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Rice Football 2023: NFL Owls Week 1 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 1.

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) Week 1 Result Week 2
Denver Broncos Elijah Garcia (DL) vs Raiders L, 17-16 vs Commanders
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Chiefs (TNF) W, 21-20 vs Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) vs Jaguars L, 31-21 at Texans
New England Patriots Calvin Anderson (OL) vs Eagles L, 25-20 vs Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) vs 49ers L, 30-7 vs Browns (MNF)
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs Rams L, 30-13 at Lions
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) at Vikings W, 20-17 vs Bears

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Patriots

Anderson made his first start of the season at right tackle for the Patriots.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen finished second on the team in receptions in Week 1 and third in targets, hauling in four passes for 39 yards against the Jaguars. Only leading receiver Michael Pittman was more involved in the offense through the air.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was active but did not play for the Bucs’ in their Week 1 victory over the Vikings.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams saw a few snaps on defense in the Seahawks in Week 1 against the Rams, but did not record any stats.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Broncos

Garcia had a pair of tackles in the Broncos’ Week 1 loss to the Raiders. He saw some early action in the redzone, too.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox was instrumental in the Lions’ upset win over the Chiefs on opening night. He punted five times, pinning Kansas City inside the 20 on three separate occasions and registering a long of 61 yards on his longest punt of the night.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell’s action on Sunday was short and sweet. He was called upon once to convert an extra point try following the Steelers’ long touchdown of the afternoon and did so without incident. He did not attempt any other kicks.

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: Texas Southern

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Rice football hosts Texas Southern this weekend in an intracity matchup. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Rice football enters Week 3 riding high after an upset win over Houston to kick off their first of seven home games at Rice Stadium this season. Texas Southern was less fortunate, getting thumped by Toledo on the road 71-3. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s matchup between Rice and Texas Southern.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, Texas
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Texas Southern 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

Texas Southern is in the opening days of what is shaping up to be another challenging season. The Tigers were able to keep pace with the Owls when these two teams met up in 2021, but there’s not a lot at stake for the visitors this time around with expectations fairly limited. The same can not be said for Rice, which will be expected to win this game and win it comfortably after last weekend’s landmark victory.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 1-0
Last Five | Rice leads, 1-0
Last Meeting | Home 2021, Rice won 48-34

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Daniels – 42/68 (61.8 percent), 550 yards, 4TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Connors – 16 carries, 71 yards (4.4 yards per carry), 0 TD / Alexander – 7 carries, 17 yards (2.4 yards per carry), 3 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 9 receptions, 121 yards (13.4 yds/rec), 3 TDs / Walker – 6 receptions, 116 yards (19.3 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Wyatt – 14 / Fresch, Morrison – 12/ Coco, Conti, Pearcy, Taylor – 10
Pass Breakups | Fresch – 4 / Devones, Jean – 2 / Wyatt, Narcisse – 1
Interceptions | Devones – 1

Texas Southern Stat Notables

Passing | Body – 18/38 (47.4 percent), 286 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Owens – 16 carries, 141 yards (8.8 yards per carry), 1 TD / Howard – 20  carries, 76 yards (3.8 ypc), 0 TD
Receiving | Davis – 7 receptions, 120 yards (17.1 yards per reception), 1 TD / Johnson – 10 receptions, 87 yards (8.7 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Williams – 25 / Henderson – 18 / Bogerty, Noel – 15
Pass Breakups | Henderson, Player, Williams – 1
Interceptions | Williams – 1

Texas Southern X-Factor | Take the ball away

Turnovers have been a problem for Rice football and were almost their undoing against Houston last weekend. The Owls led by 28 points before JT Daniels through a redzone interception and the Owls fumbled a later possession away, allowing the down-and-out Cougars to stick around and put the result in doubt late.

That’s the same formula Texas Southern will have to replicate if they want to have a chance to compete against a more athletic team on both sides of the ball. Rice corner Tre’shon Devones said it well in his postgame comments, “We can only beat ourselves at this point.”

Texas Southern needs to force the issue, play aggressively and take risks. If they can get Rice to cough up the football they can make this one interesting.

Rice X-Factor | Limit mistakes

In the same vein, Rice football has to make this as formulaic of a game as possible. Finding a way to have success on the ground would be a plus, but as long as the Owls can protect the football and play fundamentally sound, they should win this game.

