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Why not us? LSU press conference notes (11/13)

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Rice football faces their toughest task of the season on Saturday as they travel to Death Valley to take on the SEC’s LSU Tigers. Mike Bloomgren and the team remain confident.

There won’t be many people around the country that have a Nov. 17, 2018 matchup between Rice and LSU circled on their calendars. From a national perspective, it’s a vaunted SEC superpower against a lowly Group of 5 opponent. While that might be the trend, Rice football seeks to be the exception.

“They’re going to be more talented than us,” head coach Mike Bloomgren freely admitted in his Tuesday press conference prior to the game. “But every week in college football you see a team go into one of those places [and win].” Bloomgren said every week there’s one game that forces you to do a double-take when you check the score on your phone and gasp, “Those dudes beat them?”

Old Dominion toppled Virginia Tech, Akron beat Northwester and Eastern Washington upset Purdue. A massive upset happens every week. Why not this week? Why not Rice? Bloomgren didn’t shy away from the possibility, remarking “Nobody outside of these walls believes we can do it and we know we can.”

The key to engineering the upset starts with cleaning up mistakes from last weekend. Quarterback Sean Stankavage’s three interceptions were at the top of Bloomgren’s gripes against Louisiana Tech. The running game, primarily on the legs of Aston Walter was better, but still has a long way to go until it gets back to the level this team is capable of.

The team is confident, but measured. Safety Prudy Calderon, who picked off two passes against Louisiana Tech knows they’re in for an arduous task. LSU is a team that he described as having that “one shot capability” – something Rice has struggled with throughout this season. Calderon’s insertion into the starting lineup has helped, but the secondary as a whole will have to step up their game even further.

“Our guys are up for the challenge,” Calderon declared, echoing Bloomgren’s believe in his team and hopes for Saturday. It’s gong to be a battle. Rice knows if they’re still standing in the fourth quarter they’ll have a shot. That’s all they’re asking for.

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Adjustments on offense, practice notes (11/12)

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Rice football went back to work on a wet and cold Monday evening, working as hard as ever to play LSU in Week 12.

It was 45 degrees, raining and all around ugly outside. The Rice football team showed up and they worked. Head coach Mike Bloomgren has made the promise week in and week out that his team would put in the effort to get better. On an evening when they could have done the bare minimum they ground it out til the final whistle.

There are no participation trophies for good days of practice and this team is through with moral victories. Still, they keep showing up and putting in the work. That’s the mark of a culture shift that will hopefully lead to results on the field soon enough.

How many more quarterback can the Owls play?

Seeing Shawn Stankavage back at the helm of the Rice offense was a return to business as usual. Parker Towns being the next signal caller brought into the game was an unexpected curveball. He completed 1-of-3 passes for 10 yards and picked up 10 yards on the ground on two carries.

Quarterbacks coach Robbie Picazo said the insertion of Picazo into the offense was sparked by Evan Marshman‘s success in the run game. Having that dimension in the arsenal was something the staff liked and Towns did enough during practice to earn the shot at his own package on Saturday.

If the Owls did need to turn to a backup at quarterback behind Stankavage, Jackson Tyner is still expected to be the next man up. Picazo said Towns is “doing a really good job wholeheartedly attacking the package we give him” and they’re not going to put too much on his plate just yet.

Aston Walter seized his chance

Another somewhat unexpected development from the Louisiana Tech game was the career-high in carries for Aston Walter. Taking over the lead back duties for his brother Austin Walter, Aston started the game and led the team in carries with 17. Juma Otoviano, the Owls’ wildcat quarterback had four rushes and Austin didn’t carry the ball at all.

The driver for Aston’s uptick in work was his dependability. Running backs coach Drew Svoboda used that word multiple times to describe Aston’s reliability and role in the offense. “He’s been a guy that’s always been there and been ready when called upon,” Svoboda said, “He got a little bit more opportunity and he took it and ran with it.”

Putting Aston on the field at running back lets the staff move Austin to the slot, a position he’s more comfortable with and can play extremely effectively.

More young guns

With two games remaining on the season the opportunity to give younger players more reps and maintain their redshirt is being evaluated by the staff. If there is an opportunity to give some freshman and lesser-utilized players a look in the LSU game there could be several Owls that get increased minutes.

Freshman corner Andrew Bird figures to be near the top of the list of newcomers. He hasn’t seen game action yet this season and participated with the second team some during practice. Sophomore linebacker Garrett Grammer has seen brief playing time on the field this season but has the potential to get an extended look against LSU.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 12

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Rice football took Louisiana Tech to the wire but couldn’t pull out the win. What else happened this weekend and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 12?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte at Marshall L, 30-13 vs FIU
FAU vs WKU W, 34-15 at North Texas
FIU at UTSA W, 45-7 at Charlotte
LaTech vs Rice W, 28-13 at Southern Miss
Marshall vs Charlotte W, 30-13 vs UTSA
MTSU at UTEP W, 48-32 at Kentucky
North Texas at ODU L, 34-31 vs FAU
ODU vs North Texas W, 34-31 vs VMI
Rice at LaTech L, 28-13 at LSU
Southern Miss at UAB L, 26-23 (OT) vs LaTech
UAB vs Southern Miss W, 26-23 (OT) at Texas A&M
UTEP vs MTSU L, 48-32 at WKU
UTSA VS FIU L, 45-7 vs Marshall
WKU at FAU L, 34-15 vs UTEP

Notable Week 10 results

Rice’s big play goes for naught

Shawn Stankavage connected with speedster Austin Walter on a 68-yard touchdown pass on the Owls’ first drive of the second half against Louisiana Tech. The score was the longest touchdown of the year for Rice and gave Rice the lead. They weren’t able to hold on, falling on the road to the Bulldogs despite incredible play in the secondary from freshman safety Prudy Calderon.

