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The Roost Podcast | Ep 168 – Rice Football blasts Charlotte

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Rice football got back in the win column with an emphatic victory over Charlotte thanks to a dominant defense and an outstanding day from Dean Connors.

For the first time in the last four weeks, Rice football faced an opponent that was not unbeaten in league play and the Owls took out several weeks’ worth of frustration against the hapless Charlotte 49ers. This game wasn’t very close and Rice did what they needed to do to put it out of reach and then slam the door. We recap the win and talk about the true talent level of this team as the season winds down.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 168.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. So is the brand new Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

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Recapping Rice Football vs Charlotte

  • What a day from the Rice defense
  • What a day from Dean Connors
  • Rice corners Tre’shon Devones and Sean Fresch deliver again
  • What could this team’s record be against a more balanced AAC schedule?
  • DJ Arkansas shines
  • One big game left against FAU

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.ri

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Rice Football 2023: NFL Owls Week 11 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2023 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 11.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) This Week Result Next Week
Denver Broncos Elijah Garcia (DL) vs Vikings (SNF) W, 21-20 vs Browns
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) vs Bears W, 31-26 vs Packers (Thr)
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE)  — BYE —  — vs Bucs
Los Angeles Rams Austin Trammell (WR) vs Seahawks W, 17-16 at Chargers (SNF)
New England Patriots Calvin Anderson (OL) — BYE —  — at Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) at Browns L, 13-10 at Bengals
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) at Rams L, 17-16 vs 49ers (Thr)
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) at 49ers L, 27-14 at Colts

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Patriots

Anderson and the Patriots were on bye in Week 11.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson and the Colts were on bye in Week 11.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was active for the Bucs’ Week 11 game against the 49ers  but did not play.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell turned in a career day for the Rams on Sunday, tallying a personal best three receptions for 23 yards on six targets. All three marks were career highs. Trammell finished second among all Rams’ wideouts in receptions.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks’ Week 11 game against the Rams.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Broncos

Garcia was inactive for the Broncos’ Sunday Night Football contest against the Vikings.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted twice on Sunday, delivering a pair of brilliant blasts, both of which were downed inside the 20 with the longest traveling 60 yards. Also, he wore this rather fantastic costume:

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was only called to the field twice on Sunday. He converted a 28-yard field goal and drove through an extra point try.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football 2023 Game Preview: FAU

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Rice football hosts FAU this week with bowl eligibility on the line. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

In a battle of Owls, Rice football enters the fray flying higher. The Owls won at Charlotte last weekend, preservering their bid at bowl eligibility. The visiting FAU Owls fell to Tulane, their seventh loss of the year. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and FAU.

Kickoff time | 12:00 PM CT
Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs FAU 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

Rice football could technically have an outside shot at bowl eligibility as a five-win team, but they’d rather avoid stressing about that situation for a second year in a row. A win on Saturday would also ensure another year of improvement in the win column for head coach Mike Bloomgren, with the possibility of a seventh win in the bowl game. Rice hasn’t won seven games since 2014.

On the other sideline, FAU isn’t playing for anything, which makes them dangerous. Every win counts for a coach in his first year at a new school and rest assured Tom Herman won’t go easy on Rice when he makes his return to campus.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 2-1
Last Five | Rice leads, 2-1
Last Meeting | Away 2022, FAU won 17-14

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 121/287 (63.1 percent), 2443 yards, 21 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Connors – 92 carries, 662 yards (6.9 yards per carry), 5 TD / Otoviano – 70 carries, 241 yards (3.4 yards per carry), 4 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 56 receptions, 822 yards (14.7 yds/rec), 11 TDs / Connors – 38 receptions, 384 yards (10.1 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Wyatt – 70 / Morrison – 66 / Conti, Taylor – 53
Pass Breakups | Devones – 10 / Fresch – 7 / Wyatt, Taylor – 6
Interceptions | Taylor, Devones – 2 / Conti – 1

FAU Stat Notables

Passing | Richardson – 200/309 (64.7 percent), 1908 yards, 12 TD, 10 INT
Rushing | McCammon – 146 carries, 675 yards (4.6 yards per carry), 5 TD / Lewis – 77 carries, 324 yards (4.2 ypc), 2 TD
Receiving | Wester – 104 receptions, 1125 yards (10.9 yards per reception), 8 TD / Johnson – 35 receptions, 362 yards (10.3 yds/rec), 3 TD 
Tackles | Morris – 75 / Ambush – 73 / Tisdol – 67
Pass Breakups | Morris – 5 / McClendon, Mungin, Antoine – 3 
Interceptions | Morris – 3 / Six others tied with one each

FAU X-Factor | Make every trip count

In league play, Rice football leads the AAC in red zone defense. They’ve allowed 13 touchdowns on 27 trips. Forcing opponents to settle for three rather than getting six has helped keep them in games and nearly scored them upsets against Tulane and SMU.

