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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 3 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2022 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 3.

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 3 Result Week 4
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL) vs 49ers W,11-10 at Raiders
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Vikings L,  28-24 vs Seahawks
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) vs Chiefs W, 20-17 vs Titans
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB) vs Jaguars L, 38-10 at Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) at Browns L, 29-17 vs Jets
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs Falcons L, 27-23 at Lions
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Packers L, 14-12 vs Chiefs

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson saw one snap with the offense against the 49ers, his first of the season after serving primarily on special teams thus far.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen was targeted twice on Sunday in the Colts’ win over the Cheifs, hauling in both passes for seven yards. He also recovered a fumble.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was active but did not play for the Bucs in their Week 3 loss to the Packers.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams made his 2022 debut on Sunday, seeing action with the Seahawks’ defensive after being inactive in the previous two games.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

Callahan had four tackles and one tackle for a loss in the Chargers’ Week 3 loss to the Jaguars.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington was elevated from the Chargers’ practice squad to the active roster earlier this season but has yet to see action with the team thus far. He was inactive again in Week 3.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox was only called upon to punt three times in the Lions’ narrow loss to the Vikings in Week 3. He averaged 44.7 yards on the trio of kicks with a long of 50 yards. He put one ball inside the 20.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was 1-for-2 on field goal tries this week, converting from 34 yards. He also made both of his extra point attempts in the Steelers’ loss to the Browns.

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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The Roost Podcast | Ep 127 Rice Football vs UH Recap

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Rice football went toe-to-toe with Houston and came up just short. We break down the game and discuss what it means entering conference play.

It came down to the final play, but Rice football did eventually fall to Houston in a contentious battle for the Bayou Bucket. The Owls exit their nonconference portion of the schedule with a 2-2 record, but portions of this game and previous outings did more to inspire confidence than hesitation. We discuss what stood out for the Owls against the Cougs and what it means for the team moving forward.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 127.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

  • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
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Rice Football vs Houston game recap

  • When the underdogs don’t really feel like underdogs any more
  • The offensive evolution is starting to feel more and more real
  • Amidst changes on the offensive line, Rice still moved the football successfully
  • Fundamentally sound on defense against a good offense
  • Takeaway from the totality of non-conference play
  • How confident should we be against UAB and through the remainder of the season?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football 2022 Game Preview: UAB

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Rice football opens Conference USA play against the UAB Blazers this weekend. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

The UAB Blazers sat and home during their bye week and watched Rice football push the Houston Cougars to the brink on Saturday night. The Owls did not prevail, but they should have given the Blazers plenty to prepare for as the teams prepare to meet for the first time since Rice upset UAB in Birmingham last season. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.

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

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UAB 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

Both UAB and Rice football enter their Week 5 contest 0-0 in conference play. The Blazers were expected to be among the favorites in the race for the conference title, the Owls were not. But the dynamics of that title hunt could change quickly. Rice is playing some of their best football in recent memory right now and they beat UAB in Birmingham last season. The Blazers are the favorites, but this one could very well go the distance.

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Series History

All Time | UAB leads, 6-4
Last Five | UAB leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Away 2021, Rice won 30-24

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 76/119 (63.9 percent), 976 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Broussard – 60 carries, 160 yards (2.7 yards per carry), 6 TD / Montgomery – 19 carries, 152 yards (8.0 yards per carry), 0 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 26 receptions, 323 yards (12.4 yds/rec), 3 TD / Rozner – 13 receptions, 278 yards (21.4 yds/rec), 3 TDs / Esdale – 17 receptions, 219 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 19 / Morrison – 17 / Taylor – 15
Pass Breakups | Morrison, Dunbar, Taylor, Fresch – 2 / Three others tied with one
Interceptions | Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Taylor – 1

UAB Notables

Passing | Hopkins – 35/52 (67.3 percent), 430 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | McBride – 48 carries, 400 yards (8.3 yards per carry), 5 TD / Brown – 38 carries, 247 yards (6.5 ypc), 2 TD
Receiving | Palmer – 8 receptions, 110 yards (13.8 yards per reception), 0 TD / Jones – 10 receptions, 91 yards (9.1 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Wilder – 21 / Taylor – 19/  Cash – 13
Pass Breakups | McWilliams – 4 / Swoopes, Bynum – 3
Interceptions | Key – 2 / Four others tied with one

UAB X-Factor | Stop the pass

Although Rice football has preached ground and pound under the direction of head coach Mike Bloomgren, the 2022 Owls have taken to the skies. In their most recent outing against Houston, Rice threw for 334 yards, almost 100 yards more than the pass-happy Cougars.

