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Rice Basketball topped at FAU

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Rice Basketball couldn’t hang on to a 16-point second-half lead, succumbing to Florida Atlantic on the road.

It was an evenly matched game in the early goings of Rice basketball’s road tilt at Florida Atlantic on Sunday. Everything was close until the visiting Owls started to get going offensively, cranking up their effectiveness from three. Five different Owls made a triple in the half as a modest lead began to form.

Jacob Dar led the way, making the most of his first start of the season with a team-high 19 points, including a pair of threes to start the second half which helped Rice establish a double-digit lead and maintain it for the better part of the second half until FAU began to chip away in earnest around the 10 minute mark.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Dar would contribute a couple of threes down the stretch to help fend off the FAU rally, but the Rice shooting began to slump, collectively. FAU would close the game on a 17-5 run, holding Rice to two field goals in the final five minutes of play to pull out the come-from-behind win.

Final Box | FAU 75, Rice 73

Key takeaway | Clutch moments

After starting AAC play 2-0, Rice basketball has lost their last four conference games. Winning out was never a realistic expectation, but given how well this team had played in recent weeks, a prolonged losing streak didn’t seem likely to be in the cards either. A bludgeoning at the hands of a talented North Texas team aside, Rice could have very easily won the rest of these games.

The Owls were in one-possession games late against Temple, UTSA and FAU but weren’t able to close out any of them. It’s clear this team has another step to take when it comes to making plays in the final few minutes that prove differential in winning basketball games. Close games are going to happen in conference play and tend to become hallmarks of which teams are remembered in March.

This team has been remarkably ahead of expectations for much of this season and they’ve managed to play competitive basketball almost every time they’ve taken the court. This is their next test. Can they learn to win on the fly when the schedule starts to get tougher? Because the road doesn’t get easier from here.

Up Next: vs Tulane (Sat, Jan. 25)

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Rice Football 2024 Team MVP: Dean Connors

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The leading scorer and the offense’s Swiss Army Knife who could seemingly do it all, Dean Connors is our 2024 Rice Football Team MVP.

One of the most productive running backs to ever step foot on South Main, Dean Connors was the runaway favorite to be the 2024 Rice Football Team MVP before the season began. Even with those high expectations placed upon his shoulders by outsiders and himself, Connors still soared, writing his name all over the record books.

Connors breakout season was one long in the making. He transferred into the program prior to the 2022 season and was lightly used his first year before joining forces with Juma Otoviano to form a one-two punch last season. This year, with Otoviano set to graduate, the burden was set to fall on Connors to carry the load.

Little did anyone know at the time, but Connors would be quickly forced into double duty. A string of injuries decimated the wide receiver room and leading tight end Boden Groen would miss a large portion of the year. Connors was already Plan A in the running game but he was soon asked to do so much more.

Connors would go on to lead the nation in receptions by a running back with 62, a mark that put him ninth all-time in the program’s reception tallies. Not bad for someone used to being handed the ball behind the line of scrimmage.

The big season also elevated him to No. 1 all-time in program history in receiving yards by a running back, 912, surpassing Owl ledge Trevor Cobb. He was also the first player in program history to surpass 1,600 rushing yards and 900 receiving yards in his career.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

With a new quarterback under center, Connors became the free square to make the Rice offense go. Connors’ essential nature to that side of the ball would prove to be one of the more complex tight ropes the offensive staff had to walk as they tried to pushed the ball into his hands often yet still keep him fresh and ready to play a full season.

“We don’t want to just wear Dean out,” then head coach Mike Bloomgren said midseason following the Charlotte game. “16 total touches. Would you want to program a few more for him? Absolutely.”

Connors never complained or questioned his usage. He just took the ball whenever it was handed (or thrown) to him and kept on running. For him, the team was always more important than any individual accolades or aspirations. He touched the ball 220 times across 12 games. The next closest player, Matt Sykes, had 67 plays from scrimmage.

When asked to reflect on those lofty totals before the Owls’ final game, Senior Day against South Florida, Connors had come to reach this point it was hard for him to put things into words.

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“It would be really cool and a great opportunity to look back on a kid who was at … a small public school in the big island of Hawaii. My class was 20 people. And to think I was in that position today would make a little kid really happy,” he said. “It would be awesome, but getting a win for everybody would really mean more.”

Rice football did find a way to get that win, the first time in Connors’ football career he had won the final game of a season.

At 4-8, the record wasn’t good enough to get the Owls to a bowl game and necessitated a coaching change midway through the year. A lot of things did not go according to plan, but that didn’t seem to phase Connors, always ready and willing to embrace whatever challenge lay ahead.

“Football has been my life since I can remember. Being able to lead a team at a Division 1 University that’s so highly touted for everything, football, academics, athletic department, it’s been a blessing. I’ll remember it my whole life,” Connors said. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently if I could go back. This is the way I’d have wanted it to be.”

