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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with an FAU Insider

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FAU is next up on the 2023 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with Owls’ insider from FAU alum Kevin Fiedler, now of Rivals.

FAU alum Kevin Fielder now of Rivals was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and FAU. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Basketball downed by New Mexico, falls to 1-4

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Rice basketball fell to 0-2 at the Ball Dawgs Classic, falling too far behind in the first half to New Mexico on another tough night from three.

It wasn’t quite a repeat performance of the night before, but it was another discouraging result for Rice Basketball which fell to 1-4 on the season following a Wednesday night loss to New Mexico at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas, NV. A changeup in the starting lineup, swapping in Noah Shelby in place of Anthony Selden didn’t seem to produce any material results.

Rice scored the first points, courtesy of a layup from Max Fiedler, but then watched their opponent go on a 16-3 run. New Mexico had their first double-digit lead before the second media timeout. Travie Evee kept the Owls afloat, leading all scorers with 11 first-half points.

After connecting on just 3-of-12 triples in the first half, Rice found some life early on in the second frame when their long balls began to fall. Rice made their first three three-pointers after intermission, cutting a deficit that had ballooned to 15 down to eight. The defense stepped up at that point too, contributing to nine consecutive missed shots for New Mexico.

As has been the case over the past four games, though, the bright spots were limited to brief moments and not stretched over the course of a 40-minute game. A 13-3 run midway through the second half put this game out of reach for good. Rice would go on to lose by a final score of 90-56.

Final Box | New Mexico 90 – Rice 56

Key takeaway | Can’t buy a bucket

Rice basketball likes to play fast and shoot the ball. When the shots go in, that’s all well and good. When they don’t, things can get out of hand quickly. And while the Owls possess the firepower to hurtle back and overcome deficits other teams might not, it’s certainly not a tactic they’d like to rely upon.

A season ago, Rice shot 44.9 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from three. Those are averages, mind you, not highs and lows. Excluding their opener against Saint Thomas, Rice has yet to eclipse that shooting percentage from the field, managing just 34.0 percent from the floor against New Mexico. A dismal 25 percent shooting performance from three only made the troubles worse.

They’ve got one more game in Vegas to fight through. Then it’s back home against a couple of more manageable opponents and a much-needed, albeit brief reprieve from this rigorous non-conference schedule.

Up Next: Ball Dawg’s Classic – Henderson, NV (UC Irvine – Nov. 24)

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Rice Football 2023: FAU Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football is one win away from clinching bowl eligibility as a six-win team. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

There was a palpable energy at Rice football practice this week. Everyone was as locked in as they’ve been all season and seemingly doing all they could to help this team achieve its first six-win season since 2014. This team has found a rhythm, and that was fun to watch as they prepare for FAU.

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This week’s roundup focuses on the latest on JT Daniels, AJ Padgett and the Rice quarterback situation, some notes on the play of the Owls’ corners of late as well as a few (largely positive) injury updates.

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The latest on JT Daniels

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Rice Basketball blown away by Indiana State

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Rice basketball opened the Ball Dawgs Classic with a loss to Indiana State, losing the turnover battle and allowing too many long range shots.

Nothing seemed amiss in the early goings of the opening game for Rice basketball at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas, NV. Rice and Indiana State traded early shots and were neck and neck through the first half of the opening frame. With the Owls leading 19-18 and the clock ticking under 12, it felt like a competitive game was about to unfold. That would not be the case.

Rice would go on to make just two shots in the next seven minutes of court time. During that period, Indiana State rained down six threes. The Owls simply could not keep up and their woes were further magnified by a season-high 18 turnovers.

That run took a close game and teetered it toward blowout territory. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Rice trailed by 21. Travis Evee did his part, contributing a season-high 25 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early hole. Rice cut the deficit to 13 in the final minute, but they never had a real chance to win this basketball game once they fell behind in the manner with which they did.

“We knew they were a really good team coming in. They are a good team,” head coach Scott Pera said. “They made 16 threes and you’re never going to lose when you do that.”

Final Box | Indiana State 103 – Rice 88

Key takeaway | Don’t Hand Away Your Margin

Rice basketball had committed 18 turnovers in their last two games combined and 23 total on the season. To turn the ball over 18 times was devastating for the Owls’ offensive flow and marked one of the sloppiest performances taking care of the basketball for this team in quite some time. They only had three games with more turnovers in all of last season.

