took their shots at SEC opponents. Middle Tennessee gave Kentucky a fight, UAB hung in there against Texas A&M and Rice challenged LSU. All three were heavy underdogs and all three fell on the road. The individual games themselves will get passed over, but playing blueblood teams is good for Conference USA and needs to continue to be a part of the schedule.

FAU vs North Texas did not disappoint

The preseason “game of the year” in Conference USA had little on the line after both North Texas and FAU each went through rough stretches. Nevertheless, their Week 12 matchup was extremely entertaining. Quinn Shanbour and Devin Singletary each picked up a pair of rushing touchdowns before a 92-yard touchdown run from UNT’s DeAndre Torrey put things out of reach in the fourth quarter.

UTEP still has a ways to go

The Miners looked like they might have turned the corner early in November when they dropped 48 points on Rice and 32 more on Middle Tennessee. The 16 point clunker they dropped at Western Kentucky over the weekend is clear that UTEP’s consistency leaves a lot to be desired. The win over Rice was a good first step, but putting all the pieces together in a singular game remains a challenge.

Week 13 storylines

Will Rice earn their first CUSA win?

Western Kentucky’s victory over UTEP last weekend leaves one CUSA team still waiting on their first conference win, Rice. The Owls have played a few close contests but have yet to break through. ESPN FPI gives the Owls a 30.5 percent chance of winning in their final home contest of the season.

Who takes CUSA East?

FIU and Middle Tennessee sit atop the East entering the final weekend of conference play. The Panthers defeated the Blue Raiders earlier this season, giving them the tiebreaker if the schools finish even after the final week of the regular season. The only way MTSU takes the crown would require a win over UAB and an FIU loss to Marshall.

FAU and Southern Miss fight for bowl eligibility

Six CUSA teams have secured bowl eligibility so far: UAB, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, FIU, Middle Tennessee and Marshall.

Six other teams are too far down to make a bowl this season, even with wins in Week 13. That leaves two squads, FAU and Southern Miss, to fight for their postseason lives in their final games of the year. FAU plays Charlotte and Southern Miss plays UTEP, both win-needy teams are favored to win.

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Safety Hunter Henry commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class just picked up an important addition. Safety Hunter Henry has committed to the Owls.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

It seemed like only a matter of time before Lake Travis safety Hunter Henry made it official and committed to Rice. He was on campus this summer and loved the experience. He was back for the Owls’ game against UTEP and although the result wasn’t what he’d hoped for, he saw an opportunity to contribute.

247 Sports tabbed Henry as a 3-star recruit and the No. 269 player in the state of Texas. At the time he committed to Rice he had offers to play for Texas State, Princeton, Liberty and Houston Baptist. Rice has long been considered a leader in his recruitment and now he’s pulled the trigger and decided to be an Owl.

Henry is a hard-hitting safety that plays with physicality from all areas of the field. He’s already bought into the Intellectual Brutality culture and loves what this coaching staff is building at South Main. It finally got to the point where he couldn’t wait any longer, making the decision midweek following the UTEP game to tell the staff he was all in.

The Owls’ secondary doesn’t have a ton of depth, making the commitment of Henry a huge get for the 2019 class. More should follow. Expect this coaching staff to add to the back end of the defense with a few more key recruits before the class is finished.

Henry checks in at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds — plenty of power that comes in from center field in a hurry. It doesn’t take much more than a cursory look over his film to understand what the staff loves about Henry as a prospect. He’ll be hitting ballcarriers wearing the blue and grey soon enough.

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