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Rice Football 2023: NFL Owls Week 5 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2023 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 5.

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) Week 5 Result Week 6
Denver Broncos Elijah Garcia (DL) vs Jets L, 31-21 at Chiefs (TNF)
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) vs Panthers W, 42-24 at Bucs
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) vs Titans W, 23-16 at Jaguars
Los Angeles Rams Austin Trammell (WR) vs Eagles L, 23-14 vs Cardinals
New England Patriots Calvin Anderson (OL) vs Saints L, 34-0 at Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) vs Ravens W, 17-10 — BYE —
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) — BYE —  — at Bengals
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) — BYE —  — vs Lions

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Patriots

Anderson was inactive in the Patriots’ Week 5 loss to the Saints.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson caught a pair of passes on Sunday on three targets, tallying 15 total yards. He’s had multiple receptions in every game so far this season

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett and the Bucs were on bye in Week 5.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell has found a role as the Rams’ punt returner, but that didn’t equate to much usage on Sunday against the Eagles who punted just one time. Trammell called a fair catch.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams and the Seahawks were on bye in Week 5.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Broncos

Garcia made his presence felt on Sunday against the Jets, registering his first career sack and stripping quarterback Zach Wilson of the football in the process. The Jets would recover the loose ball.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox was only called upon twice in the Lions’ one-sided victory over the Panthers on Sunday, but he delivered on both occasions. Each of his punts was downed inside the 20 with the longest kick going 55 yards.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was a perfect 3-for-3 against the Ravens, connecting from a long of 43 yards. He’s a perfect 15-for-15 on field goal tries so far 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 detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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AAC Football 2023: Week 6 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 6.

Team Record  This Week Result Up Next
Charlotte 1-4 (o-1)  —  — vs Navy
ECU 1-4 (0-1)  —  — vs SMU
FAU 2-3 (1-0) vs Tulsa W, 20-17 vs USF
Memphis 4-1 (1-0)  —  — vs Tulane
Navy 2-3 (1-2) vs North Texas W, 27-24 at Charlotte
North Texas 2-3 (0-1) at Navy L, 27-24 vs Temple
Rice 3-3 (1-1) vs UConn L, 38-31  —
SMU 3-2 (1-0)  —  — at ECU
Temple 2-4 (0-2) vs UTSA L, 49-34 at North Texas
Tulane 4-1 (1-0)  —  — at Memphis
Tulsa 3-3 (1-1) at FAU L, 20-17  —
UAB 2-4 (1-1) vs USF W, 56-35 at UTSA
USF 3-3 (2-1) at UAB L, 56-35 at FAU
UTSA 2-3 (1-0) at Temple W, 49-34 vs UAB

Notable Results (Standings)

This conference is a mess

Through five weeks, the ACC has two four-win teams, two one-win teams and 10 teams logjammed with a game of .500. If it feels hard to figure out who is actually good this season, the current standings reflect that. Rice and Tulsa both had the chance to break into the four-win club, but couldn’t find a way to get it done and fell back to the rest of the pack.

UTSA bounces back

UTSA, one of those middle-of-the-standings programs, notched a much-needed win to opener their AAC slate, outlasting Temple in a high-scoring affair on the road. The Roadrunners were picked to contend in this conference and despite a shaky start to the season, they’re still in position to do that, especially with quarterback Frank Harris leading the offense.

USF comes back to earth

South Florida screamed out to a 2-0 start to conference play before running into a Dragon-sized wall in their third conference game. The Blazers had just one win when the Bulls came to town, serving a slice of humble pie to their upstart visitors. USF might have been ahead of schedule in Alex Golesh’s first season, but still have to feel pretty good about things entering an all-Florida showdown against FAU in Week 6.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Tipping point

Rice and Tulsa are both 3-3, each dropping what felt like a winnable game before a bye week and a matchup in Tulsa in Week 7. This game isn’t being played for another week and a half, but both programs will face some pressure to get things patched up and ready to go before they play a midweek, prime-time game with the loser falling below .500 in league play.

Danger zone

Charlotte and ECU already trail the rest of the pack entering Week 6 with more conference matchups looming. If it’s not “save-your-season” territory yet, it’s getting pretty close. Neither program can afford to add a fifth loss so early in the year. It’s a little early to start talking about must-win games, but that’s exactly where things stand for these programs.

Who’s No. 1?

Tulane and Memphis each had the week off before a potential conference-deciding matchup between the current frontrunners in Week 6. The Mean Green and Tigers are a combined 8-0 against non-Power 5 opponents and each school came close to pulling off a Power 5 upset already this season. This has the makings of what could be the biggest conference game of the year and it’s still October.

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Costly mistakes doom Rice Football to winless UConn

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Rice Football, now 3-3, played sloppy football and cost themselves a win, falling to previously winless UConn at home.

