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American Conference Football 2023: Week 3 Roundup

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American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 3.

Team Record  This Week Result Up Next
Charlotte 1-2 vs Georgia St L, 41-25 at Florida
ECU 0-3 at App St L, 43-28 vs Gardner Webb
FAU 1-2 at Clemson L, 48-14 at Illinois
Memphis 3-0 vs Navy W, 28-24 at Missouri
Navy 1-2 at Memphis L, 28-24  —
North Texas 1-2 at LA Tech W, 40-37  —
Rice 2-1 vs Texas So W, 59-7 at USF
SMU 2-1 vs PVAMU W, 69-0 at TCU
Temple 2-2 vs Norfolk St W, 41-9 vs Miami
Tulane 2-1 at So. Miss W, 21-3 vs Nicholls
Tulsa 1-2 vs Oklahoma L, 66-17 at N. Illinois
UAB 1-2 vs Louisiana L, 41-21 at Georgia
USF 1-2 vs Alabama L, 17-3 vs Rice
UTSA 1-2 vs Army L, 37-29 at Tennessee

Notable Results (Standings)

3-0 in a thriller

Memphis is the lone unbeaten in the AAC through three weeks, but it very nearly wasn’t the case. The Tigers were pushed to the wire by a frisky Navy squad that was turned away one yard short of a first down in the redzone in the closing seconds. The Tigers were one of the few AAC teams to avoid any Power 5 opponents in the early going. That changes next week with a potentially tough trip to Missouri.

Yet to score (a win)

Only one winless team remains in the AAC through three weeks: East Carolina. The Pirates weren’t particularly competitive against either Sun Belt opponent they faced in Week 2 (Marshall) or Week 3. A date with Gardner-Webb next weekend should get that zero off the win column. If not, it might be time to be more concerned.

Biff-tastrophy

Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi did not mince words in his postgame comments, making promises (threats?) to make changes to his staff and much more. The fiery first year head coach has never been afraid to speak his mind and things are certainly not off to the right foot for the 49ers who fell on Saturday to Georgia State.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Here comes conference play

The second AAC conference game takes place this coming weekend, with Navy and Memphis the only conference game so far and it should be an interesting one. 2-1 Rice travels to 1-2 USF which just put a heavy scare into the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tampa. The winner joins Memphis atop the standings, which would be a huge boost to either program.

Power 5 hunting

Rice owns the only AAC win over a Power 5 team so far this season, but several other programs will have the opportunity to join the Owls this coming weekend, unfortunately, several might have to do so without their star quarterbacks. Frank Harris (UTSA) and Casey Thompson (FAU) are both in doubt for Week 4.

Taking stock of Tulsa

The Golden Hurricane have a blowout win over an FCS school and two Power 5 losses. Seeing them in action in Week 4 against Northern Illinois, another Group of 5 team, (if we’re even still using that moniker anymore) should be a much better litmus test when it comes to evaluating just how good this team might be under head coach Kevin Wilson.

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Rice Football cruises past Texas Southern

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Rice Football cruised past Texas Southern, posting its second straight win over a Houston-based squad to improve to 2-1 on the season.

From the very first snap, it was unequivocally clear Rice football was on a different level than Texas Southern. The most talented team ever fielded under head coach Mike Bloomgren, fresh off its upset win of Houston the week before, absolutely smoked an FCS squad that couldn’t keep step with the Owls on either side of the ball. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Defensive dominance

The Rice football defense set the tone of the very first play. Tre’shon Devones scooped up a fumble to give the Owls’ offense the ball on a short field, the third consecutive game in which Rice had forced a turnover on their opponent’s first possession. Then, for the third consecutive game, Rice took a lead on their ensuing drive.

The defense allowed negative four yards on the next three TSU drives, all three-and-outs, asserting its dominance in a way that brought back memories of the 2020 side that finished as a top 15 unit in the country.

The pass rush made it all but impossible for TSU to move the football. While Rice only registered one official sack, TSU’s line was no match for the pressure the Owls were bringing. They added four tackles for a loss and two quarterback hurries.

Texas Southern threated twice before the fourth quarter. The first time TSU found a hole in the coverage and completed a long pass then got into the redzone with the help of a defensive penalty on a tackle out of bounds, setting up their lone touchdown of the night.

