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CUSA Media Days notes and quotes

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Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren wrapped up his portion of Conference USA Media Days. Here are a few of his most notable comments and quotes.

On the style Mike Bloomgren brings to Rice —

Bloomgren: “Pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense. They’re learning west coast terminology with a power run game and they’re learning the techniques we used in the NFL.”

Bloomgren: “We want to impose our will in every phase of the game. It’s something we talk about with intellectual brutality. It’s at the heart and soul of everything we’re doing. We want to be smart. We want to go to the line of scrimmage with multiple plays and answers. We want to be the physical team that nobody wants to play.”

On the quarterback situation —

Bloomgren: “The leader in the clubhouse right now is Jackson Tyner. He came out and did a great job for us this spring. He’s got unbelievable arm talent. And we’ve got a grad transfer coming in from Vanderbilt –Shawn Stankavage. Shawn’s a great talented kid. I think he’s doing really well fitting in. And then the thing we can’t lose sight of is getting a healthy Sam Glaesmann back. He’s a competitor. He’s a guy that earned some starting roles last year so we know he’s going to compete. Having those three guys makes me pretty excited.”

On Defensive Coordinator Brian Smith’s defensive scheme—

Bloomgren: “[Smith is going to use] a 3-4 base… You look around Conference USA and we’re going to be in the nickel-24, nickel-33 with a viper safety down more often than not. We’re going to stop the run – that’s where everything is going to start. He’s going to play a very physical style but we are going to get after the quarterback any time they want to throw.”

The rest of coach Bloomgren’s session with the media is available on video:

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37 Days: Redzone defense can only get better in 2018

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Rice football needs to bulk up their defensive front, especially in the redzone. Few units have as much room for improvement in 2018 as the Owls.

There are few events more emotionally draining than watching your opponent march down the field, enter the redzone, and punch the ball into the endzone from close range. Forcing a field goal, although not the best outcome available to the defense, is at least a small victory. Rice needs to force a few more field goals in 2018 if they want to find a way to stay competitive for four full quarters.

Rice football allowed 37 redzone touchdowns in 2017. In 49 opportunities they held their opponents to a field goal nine times and came away with a paltry three stops. Their opponent’s scored on 93.9 percent of their red zone opportunities. Only 12 defenses in college football allowed their opponents points on 90 percent of their red zone chances.

Even the best defenses can’t keep their opponents from reaching the redzone entirely. Teams like Wisconsin, Alabama and Miami earned their stripes by clamping down in the final 20 yards, forcing field goals and creating turnovers. The Owls’ 75.5 percent opponent touchdown rate needs to creep back towards 60 percent, roughly the average mark for an FBS defense last season.

To make those improvements the Owls are going to have to get more physical. Head strength and conditioning coach Hans Straub will be instrumental in making inroads in that area. He joins the Owls from Stanford where he worked as the Director of Olympic Sports Performance. Straub has been in the strength and condition world for more than a decade, and the opportunity to see that experience pay off is at hand.

Better conditioning and smarter football should be enough to get the Owls back to the middle of the pack. They’re not going to turn into a lockdown defense overnight, but they’ll be headed in the right direction in 2018 with significant headway expected down the line.

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38 Days: Offensive help for the Owls is on the way

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Rice football needs a jolt on offense in 2018. Head coach Mike Bloomgren has the experience and the know-how to make that happen.

There weren’t many teams worse on the offensive side of the ball than Rice in 2017. The Owls finished six spots above the worse scoring offense in the FBS, UTEP. Coincidentally, the Miners were the only team the Owls were able to beat last year. If Rice has their eyes on making strides in the win column they’ll need the offense to improve drastically.

Mike Bloomgren is the man for the job.

Bloomgren joins the Owls after five years as the offensive coordinator at Stanford. The difference between the Rice offense and the Stanford offense over that time was seismic. Beyond the obvious talent gap, the Cardinal frequently ran the ball effectively and put up points. They weren’t perfect, but they finished inside the top 50 in the nation three times in Bloomgren’s five years calling the shots. Rice, although they did boast a stronger offense in 2014, consistently lagged behind.