That might be easier said than done though. Rice hasn’t played a turnover-free football game since Week 2 of 2022 against McNeese State, a span of 13 consecutive games with at least one turnover. Running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks have all been culpable over that stretch. It’s a team problem that needs to be fixed. Saturday would be the perfect time do so.

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One Final Thing

While Rice football hasn’t won a game quite as significant as the Houston game to this point under Bloomgren, they have had a few big victories along the way. What the Owls have lacked is any sort of reliable consistency from week to week.

This program is not too far removed from losing to a Charlotte team with an interim head coach to take any game for granted, regardless who lines up on the other side of the field.

That’s what will make Saturday so intriguing for this team. If they can hold serve against Texas Southern they’ll enter their final nonconference game against UConn with a winning record as they ready for their first-ever AAC game. Now isn’t the time to look ahead, but it is the time to prove you can succeed where your feet are and take care of business one snap at a time and one game at a time.

Rice football needs to replicate its fast start against Houston and extend its success into the second half and through its conclusion, proving they’ve learned from their hiccups and can make the necessary adjustments to elevate their level of play. If they can do that, a special season could be underway.

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“An environment you’ll never forget”: Rice Football reacts to UH win

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Rice football earned a monumental program victory on Saturday, upsetting Houston to win the Bayou Bucket and sending South Main into celebration.

On Saturday night in the Brian Patterson Center, Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren and his players attempted to put into words the significance of the Owls’ double-overtime victory over the University of Houston.

There were the obvious talking points — Rice’s first victory in the series in eight tries, the first win over Houston since 2010 and the first Power 5 victory for Rice since 2013 — but the emotions emanating from South Main transcended what could be easily described.

“The quietest guys were jumping around and screaming,” corner Tre’shon Devones said, attempting to describe the postgame locker room. “I think I saw new personalities from people I’ve never seen before. You have guys that have only said like two or three words since I’ve been here and now they’re just jumping around, screaming. Some of them have some good dance moves. I didn’t know that either.”

“It was just an environment you’ll never forget.”

Bloomgren and his staff have been searching for a moment like this since he was hired prior to the 2018 season. Since his arrival, Rice had lost to Houston by final scores of 45-27, 44-7 and 34-27.

On Saturday, the Owls broke through. Rice scored 28 unanswered points, allowed 35 points in a row, and then stopped Houston on a two-point try in the fourth quarter to seal the monumental win that, for many on South Main, went beyond words.

“How beautiful is football, right?” wide receiver Luke McCaffrey asked with an almost stunned smile.

The win will go down as the most significant of the Bloomgren era to date.  “We’ve been close a lot of times,” Bloomgren admitted. On Saturday, they finished.

When asked to pinpoint what made this team different and what made this game unique, Bloomgren pointed to the unity he saw in his players. “This isn’t just about today, it’s not just about this week of prep, it’s all the things we do,” he said. “This is the cumulative effect of a bunch of guys making the decision to fight for each other. It’s a great result and really cool for this program.”

And how much fun was the post-game celebration? Bloomgren likened it to “a club that I don’t go to anymore,” laughing and smiling as he worked to keep his traditional even-keel demeanor.

Bloomgren talked about the progression he’s seen the program go through under his tenure at the Owls’ helm. From losing big to losing small to winning small and, hopefully, to soon winning big. Whether or not Saturday’s win counts in the small or big category is in the eye of the beholder, but nobody in the room seemed to care which it was as they hoisted the Bayou Bucket trophy high.

But it was after that raucous celebration and euphoric locker room that the why finally began to crystalize. When Devones took his turn at the microphone he shared a difference he saw in this team that he gleaned through the midst of the celebrations.

“The difference between now and then,” Devones said of prior Rice teams he’s been on, “Today when we won, we had people going around already thinking about things we can get better at. That’s a real stepping stone that I’ve seen. That just goes to show the mentality of the team now.”

“Yeah, we’re okay with winning, but this needs to be the standard now.”

There are no current games scheduled between Rice and Houston, although both administrations have publically expressed their desire to keep the series going. Regardless of when the next Bucket is played, though, a new high has been reached. If the Owls can turn that mountaintop into the new standard they’ll be more than ready to defend their trophy the next time they meet the Cougars.

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American Conference Football 2023: Week 2 Roundup

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American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 2.

