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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with a UAB Insider

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UAB is next up on the 2024 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with Blazers’ insider Evan Dudley from AL.com.

Blazers’ insider Evan Dudley of AL.com was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and UAB. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Football 2024: Bye Week 2 Practice Report

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Rice football has two games left in the regular season and UAB is next on the docket. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

After a lighter week of work on the practice field last week, Rice football returned to work in earnest this week following the bye. A relatively healthy group, all things considered, should be close to full strength for this final two-game set of the regular season. Here’s where the team stands prior to the UAB game this weekend.

More: Rice Football Head Coaching Search — Names to Know ($)
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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Offensive line opportunity

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Rice Football 2024: UAB presser quotes and depth chart

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Next up for Rice football: UAB. Here’s what interim head coach Pete Alamar had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.

Interim head coach Pete Alamar and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the bye week and then looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UAB.

More: Rice Football Head Coaching Search — Names to Know ($)

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

A team who’s record does not reflect the type of football team they are. First of all, it’s always tough to win on the road but now you’re going there on their senior day… I know they’re a well-coached team. Coach Dilfer and his staff are going to have great gameplans up. You can see it on film, just looking at all three phases. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on UAB

I’ve had the chance to get to know Coach Dilfer a long time ago back on the West Coast. He’s a former Fresno State Bulldog that went into the league and then started really what became the Elite 11 stuff and all that. Trent is obviously a very good quarterback coach. He’s coached a lot of good young quarterbacks. He’s a guy that [was] an NFL player, was a pro-bowler of his own so you’ve got the opportunity to learn from that knowledge. I think any quarterback would appreciate that opportunity and I think you see that. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the UAB coach Trent Dilfer

You just watch how he’s grown just through reps and time on defense. You could see it coming last year. You knew there was going to be some good things down the road for him. You’ve got a young man that works hard, that prepares, takes the time. Coach [Jon] Kay has done a great job with him as his linebacker coach, just teaching him of playing the fine points of playing linebacker in our system. He shows up in the blitz game for us. I think active would be a great word to describe Ty, as far as seeing how he plays. He’s all over the place. He runs hard. He plays hard all the time. Those are good hallmarks for young linebackers. – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the growth of linebacker Ty Morris

He has a great arm. He has the ability to do extend plays. We just have to play top down on the back end, make him throw the ball. They have a pretty good group of skilled, explosive guys. If we’ll be able to stop the run, that’ll be a good thing for us. – Linebacker Ty Morris on the UAB offense

They’re a super athletic group. They love to fly around. They’re going to present a unique challenge as very new defense does and we’re going to have to rise to a level to beat that. – Tight End Graham Walker on the UAB defense

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

Alamar was asked directly during his Tuesday media availability to comment on injuries and sidestepped the question, almost entirely. “We keep our injury stuff kind of to ourselves, for the most part,” he said. Offering this general, optimistic summary: “We’re in a fairly healthy mode.”

That attitude is reflected in the depth charts we’ve seen since Alamar took over. There have been no changes over the past three weeks. The only difference between this week’s depth chart and the Memphis depth chart is the removal of fullback Geron Hargon who is out for the year.

If you haven’t yet, this is a good reminder to subscribe on Patreon to get access to our practice notes later in the week, coaching search nuggets and an actual report of any players who might be in danger of missing the game this week based on participation this week.

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Rice Football 2024: NFL Owls Week 11 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2024 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 11.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

TeamNFL Owl(s)This WeekResultNext Week
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)vs JaguarsW, 52-6at Colts
Indianapolis ColtsKylen Granson (TE)at JetsW, 28-27vs Lions
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		vs RavensW, 18-16at Browns (TNF)
Seattle SeahawksMyles Adams (DL)at 49ers W, 20-17vs Cardinals
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)at Eagles (TNF)L, 26-18vs Cowboys

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson was active but did not see action in the Steelers’ victory over the Ravens this week.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey was only targeted once on Thursday Night Football against the Eagles and did not record any receptions.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson caught one pass for four yards in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks Week 11 game against the 49ers.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox did not punt on Sunday, but not because the Lions were on bye. Detroit thumped the Jacksonville Jaguars so handily that Fox was never called into action.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was the offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their rivalry matchup with the Ravens on Sunday afternoon, connecting on all six of his field goal tries while his counterpart, Justin Tucker, went just 1-for-3. Bowell’s 18 points were all the Steelers needed to edge the Ravens. Boswell has made 29-of-30 field goals this season and just became the first kicker in NFL history with three games with six field goals or more..

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football 2024 Game Preview: UAB

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Rice football is back from the bye week and hopes to finish the season strong with a win over UAB. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and their upcoming opponent, the UAB Blazers, most recently squared off with UAB and met similar results. Rice fell 27-20 in a Friday night affair before entering being off this past weekend. UAB also saw defeat, but by a much wider 53-18 margin. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and UAB.

