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SERVPRO First Responders Bowl Preview: Rice Football vs Texas State

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Rice football takes on Texas State in the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

A pair of Texas teams will square off in Frisco this December when Rice football hits the field to face Texas State. The Bobcats clinched bowl eligibility in Week 10, topping Georgia Southern at home and celebrating by jumping in the river, a San Marcos tradition. The Owls had to wait until the final week of the regular season, beating FAU to secure win number six and a postseason trip. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Texas State.

Kickoff time | 4.30 PM CT
Venue | Gerald J. Ford Stadium – Dallas, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Bowl Announcement | Notes

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Texas State on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Tuesday 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

This is the first bowl appearance in Texas State history. The Bobcats have already tied their program FBS record for wins, set in 2014 with seven. Clinching a victory in the First Responders Bowl would secure a pair of program bests.

Rice football is making its 14th postseason appearance, its second under head coach Mike Bloomgren, and looking for its first bowl win since 2014. Winning a bowl game was one of the Owls’ primary goals this season after falling short a year ago. A victory over an in-state opponent would make it just a little sweeter.

Series History

All Time | Tied, 2-2
Last Five | Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting | Home 1987, Rice won 38-28

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Padgett – 61/96 (63.5 percent), 636 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Connors – 106 carries, 707 yards (6.7 yards per carry), 5 TD / Otoviano – 85 carries, 312 yards (3.7 yards per carry), 4 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 68 receptions, 963 yards (14.2 yds/rec), 12 TDs / Connors – 42 receptions, 395 yards (9.4 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Wyatt – 76 / Morrison – 71 / Taylor – 58
Pass Breakups | Devones – 10 / Taylor – 8 / Fresch – 7 
Interceptions | Taylor, Devones – 2 / Conti – 1

Texas State Stat Notables

Passing | Finley – 264/385 (68.6 percent), 3287 yards, 24 TD, 8 INT
Rushing | Mahid – 199 carries, 1209 yards (6.1 yards per carry), 10 TD / Davenport – 90 carries, 458 yards (5.1 ypc), 2 TD
Receiving | Hobert – 71 receptions, 847 yards (11.9 yards per reception), 8 TD / Wilson – 61 receptions, 697 yards (11.4 yds/rec), 8 TD / Hawkins – 52 receptions, 819 yards (15.8 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Holloway – 98 / Holton – 83 / Culp – 72
Pass Breakups | Ford-Dement, Eaton – 7 / Culp, Mills – 4
Interceptions | Ford-Dement, Holloway – 2 / Holton, Spears – 1

Texas State X-Factor | Compile negative plays

The Texas State offense was must-see tv this season, averaging 36 points per game, a top 20 mark in the nation. The defense was a completely different story. Of the entire field of 84 teams playing in the postseason, only two allowed more points per game on defense than Texas State: USC and South Florida. 

Clearly, Texas State won’t be winning a 10-7 game. That’s not in the cards. What the Bobcats must do instead is dial up the pressure and live on the margins. Texas State was top 10 in the nation in sacks per game but middle of the road in turnovers forced. They’re going to need to hit on both of those things against a Rice offense that has proven it can score, too.

Rice X-Factor | Quarterback Play

The announcement that JT Daniels would be medically retiring from football made national news. For one, the lengthy career of one of college football’s most talented quarterbacks was worth noting. On the other hand, it officially confirmed a second-straight postseason start for redshirt freshman quarterback AJ Padgett.

Padgett was impressive at the Lending Tree Bowl last year, throwing for 295 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against Southern Miss. His 2023 season has been rather choppy. He wasn’t great against UTSA, but improved his play in his next outing against Charlotte and was even better in the Owls’ regular season finale against FAU.

Which version of AJ Padgett is Rice getting? Rice cannot afford to have a compromised offensive attack with Texas State poised to score in bunches on the other side of the field. Padgett doesn’t have to be perfect, but getting closer to the Lending Tree Bowl version of himself would certainly help the Owls’ chances to leave Dallas with a win. 

