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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 5

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Rice football fell to Southern Miss in Week 4. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 5?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte at UMass L, 49-31 at UAB
FAU at 16 UCF L, 56-36 at MTSU
FIU at 21 Miami L, 31-17 vs UAPB
LaTech at 6 LSU L, 38-21 at UNT
Marshall vs NC State L, 37-20 at WKU
MTSU OFF  — vs FAU
North Texas @ Liberty W, 47-7 vs LaTech
ODU vs 13 Virginia Tech W, 49-35  at ECU
Rice @ Southern Miss L, 40-22 @ Wake Forest
Southern Miss vs Rice W, 40-22 at 9 Auburn
UAB OFF  — vs Charlotte
UTEP OFF  — at UTSA
UTSA vs Texas State W, 25-21 vs UTEP
WKU @ Ball State W, 28-20 vs Marshall

Notable Week 3 results

Upset of the century

Old Dominion stayed playing football in 1930. Nearly a century later, the Monarchs claimed the biggest win in school history. Few gave 0-3 ODU any chance of knocking off the No. 13 Virginia Tech Hokies, even if the game was being played at S.B. Ballard Stadium.

The four-touchdown underdogs stunned the Hokies, earning their first win over a Power 5 program and their first win over a ranked team in school history. As if that wasn’t enough, they fulfilled a subtle dream they’d hinted at several years before.

When Old Dominion proposed a new stadium in 2016 they included renderings of the new designs. Tucked away in those pictures was a scoreboard that featured a win over Virginia Tech. The prophecy came true, much to the surprise of everyone, including the Monarchs.

More work to be done

Rice football entered the bye week with guarded optimism. The Owls were coming off two close losses to Houston and Hawaii. Their game against Southern Miss did not go as well as they would have liked. Rice trailed by as many as 25 points, falling by 18 on the road. This team is still developing, but they’re headed in the right direction.

Week 4 storylines

Who’s next?

Old Dominion proved that even the weaker CUSA squads can put together a special game and knock off some of college football’s best programs. Southern Miss and Rice are the next two CUSA teams to play Power 5 opponents. Rice hits the road to play Wake Forest; Southern Miss will pay a visit to No. 9 Auburn.

And then there was one

Marshall and Louisiana Tech both fell this weekend, leaving North Texas the lone unbeaten in Conference USA. The Mean Green are the only team in the conference that received votes in the most recent AP Poll and have their eyes on contending for a New Year’s Six Bowl along with fellow Group of 5 counterparts UCF and Buffalo. They’ll have a tough test next weekend against Louisiana Tech.

UTEP has to win eventually, right?

The Miners remain firmly fixed at the bottom of Conference USA. Few opportunities remain for UTEP, who has a long way to go in their rebuilding process. ESPN FPI gives them a 17.3 percent chance to defeat UTSA on the road in Week 5, their second highest odds for the remainder of the season.

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Owls fall short on the road against Southern Miss

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Rice football was unable to get into a rhythem on offense and fell on the road to Southern Miss in their first conference game of the season.

The Owls fell behind early, surrendering their first touchdown of the game on the first play following a Shawn Stankavage interception. Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham hit Quez Watkins to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead. Rice was in comeback mode after that.

No strangers to a deficit, Rice battled back. They scored two touchdowns of their own in the first half, cutting the deficit to 17-15 before Southern Miss stretched the lead to 24-15 in the final minutes before the break.

The second half was all Southern Miss who put up points in all four quarters, extending the lead as far as 25 points, an insurmountable amount for an offense that couldn’t manage to find its footing on the road.

Here are three quick takeaways from the Owls’ 40-22 loss to Southern Miss in Week 4.

1. Austin Walter and Emmanuel Esukpa need to touch the ball as much as possible

The Rice offense is going to build their offense from the ground up. The Owls have some playmakers on the outside, but the engine that makes this unit run well is their rushing attack. The combination of Esukpa’s power between the tackles and Walter’s shiftiness out of the backfield creates a thunder-and-lightning duo that continues to give the Owls’ opponents fits.

Esukpa faced a lot of stacked boxes against Southern Miss. That didn’t deter offense coordinator Jerry Mack from sticking to the gameplan. Esukpa got plenty of early work, pounding up the middle and wearing out the Southern Miss defense. That tired defense struggled did them no favors against the Owls’ quicker players on the edge.

Walter is the Owls’ home run threat. I called for a long touchdown play from him this week, and he delivered in the opening minutes of the first quarter, scampering around the edge for a 62-yard score. He’s one of the best athletes the Owls have on their roster. When he’s in space he creates mismatches which lead to opportunities for big plays.