The second time came in the final minutes of the third quarter in which they had the ball with a first down inside the 10. Rice held firm, stonewalling them with a fourth down stop.

This could have been a shutout and honestly, it probably should have been. Rice was that much better.

Offensive outburst

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, quarterback JT Daniels made it look easy. Three of his first six passes went for touchdowns and one of those competitions that did not score was a long bomb to Landon Ransom who was ruled down on the one-yard line.

The list of accolades was, understandably, epic.

  • Rice has scored 21 points in the first quarter for the second straight week, heading into this season, the Owls had not scored 21 or more in the first since 2013
  • Rice’s 42 points in the first half are the most for the Owls since they scored 56 in the first half vs. North Texas in 2008
  • JT Daniels 4 TD passes tie his career high (Mississippi State in 2020) and he is the second Owl to throw four TDs in the first half (Chase Clement, 2008)

Daniels was not sacked. The TSU pass rush offered little threat and the Rice offensive line gave him plenty of protection. Five different receivers caught passes of 35 yards or more, another game in which Daniels was able to spread the ball around and find the open receivers. That’s an area where he’s notably impressed so far this season.

Digging deeper

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Fool me thrice?

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2023 Rice Football Opponent Look Ahead

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After the big win, Rice football is riding high. Here’s a look ahead at how the Owls’ schedule looks after a few weeks of play.

Entering the 2023 Rice football season, getting to 1-1 after the first two Power 5 challenges was a strong opening stanza. In fact, the Owls are one of 10 FBS teams to play Power 5 opponents in each of the first two weeks of the season. Of that 10, Colorado and Utah went 2-0. Rice was 1-1. The other seven went 0-2.

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Understandably, expectations and aspirations are high on South Main. Rice is looking good, but how do the Owls’ opponents look? Let’s dive in.

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Texas Southern (0-2)

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Rice Football 2023: Texas Southern Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football looks to build on a big win with a home matchup against Texas Southern. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

It’s always more fun to make corrections after a win and that’s what Rice football had the opportunity to do on the practice field this week. The Owls were able to finish the job against Houston, but it was by no means a perfect performance and they had a list of things to attend to before their next contest against Texas Southern.

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This week’s roundup focuses on the ground game, a few individual highlights and some health updates as the team prepares for Week 3.

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.

What to make of the running game?

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Rice Football 2023: Texas Southern presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts Texas Southern this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped last week’s game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Texas Southern.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs Houston

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

“We were our worst enemy, and we know its always going to be about us, but it was very clear in the film that we made mistakes. We committed penalties that put us in tough situations. No surprises there, but it was very evident that we weren’t playing the same way with the same focus that we were in the first half.” – Mike Bloomgren on areas to improve after Houston

“I told our guys that as you look at that film of them playing Toledo last week that’s not the team we’re going to see. We’re going to see a team that’s incredibly fired up to be playing in Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas and every one of them believes they should be sitting in these team meeting room chairs. They believe they’re good enough and should have had the opportunity that our players have and they’re going to try to prove it. The fact of the matter is several of those guys have been on FBS rosters before and frankly some of them are good enough to be on a team like this.” – Mike Bloomgren on preparing to play Texas Southern 

“It’s a kill or be killed mentality. That’s how I live my life and how this whole team lives their lives on [short yardage and goal line]. We do the meeting and we always play Stone Cold Steven Austin before we install it. It gets the mood going. Anytime we line up, we know they did not do a whole practice just for that scenario and we know that anyone that lines up, we’re going to beat them.” – Center Braedon Nutter on the teams’ success in short yardage situations

“I think in the first game I was just working the gears a little bit, getting back to me. I think I needed to settle down and get back to me and know who I am and play with that supreme confidence as [corners coach Jeremy] Modkins always tells us corners… I would say I had a decent game. I think I can do way better and I think I will put that on display these next games coming up.” – Corner Sean Fresch on his growth this year

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

Just like last week, there were no changes to the official depth chart. That marks three straight games with more or less the same two-deep, a nod to how fortunate the Owls have been with injuries and how well the team has played as a whole. There hasn’t been the need for too many “promotions” and “demotions” although we will hit some key updates with playing time and rotations later this week.

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