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One Final Thing

It’s hard to win at Rice. As a program, the Owls have posted 36 winning seasons in 110 years. Less than one-third of the time throughout the course of college football history, Rice has finished with a winning record. If you want to look at more recent history, Rice has made seven postseason appearances since moving from the WAC to Conference USA in 2005, a span of 19 seasons. 

That’s why this game matters so much to the Rice football coaches, players and fans. The Owls don’t get this far very often. That only serves to amplify the importance of this otherwise “exhibition” contest. Rice has to make this opportunity count.

Even without JT Daniels, this is very winnable game for Rice football. Vegas odds listed them as underdogs initially, but some predictors, like ESPN’s FPI, suggest the Owls should be the favorite. Regardless of the margin on either side, it should be a competitive game featuring a pair of teams that really care about the outcome. I know how I’ll be spending the day after Christmas. 

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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines on Texas State

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Rice Football takes on Texas State in the First Responders Bowl so we’re going behind enemy lines with the guys from the Squarin’ Around Podcast.

Andrew and Jakob of the Sqaurin’ Around Podcast, part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network, were kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and Texas State. Their answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Football 2023: Bowl Prep Practice Report 1

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Rice football is prepping for the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

Extra practices are one of the most significant benefits of postseason play and Rice football is taking full advantage of the opportunity. The Owls are getting time on the practice field last week and this week, working around finals as they install their game plan and get reps in for their upcoming matchup with Texas State.

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This week’s roundup focuses on what the bowl roster will look like for Rice football as well as some notes on how prep has gone and who has shown out in the early goings.

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Who’s here and who isn’t

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Can Scott Pera elevate Rice Basketball? November Q&A

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With football season winding down, Rice basketball was atop your questions for this month’s Q&A, specifically current head coach Scott Pera.

It’s been a tough start for Rice basketball this season, its seventh under the leadership of head coach Scott Pera. The Owls are 1-5 and have yet to finish within 10 points of a D1 team in five tries. Granted, the schedule has been grueling, but nevertheless, frustrations are understandable. This month’s Q&A focuses on Pera’s time at South Main and what’s next for him and the program.

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Q: Is Scott Pera on the hot seat? Should he fired if he has a losing record this year?

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Rice Football tops FAU, clinches bowl eligibility

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Rice Football is going bowling for the second year in a row following a Senior Day victory over FAU, led by former Owl Tom Herman.

FAU struck first, but Rice football weathered the storm and gutted out its sixth win of the season, securing a second-consecutive bowl trip for head coach Mike Bloomgren and the Owls. On the arm of backup quarterback AJ Padgett, a resilient defense and an unrelenting desire to finish, Rice made the plays when they mattered most and found a way to win. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

This team is tough

Everything about this week of preparation suggested that Rice football would be ready for this game, so it was quite a surprise when FAU’s first play from scrimmage was a 75-yard touchdown run, possibly aided by a hold on Rice corner Tre’shon Devones. To follow that up with a long drive on offense that resulted in zero points and a turnover on downs inside the 10 was crushing.

Both the offense and the defense had come up short on their opening sequence whilst FAU had made the big play, twice. Rice had a choice to make. Was it going to be “Here we go again?” or would it be a call to arms with a renewed focus? Fortunately, it was the latter.

The offense got things back in gear, marched down the field and scored. The defense, after allowing 75 yards on the first play of the game, allowed FAU just 47 yards in the rest of the half.

A redzone interception by quarterback AJ Padgett didn’t do the Owls any favors, but the young signal caller recovered by leading a scoring drive on the next possession to put Rice in front at halftime. After so much going wrong for Rice in the first half, to enter the locker room with a lead spoke volumes. This team wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

It was fitting, then, that after a clock-killing drive that came up short on a failed fourth down conversion attempt the Rice defense was thrust back onto the field to make one last stop. With the game (and the postseason) literally on the line, the Owls got the job done.