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UAB on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.

Sizing up the contenders

In years past, this has been a game pitting a conference heavyweight (UAB) against an upstart underdog hunting for bowl eligibility (Rice). Neither descriptor really applies this season. The Owls have an outside shot at a bowl berth should the five-win APR eligibility clause be necessary, but both of these teams haven’t reached their own expectations this year.

For the Blazers, their head coach still has his job. Whether or not Trent Dilfer remains employed beyond Saturday remains to be seen, but winning games tends to be more beneficial when one is trying to be retained than losing them.

Series History

All Time | UAB leads, 6-5
Last Five | UAB leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Home 2022, Rice won 28-24

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Warner – 217/348 (61.5 percent), 2058 yards, 13 TD, 10 INT /  Devillier 2038 (52.6 percent), 137 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Connors – 126 carries, 678 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 8 TD / Jackson- 40 carries, 217 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 0 TD
Receiving | Sykes – 55 receptions, 645 yards (11.7 yds/rec), 5 TD / Campbell – 26 receptions, 295 yards (11.3 yds/rec), 1 TD / Connors – 55 receptions, 351 yards (6.4 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Taylor – 50, Morris – 49, Fresch- 42
Pass Breakups | Fresch – 9, Ahoia – 6, Taylor -5
Interceptions | Taylor/Flowers – 2, Fresch/Williams/Mutombo – 1

UAB Stat Notables

Passing | Kitna – 152/253 (60.1 percent), 1755 yards, 12 TD, 10 INT
Rushing | Beebe – 131 carries, 641 yards (4.9 yards per carry), 4 TD / Jacobs – 41 carries, 162 yards (4.0 yards per carry), 7 TD
Receiving | Thomas – 56 receptions, 610 yards (10.9 yds/rec), 8 TD / Shanks – 51 receptions, 581 yards (11.4 yds/rec), 5 TD / Beebe- 26 receptions, 199 yards (7.7 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Moore – 82, Roussaw – 63, Bryant – 58
Pass Breakups | Dempsey – 8, Hill – 5, Maddox – 4
Interceptions | Five tied with one

UAB X-Factor | Cut down on the penalties

UAB is the second most-penalized team in the AAC. The Blazers inability to play clean football games has cost them on multiple occasions and they’ve had to overcome nine or more infractions in each of their wins on the season. Just because UAB has made that uphill climb before doesn’t make it any easier to replicate.

The Blazers had a chance to upset Arkansas earlier this season but had 10 penalties for a combined 109 yards. Five penalties for 65 yards aided in their come-from-ahead loss at UConn two weeks ago. This is a team that can’t stay out of their own way, at times. If they want to win a conference game against someone not named Tulsa, they need to clean up their act.

Rice X-Factor | Run the dang ball

When Rice football choses to run the ball, they’ve done so effectively. The Owls average 4.8 yards per carry on the season, a mark that puts them right in the middle of the pack in the conference and is more than a yard better than they averaged all of last season. They’ve done this with a ever-rotating offensive line.

It’s not quite that simple, though. Rice ranks dead last in the nation in rushing attempts. For whatever reason, Rice hasn’t pounded the rock this year. And it’s not because they’re not capable of doing so.

UAB ranks dead last in the AAC in rush defense, allowing more yards per game on the ground than anyone else in the league. Conversely, they’re neck-and-neck with the Owls for the best pass defense in the conference. Sometimes the formula isn’t complicated. When you’re good at something and your opponent isn’t, expose that discrepancy. This week in particular, Rice must run the ball.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

The transitive property does not apply to college football. But…

Rice and UAB have five common opponents this season: Army, Navy, Tulane, UConn and Memphis. Rice is 1-4 in those games. UAB is 0-5. The Owls’ average margin of defeat is 7.4 points, generally playing all of their opponents closely except for a one-sided loss to Army.

UAB’s average margin of defeat in those games is 48-18. Roll the ball out against just about anyone and the Blazers typically lose by four touchdowns.

Again, the transitive property does not apply to college football. But…

Even the most pessimistic view of the 2024 Rice Football season casts the Owls as a challenged team that can’t get everything functioning as it was meant to be. At their best, they can beat Navy and push conference frontrunners (Tulane, Memphis) to the brink in the fourth quarter. UAB’s best… probably still ended in a multi-score defeat.

Vegas has Rice as about a touchdown favorite on the road this week, only the third time they’ve been favored in a game this season. They lost the previous two (SHSU, Charlotte). What does that have to do with Saturday’s game? Absolutely nothing.

Rice football is probably a better program than UAB right now, even under an interim head coach. It sure would be nice to make that reality plain an obvious on the field this weekend.

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