Walter hit a big play against Southern Miss, accounting for nearly half of the Owls’ first half offense with a single carry. He provides a dimension for this offense that nobody else does, making him one of the most important players to feed. So far, the Owls have done just that and it’s paid off handsomely.

Esukpa and Walter combined for 156 yards and a touchdown on 25 touches. They’re the 1A and 1B in this offense, and that’s not going to change any time soon.

2. Mike Bloomgren’s willingness to roll the dice is going to pay off

The second touchdown of Mike Bloomgren’s head coaching career was followed with a completely unexpected 2-point conversion attempt. The try was unsuccessful, ultimately putting the Owls behind the eight ball against Prairie View A&M. They got the two points back on a safety and went on to win the game.

That wasn’t the last time we’d see Bloomgren take a chance, and he’s proven to be more than willing to take risks this season. The Owls went for two on their first touchdown against Southern Miss, catching the Eagles flat-footed and walking into the endzone untouched.

Rice isn’t going to have the talent advantage against many of the teams they’ll face this season. Helmet on helmet and pad on pad, the Owls are going to be overmatched more often than they’d like to be. But you can beat talent with risk, specifically with calculated risk. That’s one of the reasons Rice has attempted six fourth down conversions so far this season, converting three times.

Playing it safe isn’t going to pay off for the Owls. They need to be willing to take push the envelope. Sometimes those risks are going to end poorly, but when things do go the right way this team will find itself in position for big wins.

3. Incremental progress

There are no moral victories in college football, at least not if you’re a head coach. Mike Bloomgren has preached about trusting the process and taking the next step all season. So far, that progress has been evident.

As the season progresses, Rice continues to go further and further into games and push their opponents to the wire. They’re giving up less huge plays and making a few of their own. Those baby steps on Saturday were evident in the Owls’ secondary.

After being beaten up by Houston and Hawaii, Rice took their lumps through the air against Southern Miss, too. Unlike their first two games, Rice wasn’t found flat-footed over the top nearly as often. Southern Miss quarterback Abraham did a good portion of his damage across the middle and in front of the safeties.

When Rice did get beat on the outside, they were beaten on contested passes and bad angles. That will show through in the film and give this unit some confidence as they enter the heart of conference play. It wasn’t an acceptable performance by any means, but the issues on Saturday were correctable.

The box score is ugly; Rice surrendered 428 yards through the air. But there weren’t any 50+ yard touchdowns. That alone is a sign things are moving in the right direction.

4. Incremental regression

It wasn’t all good news for Rice football against Southern Miss. The Owls’ offense demonstrated the potential shortfalls that come with a rushing-based attack when it doesn’t win first down. Rice gained more than three yards on their first play of the drive just once in the first half — a 12 play, 59-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to two points.

The second half was more of the same. Behind the chains and off schedule, quarterback Shawn Stankavage was put into high-leverage situations and too many third and longs. Rice runs the ball to set up the pass. Keeping defenses honest and utilizing play action is important to this offense. When that’s not working things can go downhill, fast.

Rice went three-and-out four times against Southern Miss, not including a pair of drives that ended after three plays with a Stankavage interception.

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Keys to victory over Southern Miss

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Rice football opens CUSA play against Southern Miss in Week 4. What do the Owls need to do to begin conference play 1-0?

1. Play mistake free football

Rice has been the underdog in each of their last two contests. In both cases, they’ve found themselves in the game in the fourth quarter with a legitimate chance to win. That doesn’t happen without a remarkably disciplined offense that doesn’t beat themselves.

The Owls have committed three turnovers in three games. Their giveaway rate of one turnover per game ranks second in CUSA. Add that to a defense which has generated a few takeaways of its own (three) and you have a recipe for a road upset.

In one sense, playing disciplined football isn’t all that complicated. But this team, filled with a large portion of the same players, was -23 in turnover margin last season with 29 giveaways and only six takeaways. Mike Bloomgren hasn’t let the team forget the value of playing disciplined football, and the Owls will continue to reap the benefits of that wisdom throughout this season.

2. Hit a home run

The Rice offense has exceeded expectations in many ways. They’ve moved the ball effectively both on the ground and through the air. They’ve made some big plays and ground out some tough yards. In addition to their normal offensive flow, Rice needs to generate at least one big play.

Emmanuel Esukpa‘s 51-yard touchdown run against Hawaii turned a potentially precarious situation into a one-score game. It gave the team confidence that they could and would go toe to toe with one of the better offenses in college football. They’ll need another chunk play to set the tone on Saturday.

