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Rice Football rockets past McNeese State on Space Night

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Wearing space-themed jerseys, Rice football blasted past McNeese State, notching a dominant win for the Owls in their home opener.

On a night honoring the 60th anniversary of JFK’s Moon Speech, Rice football nearly reached 60 points, falling short of that sky-high total as they soared past the McNeese State Cowboys in dominant fashion. Rice dominated the scoreboard. They dominated on defense. They dominated on offense. From the time of possession to total yards and points, Rice ran away from McNeese to secure their first win of the season.

And they sure looked good doing it.

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Early jitters fade fast

Despite the space-themed jerseys, Rice football didn’t come out of the gate like they were aiming for the moon. It took some time to get all systems operational. TJ McMahon and the offense did move the ball fairly well, but were hampered by a holding call and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced a punt from midfield.

McNeese gifted them possession right away with a first play fumble, but Rice went spent three fruitless plays inside the 10-yard line including a third down pass that was rocketed out of the hands of Bradley Rozner as he careened towards the goal line. Instead of a possible touchdown, Rice settled for a field goal.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice football vs McNeese state

Then the afterburners kicked on. The defense forced their second turnover of the day on the following drive courtesy of a deflected pass that landed conveniently in the open arms of safety Treshawn Chamberlain. The offense took the baton from there, marching down the field and capping the drive off with a nine-yard touchdown run by TJ McMahon to take a commanding 17-0 lead with 10 minutes to play before halftime.

From there, it was all Owls for the remainder of the contest.

Takeaways set the tone

McNeese State handed the ball directly to Rice on their first offensive snap. Then the Cowboys turned it over on their third drive. And on their fourth drive. And on their fifth drive. In fact, the only two drives the Cowboys had in the first half that did not end in turnovers were three-and-outs in which the Owls’ average starting field position was the McNeese 43-yard line.

The highlight of the night came courtesy of Gabriel Taylor, who returned this interception 91 yards to paydirt, the third longest interception return touchdown in program history.

Rice lost the turnover battle 4-0 against USC. They won 5-0 against McNeese and scored 23 points directly off those turnovers. It was a masterful effort by the defense.

Owls won despite costly mistakes

Tight end Jack Bradley was called for holding on the first offensive play of the game. Guard Braedon Nutter was drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the same drive. He was promptly sat on the bench for the next several series with John Hughes moving to left guard and Ethan Onianwa checking in at right tackle. Then Rice punted.

On a following drive, Luke McCaffrey committed a false start, negating a wide-open touchdown reception in the second quarter. The Rice defense roughed the passer, jumpstarting a drive that saw McNeese reach the redzone for the first time of the night.

All of that happened before halftime. Rice football committed all of those offenses in a far from clean performance. They gave up a 62-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, missing several tackles along the way. And they still won by 42 points.

Recent history has suggested that Rice needed to play a near-perfect game to thump any opponent this badly. Rice was far from perfect today but their highs far exceeded their lows. If they can clean up those mistakes and mental errors this team could make some noise in Conference USA.

Taking care of business in style

Without their starting quarterback and starting center, Rice football rolled through their home opener against McNeese State and has moved to 1-1 on the season. Injuries aside, through two games, this is where this team was expected to be if they were to keep their aspirations of a postseason trip alive. So far, so good.

Winning was the priority on Saturday night. And although Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren may be hesitant to stump for it, the style points were noticed and appreciated.

Bloomgren elected to take a timeout with less than three minutes to go before halftime so that his team could have a shot to extend their 31-0 advantage. Immediately following McNeese’s breakaway touchdown, the Owls dialed up a 75-yard touchdown strike to Bradley Rozner.

All actions indicated Rice not only wanted to win, but they wanted to make a statement.

It was heard, loud and clear. Now the bigger question looms, can they do it again?

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Running away with it

If it felt like Rice football hadn’t delivered a good thumping in some time, that’s because what the Owls did to the Cowboys on Saturday night was the most decisive victory of the Bloomgren era. And it didn’t stop there.