Team Week 2 Result Record Up Next
Charlotte vs Maryland L, 38-20 1-1 vs Georgia St
ECU vs Marshall L, 31-13 0-2 at App St
FAU vs Ohio L, 17-10 1-1 at Clemson
Memphis at Arkansas St W, 37-3 2-0 vs Navy
Navy vs Wagner W, 24-0 1-1 at Memphis
North Texas at FIU L, 46-39 0-2 at LA Tech
Rice vs Houston W, 43-41 (2OT) 1-1 vs Texas So
SMU at Oklahoma L, 28-11 1-1 vs PVAMU
Temple at Rutgers L, 36-7 1-2 vs Norfolk St
Tulane vs Ole Miss L, 37-20 1-1 at So. Miss
Tulsa at Washington L, 43-10 1-1 vs Oklahoma
UAB at Georgia So L, 49-35 1-1 vs Louisiana
USF vs FAMU W, 38-24 1-1 vs Alabama
UTSA vs TXST W, 20-13 1-1 vs Army

Notable Results (Standings)

Rice claims Bayou Bucket

For the first time since 2010, a span of 12 seasons and seven consecutive series losses, Rice football took down Houston to claim the Bayou Bucket. The Owls jumped out to a 28-0 lead, allowed 35 unanswered points and then prevailed in double overtime. Head coach Mike Bloomgren celebrated afterward with a not-so-subtle shot at his counterpart across town.

Prattless Letdown

Tulane dropped a heartbreaker to Ole Miss at home in a game that was much closer than the final score might indicate. Playing without star quarterback Michael Pratt, who was unable to go with an injury, Tulane played Ole Miss to a 17-10 lead at halftime and a 17-17 tie entering the fourth quarter before the Rebels were able to pull away. No Pratt really was a buzzkill in what was otherwise an exciting game.

Harris hurt, but not defeated

On a day when another of the conference’s top quarterbacks was unable to go, UTSA passer Frank Harris delivered a scare to the near-record crowd at hand to see the Roadrunners take on the upstart Texas State Bobcats. Harris left the game briefly but was able to return, finishing the game and leading UTSA to victory despite playing hobbled the rest of the way.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

The big boys are coming to town

There are a handful of additional opportunities for Power 5 wins for the AAC next week, but two of those games come at home. Tulsa will host Oklahoma and South Florida will host Alabama. Both will be long shots to pull off a stunner, but getting to play in front of your home crowd certainly can’t hurt.

The going stays tough

There are only two winless AAC teams remaining entering Week 3. North Texas, who just lost to former Conference USA foe FIU on the road this past Saturday turns around and travels to another former C-USA rival next weekend when they visit Louisiana Tech. That’s a game new head coach Eric Morris simply has to find a way to win. Meanwhile, ECU has an even tougher test, taking on an Appalachian State squad that took North Carolina to overtime.

Make it count

The first conference game will be played next weekend when Navy visits Memphis. The bulk of conference play will start for most squads in Week 4, but for at least a week, one of these two squads will officially be atop the conference standings.

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Rice Football tops Houston in 2OT, wins first Bayou Bucket since 2010

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Rice Football came out hot, fell behind, took the lead and held on, earning a massive rivalry win over crosstown rival Houston for the first time since 2010.

The final moments got hairy, but the scoreboard does not lie. Rice football notched a monumental rivalry win over Houston on Saturday night, claiming their first victory in the series since 2010. After leading 28, Rice allowed 35 unanswered points before slamming the door on a pass breakup in double overtime. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The offense comes to life

The working theory regarding the Rice football offense this week was more or less this: once the Owls’ offensive line faced a less-than-super-human pass rush and JT Daniels had time, the Owls’ would start putting up points. It didn’t take long for that theory to be tested on Saturday and the early returns were overwhelmingly positive.

On the first series of the game, Daniels stepped up into the pocket, avoided pressure and found an outlet across the middle, getting the ball to Juma Otoviano who scampered 35 yards into the redzone. Two plays later Daniels again climbed the pocket, scanning the field and found Luke McCaffrey darting across the field toward the sideline. He slung it his way and McCaffrey did the rest for the Owls’ first score.

It wasn’t a first-drive fluke, though. The Rice offense had three possessions in the first quarter and put the ball in the box on each attempt. Daelen Alexander picked up his first career score on a fourth-and-one plunge and McCaffrey added another touchdown on this spectacular grab:

Touchdown after touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. The Rice offense didn’t just kick off some dust, it went into overdrive right up until turnovers and penalties killed the positive vibes. Short of the self-inflicted wounds, the unit was productive. It’s hard to ignore a scoreless second half and an overtime that never should have happened, but the offense delivered in overtime and Rice walked away victorious.