Meanwhile, the FAU offense has stalled out entirely. The Owls have scored 15 points in their last eight quarters. Relying on home run plays by LaJohntay Wester isn’t a sustainable scoring solution so when FAU does get the ball within striking distance, they absolutely must capitalize.

The Rice defense has played better as of late and is coming off one of their best performances of the season. FAU has converted 60 percent of their field goal tries on the season and has made 3-of-7 from 30+ yards out. They simply have to put the ball in the box when they get their opportunities. 

Rice X-Factor | Run the dang ball

It’s hard to believe it’s possible, but Rice football might not have run the ball enough last time out against Charlotte, despite Dean Connors having a career day. The running game also helped cover some offensive miscues and mishaps that took place with a backup quarterback at the helm.

No matter who takes the snaps for Rice this week, a potent running game makes this offense even more potent.

FAU won’t make it easy. No team in the AAC has allowed fewer touchdowns in league play than the Owls. Yet, Charlotte’s run defense looked solid enough on paper before Connors showed up and gashed them. If Connors can do it again, it’s hard to see the Rice offense stalling out that often, which would force FAU into catch-up mode. That’s not something the’ve proven they can do.

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One Final Thing

“We understand what’s at play this week and how big of a deal this game’s going to be. It’s huge,” Bloomgren said on Saturday afternoon, noting the significance of the upcoming game against FAU because Rice found a way to take care of business against Charlotte. And quite frankly, huge might be an understatement. This game is massive. 

A win against FAU would ensure Rice a .500 record in league play. Here are the AAC programs currently guaranteed to be at least .500 in league play this season: Tulane, SMU, UTSA, Memphis and Navy. That’s good company to keep.

For further comfort, three of the Owls’ four AAC losses came to that collection of teams with the lone exception belonging to USF which could clinch a bowl berth this weekend. Tack on a win over Houston — still the only Power 5 win by the conference this year — and you get a sturdy season against a tough schedule with a marquee rivalry win under your belt.

Even though much of that would be true with a loss, a sub-.500 season doesn’t carry with it the same power. No, this game matters because of it can solidify this 2023 Rice Football team as one that hung with the big boys in the league, had one hiccup against UConn, and otherwise represented the university well.

Plus, this team wants to go bowling again. This time the “right” way, if that even is an appropriate designation. 

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Bokunewicz’s big day powers Rice Women’s Basketball past St. Mary’s

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Rice women’s basketball overcame a slow start, catching fire in the second half behind the masterful shooting performance of Maya Bokunewicz.

It wasn’t the start Rice women’s basketball would have hoped to see on Sunday afternoon. After trading baskets early, Rice fell behind by nine points by the end of the first quarter, committing uncharacteristic penalties and making mental mistakes. Their opponent, Saint Mary’s pushed their advantage to double-digits early in the second quarter, putting the game on the brink of disaster should the Owls not settle down.

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds pulled the team aside and challenged them to focus.

“I just challenged. I challenge them to be who we are. We had not been that yet. And I was just telling them if wanted to play today, they would show up and play because at that point I  didn’t feel like they had shown up,” Edmonds said. “If we were playing blah it is not good for us. So I just challenged them to be us. And if they were ready to play, I was ready to watch them. They stepped up and they were ready to get going after that.

Not only did Rice find its rhythm, but they played some of their best basketball yet from that point onward. An 11-0 Rice run erased the Gaels’ lead entirely, with the Owls taking a brief two-point lead before heading into halftime even at 35-all.

The defense was starting to gel and the Owls were taking better care of the basketball. Maya Bokunewicz did the rest. The veteran guard connected on seven three-pointers, tying the school record and pushing the Rice lead to as many as 16 points.

When St. Mary’s tried to mount a late comeback, Rice made its free throws and Dominque Ennis delivered the dagger three in the closing seconds to put the game away. Rice moves to 3-2 with the win.