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Rice Football 2022: McNeese State Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football will play its home opener this coming weekend against McNeese State. Here’s what we learned from this week’s practices.

As he’s said in prior years, head coach Mike Bloomgren reiterated expectations this week that his team would take a big step forward between Game 1 and Game 2. When asked Thursday if he’d seen that progression, he seemed elated. “They’ve been focused. They’ve been great. They’ve given it in the heat. They’ve worked their butts off,” he said about his team.

With four days of practice in the books and a more manageable opponent looming in McNeese State, the mood around South Main remained upbeat this week. Here are a few important takeaways from practice this week and a couple of nuggets on how Rice football might choose to attack this coming Saturday.

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Rice Football 2022: McNeese St presser quotes, updates and depth chart

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Rice football plays McNeese State this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup, injury updates and depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the USC loss and looked ahead at the week ahead, discussing a few positives they can take with them and what they’re watching for in their next opponent, McNeese State.

More: Rice Football  – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend, which features a few minor changes. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“We’re playing a good team. That’s what we can’t look past. I think Coach Goff in his first year has brought in 58 transfers. They went up there and played the FCS team that played in the National Championship game last week in Montana State. They had a chance to tie it right before halftime, and then that game got away from them. Coach Goff has done great every place that he’s been. I look at what he did at Valdosta State last year, taking that team to the National Championship game and then a day later he takes over as McNeese’s head coach. I can only imagine that he hasn’t had a chance to breathe since that day. In any case, he’s building a great program and we’re excited to have them come into our place this weekend.” – Mike Bloomgren on McNeese State

“Guys were flying to the ball throughout the whole game people were putting in effort. I felt like nobody really game up on any play, really that mental toughness that coach Bloom is talking about. And I liked how our secondary played. I feel like we played one of the best wide receivering units we’re going to face all season. The fact that they were pretty much able to hold them from too many big plays, that was pretty promising to see.” – Edge Joshua Pearcy on the positives he saw from the defense against USC 

“Playing tight end, that’s what you’d expect. It’s a little bit of everything. You’re blocking and next play you’re catching a pass. It’s nothing that I haven’t practiced. It’s nothing that coach Jackson hasn’t gotten us a million reps throughout fall camp and practice leading up to the game. It’s fun getting to catch the ball but its also fun blocking people, putting people in the dirt. Both ways I have fun. That’s what playing tight end is all about.” – Tight end Jack Bradley 

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

There were no changes to the official depth chart between this game and the USC game and honestly, that’s not too surprising. Given the nature of the Owls’ first opponent, barring any season-ending injuries, that’s typically the case.

The Roost Podcast: Recapping Rice football vs USC

On the injury front, Blomgren shared relatively positive news on Tuesday afternoon. He said the team was “optimistic” running back Cameron Montgomery would be back at practice on Wednesday. As for quarterback Wiley Green, Bloomgren indicated he continues to progress and there was no structural damage. His timetable was less certain. We will have some updates from practice later in the week for our subscribers.

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Rice Football 2022 Game Preview: McNeese State

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Rice football takes on the McNeese State Cowboys in their 2022 home opener. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Rice football and McNeese State meet in a Week 2 matchup of teams desperate to bounce back from disappointing opening weekend losses. Regardless of what shakes out at the quarterback position, the Owls will look to even their record and get their season back on track against the Cowboys. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.

Kickoff time | 6:30 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | ESPN3 (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs McNeese State 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

Rice football left the first quarter with smiles this past weekend, all tied up 7-7 with USC. Then Wiley Green was knocked out of the game on the first of three pick-sixes, largely attributable to dropped passes by his wide receivers. If Rice wants to reach the postseason, they more than likely have to win this game.

McNeese was able to keep things a little closer in their first game, but the results were the same. The Cowboys fell 40-17 to the Montana State Bobcats on the road. They’ll be looking for some sort of momentum before they return home the following weekend to play Alcorn State in their first home contest of the year.

