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Last minute rally lifts Rice Football past UTEP for big win

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Rice Football delivers the wining score in the final moments, dashing past UTEP to secure a much-needed win at home.

Thursday’s nationally televised game against all the makings of a bowl-elimination bout between Rice football and the UTEP Miners. The Owls had had the upper hand in the series, particularly at home, winning nine of 12 in Houston. On Thursday night, Rice added one more important victory to the tally. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Withstand the first punch

On the first play from scrimmage, UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison tried to thread a ball through a mass of blue and gray-clad defenders. Gabriel Taylor was nearly there to meet it, but was unable to make the one-handed stab to force a quick turnover. Instead, UTEP recovered and marched quickly down the field, going 78-yards in 3:13, deflating a defense in need of that instant jolt of confidence.

Down 7-0, Rice was forced to settle for a field goal on their first offensive possession as quarterback TJ McMahon was sacked on third and short inside the redzone. When Rice kicked the ball back to UTEP down by four, it felt like the rubber was about to meet the road. Was UTEP’s early touchdown — just their second touchdown in the first quarter this year — a fluke? Or would the defense figure it out?

The defense responded with a quick three-and-out and their second sack of the day. Then they found their groove. They got pressure. They forced three-and-outs (four on the day). Trey Schuman snuffed out a reverse for a loss of yards. The defense responded to a fumbled punt return with a stop and a 51-yard field goal try after the offense fizzled inside their own five-yard line. For the first time in weeks, they looked good. Not great. But good.

To say the Rice defense was “back” would be overly generous, but the unit that took the field on Thursday night looked a heck of a lot more like the one the Owls have gotten used to seeing in recent years. If they can find a way to get off the field on third down, they might just be dangerous.

Return of the big play

On the other side of the ball, the offense responded in kind. Rice had four pass plays of 15+ yards in four quarters against Charlotte last weekend. They reached that total just three minutes into the second quarter against UTEP and continued to gain yards in chunks. Bradley Rozner reached the century mark for the fifth time this season.

The Owls ended the game with 502 total yards and a slew of big plays. There were eight pass plays of 15+ yards and five run plays of 10+ yards. The offense was legitimately explosive.

What made the performance particularly compelling was the sheer quantity of contributors. Rozner, Luke McCaffrey, Isaiah Esdale, Kobie Campbell and Jack Bradley each had critical catches that extended drives or scored points. Cam Montgomery, Juma Otviano, TJ McMahon and McCaffrey each made big plays on the ground. Uriah West had his first touchdown as an Owl. Eveything just seemed to come together.

And then… the dagger!

The steady emergence of TJ McMahon

When McMahon took the field against UTEP for his eighth consecutive start, he reached a place no quarterback had gone before under Bloomgren at Rice. The previous record for consecutive starts (seven) was held by Shawn Stankavage, who led the way in the first seven games of Bloomgren’s tenure at South Main in 2018 before being injured.

McMahon already led all Rice quarterbacks under Bloomgren in passing touchdowns entering this game. He added two more to up his Rice total to 20. He also leads all of Bloomgren’s passers in interceptions, including an inexplicable additional tipped-pass pick against UTEP, a recurring nightmare that Rice fans can’t seem to escape.

After the Charlotte loss, McMahon said his job this week was “to make sure this game doesn’t beat us twice.” He did that tonight, leading his team down the field with regularity with a bit more of a boost from the running game than he’d had in recent weeks.

It’s been clearly established for several weeks now that Rice had its guy. As McMahon continues to progress, the hope for the future builds.

Breathing room

Two weeks ago, Rice football was 4-3. Being a game above .500 and two wins away from securing bowl eligibility was a breath of fresh air for the Owls, who have fought through their fair share of hardships to get to that point.

That was two weeks ago, and it feels like the program has been through a much more circuitous journey than one could have imagined in just a fortnight’s worth of time. Splitting a two-game homestand against Charlotte and UTEP was disappointing, considering the success Rice football has had to this point. But even still, the Owls have earned three chances to clinch a bowl berth.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs UTEP

It’s not time to start booking tickets to spend Christmas in Hawaii or the holiday season in the Bahamas quite yet. But the situation is objectively more positive than it could have been had Rice not found a way to win this football game, and win it in the manner they did. The Owls have been far from perfect this year, but they have been resilient.

Following a loss, Rice football is 4-0 this season. And now instead of being forced to grapple with the real possibility of their one-time storybook season ending in a nightmare, Rice has hope again. Hope can be a dangerous this at times, but right now, it’s exactly what the Owls need. That, and one more win down the stretch. But they’ll focus on that final W tomorrow.

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When in doubt, be clutch

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Rice Football 2022: UTEP Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts UTEP this weekend in a Thursday night affair in need of a bounce-back win. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

No longer undefeated at home this season, Rice football completes a brief two-game homestand in search of win number five, facing the UTEP Miners. Both teams need this game in their quest for bowl eligibility. To get that victory, Rice has some improvements they’ll need to make.

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This week’s roundup focuses in on specific adjustments both sides of the ball are making following the Charlotte loss and the ever-evolving injury front.

