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Hawaii presser notes and quotes

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Rice football staff and players share their comments prior to the team’s longest road trip of the 2018 season to play Hawaii.

Mike Bloomgren kicked things off with some positive comments on the team’s performance against Houston last Saturday. Following the Prairie View game he mentioned several times the team needed to make a big jump if they were going to be able to go toe-to-toe with Houston.

Bloomgren thought the team responded well. “I think you saw [the jump] all over the field,” he said, “Our passing offense really came to play. We had some big plays down the field.” He went on to add that he thinks the team is “going the right direction” and they “have to keep making incremental progress.”

As for the Hawaii game, the team will arrive in time for some unique experiences, including a tour of Pearl Harbor prior to locking in to game mode on Friday afternoon. Bloomgren stressed that this trip would be both a cultural and education experience as well as a business trip.

Preparation for this game has gone all the way to what snacks the players will get on the plane and how to keep the team hydrated over the long flight.

Joining Bloomgren at the podium were Graysen Schantz and Austin Trammell. Schantz first called attention to the improvements the team needs to see in the pass rush. “We got to get after the quarterback,” he said before declared “It starts with us.”

Trammell’s comments were brief, but the resounding theme of his message can be summed up in one statement: “I want to win.” Trammell add that he doesn’t care how that happens, whether its ball thrown in his direction or a commitment to the ground game. That’s yet another sign that this team is fully bought in to the culture Mike Bloomgren has been working to instill.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 2

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Rice football fell to Houston in the Bayou Bucket. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for the Conference USA football in Week 2?

Team Last Week Result This Week
FAU Oklahoma L, 63-14 vs Air Force
Rice Houston L, 45-27 at Hawaii
Marshall Miami (OH) W, 35-28 vs E Kentucy
ODU Liberty L, 52-10 vs FIU
Charlotte Fordham W, 34-10 vs App State
Louisiana Tech South Alabama W, 30-26 vs Southern
FIU Indiana L, 38-28 at ODU
Southern Miss Jacksonville St W, 55- 7 vs ULM
North Texas SMU W, 46-23 vs Incarnate Word
UTEP Northern Arizona L, 30-10 at UNLV
Middle Tennessee Vanderbilt L, 35- 7 vs Tenn-Martin
UTSA Arizona St L, 49- 7 vs Baylor
UAB Savannah St W, 52-0 at Coastal Carolina

Notable Week 1 results

Rice — Bayou Buckets stays with the Houston Cougars

Rice football fell to Houston in a wild shootout at South Main. The Owls were able to hang around in large part because of a strong performance by their wide receivers and quarterback Shawn Stankavage.

FAU — No upset in Norman

FAU was a trendy upset pick entering the week but this one was all Oklahoma from the start. Star running back Devin Singletary was held to 69 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries as the Sooners cruised to an easy victory behind a strong performance from Kyler Murray.

UTEP – Miners’ rebuild already behind schedule

UTEP odds to win their season opener sat at relatively a coin flip entering their game against Northern Arizona. After going winless last season, this was their chance to rediscover the win column. Not only did it not happen, UTEP was never really close. It could be another long season in El Paso.

Week 2 storylines

First CUSA matchup on deck

FIU hosts Old Dominion in the first Conference USA conference game of the season. Both programs started the season with a loss, but FIU’s close loss to Indiana looks much more favorable to the beatdown the Monarchs suffered at the hands of newly minted FBS squad, Liberty. FIU is currently a 2-point home favorite.

Power Play

UTSA made a bold scheduling decision. The Roadrunners are the only CUSA team to play back to back Power 5 teams to open to the season. UTSA was blown out by Arizona State last weekend, making their odds against Baylor less than favorable. But you can’t win the game if you don’t play it? Right UCF?

Can North Texas stay fine?

North Texas quarterback Mason Fine continues to receiver murmurs of praise from the national football media. The Mean Green’s gunslinger is coming off a 444-yard, three touchdown game and could be in for a bigger game on Saturday against Incarnate Word.

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Owls show promise in loss to Houston Cougars

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Coming into the game as massive underdogs, Rice football gave the Houston Cougars a tough test giving fans reasons for optimism despite the loss.

Rice entered their Week 1 tilt against Houston with a feeling of anticipation. This team didn’t care that they were being cast as the underdog and had lost to Houston last year 38-3. In front of the home crowd at Rice Stadium, the Owls held a two-game winning streak. They gave Houston all they could handle on Saturday.

The Owls came out firing and punched the unsuspecting Cougars in the mouth early. Houston was not ready for an aerial attack, but that’s what they got from head coach Mike Bloomgren and his staff. Rice took a 24-17 lead into halftime, stretching the lead to 10 points in the third quarter. Rice couldn’t keep up the pace, falling to Houston by a final score of 45-27.