Pera pointed directly toward that glaring deficiency when explaining the loss. “I think it was our inability to take care of the ball,” he said. “We gave them turnovers. We gave them some open looks. There was a lot of miscommunication on defense that gave them wide-open looks. And they didn’t miss them.”

Rice made 10 threes against Indiana State and shot the ball decently well. They scored 88 points. This was a game that might have been competitive if the Owls had done enough to keep the game within reach. This team can score, but that skill won’t pay dividends if the defense and ball handling aren’t strong enough to keep games within reach.

There’s only so much margin for error that can be accounted for in a basketball game. Rice handed away all that margin and then some. The best teams struggle to win when turning the ball over at the rate the Owls’ did on Tuesday. Rice has some work to do before they’re in that company.

Up Next: Ball Dawg’s Classic – Henderson, NV (New Mexico – Nov. 22)

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Rice Football 2023: FAU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts FAU 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 the Charlotte game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with FAU.

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

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

“All we did about by winning that game and taking care of business on Saturday is made this week much bigger, I told them that in the locker room after the game and it’s so true, we understand we’re in playoff mindset. We understand the degree of how important this last game, the last game of the regular season. We’re excited for it.”– Mike Bloomgren on the impact of the Charlotte game

“He had a good doctor’s appointment yesterday. He’s better every single day and nothing has changed from what I told you last week. The moment he can he feels like he can do this thing, we’re going to go with him.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of JT Daniels

“He was on their team last year. And I vaguely remember him. Coach Alamar showed me some film today where he was the punt returner last year. But this year, you can’t turn on a single one of their films without noticing him. He is so exceptional. I think he does a great job.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of FAU WR LaJohntay Wester

“We all know what’s at stake. I’m not having any trouble getting these guys to focus or be in the building. They’re sleeping here in the building, just like a coaches are. They’re around here all the time. It doesn’t matter if [FAU] scored 100 points last game or zero, or eight as they did, but whatever the case, our team is just ultra focused on this opponent and we’re certainly giving them the amount of respect that they deserve. We know that they’re very talented football team.” – Mike Bloomgren on the teams’ focus right now 

“To be completely honest, I haven’t put a whole lot of thought into it. Coach Smith has a great phrase, be where your feet are. I’ve really tried to just focus on prep for this week, focus on prep for last week, as well. Just get the offensive line, especially the guys that are kind of within my frame of control, just make sure we’re as prepared as possible…

I do think it’s going to be emotional during the game. This is my sixth year and this is the final home game. Going back all the way to 2018, there’s been a lot of ups, a lot of downs. A lot of good moments, a lot of bad moments in this stadium, but I’m so extremely blessed to to have been here for all six years and to have a guy like Coach Bloomgren sort of mentor me and coach me through through life as well as football.” – Offensive lineman Clay Servin on his final home game

“I think everybody is so proud of DJ, what he’s overcome in this program. What he’s battled through and how he was able to come out when his number was called…He’s out there recognizing things, recognizing plays. He’s a very instinctive player and it’s really been fun out there playing with him, communicating on the field, seeing things before they happen and watching him go run around and make the play.” – Linebacker Myron Morrison on teammate DJ Arkansas 

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

Tight end Jack Bradley was a late scratch on Saturday against Charlotte and has been removed from the depth chart entirely this week. That typically portends to an absence on game day. That means Boden Groen and Elijah Mojarro would be the Owls’ primary tight ends with Bloomgren confirming Mojarro’s availability on Tuesday.

Andrew Awe is listed as the starter at Mike linebacker over DJ Arkansas. Both should play, regardless of how the depth chart reads. Gabe Taylor and Tyson Flowers share an or designation at safety this week. How that sorts out might depend on which packages the Owls run in which situation. It’ll be something we have updates on later in the week — make you subscribe on Patreon for the latest practice report.

The rest of the depth chart reads as it did last week. As for the quarterbacks, Bloomgren said AJ Padgett would be in line to start again, should Daniels not be cleared, and that no matter who starts, Chase Jenkins will get some time on the field to take advantage of his fourth game of playing time while retaining his redshirt status.

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