The source for Rice sports news

  • Football
    • Recruiting
    • Offer Tracker
    • Roster
    • Schedule
    • NFL Owls
  • Premium
    • Patreon
    • Season Preview
    • Join / FAQ
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Store
    • News
    • Basketball
    • Baseball
    • About
    • Contact
  • Login

Rice Football 2024: UAB presser quotes and depth chart

November 19, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Next up for Rice football: UAB. Here’s what interim head coach Pete Alamar had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.

Interim head coach Pete Alamar and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the bye week and then looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UAB.

More: Rice Football Head Coaching Search — Names to Know ($)

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

A team who’s record does not reflect the type of football team they are. First of all, it’s always tough to win on the road but now you’re going there on their senior day… I know they’re a well-coached team. Coach Dilfer and his staff are going to have great gameplans up. You can see it on film, just looking at all three phases. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on UAB

I’ve had the chance to get to know Coach Dilfer a long time ago back on the West Coast. He’s a former Fresno State Bulldog that went into the league and then started really what became the Elite 11 stuff and all that. Trent is obviously a very good quarterback coach. He’s coached a lot of good young quarterbacks. He’s a guy that [was] an NFL player, was a pro-bowler of his own so you’ve got the opportunity to learn from that knowledge. I think any quarterback would appreciate that opportunity and I think you see that. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the UAB coach Trent Dilfer

You just watch how he’s grown just through reps and time on defense. You could see it coming last year. You knew there was going to be some good things down the road for him. You’ve got a young man that works hard, that prepares, takes the time. Coach [Jon] Kay has done a great job with him as his linebacker coach, just teaching him of playing the fine points of playing linebacker in our system. He shows up in the blitz game for us. I think active would be a great word to describe Ty, as far as seeing how he plays. He’s all over the place. He runs hard. He plays hard all the time. Those are good hallmarks for young linebackers. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the growth of linebacker Ty Morris

He has a great arm. He has the ability to do extend plays. We just have to play top down on the back end, make him throw the ball. They have a pretty good group of skilled, explosive guys. If we’ll be able to stop the run, that’ll be a good thing for us. – Linebacker Ty Morris on the UAB offense

They’re a super athletic group. They love to fly around. They’re going to present a unique challenge as very new defense does and we’re going to have to rise to a level to beat that. – Tight End Graham Walker on the UAB defense

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

Alamar was asked directly during his Tuesday media availability to comment on injuries and sidestepped the question, almost entirely. “We keep our injury stuff kind of to ourselves, for the most part,” he said. Offering this general, optimistic summary: “We’re in a fairly healthy mode.”

That attitude is reflected in the depth charts we’ve seen since Alamar took over. There have been no changes over the past three weeks. The only difference between this week’s depth chart and the Memphis depth chart is the removal of fullback Geron Hargon who is out for the year.

If you haven’t yet, this is a good reminder to subscribe on Patreon to get access to our practice notes later in the week, coaching search nuggets and an actual report of any players who might be in danger of missing the game this week based on participation this week.

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

Recent Posts
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Cornerback
  • QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
  • Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – July 2
  • 2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: North Texas

Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: depth chart, Graham Walker, Pete Alamar, press conference notes, Rice Football, Ty Morris

Rice Football 2024: NFL Owls Week 11 Roundup

November 18, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football is well represented on 2024 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 11.

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
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)vs JaguarsW, 52-6at Colts
Indianapolis ColtsKylen Granson (TE)at JetsW, 28-27vs Lions
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)
vs RavensW, 18-16at Browns (TNF)
Seattle SeahawksMyles Adams (DL)at 49ers W, 20-17vs Cardinals
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)at Eagles (TNF)L, 26-18vs Cowboys

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson was active but did not see action in the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens this week.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey was only targeted once on Thursday Night Football against the Eagles and did not record any receptions.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson caught one pass for four yards in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks Week 11 game against the 49ers.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox did not punt on Sunday, but not because the Lions were on bye. Detroit thumped the Jacksonville Jaguars so handily that Fox was never called into action.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was the offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their rivalry matchup with the Ravens on Sunday afternoon, connecting on all six of his field goal tries while his counterpart, Justin Tucker, went just 1-for-3. Bowell’s 18 points were all the Steelers needed to edge the Ravens. Boswell has made 29-of-30 field goals this season and just became the first kicker in NFL history with three games with six field goals or more..

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.

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

Recent Posts
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Cornerback
  • QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
  • Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – July 2
  • 2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: North Texas

Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: NFL Owls, Rice Football

Rice Women’s Basketball hangs on to beat Sam Houston

November 17, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Women’s Basketball started fast and hung on to edge Sam Houston in a defensive struggle at home.