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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Rice Football 2022 Game Preview: UTEP

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Rice football is anxious to put last weekend behind them. Can they bounce back against UTEP? How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and UTEP are anxious to get on the field again after dropping conference home games as favorites last weekend. Rice was blown out by Charlotte while UTEP watched MTSU pull away late. As the calendar turns to November, both teams want this one. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s game.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | CBSSN (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTEP 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. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.)

Sizing up the contenders

It’s entirely possible the loser of this game all but ensure they’ll be sitting at home this December without a bowl berth. After UTEP, Rice closes at WKU, vs UTSA and at North Texas. UTEP finishes with FIU and UTSA. Both teams need two more wins and don’t want to count on an upset of the defending champs to get there.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 15-9
Last Five | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2021, UTEP won 38-28

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 131/224 (58.5 percent), 1703 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 51 carries, 333 yards (6.5 yards per carry), 0 TD / Broussard – 91 carries, 251 yards (2.8 yards per carry), 9 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 47 receptions, 613 yards (13.0 yds/rec), 6 TD / Rozner – 27 receptions, 579 yards (21.4 yds/rec), 7 TDs / Esdale – 21 receptions, 255 yards (12.1 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 47 / Morrison – 40 / Taylor – 36
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 5  / Fresch – 4 / Morrison, Taylor – 3 
Interceptions | Taylor – 2 / Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Fresch – 1

UTEP Stat Notables

Passing | Hardison – 156/297 (52.5 percent), 1941 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT
Rushing | Hankins – 110 carries, 547 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 2 TD / Awatt –  124 carries, 538 yards (4.3 ypc), 2 TD
Receiving | Smith – 56 receptions, 803 yards (14.3 yards per reception), 5 TD / Flores – 42 receptions, 472 yards (11.2 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Knight – 74 / Hylton – 70 / Wallerstedt – 69
Pass Breakups | Johnson – 6 / Barnes – 5 / Knight, Shelton – 4
Interceptions | Johnson, Knight, James – 1 each

UTEP X-Factor | Establish it

In many ways, Rice and UTEP have built their offensive identities on a similar tenant: run the ball. Rice hasn’t had as much success on that front as they’d like, but UTEP has. And when the Miners do get it going on the ground, the rest of the offense rises with it.

Outside of a two-sore win over Boise State, UTEP hasn’t played in games this season in which they jumped out to a huge early lead and stockpiled rushing stats to salt the game away. No, they’ve run the ball to set up the rest of their offense and the numbers bear that out.

In UTEP wins, the Miners are averaging 4.6 yards per carry and average 198.3 rushing yards per game. In losses, they averaged 3.1 yards per carry and average just 94.2 rushing yards per game. If UTEP can run the football, they can dictate the terms on that side of the football and make Rice play off schedule. That’s not where the Owls want to be, and it’s been painfully evident in recent weeks.

Rice X-Factor | Figure it out on defense

After having the ability to lean on their defense for much of the past several seasons, the past two weeks have been rocky for the Owls on the back end. Rice allowed eight passing touchdowns in their first six games combined. They’ve given up 10 scores through the air in the last two weeks. The run defense started to sag last weekend against Charlotte, too, ceding 5.6 yards per carry, their worst mark in conference play.

A few weeks ago this team was musing about getting a shutout. For now, they’ll have to focus on getting one stop at a time. Fortunately, UTEP is not nearly as explosive through the air as either Louisiana Tech or Charlotte.

This defense needs a pick-me-up. They need a reminder that they can play at a high level, and that has to start with solid run defense and a more robust coverage plan down the field. Both Louisiana Tech and Charlotte were able to expose the Owls in the gap between the corners and safeties on the sidelines. Rice has to get that cleaned up, pronto. That way they can play their game instead of being forced to play catch up.

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One Final Thing

Following Saturday’s crushing loss to Charlotte, head coach Mike Bloomgren stuck to his guns and remained resilient. “We’re trying to find a way to play for 60 minutes in all three phases. I still think we are a scary football team, with very good players [and] very good coaches when we do that,” he said. “That’s what our goal is. That’s what our goal will be next Thursday.”

Through eight weeks, that complete showing has yet to materialize. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but it does mean the Owls are running out of time to promote that elusive perfect game from paper to playing field.

Rice football has bowl game expectations this season. They need to win two of their next four to get there and UTEP is — undeniably — the weakest opponent remaining on the schedule. A complete three-phase showing might not materialize for this team on Thursday, but they’d better get enough from whatever is working that evening to carry them through. Sitting at 4-5 in need of two wins against the trio of UTSA, WKU and North Texas is not a place this team wants to be.

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Conference USA Football to the AAC: October Patreon Q&A

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Six Conference USA football programs are headed to the American Conference next year? Which of them is best positioned for success?

A little longer than one year ago, six schools jointly announced a big move. The six soon-to-be former Conference USA Football programs are heading to the American Athletic Conference in 2023. With half of the current season in the books, which of the programs are set to enter the AAC in the best shape? We tackle those themes in this month’s Patreon Q&A.