Series History

All Time | n/a
Last Five | n/a
Last Meeting | n/a

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 6/15 (40 percent), 65 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT / Green – 8/13 (61.5 percent), 69 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 6 carries, 99 yards (16.5 yards per carry), 0 TD / Broussard – 15 carries, 26 yards (1.7 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 5 receptions, 51 yards (10.2 yds/rec), 0 TD / Esdale – 4 receptions, 38 yards (9.5 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Lockhart – 6 / M. Williams – 5 / Six others tied with four
Pass Breakups | n/a
Interceptions | n/a

McNeese Stat Notables

Passing | Kadum – 11/21 (52.4 percent), 126 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Durham – 3 carries, 82 yards (27.3 yards per carry), 1 TD / McMahon – 8 carries, 65 yards (8.1 ypc), 0 TD
Receiving | Matthews – 2 receptions, 76 yards (38.0 yards per reception), 1 TD / Pierce – 7 receptions, 44 yards (6.3 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Williams, Willis-Dalton – 8 / Grayson – 6
Pass Breakups | Green – 1
Interceptions | n/a

McNeese X-Factor | Get the Owls off schedule

If Rice football fans were reminded of anything in their season-opening loss to USC, it was of the vast gulf that exists between when this team is performing at the extent of its abilities to their depths. McNeese’s task is to force the Owls into a performance more closely resembling the latter by disrupting what Rice wants to do.

In practical terms, that means putting the Rice offense behind the sticks with sacks and tackles for a loss. On the other side of the ball, The Cowboys need to prove then can formulate extended drives — something they weren’t really able to do in their first outing against Montana State.

If McNeese is unable to alert the steady drum beat of the Rice offense in either capacity it’s going to be tough sailing for the visitors next weekend.

Rice X-Factor | Catch the football

Head coach Mike Bloomgren said as much in his postgame comments following the USC loss. That game has the potential to look much different if the Owls receivers simply hang on to the passes that hit their fingertips. Quarterback play can always stand to improve, but handing out richochets left and right is a recipe for disaster which the Owls now know all too well.

This offense has too many playmakers to be kept at bay for 60 minutes against an FCS squad. The talent gap should somewhat closely resemble the one that separated Rice and USC  last weekend. But if Rice turns the ball over and gives up drives and points, this could be anyone’s game.

Bottom line: Rice football needs to play clean.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

Unfortunately, Rice football has a lot of injury questions entering Week 2, chief among them: quarterback.

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One Final Thing

There are no “supposed to’s” in college football, at least not on paper. But Rice football was “supposed to” lose to USC and Rice football is “supposed to” beat McNeese State this coming weekend. All else held equal, Rice is on track with expectations for its 2022 season, even if the jarring nature of the season opener has made the trajectory feel hazier than it might actually be in reality.

Rice can build a lot of goodwill and trust in themselves by taking care of business at home against McNeese. If they’re as talented as head coach Mike Bloomgren said he belives them to be, this game ought to end in victory.

If we get to Sunday and Rice football sits at 1-1, all will be well. So maybe perhaps the cliche of “having to go 1-0 this week” is particularly true for the next few days. Rice has to win to get the taste of that bad loss out of their mouths and prove they’ve still got the talent and discipline to achieve their goals this season.

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Three-pack of pick-sixes doom Rice Football at USC

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Rice football was run out of Los Angeles in blowout fashion by the USC Trojans, suffering both insult and injury on their way out of town.

On Saturday evening at the Coliseum, USC and new head coach Lincoln Riley won the toss, marched down the field and scored the game’s opening touchdown. Rice football responded with a 16-play, 74-yard touchdown drive of their own, burning nearly eight minutes of clock time as they methodically marched down the field.

Then all hell broke loose. The Owls would fall in blowout fashion to the Trojans courtesy of three defensive scores allowed and another improbable, yet somehow inevitable, injury to a starting quarterback. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Owls’ offense both explosive and balanced

Before things went sideways, it only took a quick look at the Owls’ first two plays to see things were going to be different on that side of the ball this year. On their first snap of the game, Rice football lined up with two tight ends on the field, including Trey Phillippi, who had only just converted to the position last week. They ran the ball up the middle for four yards.