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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Rice Football 2024 Defensive Player of the Year: Gabe Taylor

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Gabe Taylor, a veteran leader who anchored one of the best defenses in the AAC, is our 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

A fifth year senior playing in his final season on South Main, safety Gabe Taylor left it all on the field this year. Through all the ups and downs, Taylor was a galvanizing force that held this program together and was unequivocally deserving to be our honoree as the 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

No one had higher expectations for Gabe Taylor this season than he did for himself. A preseason selection for the Jim Thorpe Watch List, an award given annually to the nation’s top defensive back, Taylor was dead set on taking this program to the next level. While those dreams were never fully actualized, his effort and production could never be questioned.

Taylor led the team in tackles and, perhaps more importantly kept the secondary afloat when what seemed to be an overwhelming spat of injuries assailed the rest of the position.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

Plae Wyatt was injured in the Owls’ first game of the season against Sam Houston and lost for the year. Marcus Williams, his replacement, went down the next week against Texas Southern. Further injuries to Jojo Jean, Justin Williams and Tyson Flowers left the position group in a bind. Things got so dire that players had to be moved from other positions to the safety room midseason.

Before the year, Taylor lauded the depth in the room. “If one guy goes down it’s not going to be a falloff,” he said. “It’s literally going to be ones still on the field,” alluding to the multiple levels of starting caliber players he believed filled the Owls’ depth chart.

Soon enough, that confidence was tested. It was Taylor, TBD and TBD practicing with the first team defense on a week to week basis. And even still, the secondary soared.

The Rice football defense finished second in the conference and eighth nationally in passing defense. A sizable portion of that success must be attributed to the consistency on the outside offered by corners Sean Fresch and Max Ahoia, but Taylor’s contributions were equally important, particularly when taking into consideration the plight this defense would have been in without him.

Prior to the regular season finale against South Florida, Taylor admitted he’d gotten interest from other programs during the offseason. His illustrious career to that point had not gone unnoticed and he had opportunities to go elsewhere.

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“These guys just brought me back in,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade them for the world. This family is so genuine.”

That’s part of what made Taylor’s season so special. A candidate to be selected in the NFL Draft this coming spring who might not have ever stepped foot on South Main had it not been for a delayed start to his high school football career while he pursued basketball and other interests, Taylor stayed the course, overcame adversity and still performed at a high level.

Taylor was an All-AAC Second Team selection and one of Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) highest graded defenders in the country. A sports analytics company that attempts to quantify a player’s individual impact on a scale of 1-100, Taylor graded out as an 89.5, where a 90 considered to represent the elite of the elite. That’s the caliber of play Rice football got out of Taylor this season: elite.

On a defense flush with impactful veteran talent like defensive tackle Izeya Floyd, linebackers Josh Pearcy and Myron Morrison and the aforementioned corners and fellow members of the safety room, Taylor managed to stand out. That’s a testament to his effort, ability and a never wavering desire to be the best. No matter the box score, Taylor delivered on that goal this season.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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Rice Football 2025 Spring Roster Notes

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The first edition of the 2025 Rice Football Spring semester roster has been released, and it contains several fascinating takeaways.

School is back in session and a parliament of Owls, both new and old have adorn the first release of the 2025 Rice Football roster. Some names are familiar. Many are not. Here’s a rundown of the transfer Portal additions, subtractions and everything in between.

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It’s hard to say for sure what next year’s roster will look like in the era of the Transfer Portal. And while things can and will vary by the time Rice football kicks off its season in the fall, this first roster update of the spring semester does include several noteworthy names who’s availability was uncertain, for one reason or another, in December.

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Rice Football Recruiting: OL Cole Morgan commits to Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football Recruiting class is getting more help in the trenches. Michigan offensive line transfer Cole Morgan has committed to the Owls.

The run on talent in the trenches continues for the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class. On the same day they picked up a pledge from defensive enforcer Dillan Botts from Mary Hardin-Baylor, the Owls added a big man on the other side of the line, too. Michigan transfer offensive lineman Cole Morgan has committed to the Owls.

Following two years spent at Michigan, Morgan quickly garnered interest from a host of Group of 5 programs when he entered the Transfer Portal earlier this winter. He picked up offers from Toledo, FAU, Central Michigan, New Mexico and Utah State, among others before Rice entered the picture in early January. Less than two weeks later, Morgan was South Main bound.

With Morgan on board, the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class is 20 players deep and counting. That includes seven incoming additions from the Transfer Portal, four of which have come on board in the last week: Morgan and the aforementioned Botts as well as UTSA kicker Chase Allen and Yale offensive lineman Sean Sullivan.

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Morgan projects as an interior player at Rice, his primary position while at Michigan. There’s not much in the way of game film for Morgan, but the available highlights from practice paint a picture of a sturdy, 6-foot-4, 285-pound blocker who can move, making him a nice pickup for the Rice offense. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

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