A few of the biggest takeaways from the 2018 edition of the Bayou Bucket:

1. Rice made the jump

During his postgame press conference following the team’s Week 0 win over Prairie View Coach Bloomgren was emphatic about the leap his team needed to take during the week. He said the best teams he’s ever been a part of make the biggest jump from game one to game two. The quality of competition was significantly higher this weekend, but the Owls’ own progress was evident.

On defense, the Rice defensive line looked strong through the first half, limiting Houston to 94 yards rushing, 51 of which came on a reverse. Early on Houston couldn’t get into a rhythm on the ground against a front seven that swarmed to the football. The Owls’ fourth down stop in the second quarter kept the momentum on the Owls’ side and set up a Jack Fox field goal.

Last week Bloomgren specifically put running back Emmanuel Esupka on notice, saying his 173-yard performance against Prairie View was good, but he could do better. Esupka responded with 81 yards on 17 carries against Houston including a career-long 52-yard run to set up the Owls first touchdown of the day. It was tough sledding, but he still managed a respectable 4.8 yards per carry.

Even with Ed Oliver in the middle, Esupka pounded away, fighting through a lot of contact in the trenches. On the whole, the Rice rushing attack did enough to keep the defense honest, opening up passing lanes for Shawn Stankavage who made the defense pay.

2. Rice has a starting quarterback

Rice hasn’t thrown three touchdown passes in a single game since Nov. 19, 2016. Sam Glaesmann, now at wide receiver, led the Owls in touchdown passes last year, completing three over the course of six appearances. Stankavage, after throwing for 43 yards and no touchdowns in the season opener, threw three touchdowns in the first half against Houston.

With the exception of one errant pass that was picked off, Stankavage was accurate for the bulk of the game. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. It was one of the better quarterback performances Rice has seen in quite some time.

As promised, Jackson Tyner did get some game action. He completed one of his two passes for nine yards before Fox blasted his long punt. When the chips were on the table, Bloomgren went back to Stankavage, trusting the graduate transfer from Vanderbilt with the ball in the redzone after Houston’s muffed punt.

The value of having two capable passers became apparent midway through the third quarter. Stankavage exited the game with an injury, forcing Tyner to take over mid-drive. He connected with Austin Walter on a beautiful over the shoulder 36-yard reception on third down to move the chains and keep the offense humming.

It’s pretty clear, assuming he’s healthy, this will be Stankavage’s job to lose. Still, having Tyner on the roster could be huge for this team moving forward. Tyner ended his day with 4-of-8 passing for 88 yards.

3. The secondary needs improvement

Here are the Houston scoring drives by the number of plays, length and time of possession:

  • 7-plays, 36 yards (1:41)
  • 7-plays, 75 yards (2:13)
  • 5-plays, 75 yards (1:19)
  • 3-plays, 75 yards (0:56)
  • 3-plays, 70 yards (0:48)
  • 5-plays, 68 yards (1:48)
  • 5-plays, 71 yards (2:29)

Quarterback D’Eriq King had a field day with the Rice secondary, moving the ball down the field with relative ease. The corners had a rough outing, and the safeties weren’t much better. The speed of the Houston offense is hard to prepare for in practice, and that showed on Saturday.

The Rice defense allowed 320 yards through the air and three passing touchdowns. They had a few nice plays, particularly on passes across the middle, but the homerun ability of guys like Marquez Stevenson and Courtney Lark proved too much for the secondary to handle. This is the second week that the secondary has looked beatable. The Owls have 11 more games on the schedule some of which include high-profile passing attacks.

4. Trust the process

As Joel Embiid says, trust the process. Rice football is two games into the Mike Bloomgren era. Even if all things do go according to plan it’s going to take some time. Coach Bloomgren inherited a roster that needs more talent and is coming off a 1-win season. It’s important to remember the magnitude of the task at hand.

Bloomgren comes to South Main with a pedigree of physicality and toughness, two characteristics that a team doesn’t acquire overnight, over the summer, or over the course of 12 (or 13 in this case) individual games. Rice football isn’t that far removed from a 10-win season and a bowl appearance. You can win at Rice, but the Owls are going to have to be deliberate with the steps they take if they want to become a consistent player in both Conference USA and the national stage.

On Saturday the Owls hung with a team that has more talent than they do. They ran into the jowls of a Houston defensive line that includes a future top-five NFL draft selection and gave the Cougars a scare. The rebuild is on schedule. Regardless of the outcome of this one game. Rice football proved they’re moving in the right direction.

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3 Keys to victory over Houston

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Rice football faces a tough task against the Houston Cougars, but the Bayou Bucket can be won if the Owls stick to their key principals.

If you’ve had the chance to listen to Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren talk about his philosophy at all you’ve heard this phrase roll off his lips: “pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense.” That’s how Stanford built their dominant teams and that’s how he envisions success with Rice.