Rice Women’s basketball engineered their most dominant start of the season to date on Sunday afternoon against Sam Houston. After falling behind 4-0, the Owls went on a staggering 20-2 run, eventually heading into the second quarter with a 23-8 lead.

As has been the case for much of this season, though, a strong early lead doesn’t necessitate a comfortable victory. No sooner had the Owls built their 15-point advantage than did Sam Houston dismantle it. The Bearkats opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run, pulling back within four points at the media timeout. Instead of a potential blowout it was a new ballgame.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

The momentum ping ponged back in the Owls favor in the third quarter. Two threes from Emily Klaczek put the home team in front by 11 at the time and 10 points entering the fourth. Once more, Sam Houston answered, opening the quarter on a 7-0 run.

Rice didn’t make field goal in the final five minutes of regulation, riding their defense to a white-knuckled victory. Sam Houston got back within three points on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter but never got back to even. With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 4-1 on the season.

Final Box | Rice 65, Sam Houston 60

FINAL | @RiceWBB 65 – Sam Houston 60

Owls improve to 4-1. pic.twitter.com/zGt6aNnw4S

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 17, 2024

What They’re Saying

Winning’s hard. We’ve won four straight, so I’m pleased and proud of our team to be able to finish off tonight’s game. The coach in me obviously wants better. We have high expectations for this team, and we want to be playing the best basketball that we can right now. I don’t expect us to be where we are going to be in March, but I expect the best version of ourselves that we can be on Nov. 17. There are definitely some things we can clean up, and that’s what we will definitely do. [I’m] ready to get back to work with this team and get back to playing our brand of basketball just a little bit more. – Rice Women’s Basketball Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Just enough clutch

To this point, the Rice Women’s Basketball season has been a seemingly never-ending seesaw teetering back and forth between scoring runs and defensive deserts. By the time the final minutes of regulation arrived on Sunday it was hard to remember this was a game Rice led by 15 points early on.

Runs happen within every game and this season’s collection of back-and-forth’s isn’t particularly novel. There’s hope the Malia Fisher’s eventual reinsertion into this lineup will help smooth over the bumpy portions of these games when the Owls’ early leads suddenly dissipate. But until that happens or the current roster can improve in their consistency, having an Emily Klaczek sure helps.

On any given day it might not be Klaczek, but it was her shot that made the difference on this day, a three pointer that turned a three-point game into a six-point game and preventing Sam Houston from tying the score with 5:31 to go in the fourth. Keeping that lead intact was important, especially when it shrinks from double-digits to one score.

Up Next: at Gonzaga (Thr, 11/21)

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

Recent Posts
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Cornerback
  • QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
  • Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – July 2
  • 2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: North Texas

Filed Under: Archive, Basketball, Women's Athletics Tagged With: Emily Klaczek, game recap, Rice Women's basketball

AAC Football 2024: Week 12 Roundup

November 17, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

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

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army9-0 (7-0)— OFF — —at Notre Dame
Charlotte3-7 (2-4)vs USFL, 59-24at FAU
ECU6-4 (4-2)at TulsaW, 38-31at North Texas
FAU2-8 (0-6)at TempleL, 18-15 (OT)vs Charlotte
Memphis9-2 (5-2)vs UABW, 53-18— OFF —
Navy7-3 (5-2)vs TulaneL, 35-0— OFF —
North Texas5-5 (2-4)at UTSAL, 48-27vs ECU
Rice3-7 (2-4)— OFF — —at UAB
Temple3-7 (2-4)vs FAUW, 18-15 (OT)at UTSA
Tulane9-2 (7-0)at NavyW, 35-0— OFF —
Tulsa3-7 (1-5)vs ECUL, 38-31at USF
UAB2-8 (1-5)at MemphisL, 53-18vs Rice
USF5-5 (3-3)at CharlotteW, 59-24vs Tulsa
UTSA5-5 (3-3)vs North TexasW, 48-27vs Temple

Notable Results and Storylines // (Standings)

Title Game Set

It’s official Tulane and Army are meeting in the AAC Championship game on Friday December 6, location TBD. The team with the highest winning percentage in league play will host the game, but that could be moot since the teams don’t play in the regular season. If they finished tied, the College Football Playoff rankings will determine the host.

And the Most Disappointing Team is…

Florida Atlantic, what happened? The Owls were picked to finish sixth in the preseason polls. Not frontrunners by any means, but a far cry from dead last in the league. That’s exactly where they sit now after falling to previous bottom-dweller Temple on Saturday. Not only did the miss the mark, they’re in contention for being the worst team in the conference.