Team/Yr   Rice   Stanford
2013 62 45
2014 66 79
2015 87 18
2016 93 82
2017 125 38
Average 86.6 52.4

The low points for Stanford are noteworthy; even Bloomgren’s squads weren’t perfect. However, the upside should give fans hope. Stanford has the No. 38 offense in the nation last season. Rice hasn’t finished that high in the offensive rankings since Chase Clement took Conference USA by storm in 2008. Clement is walking through the door any time soon.

What Bloomgren did at Stanford can be replicated. He built around a strong running game with a quarterback that was able to methodically move the ball down the field. When quarterback K.J. Costello took over from Keller Chryst midway through the season the offense got even better. A little bit of mobility combined with top-level football IQ is all Bloomgren needs to build upon. Whichever quarterback he chooses, the Rice offense is in good hands.

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39 Days: Sustaining drives a key to finding offensive success

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Rice football has a decent amount of success on third down last season, but a tick up in those situations needs to be a focal point entering 2018.

Unless your offense consistently finds a way to take the top of the defense, converting on third down is a key piece of any offensive gameplan. Every coach will have a variety of plays and formations at his disposal for the sole purpose of gaining those three, seven or even 15 necessary yards and moving the chains. Offenses that can’t consistently convert on third down have to rely on chunk plays to avoid the down entirely.

Rice converted on 39 percent of their third down conversions last season. The Owls were just behind the national average of 40 percent conversions. While that’s a step up from their defensive stop rate on third down it still leaves room for improvement.

The teams that consistently turned third downs into first down predominantly were successful running the football, and not just when they had to. 10 of the top 16 third down offenses ranked inside the top 25 in rushing. Teams that run the ball frequently and with success often put themselves into a manageable down and distance. They also have the practice and the poise to get the two yards they need by handing the ball off to a trustworthy running back and letting him lower his shoulder and plow through the line.

Building up the offensive line has already been one of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s focal points. He signed four offensive lineman in the 2018 class. He’s already begun building his 2019 class around guard Regan Riddle and tight end Jack Bradley.

The ability to get the tough yards will define success. It will make the arrival of the physical brutality meant to coincide with newfound culture of the intellectual brutality which is already beginning to bleed into this program’s DNA. Whether it’s on the ground behind the revamped offensive line or through the air, converting on third down is a must.

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40 Days: Owls must find ways to get stops and force punts

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Rice football fielded few punts last season, partly because of their inability to hold on third down. Will that change in 2018?

The Owls forced a grand total of 40 punts in 2017. If that number seems a bit low, it is. There was only one FBS team that forced fewer punts than Rice last season, Oregon State, who not-so-coincidentally also went 1-11.

This goes all the way back to the basic fundamentals of football. Run the ball and play defense. Last season Rice wasn’t fundamentally sound, and it showed. The Owls finished 90th in the nation in total defense and a miserable 125th in third-down defense. Opponents converted a staggering 48.6 percent of their attempts. The national average on third down was 38.6 percent, putting the Owls in the red by a sizable margin.

If you can’t get off the field, you can’t get your offense onto it. The defensive woes bled through to an offense that ranked 125th in the nation in scoring. And the problem compounded on itself. It’s a vicious cycle. The only way to fix it? Find a way to get stops on defense.

The best teams in the nation, as far as forcing punts go, average just north of seven punt attempts against per game. Combine that with a couple of turnovers, maybe the end of a half and you’re approaching 10 possession in which your opponent doesn’t score and you get the ball. The math adds up rather quickly, and sooner or later those numbers translate into wins.

Rice football has a laundry list of items that need to be changed as the program continues to progress under head coach Mike Bloomgren. A switch isn’t going to flip overnight; it’s going to be a process. One of those stepping stones, which could make a huge difference for the psyche of this team early on, is getting off the field on third down.

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