Growing up before our eyes

Padgett took almost every snap during practice over the past two weeks but played relatively poorly in his two starts entering Saturday. His struggles, combined with the four-game redshirt rule which left backup freshman quarterback Chase Jenkins with one more game to play this season, led the staff to split reps between the quarterbacks during practice this week.

Bloomgren was adamant Jenkins would play. Offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasopop0 said he’d been in the game early. Yet when the halftime whistle sounded, Jenkins hadn’t moved from his perch on the Rice sideline. Why? Padgett, although not perfect, was moving the offense up and down the field.

In the first half alone, Padgett completed 12-of-19 passes for 172 yards, one touchdown and one pick. The interception was an impressive leaping grab by an FAU defensive back that wasn’t nearly as inexcusable as turnovers Padgett had committed in previous games. Despite only one score to show from it early on, the Owls’ redshirt freshman quarterback was playing well.

Bloomgren believed he could have been even better, though. “Still not the best of AJ Padgett,” he said after the game. “He is such a much better quarterback than what we’ve been able to put on display in games.”

Given a resilient running game and some penalties committed by FAU — at long last, a break on the officiating front for Rice — Padgett wasn’t asked to do too much in the second half. He calmly guided the team down to what would be the game-winning touchdown drive, finding Boden Groen in the back of the endzone for the score.

He finished the game 24-of-37 for 255 yards and three touchdowns with 32 yards rushing, before sacks. He was great on Saturday. And Rice needed every bit of it to win this game.

We’re going to miss Luke McCaffrey

“We talk about Luke McCaffrey so much, and we don’t talk about him enough. I think that couldn’t be more true,” Bloomgren said. “The impact that he has on our team and the player that he is. I feel so blessed to be able to work with him.”

Expectations were sky-high when McCaffrey committed to Rice prior to the 2021 season. A dual-threat quarterback, he was electric with the ball in his hands so hopes remained high when quarterbacking didn’t pan out and he made the decision to switch positions to wide receiver. Still, few could have expected just how impactful his time as a Rice pass catcher would be.

Despite only playing the position for two years, McCaffrey will leave Rice football among the top 10 in several all-time receiving record lists, climbing those charts on Saturday against FAU.

In what is expected to be his final regular season collegiate game, McCaffrey hauled in 12 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown reception, also adding 31 yards on the ground. “Whether he was running the ball today or catching it, I thought he was exceptional,” Bloomgren lauded.

McCaffrey has now caught at least one touchdown in seven consecutive games and scored in 10 of the Owls’ 12 games this season. In one of the games he didn’t score, he went off for a career-best 206 all-purpose yards

“Like earn it, for real”

There wasn’t a soul in the Brian Patterson center that was going to pass over a trip to the Lending Tree Bowl to play Southern Miss last season. Getting to the postseason, even with only five wins, was a meaningful step for the Rice football program a year ago. But at the same time, everyone knew they hadn’t quite delivered on those preseason expectations.

Offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo said it best this week when asked about how much a win on Senior Day to reach six regular season wins would mean to this team. Defeating FAU and clinching a bowl berth, in his words would be to “like earn it, for real.”

Saturday’s bowl-clinching win over FAU comes with no asterisks or what-ifs. It was a hard-fought, progress-proving victory, one that transpired without the Owls’ star quarterback JT Daniels.

“It makes me really proud of these kids, of these coaches,” Bloomgren said. “Because nobody has ever blinked. Everyone who’s still in this building has just kept fighting for what they believe in, for these kids… this team has always been worth fighting for for me, so it’s really cool.”

Rice concludes its 2023 regular season with six wins, the most for the program since 2014. The Owls were the only AAC team with a Power 5 victory, knocking out rival Houston to win the Bayou Bucket for the first time since 2010. Against a much more challenging schedule, Rice was better than they’ve been in a decade, “for real.

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Sneaky solid defense

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