Through four games, Rice is averaging 262.3 yards per contest compared to 211.7 per game last season. On the other hand, the Owls rushing attack has more or less held steady, dropping slightly from 149.5 yards per game last season 147.8 this year. The 2022 Owls aren’t one-dimensional anymore.

UAB’s best bet is to take that extra tool away. The Blazers have had a Top 4 run defense in Conference USA in each of the last four seasons. They were No. 1 in the conference last year. If they can hang tight with the Owls through the air they’ll have a chance to render the entire offense less explosive and less effective. Rice is going to try and take to the skies. UAB has to find a way to answer.

Rice X-Factor | Stop the run

The Owls’ to-do will be exactly the opposite. As UAB attempts to limit Rice through the air, Rice will have to find a way to stymy UAB on the ground. The Blazers enter the game with the No. 1 rushing offense in Conference USA, averaging 253.3 yards per game. Their 6.23 yards per carry ranks fifth nationally. This is a team that is going to run the football a lot.

This won’t come as a surprise for Rice defensive coordinator Brian Smith. This script matches what UAB has sought to do in their prior matchups with the Owls over the years. UAB averaged 5.8 yards per carry in this matchup last season. They weren’t able to lean on the ground game quite like they might have hoped to, only managing to run the ball 22 times for 127 yards.

If UAB can’t run the ball, their deep shots off play action become harder to sell. If that happens, Rice can pin their ears back in traditional passing situations and severely limit the entire UAB offensive approach.

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One Final Thing

With a win on Saturday, Rice football should be mentioned among the teams in contention to win a conference title. No, that’s not hyperbole. There is no singular team in Conference USA that looks head and shoulders above any other.

UAB and UTSA remain the frontrunners for obvious reasons, but if Rice can knock off the former in back-to-back seasons behind the arm of their newfound quarterback, there isn’t a team in this league they can’t beat. That’s a lot at stake for a conference opener, which precedes a much-needed bye week which will give the roster time to recuperate and get healthy.

A close loss, similar to how Rice fell to Houston, would still keep this team in that conversation, serving as another datapoint suggesting this team is much better than they were a year ago. If this team is the team they’ve led us to believe they are, there’s no reason this isn’t another good game at South Main. And if things go the right way, it could be the fourth consecutive home victory for Rice football.

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Until the clock says :00: New-look Rice Football trending upward

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Rice football ran out of time against Houston, but four quarters of the Owls vs Cougars proved this team has made significant strides.

With less than 10 seconds on the clock and the ball 60 yards from the endzone, Rice football quarterback TJ McMahon launched the ball as far as he could down the field. Tick, tick, tick. Wide receiver Bradley Rozner hauled the ball in. Tick, tick, tick. And hit the turf nine yards from the endzone. Tick, tick, tick. Then clock stopped.

Players rushed the field on both sides, but no whistle blew. Soon everyone began to look around in question. Was the game over? Not quite.

Unlike in the NFL, the clock stops with every first down at the collegiate level. McMahon’s 51-yard bomb gave the Owls one play from the nine-yard line, trailing by seven. Although he wouldn’t say so directly, head coach Mike Bloomgren intimated his intentions had the Owls scored, would have been to go for two and the win.

Instead, McMahon’s final-second pass fell to the turf incomplete. Game over.

More: Time runs out as Rice football falls to Houston

One year removed from being bludgeoned at home 44-7, Rice came one play and nine yards short of redemption. It’s a hard pill to swallow for a team that’s come this far.

“Because of how bad this game went last year. I don’t think any of us are going to feel great about a moral victory tonight,” Bloomgren said in the aftermath. “But there’s improvement, that’s pretty clear.”

At this point last season Rice had been blown out in the aforementioned game against Houston. They’d been shut out 58-0 at Texas. Sitting at 1-3, their only win came by 14 points against an FCS team that would go on to finish the season 3-8.

So to be 2-2 after two games with a win against Louisiana — which held the nation’s longest winning streak entering the game — is definitive, measurable and meaningful improvement. But it’s how that improvement has manifested itself that is most important.