When asked the difference between Daniels’ play from last week to this week, head coach Mike Bloomgren quipped, “he was playing the game standing up, to be quite frank. He got to play quarterback.”

Defense joins the fray

The offensive explosion came, in part, because that unit was able to get into a rhythm. There weren’t any long waits confined to the bench while they waited for their next turn. Instead, the defense quickly did their job and handed the ball right back to the offense as both sides operated with a synergy that hadn’t been seen to such a degree in quite some time.

The defense pitched a shutout in the first quarter and didn’t allow points until Houston’s final drive of the second quarter, one that required a pair of fourth-down conversions including one via penalty.

Before the Cougars were able to get on the board, the Rice defense recorded its first takeaway of the season — an interception by Tre’shon Devones — and added a three-and-out on the very next possession. Houston managed just 32 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Rice had 186.

As the game progressed, the defense was strained. Houston drove the length of the field on their first drive of the second half and opted to go for it on fourth and goal, trailing by three scores.

After bringing the heat, the Owls dropped into coverage and gave Houston quarterback Donovan Smith nowhere to throw it. The Cougars turned the ball over on downs, ending a seven-minute drive without points. The defense turned Houston over on downs again on the very next drive.

It wasn’t until the offense endured a prolonged scoring drought that we saw the defense start to sag. That was the same story in the opening game against Texas, but fortunately for the Owls, it wasn’t enough to sink them on Saturday. When the defense needed a play, they got it, with Jojo Jean breaking up a pass in double overtime to win the game.

Houston, we have a quarterback

When Rice football kicked off the season, the Owls were the owners of one painful, notorious quarterback stat: Rice had started more quarterbacks than any other FBS institution since 2017. For one reason or another, the search for stable play under center had evaded Bloomgren since his arrival at Rice.

Rice had tried journeymen. They’d tried freshmen. The Owls had started pocket passers and runners, two of which made their way into the Owls’ receiving corps on Saturday night. Injuries and ineffective play had rendered the fruits negligible. For an offensive-minded head coach, the lack of production on that side of the ball was maddening.

So when JT Daniels arrived on South Main, there was ample reason to be cautious. Even though he brought his blue-chip recruiting profile, his multiple stops to reach Rice caused many to raise their eyebrows. Against Texas, the entire offense went flat. But Bloomgren kept the faith. On Saturday, he was rewarded.

Daniels lit Houston up to the tune of 401 yards (sixth most in school history) and three touchdowns. He led Rice to 28 first half points in the rivalry for the first time since 2008. He was surgical, slicing and dicing a Houston defense that secured a victory over Rice with its own finishing blow just last season. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

With the game on the line, Daniels delivered in overtime, securing one of the Owls’ biggest victories of the Bloomgren era. For all the good and bad from Saturday night, the simple truth was this: Rice football asked a quarterback to go win them the game in overtime and he delivered.

The Owls have landed

Streaks are meant to be broken. For the first time since a 2013 victory over Kansas, Rice football has notched a win over a Power 5 opponent. The string of defeats since had spanned 18 games, including the Owls’ prior outing last weekend against Texas. Saturday’s result was quite the opposite.

For the first time since 2010, Rice football has beaten crosstown rival Houston, snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Cougars. Getting the Bayou Bucket back on this side of South Main is exciting, serving to validate years of building under head coach Mike Bloomgren while (hopefully) providing a launching point for their inaugural season of American Conference play.

Rice football sits at 1-1 with two nonconference games remaining before it’s time to take on the AAC. The Owls want to make some noise in their new conference. Wins like this suggest this is a program that should be up for the challenge, although consistency, not ability, has been this program’s nemesis in prior seasons.

Today, though, Rice football can and should feel pretty good about where they stand. They beat Houston and proved they can play with one of the most talented teams remaining on their schedule. Celebrate tonight. Then it’s time to prove they can become the program they’ve been building toward.

“We probably made it a little more interesting than we needed to, but to win the Bucket for the first time in 12 years and get it back to Main Street, which was one of our goals for this season, that’s a big deal for a program. To beat a Big 12 team is a big deal for our program.”

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