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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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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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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The Roost Podcast | Ep 192 – Where does Rice Football fit with Shehan Jeyarajah

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Rather than dwell on the Memphis game we welcome Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports to discuss where Rice football fits in the college football world right now.

As Rice football embarks on a head coaching search — the latest on that front is right here — it felt appropriate to step back from the game to game realities and look big picture. To do that, we brought back longtime friend of the show Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports. We picked his brain on the state of the sport, where Rice fits in that bigger picture and what kind of coach makes the most sense for the Owls moving forward.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 192.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the brand-new sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

Patreon

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Where does Rice Football fit with Shehan Jeyarajah

  • The state of college football right now
  • The case for optimism in the Group of Five
  • Who should Rice football hire as its next head coach?
  • How good is the AAC, really?
  • Army, Tulane and the College Football Playoff

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice Football Head Coaching Search: Names to Know

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Rice Football is in the market for a new head football coach. Here are a few names to scratch off and a few that make the most sense for the Owls.

Whenever there’s a head coaching change, candidate lists pop up all over the internet. It’s part of the gig. Every outlet has its natural bents and sources and that drives who gets included in each respective allotment. But as is often the case with these things, no real list exists. At least, not a that moment.

I’m certain Rice Athletic Director Tommy McClelland did not go into the decision to fire Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren blindly. There were probably some potential names or descriptors on his mind, but most importantly, the decision to move on from Bloomgren opened the door for McClelland to align his criteria with a pool of interested parties. A search is underway. And now that a search is underway, a real list exists.

So, after letting the dust settle from the initial shock and doing some due diligence, here’s what I can share about who Rice Football won’t be hiring and a few names and candidate profiles who might be in the mix.

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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.

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Rice Football 2024: NFL Owls Week 10 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 10.

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

Team NFL Owl(s) This Week Result Next Week
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Texans (SNF) W, 26-23 vs Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) vs Bills L, 30-20 at Jets
Jacksonville Jaguars Austin Trammell (WR) vs Vikings L, 28-23 vs Lions
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		 at Commanders W, 28-27 vs Ravens
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) — BYE — at 49ers
Washington Commanders Luke McCaffrey (WR) vs Steelers L, 28-7 at Eagles (TNF)

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson came in for one offensive snap in the Steelers’ Week 10 win over the Washington Commanders. He’s now seen action in four of six games since signing with the team prior to Week 4.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey was targeted three times against the Steelers, hauling in one pass for 23 yards.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson caught two passes against the Bills in Week 10, a season-high for him in a single game this year. He accounted for 15 receiving yards in the process.

Austin Trammell – WR, Jaguars

Trammell was active but did not play in the Jaguars’ Week 10 loss to the Vikings.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks Week 10 game against the Rams. He’s been active for three of the Seahawks’ 10 games so far this year.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted four times against the Texans, averaging 47 yards per punt with a long of 60 yards. He put one ball inside the 20.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell wasn’t asked to try a field goal in Week 10, but he did make all four of his extra points, including what would end up being the game-winning try in a one-point win. Boswell has made 23-of-24 field goals this season.

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.



Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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