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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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Rice Football rocked by interim-led Charlotte on Homecoming

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The fans were there, but the Rice football team no-showed on its own Homecoming Day as the Owls were blasted by interim coach-led Charlotte.

On an overcast day in Houston, Rice football was only wishing the rain would come. Perhaps then, had the field been deluged by water from the sky, the Owls could have avoided the torrential downpour of 49er touchdowns. Instead, Rice was run out of their own stadium on Homecoming in embarrassing fashion. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Can’t get off the field

The Rice football defense was supposed to be the backbone of this team. On Saturday, the unit more closely resembled the one that was assaulted through the air by backup quarterbacks the weekend prior against Louisiana Tech. The pass rush had its moments, but on the instances in which the Rice front couldn’t get to quarterback Chris Reynolds, Rice paid dearly.

Reynolds, who entered the season as one of the most proven commodities at the quarterback position in Conference USA, was able to move the ball at will against a Rice defense that ranked No. 3 in C-USA against the pass entering the game. Not only was Charlotte able to move the ball, but they were allowed to do so continually.

A team that fired its head coach six days ago scored touchdowns on seven consecutive drives.

Charlotte ran the ball. They threw the ball. When they reached third down, they converted it. When they didn’t, they found a way on fourth down.

Enabling so many extra opportunities was fuel to the fire. Charlotte got going and gashed the Owls, who chose not to spy quarterback Chris Reynolds and continued to bring heavy pressure as Reynolds picked them apart downfield.

Reynolds threw for 254 yards and five touchdowns. The 49ers ran for 239 yards.

Not having linebacker Myron Morrison and safety George Nyakwol available hampered this unit, but it’s hardly the first time they’ve been without key players. The depth is good enough to get the job done, or at the very least, to do much better than this.

What’s it going to be?

With a loss like this comes questions. Just about every game this season has been laborious for this team. To the Owls’ credit, they’ve won as many as they’ve lost, but the path to get to that end result has usually been messy. What’s most maddening is the lack of consistency from this team from game to game. On any given Saturday, which Rice football team is going to show up?

In years past, it’s been easy to point the finger at the offense. If the team would just score more often, if they’d run better plays, if they’d be more creative… then they could start winning. Well, they are scoring more… but the games are still exhausting.

Is today going to be a day the defense comes close to pitching a shutout? Maybe. Or they could give up 40+ points.

Is today going to be the day the offense gets in gear and puts in the endzone six or seven times? Perhaps. Or they could go backward, turn the ball over a few times, and barely sniff double digits.

The trouble is, Rice really hasn’t seen both of the positive ends of those spectrums coincide. More often than not it’s been a good offensive day (or half) mirrored against a bad defensive outing. That’s led to lots of close games and high heart rates. Winning ugly counts for something. But it’s hard to trust this team from week to week. We just don’t know who is going to show up.

Two steps forward, one step back

For the first time under head coach Mike Bloomgren, Rice football was a multi-touchdown favorite in a home conference game. Cover the spread or not, on paper this was meant to be a game that put Rice one win away from a trip to a bowl game for the first time since 2014. But games aren’t played on paper.

Make no mistake, this was the most embarrassing loss of Bloomgren’s tenure.

Charlotte came out and played like they had nothing to lose. From an onside kick to a fake punt, the 49ers were the aggressor all day long against a team that preaches intellectual brutality. That can’t happen.

It’s impossible to scrap the remainder of the season just yet, especially given the highs we’ve seen both sides of the ball reach on their better days. But the task just got immeasurably harder. Rice should have won this game. Losing would have been disappointing. Losing like this was humiliating. Especially considering this is the same team that beat Louisiana, beat UAB and went toe-to-toe with Houston. Unfortunately, that feels like so long ago.

Rice football has another game to play in five days at home against UTEP. They need to win it, if for no other reason than to purge this awful result from their minds.

Less turnovers but not enough points

Punter Conor Hunt spent most of the first half Saturday standing on the sideline. The Rice offense didn’t have much need of his services until the game was well out of hand. Hunt didn’t punt until the beginning of the third quarter when the game had already started to get out of hand.

For at least the sixth time this season — they don’t exactly keep stats on this — a Rice quarterback was intercepted on a pass that deflected off his receiver’s hands. A deep shot from McMahon on the Owls’ second drive was picked off, setting up a short field for Charlotte and their first score.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs Charlotte

The interception and a failed fourth down conversion were early blemishes on what started as a rather uneventful offensive day. Trailing by 11 going into halftime, the offense hasn’t been perfect, but it hadn’t been the reason the Owls were already trailing big.

The offense deserves credit for mostly eliminating the controllable turnovers. They did not fumble the ball to the other team and the lone interception was fluky. On a day in which a lot of things went wrong, that was a tally in the positive direction.

A 100 percent scoring rate would be nice, albeit unsustainable. Rice scored on three of four offensive drives in the first half on Saturday, excluding the kneel-down at the end of the half. That should get it done when you have the defense the Owls do… unless the defense disappears. On Saturday, it did just that. And the offense didn’t have the juice to pick up the pace.

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Meet you at the quarterback

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