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2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Season Preview

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Rice football and Louisiana Tech don’t have an extensive history, but the series has been rather one-sided since the Bulldogs joined CUSA in 2013.

After three straight nine-win seasons, Louisiana Tech stumbled to a 7-6 finish last in 2017. Things could have turned out quite differently had the Bulldogs not lost three games by one point. Those narrow defeats at the hands of South Carolina, UAB and North Texas kept the Bulldogs away from their first 10-win season as a D1 FBS program.

Head coach Skip Holtz will have a double-digit target placed in front of his team this season. Getting to that mark will be challenging considering a schedule that includes road trips to LSU and Mississippi State in non-conference play. That will require near-perfection in conference play.

Rice and Louisiana Tech have met on the gridiron 10 times. The Owls own a 3-7 record against the Bulldogs and have lost four straight. Righting that record starts one game at a time, but it could be a challenge for the Owls this year. Louisiana Tech fields a promising team in 2018. Here’s how they’ll look on both sides of the ball:

Offense

Louisiana Tech has typically boasted well-rounded offensive attacks under Holtz who took over the program in 2013. In his five years leading the Bulldogs he’s constructed offenses that averaged north of 430 yards per game and a lot of points. Last season marked the first time since his first season at LaTech in which his team averaged less than 37 points per game, falling off to 30.5 points per contest.

One of the driving forces behind the variation in points per game was the variation in quarterback play. The Bulldogs’ offense will once again live and die on the decision making of junior quarterback J’mar Smith.

Smith’s back-and-forth quarterback play made every game an adventure through his 13 starts last season. In consecutive weeks he posted these two very different box scores:

Week A: 15-of-28 passing (53.6 percent) for 203 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions
Week B: 7-of-21 passing (33.3 percent) for 101 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception

Week A was a win over UTEP. Week B was a win over UTSA. Both starts by Smith, but his play could not have been more hot-and-cold.

The Bulldogs will benefit from the deep receiving corps led by returning star Teddy Veal (79 receptions for 950 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017). The offensive line returns a ton of experience and will add former LSU offensive lineman Willie Allen to the mix as well.

Running back is another big question mark for the Bulldogs who lose their two leading rushers from a season ago. No one remaining on the depth chart has had any meaningful touches, setting up a wide-open competition between Jaqwis Dancy Jr. and Kam McKnight for lead back duties. A committee approach is most likely here.

Defense

Replacing three of their top five tacklers will be the biggest challenge facing LaTech as they enter the 2018 season. The good news is they carry depth at every level on the defense and have more than enough options to plug into the gaps left by Secdrick Cooper, Russell Farris and DaMarion King.

The secondary was one of the best in Conference USA last season thanks in large part to the tandem of Cooper and true freshman Amik Robertson. He forced his way into the starting lineup quickly and led the team in interceptions (five) and pass breakups (six) by the end of the season while also finishing third on the team in tackles.

While Robertson and his companions are locking down the back end, future NFL draft pick senior Jaylon Ferguson is providing the rush up front. The talented defensive end tallied seven sacks last season and is already receiving legitimate first-round buzz. He’s got a long way to go before that happens, but at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds he has the frame that NFL teams will look to build on.

The glue in between those two units will be the linebackers. In addition to last year’s leading tackler Dae’Von Washington the team adds three JUCO transfers including NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year Connor Taylor. A Snow College product, Taylor led the NJCAA in tackles (139) with a stunning 21 tackles for a loss and three sacks.

This unit allowed 25.4 points per game in 2017 and should be even better. If the offense comes along with it the Bulldogs could be looking at a special season in 2018.

Schedule

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11 Days: Tracking all 11 Owls in the NFL

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Rice football boasts 11 active NFL players and coaches, spread across 10 different teams. Where are they and which players are making noise at the next level?

The NFL Preseason is underway. As the first kickoff of the season approaches teams will be forced to cull their pool of players down to their final 53-man roster. That final cut will be official on Sept. 1, giving a few Owls a chance to earn their spot in the NFL.

Along with a few new faces, Rice football has some veterans in the league as well. Here are the Owls 11 NFL personnel:

1. Chris Boswell, Kicker, Pittsburgh Steelers

Bowell entered the NFL in 2015. After a brief stint with the Houston Texans he made his way up north to join the Steelers where he’s been the primary kicker for three seasons. He owns a career 89.5 field goal percentage with a long of 53 yards.

2. Bryce Callahan, Corner, Chicago Bears

A reserve corner for the Chicago Bears, Callahan is also in his fourth professional season. He’s become more and more active with Chicago each year in the league. In 2017 he played in 12 games, registering two interceptions, a forced fumble and 25 total tackles.