Oh my, Old Dominion

Outside of their win over Virginia Tech earlier in the season there hadn’t been too much for Old Dominion fans to celebrate this year. It took a literal miracle to beat Western Kentucky and the Monarchs hadn’t played anyone else close in nearly a month. So, of course, it makes total sense they beat North Texas at home over the weekend. Conference USA is weird.

Wake up call answered

FIU was sitting alone at the top of the Conference USA East standings entering their Week 10 game against rival FAU. Not only did the Panthers lose, they got rocked, suffering a blowout defeat and putting their hopes of a conference championship on edge. How did they respond? Thumping a subpar UTSA squad on the road by five touchdowns.

Week 12 storylines

So much for the Group of 5 game of the year

North Texas and FAU were supposed to meet in the Conference USA Championship game. FAU’s season crumbled early. North Texas started strong, but blown leads have cost the Mean Green a chance to play for the conference title. Now both teams are mired in mediocrity and this game, which many had circled in the preseason, is basically moot.

Someone’s cupcake is another person’s opportunity

Conference USA has three matchups with SEC foes in Week 12. Middle Tennessee takes on a reeling Kentucky squad that just lost to the Tennessee Volunteers, Rice gets LSU and UAB gets Texas A&M. All are heavy underdogs, but we’ve learned not to write off even the loweliest of CUSA squads off in non-conference play. Isn’t that right Virginia Tech?

Here’s your shot Western Kentucky

The Hilltoppers have one win this year — a one-score road victory against Ball State. They’ve yet to win a game on their own field and won’t get a better chance than their upcoming game against UTEP. Outside of Rice, UTEP is winless meanwhile Rice and Western Kentucky are the only two remaining teams without a CUSA win. If WKU can’t get it done this weekend they won’t this season.

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Prudy Calderon shines bright in tough loss to Louisiana Tech

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Rice football dropped another close fourth quarter contest, but Prudy Calderon‘s ascension provides a reason for hope in the midst of defeat.

The Rice defense had generated four interceptions entering Saturday’s road contest with Louisiana Tech. Two of those picks came by way of freshman safety Prudy Calderon, who made his first start against FIU. He doubled his career interception mark against Louisiana Tech, picking off two passes, both on the goal line to thwart potential touchdowns.

His four interceptions to date mark one more than the Owls’ interception total as an entire defense in 2017. It’s also more interceptions than seven different FBS teams had so far this season entering Week 11.

The longer he stays on the field, the more takeaways this defense gets. His teammates and his coaches have recognized how well he’s playing and continue to espouse his praises every chance they get. “I’m really proud of what Prudy’s doing,” said head coach Mike Bloomgren, “We’re just scratching the surface of what he’s going to be. And that’s really exciting to me because he’s tackling well, seeing the game well and making those plays that come to him.”

The potential of Calderon is through the roof. His vision in the open field is innate and he’s only going to get better as he refines his game. For him, confidence has always been the biggest hurdle to clear. Once he realized he could hang with the talent on the other side of the field he started making plays — he hasn’t let up yet.

Quarterback Shawn Stankavage, who struggled with turnovers himself on Saturday, noted how important it was for the defense to be playing as well as they were. His first shoutout was handed directly to Calderon  — a short but honest evaluation: “Prudy played his butt off.”

Calderon registered two picks and one tackle against Louisiana Tech. He kept this team alive and did all he could to will them to victory. He’ll point to the coaching staff and his teammates for their strong performances on Saturday, but this team doesn’t take Louisiana Tech to the wire without a phenomenal day from the freshman safety, a star in the making.

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Shawn Stankavage is grateful to return to football

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Rice football has their starting quarterback back. After fearing the worst, Shawn Stankavage will return to the field against Louisiana Tech.

“I thought my career might be over.” That’s the grim reality Rice quarterback Shawn Stankavage was dealing with in his North Carolina home only a few weeks ago. After getting a second opinion and rehabbing vigorously, he’ll start once again for the Owls against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Stankavage views the second chance as a blessing, saying “sometimes when you lose something, you realize how much you miss it.” He realized he missed the gridiron, and his teammates have welcomed him back with open arms.

Through his first seven appearances with the Owls, Stankavage threw for 1,011 yards nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has not seen action since his injury against UAB, but doesn’t anticipate any rust as he readjusts to the offense.

Although he’s been unable to play, Stankavage has been actively involved in meetings and with the team on the practice field. He’s been in the huddle alongside Evan Marshman and Wiley Green as they took their turns at the starter’s job. He’ll slide back into the QB1 spot moving forward. Tyner will be the backup with Green available if necessary.

The offense has gone through quite the journey over the month Stankavage been unavailable. It’s started moving in the right direction once again thanks to big days from Austin Trammell and Aaron Cephus, but Stankavage remains confident the unit can and will get better. “There’s still more plays to be made,” he said, talking expectantly of what the on-field results could be as the unit grows.

Stankavage knows he’s not the missing piece that will turn this offense around overnight, but he understands where this team has been and he remains confident in the direction they’re going. The process without the desired result is frustrating, but one win is all it will take to reenergize this program. “When you win, people start believing,” Stankavage said. “We’re close.”

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