The next snap came from an empty formation with nobody in the backfield and no tight ends in line. Quarterback Wiley Green hit tight end Jack Bradley for nine yards and the first down. Up and down the field the Owls went, mixing spread concepts with heavy personnel until Ari Broussard delivered the exclamation point: a one-yard touchdown run on fourth down.

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

Despite being down to one proven option at tight end and a backup quarterback, Rice moved the ball down the field on a Trojan defense that, while unproven, was certainly talented. This was one of the most balanced offensive displays we’ve seen from Rice football in quite some time. The Owls finished with 134 yards passing and 146 yards rushing.

They averaged 6.4 yards per play in the first half while the game was in reach, finishing with 4.5 yards per play overall.

Picked off, again and again and again and again

It’s impossible to complement the offense without decrying an embarrassing historical feat — the first game time since 1982 in which the Trojans’ defense registered three pick-sixes.  The first occurrence seemed like bad luck. Green hit Luke McCaffrey in the hands but the ball ricocheted into the air and was hauled in by a defender with 93 yards of empty field.

The second came on a dropped pass from TJ McMahon to Bradley Rozner on the first series of the second half. Rozner would drop another pass which turned into another interception midway through the third quarter.

The third pick-six of the game (and fourth interception) came on a scrambling throw from McMahon, who was hit from behind while he threw, forcing the ball downward and into the hands of the waiting defender.

But even McMahon’s second turnover wasn’t truly a quarterback error. Right tackle Ethan Onianwa, making his first collegiate start, was beat off the edge, forcing McMahon to run right into pressure. While the offensive line had a largely positive day, it’s impossible to ignore the growing pains that come with starting such a green player in a pressure-packed environment like the Coliseum.

The scheme and game planning were solid. The execution, both on the pass-catching front and the blocking on the edge, was severely lacking.

No good, very bad luck

Although USC led 21-7 midway through the second quarter, Rice was very much still in the game following a 55-yard run up the middle by Cam Montgomery. Unfortunately, he was caught from behind before reaching paydirt and Rice found themselves facing a fourth down in the redzone. Head coach Mike Bloomgren made the right call — electing to go for it rather than settle for three — then disaster struck.

Green’s pass to Luke McCaffrey was bobbled in the air, falling into the waiting arms of a USC defender who scampered 93 yards the other way for a USC touchdown. In the process, Green was injured on the play and removed from the game.

In the span of seconds, Rice went from down by 14 with the football in the redzone to down by 21 without their starting quarterback. When one considers the exhaustive injury history the Owls’ have had at the position in recent year, it just doesn’t seem fair. But football is often unfair and sometimes the ball bounces the wrong way and injuries happen. Like two dropped passes turning into pick sixes.

Although it wasn’t enough to win the game, it was encouraging to see the team respond quickly with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.

Out-athleted, not schemed

Reigning Biletnikoff Trophy winner Jordan Addison beat Sean Fresch on the first play of the game, picking up a 12-yard gain and a first down. When the Trojans reached the redzone, that play was still in the mind of the Owls’ corner. Then Addison did this:

That score proved to be an omen of things to come on an afternoon in which USC would execute a nearly flawless offensive game plan led by Heisman candidate quarterback Caleb Williams. Unphased regardless of what Rice threw his way, Williams completed 16-of-19 passes in the first half. His three incompletions? A drop, a spike to kill the clock and a sideline laser with one second remaining that was ruled out of bounds.

Could the Owls have executed better on defense? Probably so to at least some degree. But Williams was clinical in his precision on Saturday. As close to perfect as one could ask a quarterback to be. And with weapons like Jordan Addison, Mario Williams and others available, that proved to be too much for Rice to overcome.

By the time the third pick-six was thrown, this game was over. It’s hard to put too much stock into anything that happened from the midpoint of the third quarter on and Rice has shown the ability to put a bad game behind them in the past.

Rice football isn’t going to face a quarterback like Williams or athletes like Addison again for a very, very long time. Even on their bad days, they won’t give their opponents three defensive scores. USC was perfect on offense and got a few breaks along the way.  Sometimes the story is that simple.

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