3. Christian Covington, Defensive End, Houston Texans

A Canadian native, Covington stayed close to campus after being drafted in the sixth round by the Houston Texans in 2015. In limited action, he’s picked up four sacks, and 50 total tackles in his three year NFL career.

4. Emmanuel Ellerbee, Linebacker, Atlanta Falcons

Ellerbee signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and is working to earn his way onto the roster in 2018. He led the Owls in tackles last season with 95.

5. Phillip Gaines, Corner, Buffalo Bills

A third round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, Gaines saw sporadic action (16 starts over four seasons) with the Chiefs before signing with Buffalo this offseason.

6. Larry Izzo, Assistant Special Teams coach, Seattle Seahawks

After playing 13 seasons in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and earning three Pro Bowl nominations, Izzo retired from the NFL and quickly took a coaching position with the New York Giants. He went from the Giants to the Texans before being hired by the Seahawks this offseason.

7. Vance McDonald, Tight End, Pittsburgh Steelers

McDonald was a second round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. McDonald was a productive offensive cog for the 49ers in four NFL Season before moving to the Steelers in 2017. He’s caught 78 passes for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns in his pro career.

8. Andrew Sendejo, Safety, Minnesota Vikings

After a brief start to his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, Sendejo has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2011. During that span, he’s accounted for 237 tackles and six interceptions. He most recently made news with his reaction to the league’s new helmet contact rule.

https://twitter.com/Asendejo/status/1025466588424597504

9. Jordan Taylor, Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos

A nice depth piece behind Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Taylor has seen modest action in two NFL seasons. He caught 16 passes in 2016 and 13 more in 2017, totaling 251 receiving yards and two career touchdowns.

10. Luke Wilson, Tight End, Detroit Lions

A five year veteran with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson moved on to a new team this offseason, signing at 1-year $1.5 million deal with the Detriot Lions. He’ll be in the mix with the rest of the Matt Stafford’s pass catchers this season.

11. Brian Womac, Defensive End, Los Angeles Rams

The No. 2 tackler for Rice football in 2017, Womac is fighting for a roster spot with the Rams after going undrafted following his senior season with the Owls in 2017. He finished with a team-best 21 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks.

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12 Days: Owls have been to 12 bowl games in school history

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Rice football has been to 12 bowl games in school history, most recently earning a bid to the 2014 Hawaii Bowl where they defeated Fresno State.

Rice is 7-5 in the postseason, dating back to their first bowl game ever, a victory over Colorado in the Cotton Bowl in 1937. That win was the first of three Cotton Bowl victories for the Owls and the start of a winning postseason tradition for the Owls.

It wasn’t that long ago that trips to the postseason were an annual affair for Rice Football. Former head coach David Baliff took the Owls bowling three consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2014, the longest streak of consecutive bowl appearances in school history.

Baliff finished 3-1 in Bowl games, the best postseason mark outside of Jimmy Kitts who led the Owls from 1934 to 1939. Baliff and Kitts join Rice legend Jess Neely and one-year head man  Todd Graham as the four men who have ever led Rice to a bowl game.

Year Conf W L T AP Post Coach(es) Bowl Result
1937 SWC 6 3 2 18 Jimmy Kitts (6-3-2) Cotton Bowl W
1946 SWC 9 2 0 10 Jess Neely (9-2) Orange Bowl W
1949 SWC 10 1 0 5 Jess Neely (10-1) Cotton Bowl W
1953 SWC 9 2 0 6 Jess Neely (9-2) Cotton Bowl W
1957 SWC 7 4 0 8 Jess Neely (7-4) Cotton Bowl L
1960 SWC 7 4 0 Jess Neely (7-4) Sugar Bowl L
1961 SWC 7 4 0 17 Jess Neely (7-4) Bluebonnet Bowl L
2006 CUSA 7 6 0 Todd Graham (7-6) New Orleans Bowl L
2008 CUSA 10 3 0 David Bailiff (10-3) Texas Bowl W
2012 CUSA 7 6 0 David Bailiff (7-6) Armed Forces Bowl W
2013 CUSA 10 4 0 David Bailiff (10-4) Liberty Bowl L
2014 CUSA 8 5 0 David Bailiff (8-5) Hawaii Bowl W

Rice’s heyday might have come several decades ago, but the Owls have been competitive for the last two decades or so. In fact, Ken Hatfield, who led the Owls from 1994 to 2005, had three seasons of seven or more wins, including an 8-4 finish in the WAC in 2001. Had there been enough bowl games in the late 90’s and early 2000’s Hatfield could have thrown his name onto the list of postseason coaches.