Imagine If They Played Defense

North Texas ranks third in the AAC in points per game, a statistic that seems almost fruitless given their 2-4 record in league play. The Mean Green fired defensive Matt Caponi on Saturday following a loss to UTSA on Friday night in which the Roadrunners hung 48 points on his defense. North Texas be feisty… if they could play even a little bit of defense.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

AAC Game of the Year?

Army had the week to rest up and make preparations for a marquee game against Notre Dame next week. The battle of ranked teams could go a long way toward legitimizing the Black Knights in the College Football Playoff discussion. They could still win the AAC with a loss, but surpassing Boise State probably requires a marquee win of this sort.

How About Six?

South Florida (vs Tulsa), UTSA (vs Temple) and North Texas (vs ECU) are all playing for bowl eligibility next week against opponents facing unique circumstances. Neither Temple or Tulsa can reach bowl eligibility, but both second year coaches are desperate for victories. ECU has clinched bowl eligibility, but interim head coach Blake Harrell wouldn’t mind adding to his perfect resume since taking his new post.

Interim success

ECU isn’t the only team in the conference with an interim head coach. Rice interim Pete Alamar got a win in his first game against Navy and nearly knocked off Memphis last week. He’s said publicly he’s not angling for the permanent job, but he’s not throwing in the towel either. An outside shot at a bowl berth via APR scores should have the Owls motivated against UAB next weekend.

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

Recent Posts
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Cornerback
  • QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
  • Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – July 2
  • 2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: North Texas

Filed Under: AAC, Archive Tagged With: AAC

Rice Basketball survives Northwestern State in OT

November 16, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Basketball needed overtime to eek out a win over Northwestern State, but the Owls found a way to hang on.

Things were never comfortable at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. Even though Rice basketball had never lost to Northwestern State in 11 previous meetings, the Demons made sure they did everything they could to jeopardize that streak.

Rice scored first, but never led by more than seven points in the first half, allowing Northwestern State to pull even on two separate occasions. In fact, Northwestern State went more than 59 minutes without seeing a lead, trailing by as many as 13 points midway through the second half when Denver Anglin drained one of a trip of threes.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Season Preview

From there, though, the comeback was on. The Demons responded with a 13-4 run to get back in the game and took their very first lead of the contest with 48 seconds on the clock. Kellen Amos would knock down three free throws to go back in front by two, only for Northwestern State to take the lead again on another three, this time with 6.2 seconds left in regulation.

Amos leveled the score with another free throw, but missed what would have been the game clinching shot from the charity stripe and the game went to overtime. In OT, it was Alem Huseinovic who hit a three with 1:01 to play to give Rice some breathing room before Rice made one final defensive stand to hang on for the win and improve to 3-1 on the season.

Final Box | Rice 77, Northwestern State 75

FINAL | @RiceMBB 77, NWST 75

Owls prevail in OT pic.twitter.com/O7eMG0nk5S

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 16, 2024

What They’re Saying

We’re obviously on a journey trying to become a good team. We’re not there yet, but the mark of a good team is that when you are in close, hard-fought games, that you can find a way to win. Whenever you do that, it becomes a frame of reference. To have a game like that early in the year, where a lot of things went against us late in the game, missed free throws, turnovers, and some good one-and-one play by (Northwestern State), when things looked bleak we still found a way to fight our way back. It’s a credit to our guys that we have this frame of reference. – Rice basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Winning Ugly Works For Now

Rice basketball doesn’t have a longer active winning streak against any other Division 1 opponent on the hardwood. Losing to Northwestern State on Saturday wouldn’t have been a fatal blow, but it would have marred a season that’s shown so much promise despite the obvious growing pains. Lanier hasn’t hid from those warts, but they’re still painful to grow past in real time.

Because Rice did win, they start 3-1 for the first time since 2021-2022. They snapped a three-game losing streak in overtime and found a way to win on a day when so much wasn’t going their way. Winning every game by 50 would be nice, but if that’s not going to happen, the end result is the most important factor to replicate. Especially right now as this team learns to win well, a win is a win.

Up Next: at Louisiana (Tues, Nov. 19)

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

Recent Posts
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Cornerback
  • QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
  • Rice Baseball 2025: MLB Owls Update – July 2
  • 2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: North Texas

Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: game recap, Rice basketball

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • …
  • 459
  • Next Page »
  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3
  4. Item 4
  5. Item 5
  • 2025 Rice Football Season Preview, Rice Football
  • Jack Ben-Shoshan, Rice Baseball
  • Rice Baseball, David Pierce
  • Rice Football
  • “He’s a Bulldog”: Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace
Become a patron at Patreon!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter