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Owls put Intellectual Brutality culture to the test

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Rice football edged out Prairie View A&M on a last-second field goal. The come-from-behind victory exemplifies the culture Mike Bloomgren has built so far.

When Mike Bloomgren looked up at the scoreboard midway through the third quarter of the Owls’ season opener against Prairie View he was greeted with an inauspicious sight. Rice was trailing the SWAC squad 28-19 and the clock was starting to run out. Bloomgren didn’t panic, instead, he pushed his team to focus and get back to the fundamentals of the Owls’ new offensive identity “Pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense.”

A fourth quarter deficit turned into the perfect test for the Owls’ identity, a test they passed with flying colors. “I’m really glad our culture showed through tonight and our guys fought forever. We found a way to win this game,” said Bloomgren in the post-game conference. “I believe in what we’re doing,” he added, “I believe in these guys and I knew they were going to keep fighting.”

And fight they did.

Rice turned things around quickly, outscoring Prairie View 12-0 in the final quarter and outgaining the Panthers 110 yards to minus four yards in that frame. That comeback hinged on one all-important fourth down conversion.

The stage was set. Fourth-and-1, the game hanging in the balance. Mike Bloomgren is on the headset, assessing the situation with offensive coordinator Jerry Mack. It’s a short conversation that ends like this: “I think we go for it. It’s who we are.”

“Who we are” and the theme of identity was the theme of the night. Almost to the man, every player that spoke with the media after the game made a comment to that effect. “Adversity struck,” admitted quarterback Shawn Stankavage, “we showed the culture we’ve built here.” That was echoed by running back Emmanuel Esupka, “When adversity hits, we can’t just panic,” he echoed, “we just got to keep doing what we do.”

Esupka took the ball through the heart of the defense and picked up two hard-fought yards and the first down. That’s what they drew up, and it’s become part of a positive mindset that has permeated the Rice locker room. “We just knew we were going to get it done,” Esupka admitted matter-of-factly. This time, they did. Fellow running back Austin Walters shared that sentiment. “At the end of the day, football is football.”

Rice still has a lot of football to be played. One win over Prairie View won’t alter the course of their season drastically, but the way they went about it helped solidify the kind of culture that Mike Bloomgren has been championing all offseason long. It’s that positivity and confidence that kept the Owls in this game at all. “I believe in what we’re doing,” said Bloomgren, “I believe in these guys and I know they were going to keep fighting.”

They fought until the final second, when kicker Jack Fox booted what had become a walk-off field goal to beat Prairie View A&M. The field goal capped off a night that had its fair share of bruises. but was also littered with “fun”, “confidence”, “trust” words that ultimately play a significant role in determining the culture of any institution.

Stankavage hit the on the head when asked about his fourth quarter comeback. “This is something you dream of as a kid, a fourth quarter comeback,” he recounted, “The offense gathered around me and I gathered around them and we went out there and made plays. We were all confident in each other.”

That confidence will be tested next weekend against Houston, but for now, it’s being woven into the DNA of the Rice Football program bit by bit. “That’s just how we do it,” Esupka closed. There’s a new era underway in Rice football, starting with the culture and bleeding onto the field.

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Rice Football: Bloomgren era opens with back-and-forth win over Prairie View

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Rice football took down Prairie View 31-28 in their season opener. It was closer than expected, but the Owls are happy to walk away from this one with the victory.

Things started off well, with Rice taking a 16-0 lead as the offense marched up and down the field. Then things went downhill, fast. Then they turned around. That’s how the Rice football season opener played out on Saturday night. There was a little bit of everything in this one, including a scare of historic proportions.

The last time a current SWAC team beat an FBS squad was 1985 when Grambling State beat Oregon State. Current SWAC members are now 2-99 against FBS teams in their history, the aforementioned win by Grambling State and Alkorn State’s upset over Central Michigan in 1978.

Fortunately for the Owls, Rice wasn’t added to that list. Prairie View came dangerously close, but Rice was ahead when the clock hit zero, and that’s what matters.

There will be plenty to digest coming from this game in the following days. Here are a few initial thoughts.

1. Houston, we don’t have a quarterback, we have two… sort of

Stankavage started strong out of the gate, going 3-of-4 through the air for 24 yards. He wasn’t asked to stretch the field, but he hit the open man and kept the offense moving with a couple big third down conversions with his legs.

After Jackson Tyner entered the game on the final play of the second quarter the offense spread out a bit more. The Owls ran a lot of plays out of the gun and the pistol with Tyner, letting him stretch the defense with his arm. Tyner didn’t have a great day throwing the ball, completing 5-of-9 passes for 44 yards. He did not play in the second half.

Coming into camp it didn’t seem like a platoon between a primary passing quarterback and a primary running quarterback was in the cards, but that’s more or less what we saw on Saturday. When the Owls had to manufacture a comeback in the second half they left Stankavage in but pounded the rock on the ground.

2. Get used to seeing tight ends and fullbacks

The first play of the game was a two-tight end set with a fullback. Emmanuel Esupka took the handoff straight up the middle for a first down. The Owls lined up in a host of different formations after that, but the bread and butter of this offense will always be based on a strong ground game.

11 of the Owls’ 14 plays were rushes. The trend continued as long as Stankavage was in the game. The first quarter was a clinic in how this offense is supposed to operate. Heavy on the ground with short, quick passes mixed in to keep the defense honest. That’s what we saw when the game was tied up in the fourth. Lots of blocks paving the way for several of the Owls talented backs.

Emmanuel Esupka led the charge, racking up 168 yards on 31 carries and one touchdown. Austin Walter had a big day out of the backfield as well, carrying the ball 11 times for 83 yards and two scores.

3. Defensive woes loom large

Everything seemed to be working out well for the Owls early on. The first three Prairie View drives ended with punts, but things started to break down when Prairie View started pushing the ball on the perimeter.

Former 4-star receiver Tristen Wallace, once enrolled at Oregon, absolutely had his way with Brandon Douglas-Dotson and the rest of the Owls corners. When all was said and done, Wallace turned five catches into 147 yards and one touchdown. That’s a rate of 29.4 yards per catch.

When the pass rush couldn’t reach the quarterback (three sacks, two quarterback hurries, one forced fumble) the Owls’ secondary struggled. The defensive scheme is predicated on corners that can win on the perimeter and that remains a work in progress for the Owls. Prairie View tallied 244 yards through the air.

4. Starting off on the right foot

Two decades ago Mike Bloomgren was a graduate assistant for Bobby Bowdon at Florida State. He’s held a variety of jobs all over the country as he climbed the latter, but he’d never been a head coach – not until Rice offered him the job last winter.

Fast-forward to the final weekend of August when the Rice Owls defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers in front of an energetic crowd at Rice Stadium. Not only is Mike Bloomgren a head coach, he’s a winning head coach. The 2018 season is only one game old and there’s plenty more for Bloomgren to achieve before he calls his time at Rice a success, but you can’t start better than 1-0. Was it messy? Sure. But it was still a win.

1-0 isn’t as easy as it seems. Fred Goldsmith, who coached the Owls from 1989 to 1993, was the last head coach at Rice to win his first game. Since then, Ken Hatfield, Todd Graham and David Bailiff combined to go 0-3 in their inaugural games. That included a loss to Nicholls State in 2007 who failed to defeat any other FBS teams that season.

Yes, it came against Prairie View. Houston will be a much larger challenge next week. But the Owls equaled last season’s win total on Saturday night. That’s as good of a start as anyone could have asked for.

Next up

Rice plays Houston. The Cougars weren’t active in Week 0, so this will be their first taste of game action in 2018. Houston defeated Rice 38-3 last season.

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Quarterback position still a mystery, practice notes (8/23)

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Rice football opens their 2018 season against Prairie View A&M and head coach Mike Bloomgren has kept the quarterback situation completely under wraps.

More: 2018 Prairie View A&M season preview

Rice has one practice remaining before their first game of the 2018 season. The Owls will take on Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 6 p.m., for now they’re putting the finishing touches on their gameplan and ironing out details before the opener. Here are a few things that stuck out from Thursday’s practice.

Excitement continues to build for Game 1

Mike Bloomgren has made several stops along his coaching journey. He’s been everywhere from Alabama to Delta State, but he’s never been a head coach. Not until now. That gives Saturday added significance for him, and he can’t shake a smile on his face whenever he asked about what it’s going to be like to finally be on the field as the head coach at Rice.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited,” he grinned, “For me it’s going to be another game, I’m going to be on the sideline doing what I love with guys I love.” Against Prairie View, and throughout the season, Bloomgren plans to be “very involved” with the offense in real time. He’ll work directly with offensive coordinator Jerry Mack who will share play-calling duties with Bloomgren.

Building strength on the second team defense

If things go the right way on Saturday the Owls will have some time to spare to play some of their guys beyond the first line of their depth chart. The quarterback position is an obvious point of contention, but several other positions should see a parade of players get their first taste of live-game action on Saturday.

Antonio Montero and Blaze Alldredge have been two players that have drawn the attention of the coaching staff this fall. They’re behind veteran starters Dylan Silcox and Martin Nwakamma on the depth chart, but have shown enough effort and discipline to earn themselves meaningful playing time against Prairie View.

In the secondary, Boomgren pointed to redshirt freshman Tyrae Thornton, backing p junior corner Justin Bickham. Whether its special teams or later in the game, Bloomgren expects to get Thornton some minutes.

Watch out for No. 33

On the offensive side of the ball, Bloomgren continues to champion running back Emmanuel Esupka. He’s been kept fresh in fall practices, avoiding contact all throughout camp. Bloomgren maintains he has the chance to “make national noise” if the Owls can pave the way for him to run.

Quarterback

Neither Jackson Tyner nor Shawn Stankavage had been given any insight on what the gameplan for Saturday is going to look like. Bloomgren hasn’t informed either of them who’s taking the first snap of the game, how many drives they’ll play or what any potential rotation might look like. He’s kept this secret close to the vest, and didn’t divulge much more this week.

“If somebody can tip the scales we’d love to have a quarterback,” Bloomgren said as he continued to maintain an open mind regarding the competition. “If not,” he added, “we’ll have a two-headed monster and we’ll try to be very specific with which plays we give each of them as a coaching staff to give them there best opportunity to give us our best opportunity.”

Jackson Tyner didn’t seem to care that he hadn’t yet been made privy to the details quite yet. His mindset entering Saturday was fairly simple. “I’m just going to go out on Saturday and play football,” he said candidly, “I’m just going to go out and do my job.”

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Rice Football vs Prairie View A&M: 3 things to know

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Rice football opens their 2018 season against the Panthers of Prairie View A&M. Here are a few things to know before the game.

The 2018 season is finally here and the first objective for the new-look Owls is matching last season’s win total out of the gate. Rice holds a perfect 1-0 record all-time against PVAMU, defeating the Panthers 65-44 at Rice Stadium in 2016. Here are three important things to know about the Panthers before the game.

1. Not just another FCS squad

FCS teams typically represent a step down from their FBS counterparts. While it’s true the talent gap tends to be fairly wide, Rice would be well to respect their opponent – and in more than just a coach-speak fashion.

Prairie View is second in the SWAC in wins since 2007. That includes seven winning seasons including three-straight above .500 campaigns entering 2018. Their offense has been prolific. This year four different Panthers were named to the All-SWAC first or second team: running back Dawonya Tucker, offensive lineman Roderick Smith, wide receiver Markcus Hardy and tight end Zarrian Holcombe.

Yes, Rice has the edge in talent. But too many first-game jitters will give the Panthers a chance. FCS or not, this is not a team the Owls want to let hang around.

2. Make an educated guess

Like Rice, Prairie View A&M will also field a first-year head coach. Eric Dooley brings an impressive resume to his new post, most recently serving as the offensive coordinator at Grambling State. His time with Tigers was fruitful. Grambling ranked as high as fourth in the nation in scoring during his tenure, topping out at a jaw-dropping 65 touchdowns and averaging 470 yards per game in 2015.

But that was Grambling State, not Prairie View. It’s reasonable to assume that the Panthers will incorporate much of the same principles that made Dooley’s offenses so successful at Grambling, but the Owls don’t have any live-action evidence to back up that assumption. To some extent, Rice is flying blind. Thankfully, so is Prairie View.

3. Not-so-new Jalen Morton

Morton played sparingly at quarterback last season, attempting 17 passes. He was pushed out to wide receiver (three catches, 21 yards), thanks to the emergence of Neiko Hollins, who claimed the starting quarterback role midway through last season and did not let go. With Hollins out of the picture after transferring this summer, the door is open once again for Morton to take the reigns.