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13 Days: 13 Seasons in Conference USA and counting

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Formed in 1995, Conference USA has been the home for Rice football and athletics for 13 years and there’s always been plenty of drama in the conference.

Long-standing members of the Southwestern Conference until 1996, Rice had an eight-year stint in the Western Athletic Conference before joining CUSA in 2005, a year of tremendous upheaval for the conference.

Formed in 1995, Conference USA has had 32 members across the full spectrum of athletic competitions over its 22 years of existence. Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, Southern Miss, UAB, Memphis and Tulane were founding. all sports members while DePaul, Marquette, Saint Louis, Charlotte were non-football members.

Rice joined the conference in 2005 when more than half of the founding members left for the Big East and the Atlantic 10. Joining them that year were UCF, SMU, Tulsa, Marshall and UTEP. The American Conference poached half of CUSA in 2013 and 2014, opening up the door for current members FAU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, UTSA and Western Kentucky to join across the span of those two seasons.

Conference USA has been the subject of two major realignments in the past 15 years, and more are likely coming. Rice has 13 years in the CUSA under their belt, but they too would be willing to move on if they find the right fit. The Owls, like many others among the Group of Five, are paying close attention to major television contracts as they expire and continuously looking for opportunities to improve their status.

The TCU model is where Rice is heading. The Horned Frogs parlayed success in the Mountain West with the perfect opportunity and made the jump to a better conference with more exposure and more money. If Rice wants to make the move any time soon, they’ll have to start with winning where they’re at. The rest will follow. For now, it’s time for year 14 in the CUSA.

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Depth charts are coming and 5 Owl Fest Scrimmage Notes (8/11)

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Rice football had their second fall scrimmage to kick off Owl Fest on Saturday. Here are five things that stood out from the session.

A crowd of a few hundred turned out to get their first glimpses at the 2018 Rice football team on Saturday. As they cheered for every big play and their fellow freshman, the audience was treated to an inside peek at the Owls’ second scrimmage of fall camp, another positive session for this team as the season opener draws near.

1. First team is starting to solidify

With two full scrimmages under their belts, the coaching staff is starting to piece together a depth chart. Coach Bloomgren called the current status “less fluid” than the team entered fall camp and expects to have a fresh depth chart expected within the week.

For the most part, here’s what the first team has looked like this week:

1st team Offense
QB – Tyner
HB – Aston Walter
WR – Cephus, Trammell, Cardwell
TE – Bull
OL – Pierce, Dill, Baker, Greene, Osuji

1st team Defense
DL – Abercrumbia, Garcia, Wilkins, Schantz
LB – Silcox, Ekpe, Nwakamma
DB – Bickham, Douglas-Dotson, Nyakwol, Robert

2. Running backs remain focal point of offense

This team is going to run the football, a lot. And teams better not get caught flat-footed. The offensive line has been sturdy enough to open up gaps in the middle to keep the chains moving, but Aston and Austin Walter have done the majority of their damage on the outside. One cut and they’re into the second level, picking up chunk plays. Keeping those two inside will be a must for the Owls opponents this season.

3. Quarterback battle still progressing

Bloomgren said Jackson Tyner won the day, but competition between him and Shawn Stankavage remains open. Freshman quarterback Evan Marshman looked impressive with the third team, but Bloomgren still expects the starter to be one of either Tyner or Stankavage, calling the quarterback competition “shut at two unless [Marshman] forces the door open.”

It’s worth noting as well that both Tyner and Stankavage are being asked to use their legs to make plays. Although neither of them would be described as your traditional “dual-threat” quarterback, both have the requisite speed to steal first downs and keep the defense honest.

4. Position changes of note

It was mentioned early in the week that quarterback Sam Glaesmann has been moved to wide receiver. He lined up as the wildcat quarterback on a few plays Saturday, an interesting wrinkle for the Owls to have in their back pocket moving forward.

Depth issues in the secondary have opened opportunities for a pair of running backs. Freshman Juma Octoviano and sophomore Collin Whitaker saw time with the second team at corner and both guys played really well. Octoviano came up with an interception on his second series.

With the surplus of depth at the running back position, it’s possible that both of these guys stay primarily on the defensive side of the ball. Bloomgren said he “wouldn’t rule out” both guys becoming two-way players this season.

5. Jack Fox is going to be busy

The primary punter last season, Fox has seen time in practice with the field goal unit as well. Unless someone blows the coaching staff out of the water in the next two weeks it’s very possible Fox could be handling all of the kicking duties this season.

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