Aspects of each of those tenants were present in the win over Prairie View. There were times when the Owls did each of those things extremely well, they just weren’t consistent enough to pull away. Consistency, plus a new wrinkle or two, will give this team a fighting chance on Saturday.

1. Pound the rock

Emmanuel Esupka ran for 173 yards against Prairie View and Bloogrem called it “a good day for him, but not a great day for him”. Esupka is going to have a tough time running up the middle against defensive tackle Ed Oliver, so the Owls are going to have to get creative when it comes to checking this box against Houston.

Expected an increased role for Austin Walters and Aston Walters against the Cougars. Getting to the edge will enable the Owls to neutralize the interior of the defensive line. Playmakers in space create opportunities and opportunities lead to points.

2. Control the clock

Rice knocked this objective out of the park last weekend. The Owls registered 39:39 minutes of possession, limiting the opportunities for the Prairie View offense. Dual-threat quarterback D’Eriq King is going to be even more difficult to contain than Prairie View’s Jalen Morton.

The same can be said for his downfield abilities as well. Houston doesn’t have a receiver the caliber of Tristen Wallace, who torched the Rice secondary for 147 yards receiving and one touchdown. Still, the concerns exposed against Prairie View make extended opportunities for the Houston passing attack a daunting proposition.

3. Play great defense

The safety on a botched punt was a stroke of luck, but the fumble forced late in the second half was the most important defensive play of the game for the Owls. The win probability flipped from Prairie View to Rice on that play and the Owls’ comeback bid would have been extremely more difficult without that big defensive play.

Houston is favored by more than three touchdowns. If Rice wants to win the Bayou Bucket they’re going to have to win the turnover battle, and win it in convincing fashion. The recipe really might be this simple: pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense.

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3 Things to know about Houston and the Bayou Bucket

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Rice football (1-0) hosts the Houston Cougars in Week 1. The two Houston rivals will battle for the Bayou Bucket and bragging rights for the next year.

The Bayou Bucket is the biggest rivalry game in the city of Houston. Although the Cougars have dominated the series, Mike Bloomgren and his staff at Rice have plans to take back their city one game at a time. Get an in-depth look at both sides of the football and the Cougars’ 2018 schedule here. Bloomgren and some key players talked about the significant of this rivalry and more during the Owls press conference on Tuesday.

1. Rice has a two-game winning streak against Houston at Rice Stadium

Rice and Houston first met on the football field in 1971. Houston won that game 23-21 and has controlled the series ever since. The Owls have never won more than two consecutive games whereas the Cougars currently posses a four-game winning streak and have won as many as six in a row.

But, Rice does have one streak going for them. The Owls have won each of the last two games of the series that were played at Rice Stadium (2008, 2010), outscoring the Cougars 90-73 in those two contests. Houston opened as 21-point favorites in the betting markets climbing to 25 points during game week.

2. Ed Oliver isn’t going to win the Heisman (probably)

To this day Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson is the only defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. His victory came in 1975. A lot has changed in college football since then, including the emergence of spread offenses and an increase in scoring. The Heisman is now, for better or worse, a quarterback award. Ed Oliver, All-World defensive tackle for Houston, might do enough to earn an invite to New York for the presentation ceremony, but he’s not taking home the hardware.

Still, he’s going to be pretty darn good. Oliver leads all FBS players in career tackles for loss per game with 1.56. He tallied five sacks as a freshman in 2016 and 5.5 sacks last season. Offenses know he’s going to be coming for the quarterback up the middle, but they haven’t been able to prevent him from racking up 38.5 tackles for a loss in 24 games.

Oliver is going to make some highlight reel ready, show-stopping plays on Saturday. Rice needs to make sure he doesn’t sway the outcome of the game by himself.

3. Cougars plan to air it out

Rice struggled through the air against Prairie View last weekend. Tristen Wallace went off, catching five balls for 147 yards and a touchdown before halftime. But the Owls held him to zero receptions in the second half. Prairie View had -4 yards in the fourth quarter and that played a large role in Rice’s ability to claw back and ultimately reclaim the lead on a last-second field goal.

Which group of defensive backs show up on Saturday against Houston? Offensive coordinator Kendall Briles comes to Houston by way of FAU. A product of his father Art Briles’ coaching tree, Kendall has already made his mark on the college football world as a coordinator that likes to open up the offense and air it out.

FAU averaged 8.3 yard per attempt last season, tied for 22nd most in the nation. In his previous stop at Baylor the Bears ranked 49th, and fourth in the same metric in 2016 and 2015 respectively. The Rice corners struggled against the deep ball against Prairie View. Houston has several talented pass catchers on the edge. If adjustments aren’t made things could get dicey.

More: I sat down with the Scott & Holman podcast and talked more about the Owls’ 2018 season and how they stack up with the Cougars.

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