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Retooling the offense, practice notes (11/15)

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Rice football is going to need to pull out the whole bag of tricks if they want to beat the LSU Tigers on the road, and that starts at practice.

In a season full of silver linings, the offensive adjustments and changes have been encouraging to see in practice over the last few weeks. The team isn’t sticking to the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, rather they’re adapting and adding to their repertoire week after week.

That was evident with their insertion of D’Angelo Ellis at wide receiver and the incorporation of Aston Walter in the running game, allowing Austin Walter to be split out wide. There were more wrinkles put into the gameplan for LSU this week, several of which the Owls haven’t put on tape at all this year.

There will be a few trick plays up Mike Bloomgren’s sleave, but most of the additions are schemes and plays designed to maximize the opportunities for the Owls to break big plays.

Looking for the fourth option in the passing game

Three different pass catchers — Austin Trammell, Aaron Cephus and Austin Walter — have caught 72.8 percent of the Owls’ passes this season. That speaks to the reliability of each of those players, but also the void that exists elsewhere in the offense.

None of the tight ends have really made their presence felt yet and the high hopes the coaching staff had for receiver Brendan Harmon have been put on hold via injury. D’Angelo Ellis has begun to play the lion’s share of reps on the outside and Jordan Myers is settling into the primary tight end role. Both had flashes during practice on Thursday, but someone is going to have to step up and help quarterback Shawn Stankavage.

All-Academic teams announced

Bloomgren recognized both Jorian Clark and Parker Hanusa who were named Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 team. Those selections were made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

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10 Stats entering Owls’ game vs LSU

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Rice football has been through plenty of ups and downs in 2018. With a game against LSU looming it’s time to take a peek at some key stats.

4 – Interceptions by true freshman safety Prudy Calderon. One more than the entire team had last season.

5 – Number of players to register at least 25 carries so far this season. After relying on one lead back through his time at Stanford, several factors have led Mike Bloomgren to employ a variety of rushers. Aston Walter saw the majority of the work in the Owls’ most recent game against Louisiana Tech.

6 – Sacks by Anthony Ekpe, the most on the team and a career high. Since his breakout three-sack game against North Texas, Ekpe has 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks over his last two games.

10 – Touchdown passes for quarterback Shawn Stankavage. The most by an Owls’ quarterback since Tyler Stheling in 2016.

37-13-5 – Rice’s all-time record against LSU.  The Tigers and Owls went back and forth in the mid-’50s, but LSU has won 17 of the last 19 with one tie. The Owls’ last win came in 1980.

45 – Different players that have recorded at least one tackle this season. The volume of newcomers the Owls’ have played continues to grow every week.

45.3 – Average punt length from specialist Jack Fox. That distance leads Conference USA and ranks ninth in the nation.

48 – Tackles registered by Zach Abercrumbia this season, the most by an interior defensive lineman since Christian Covington in 2013

90 percent – Kicker Hayden Tobola has connected on 9-of-10 field goals. That accuracy leads Conference USA and ranks sixth in the nation.

600 – Receiving yards for Austin Trammell through 11 games. Trammel appeared in 12 games as a freshman in 2017 and tallied 51 receiving yards on four catches.

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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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