Final Box | Rice 73 – St. Mary’s 62

What They’re Saying

“We have kids that are now sophomores that were freshmen and played a lot of minutes, but there’s still ultimately very young on the basketball court. But there’s a lot of times they do not show their youth and inexperience at times today, I felt like we we showed that a little bit, but we’re still figuring it out. We don’t want to peak right now. We want to be peaking in February and March. I told them after the last game, we don’t need to hang our heads and hopefully, these adversities we’re facing now are going to bring us blessings in February and March.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Masterful Maya

This team is still learning who to lean on in big moments. A season ago, Ashlee Austin and Destiny Jackson were the spark plugs that willed this program to win. Jackson remains, but her role as a distributor is just as important as that of a scorer. She’s going to need someone else to make those clutch shots. On Sunday, that clutch someone was Maya Bokunewicz.

“Maya Buckets, that’s the opening statement,” Edmonds joked.

Bokunewicz tied a career-high with 26 points, reached in large part by the aforementioned seven triples. Even with her big day from behind the arc, Rice still only shot 38 percent from the floor. All of those makes mattered. The fact that they counted for three instead of two was a bonus.

“I kind of lost count,” Bokunewicz admitted. “I would just shoot one and it would go in… it kept happening. Like coach Edmonds said, my teammates really just found me, I was wide open and I just happened to be really on today.”

Up Next: at Stephen F. Austin (Sat. Nov 25)



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AAC Football 2023: Week 12 Roundup

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AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 12.

Team Record  This Week Result Up Next
Charlotte 3-8 (2-5) vs Rice L, 28-7 at USF
ECU 2-9 (1-6) at Navy L, 10-0 vs Tulsa
FAU 4-7 (2-5) vs Tulane L, 24-8 at Rice
Memphis 8-3 (5-2) vs SMU L, 38-34 at Temple (Fri)
Navy 5-5 (4-3) vs ECU W, 10-0 at SMU
North Texas 4-7 (2-5) at Tulsa W, 35-28 vs UAB
Rice 5-6 (3-4) at Charlotte W, 28-7 vs FAU
SMU 9-2 (7-0) at Memphis W, 38-34 vs Navy
Temple 3-8 (1-6) at UAB L, 34-24 vs Memphis (Fri)
Tulane 10-1 (7-0) at FAU W, 24-8 vs UTSA (Fri)
Tulsa 3-8 (1-6) vs North Texas L, 35-28 at ECU
UAB 4-7 (3-4) vs Temple W, 34-24 at North Texas
USF 5-6 (3-4) at UTSA L, 49-21 vs Charlotte
UTSA 8-3 (7-0) vs USF W, 49-21 at Tulane (Fri)

Notable Results (Standings)

And then there were three

SMU’s win over Memphis on Saturday afternoon kicked the Tigers out of the conference championship discussion. There are only three undefeated teams remaining, a testament to the strength of those three (UTSA, SMU and Tulane) and a condemnation to some degree with the AAC regular season scheduling. We were robbed of some good football games because of how little these teams crossed over this year.

No Bowl

FAU joined the seven-loss crowd this weekend, falling to Tulane. Things looked pretty dire for the Owls when quarterback Casey Thompson was hurt early on this season. To make it to mid-November with the possibility of postseason play on the table is a minor accomplishment in itself, although folks in Boca understandably want more after some great years in recent memory.

Modest middle tier

Are there any mediocre to good teams in this conference? Of the 14 members, just five are within a game of .500 after this weekend. We’ve talked about the cream of the crop, and we’ve talked about the bottom dwellers. Shout out to Navy, Rice and USF who remain in the hunt for bowl eligibility and have proven to be tough outs at the very least in league play.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Win and you’re in

Tulane and UTSA meet in one of the marquee games of the final weekend of regular season play. Make sure your TVs are tuned in on Black Friday in this defact semi-final game with the rights to a conference title game appearance on the line. In all likelihood, the winner will take on SMU, who needs to get past Navy to guarantee themselves an appearance.

Ahead of schedule?

In the first year under new head coaches, neither USF nor Navy was expected to make much noise in the AAC this season. Both had exciting moments and pushed some the conference heavyweights to the wire. But most importantly, they each have a surprise chance at bowl eligibility. It’ll be a tough ask for Navy against SMU, but USF hosts a bad Charlotte team. That seems very doable for the Bulls.

Running it back at Rice

Rice coach Mike Bloomgren has the chance to become just the third coach in program history to take his team to back-to-back bowl games next weekend should the Owls beat FAU at home. For someone who entered the AAC in the sixth year of his tenure with some pressure from a new AD, that would be huge.



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