It was Morton who started for Panthers in their 2016 meeting with the Owls, the only other game between these two schools. He threw for 278 yards on 18-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also picked up 47 yards on the ground, including a 39-yard touchdown run.

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Owls receiving corps greater than sum of its parts

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Rice football has a healthy dose of new faces in their wide receiving corps this year. Led by Aaron Cephus, a few other pass catchers have emerged.

Aaron Cephus is the lone name at the top of the box scores from the 2017 season. The then-freshman receiver hauled in 25 receptions for 622 yards. He’s a raw, big-bodied athlete with enormous potential. His 24.9 yards per reception led all of college football in 2017, but there’s more to Cephus than that one statistic – just like there’s more to the Rice receiving corps than that one player.

Rice football doesn’t return any other receivers, outside of Cephus, who had more than four receptions in 2017. That’s an almost incomprehensible amount of turnover, but the clean slate has opened up opportunities for several players on the roster, both old and new. If Rice is going to be successful this fall they’re going to need several of these players to step into meaningful roles.

The most likely player to emerge from that mix is sophomore wideout, Austin Trammell. Dubbed “Mr. Consistent” for his reliability and soft hands throughout camp, Trammell is one of, if not the most sure-handed player on this roster. Despite only registering four receptions for 51 yards last season, Trammell could be the early favorite to lead the Owls in receptions this year.

Trammell has spent a good amount of time out of the slot early on this fall, a place that he has excelled. His quick release and elusiveness across the middle should open up opportunities for the guys on the outside.

He’s already proven that he’s not the kind of inside man that can be covered by your average linebacker. The 5-foot-10 receiver has a quick twitch and attacks the ball over the middle, showing a certain amount of fearlessness that begs his quarterbacks to trust him with the ball in critical moments.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren couldn’t be more thrilled with the growth Trammell has shown this offseason, acknowledging that Trammell is “good at everything” and at the center of the Owls’ plans on offense this year.Rice Football

The third man who has separated himself from the pack was somewhat of a surprise this fall. True freshman Brendan Harmon is playing at too high of a level to not be on the field. That’s not just one man’s opinion.

When talking with Cephus about his strengths in the redzone Cephus turned the conversation to the talented freshman, lauding his “great ball skills” adding Harmon would “definitely be a threat” on the field this season. Trammell added to the praise, referring to Harmon as the missing piece on the outside, giving the Owls “every aspect of the passing game they need.”

More importantly, Bloomgren doubled down on both of those remarks. “He’s a redzone threat,” remarked Bloomgren of the 6-foot-5, 180-pound freshman after one of the Owls’ final practices of fall camp. “More than that,” he added, “he’s also proven he can run routes and be more physical than we thought he could be in year one. He’s going to play and he’s going to play a lot.”

Meanwhile, Harmon is humbling working on getting the ins and outs of this new offense covered. His focus this offseason has been simple: “I’ve just been trying to dedicate myself to learning the playbook so I can come in and make plays when it’s my turn,” he admitted, modestly. For Harmon, that turn might come sooner, rather than later.

He’s also proven he can run routes and be more physical than we thought he could be in year one. He’s going to play and he’s going to play a lot.Mike Bloomgren on freshman WR Brian Harmon

Those three, along with redshirt sophomore Rhett Cardwell and versatile running back and converted wide receiver Austin Walters moving into the slot out of the backfield, will be the primary wideouts this season. Cephus has the experience. Trammell has the hands. Harmon has the size. Each of them brings a unique set of skills to the field and all of them will be needed for this passing attack to improve from where it was a season ago.

So far, so good. “Everybody is doing their job,” relayed Cephus. And, as Bloomgren has stressed throughout his tenure so far, it’s all about the process. For the Rice wide receivers, the process is just beginning and soon enough it will be time to put all of those techniques and tools onto the field at game speed. Each man brings something a little different and, in this case, the sum of the whole looks to be better than the parts.

“I just want to do my best, make plays, and have fun,” summed up Harmon, excitedly before adding one all-important closing comment, “And get some wins.” It looks like the Owls might have enough weapons in their receiving corps to do just that.

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