If I’m calling my shot, look for Austin Walter on a pass play out of the backfield. We’ve only just begun to glimpse his quickness and versatility. Walter has the potential to put the Owls on the board with a single burst.

3. Win the line of scrimmage

This has been an area of focus on both sides of the ball all week for the Owls. The defensive front seven is having a good, not great season. The Owls inability to get consistent pressure with their starting four has been noticeable, especially against offenses like Houston and Hawaii that make opponents pay for their lack of pressure up front.

A successful outing up front doesn’t necessarily require big sack totals (five so far this season), but it does mean Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham can’t be allowed to look downfield from a clean pocket. Rice must get his eyes focused on the pass rush and distracted from the passing game. That creates opportunities for mistakes and alleviates pressure on the back end of the defense.

On offense, getting a push from the offensive line is the engine that makes this unit function. Winning up front opens running lanes and provides quarterback Shawn Stankavage with the time to look for those big plays downfield. A great offensive line performance won’t win the game by itself, but a poor outing could render the offensive extremely unproductive.

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Nashon Ellerbee back at 100 percent, ready for Southern Miss

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Rice football has a stable of running backs, but they’ll have one more mouth to feed in the backfield soon with the return of junior Nashon Ellerbee against Southern Miss.

After missing the first three games of the season, Nashon Ellerbe will return to game action for the first time against Southern Miss. Ellerbee set career highs in carries (22), yards (153) and touchdowns (four) against the Eagles last season.

It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the field on Saturday, Ellerbee is just excited to get back on the field. “We’re a completely different team,” Ellerbee emphasized, “No matter who we play, if we execute our scheme and do what we’re coached to do we’re going to give ourselves a chance to be successful. That gives us a lot of confidence knowing it’s all in our hands.”

As of this week, there are no limitations for Ellerbee, “We’ll see how we can get him in there and implement him into all schemes,” relayed head coach Mike Bloomgren, “He is available and good to go.”

Ellerbee hasn’t been sitting idly during fall camp of early season practices. He’s been participating in drills with a no-contact jersey and taking as much as possible in during film sessions. “Getting a lot of mental reps has been good for me. Watching the guys in front of me make plays and execute the scheme has been something that I’ve had to focus on and I’ve just had to put myself in their shoes for the reps that I couldn’t get. That’s been super useful and helpful for me.”

The Owls’ backfield could be their deepest position group on the team. Emmanuel Esukpa has been a workhorse up the middle while Austin Walter has been an explosive runner and pass catcher out of the backfield. Ellerbee is going to have to work his way into more touches in a crowded backfield, but regardless of what his role is, he says he’s ready to help the team win.

“It’s been a while. It’s been a long process,” said Ellerbee. ” I feel good. Special teams, running back, whatever the coaches need me to do, I’m ready to go. I’m excited.”

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Defensive improvements a bye week focus, practice notes (9/19)

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Rice football has focused their efforts on themselves as they prepare for their first Conference USA game of the season against Southern Miss.

The consistency of the defense has been under fire after the team dropped back-to-back games to a pair of high-scoring offenses. One of the biggest advantages of the early bye week was time for the Owls to iron out those issues. “I wanted the bye week to be about Rice and how much we could improve,” said head coach Mike Bloomgren.

Players on both sides of the ball have taken that to heart, and few have worked harder than defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia. “There’s always room for improvement,” admitted Abercrumbia,”Anyone who can look at tape, whether they’re a first team all-pro or benchrider and not have five things to work on the next day at practice is fooling themselves.”

Three games in the Owls have enough of a sample size to work with. The secondary has come under fire, but the pass rush has rightly born the weight of the pressure too. If the Owls can get to the quarterback, there won’t be any passes thrown.

Abercrumbia said that’s the goal on Saturday against Southern Miss and going forward. “That’s the big thing about pass rush, you just can’t ever stop. you never know how quick the ball is going to come out, you never know how the o-line is going to block,” he said, “but if you never stop, eventually you’ll get there.”

Injury update

Getting healthier will help the Owls improve their defensive play. Linebacker Dylan James is back in practice and is on track to play this weekend after being listed as questionable early during the week. Corner D’Angelo Ellis still has a ways to go with his recovery process.

Preparing for conference play

Although beginning with the caveat that all games matter, Bloomgren didn’t shy away from the importance of starting conference play 1-0. “When you’re talking about trying to get to championships and get to bowl games, like we’re always talking about around here, [conference games] can be big things. Everyone is kinda a mini championship.”

That’s quite the stage, but the team is ready for the challenge. “We can beat these guys,” declared Abercrumbia, “All we need to do is put what we do in practice into game day.”

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