An auspicious start turned quickly after a series of Rice football miscues turned their final non-conference game of the season into a nightmarish end to the first half of their season. The Owls have plenty of soul-searching to do during the bye week, but first, here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The running game shows life

Prior to Saturday, Rice football had essentially punted on running the football over the first five games of the season. To be frank, they had that luxury because quarterback JT Daniels had been lights out. Rather than stay stuck to a tired script, head coach Mike Bloomgren and the Owls have adjusted their plans, leaning into a pass-happy offense that has quickly become the norm for the program this year.

But you knew at some point the ground game was going to get its chance to mount a comeback. An offensive line coach at heart, raised up under West Coast philosophies, abandoning the running game entirely was never really going to completely transpire.

In their final non-conference game of the year, the Owls’ rushing attack reached a meager 112 yards, a season-high against FBS opponents. Rice wasn’t able to lean into the pounding the rock given the circumstances, but when they did, it was marginally effective. If you’re looking for a silver lining in today’s messy result, this is probably it.

Shot themselves in both feet, again and again

It looked like Rice football was en route to a runaway win after Otoviano found paydirt for the second time in the first quarter. Then UConn scored twice in the span of 65 seconds. The blame for both touchdowns rests squarely on big mistakes by the Rice offense.

The first oops was committed by quarterback JT Daniels, who lost the football at the two-yard line when he was contacted by some combination of the UConn pass rush and an offensive lineman blocked in his direction. UConn scored two plays later.

Then, following a big return by Quinton Jackson that set Rice up in UConn territory, a swing pass to Braylen Walker was ruled a backward pass. Rice didn’t respond to the ball on the ground. UConn did, picking up the loose pigskin and racing for a 50-yard defensive touchdown. Just like that, a two-score lead turned into a one-point advantage. The lead was preserved by Peyton Stevenson, who blocked a UConn extra point.

At the end of the second quarter, a false start squandered second-and-goal from the three before a missed field goal. A muffed punt spotted UConn favorable field position, which they capitalized on midway through the third. A delay of game took them out of field goal range in the fourth, trailing by 10.

One or two mental mistakes can be overlooked. The mistakes on Saturday were overwhelming and they directly cost Rice a very winnable game.

Special teams remain an adventure

It’s been a mixed bag from the special teams this season, with a stark split in which units are performing well and which ones aren’t. Quinton Jackson and the return game have earned some flowers. They’ve been, by far, the most impactful component of the Owls’ special teams. Jackson had three returns against UConn for 90 yards, including a long of 41 that got Rice into UConn territory.

The Owls also blocked an extra point, helping them preserve an early lead when everything else started to go sideways.

The rest of the special teams has been less encouraging. Tim Horn missed a chip-shot 29-yard field goal, his fourth missed kick in his last five tries. He’s now converting less than 50 percent of his field goals on the season. That’s not good enough.

Punting hasn’t been quite as disastrous, but it hasn’t been great. Conor Hunt entered Saturday ranked ninth in net punting average out of 11 eligible AAC punters. Both of his first two punts went less than 30 yards. He’s talked about trusting his coverage and not overkicking so maybe there’s an adjustment the unit can make to improve results. As it stands right now, the results aren’t good enough.

Add a muffed punt to the mix and a holding penalty that nullified another big return from Jackson and you get one of the most disappointing days from the Rice special teams we’ve seen in quite some time.

Measuring up to expectations

Most of us aren’t scratch golfers, but that’s almost where Rice football found itself as a program through the first half of the 2023 season.

Entering the year, a plausible “best-case scenario” for the Owls looked to be a 4-2 start. Of course, that was likely assuming a Bayou Bucket loss and a win on the road against USF. Those results ended up being flipped. A win against a 0-5 UConn team would have reached that 4-2 mark. It didn’t happen.

A golden opportunity was laid in front of this team and they did not get the job done. That’s going to sting. In a year that felt like one the Owls could prove they were better than just okay, they’ve fallen right back to .500. Rice is the only team in the AAC with a Power 5 win. They’re also the only team in the country to lose to UConn, reiterating something we already more or less knew. This team is capable, but wildly inconsistent.

The coaching staff has a lot of questions to answer during their bye week. If they’re going to reach a bowl game, they need to be at least .500 in AAC play. They still have Tulane, SMU and UTSA on the schedule. That’s a tall ask for a consistent team and quite a mountain to climb for an inconsistent one.

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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with a UConn Insider

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UConn is next up on the 2023 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with Huskies’ insider Joe Arruda from the Hartford Courrant.

Huskies’ insider Joe Arruda from the Hartford Courrant was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and UConn. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Football 2023: UConn Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts UConn this week in their final non-conference game of the season. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

A week removed from their first ever AAC win, Rice football returns to non-conference play for one final time this season against UConn. The health of quarterback JT Daniels remains a question heading into the week, but there was some good news on that front, as well as some clarification on how the team will build their gameplan as they prep for the Huskies.

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This week’s roundup focuses on Daniels’ status for Saturday, what the Owls are doing alongside of him and a few defensive beliefs that are driving the Owls on that side of the ball.

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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