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Rice Football 2023: Tulsa Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football is off the bye and headed to Tulsa for a prime-time conference game. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Following two weeks of prep, Rice football is on its way north to play Tulsa in what has the makings of a pivotal AAC game for both squads. The Owls got started on their game plan last week and added the finishing touches over the last several days, including some hotly contested special teams battles and some potential playing time risers over the last several practices.

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This week’s roundup focuses on those potential changes over the bye week, what the Owls might do differently from a personnel standpoint and as always, a few injury notes, both good and bad.

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Bye week adjustments

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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: Tulsa

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Rice football visits Tulsa in an important conference game on Thursday. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

It was a good time for a bye for both Rice football and Tulsa. The Owls and Golden Hurricanes both fell to .500 last time out with Rice dropping a home game to UConn and Tulsa losing at Florida Atlantic. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and Tulsa.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Chapman Stadium – Tulsa, OK
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Tulsa on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon 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

The middle of the pack is expansive in the AAC standings right now with Rice and Tulsa each sitting squarely in the midst of the mess. With games upcoming against some of the conference’s more formidable opponents, this midweek, prime-time matchup will be a golden opportunity to get back above .500 and notch a conference win before the games get tougher. It might not actually be a must-win for bowl hopes, but it sure feels like it for both sides.

Series History

All Time | Tulsa leads, 10-8-1
Last Five | Tulsa leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Away 2013, Rice won 30-27

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 131/206 (63.6 percent), 1831 yards, 15 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Connors – 51 carries, 180 yards (4.4 yards per carry), 1 TD / Otoviano – 38 carries, 127 yards (3.3 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 30 receptions, 514 yards (17.1 yds/rec), 6 TDs / MacNeill – 18 receptions, 236 yards (13.1 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Wyatt – 43 / Conti, Morrison – 38 / Taylor – 32
Pass Breakups | Fresch, Taylor – 5 / Wyatt, Jean – 3
Interceptions | Devones, Conti – 1

Tulsa Stat Notables

Passing | Williams – 62/102 (60.8 percent), 955 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Watkins – 93 carries, 367 yards (3.9 yards per carry), 2 TD / Ford – 58 carries, 240 yards (4.1 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | Williams – 19 receptions, 274 yards (14.4 yards per reception), 2  TD / Shoulders – 16 receptions, 283 yards (17.7 yds/rec), 5 TD
Tackles | Ray – 56 / Simon – 30 / Oliver – 28
Pass Breakups | Oliver – 4 / Kulkin – 3 / Seven others tied with 1
Interceptions | Oliver – 3 / Four others tied with 1

Tulsa X-Factor | Keep moving the sticks

Tulsa leads the AAC with a blistering 46.7 percent conversion rate on third down, a mark that ranks among the best rates nationally. It’s been imperative for this team to be that efficient on offense, given a defense that has been vulnerable to the big play. So far this season, they’ve more or less delivered on their side of the bargain even without compiling as many points as they might have hoped.

Improving their time of possession, which is currently in the middle of the pack among AAC teams, would be nice, but continuing to rack up first downs is what will allow this team to be productive on both sides of the ball. In this game, it would also keep the Owls’ offense on the sideline, something that would absolutely be in the Golden Hurricanes’ best interest.

Rice X-Factor | Protect the football, please

Everything was going according to plan until a four-turnover disaster for Rice football last time out against UConn. The Owls had given the ball away six times all season, the second-fewest in the AAC, prior to that game. Had it not been for the myriad of mistakes, they probably would have beaten the Huskies and the discourse surrounding this team is different. 

Thus, holding onto the football because the unmistakable focal point for the team this week. Winning on the road is hard enough when you’re spotting opponents extra possessions. The good version of this team can probably overcome a mistake here or there, but the erratic version the Owls are currently fielding as they work through consistency issues simply has to hold on to the rock.

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One Final Thing

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren is oft to say something to this effect: things are never as good as you think they are or as bad as you think they are. While it’s hard to see the optimistic, glass-half-full perspective coming off the loss to UConn, the underlying capabilities of this team don’t feel drastically different than they were two weeks ago.

JT Daniels is still the quarterback, and now he’s two weeks healthier than he was in that disastrous game. Luke McCaffrey is still poised for a ridiculous, clutch play at any moment. With both of those advantages, even more moderate improvements from the special teams and the defense should be enough to give Rice a chance against whoever lines up against them in the coming weeks.

Games like they played against UConn sap the faith of the fanbase, deservedly so. There’s no denying trust has to be rebuilt as the team begins the second half of their season.

Tulsa is far from the best the AAC has to offer, making this week’s test particularly important. If the team can find a way to win this one on the road, regardless of how impressive the victory looks, they’ll restore some of that faith and prove they can dictate, to some extent, their path in the AAC this season. But they’ve got to prove it first. 

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Rice Football 2023: State of the Special Teams Practice Report

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Rice football is off this week with plenty to address on special teams before heading to Tulsa. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Practice marches on for Rice football through the bye week. Rather than jam everything into a length report heading into game week, we’re going to split things up and address a topic that’s front of mind first: special teams.

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What did head coach Mike Bloomgren and special teams coordinator Pete Alamar have to say about the state of the unit? Let’s dig in.

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First, the disclaimers

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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.

Digging deeper

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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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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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