Depth pays dividends

The 2021 Rice football squad was ravaged by injuries. The Owls have been slightly more fortunate this season, but still took the Cougars to the wire without: their opening day starting quarterback, multiple key wide receivers, multiple starting offensive linemen, their opening day starting edge rusher, their expected preseason No. 2 tight end and without a full complement of snaps from defensive tackle De’Braylon Carroll. Rice was short-handed against Houston. The level of play said differently.

“That’s why you recruit. That’s why you try and create as much depth as you can,” Bloomgren said. “The next men up are better. That’s one reason it keeps working. Right now the depth we’ve created is better depth and they’re guys I’m not holding my breath when they go in a game.”

“I would love to be healthy, but in Week 5 of a college football season, it is what it is. I’m glad we have guys that are capable and going in there and preparing the right way and then performing.”

More: Conference USA Week 4 Roundup

Absences that — while not spoken of as excuses — may have crippled this team in the past don’t seem to be that big of a speedbump. Trey Phillippi had never played guard in his life before taking his first practice snaps with the Owls’ starting unit on Wednesday. He started on Saturday night.

“Probably not ideal to have somebody start their first college football game at a position they’ve never played in their life against a team that’s nicknamed Sack Avenue, right?” Bloomgren asked rhetorically. Then he went on to praise Phillippi and fellow lineman Shea Baker and Clay Servin for making it work. Facing a difficult situation, the players found a way to push through.

Culture change

The depth is, unquestionably, better. But that doesn’t explain the attitude and the swagger this team has brought into their games this season.

“Usually last year’s team, we would have folded,” McMahon said, in a moment of true transparency.

He’s not wrong. There were several occasions last season where things snowballed on the Owls and games got away from them. They were shut out twice. They squandered a pair of overtime chances and came up empty. Halftime leads and even fourth quarter leads somewhat frequently went up in smoke.

Rice threw three interceptions in the first half against Louisiana. Then they fought back. Rice misplayed the opening kickoff against Houston, allowing it to roll out of bounds at the two-yard line. They saw the Houston offense score a go-ahead touchdown three times. They answered every score. Right up until they ran out of time.

Linebacker Chris Conti, who transferred from Rutgers during the offseason said it best. “I’ll be honest, I love the culture,” he relayed after the game. “Obviously, not the outcome we want today but we’ll get after it on Monday and hopefully get a conference win next Saturday.”

There’s still time

“Our guys obviously fought til the scoreboard said 0:00,” Bloomgren said. “We had the chance to win or to tie I guess at the last snap and that’s what we intended to do.”

Against Houston, the clock has hit triple zeroes. No matter how close the Owls came, the result was loss number two on the season. There are no moral victories. But… the clock hasn’t run out on what continues to look like a very promising season.

“We’re going to find a way to win these kinds of games,” Bloomgren declared.

And with eight weeks worth of football left to play, the Owls’ future continues to look as bright as ever.

“I think we’re pretty close, as far as where we want to be,” McMahon said in closing. “Obviously perfection is the goal… that starts with me.”

McMahon wasn’t perfect on Saturday, but he did throw for 334 yards, outpacing Houston quarterback Clayton Tune. Rice did a lot of things well on Saturday, registering more first downs, fewer penalties and more yards per completion. They just ran out of time.

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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 4 Roundup

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Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 4.

Team Week 4 Result Up Next
Charlotte at South Carolina L, 56-20 vs UTEP
FAU at Purdue L, 28-26 at North Texas
FIU at WKU L, 73-0 at New Mexcio St
LA Tech at South Alabama L, 38-14 — OFF —
MTSU at Miami W, 45-31 vs UTSA
North Texas at Memphis L, 44-34 vs FAU
Rice at Houston L, 34-27 vs UAB
UAB — OFF —  — at Rice
UTEP vs Boise St W, 27-10 at Charlotte
UTSA vs Texas So. W, 52-24 at MTSU
WKU vs FIU W, 73-0 vs Troy

Notable Week 4 results – Standings

Upset in the Desert

Early in the week, the sky felt like it might start falling in El Paso. Sitting at 1-3 with a matchup looming against Boise State (which thumped UTEP 54-13 last season) had folks in the desert on high alert. Instead, celebrations ensued as the Miners handled the Broncos with surprising ease, righting their season and sending shockwaves through the country late Friday night.

Upset at the Beach

UTEP’s wasn’t the only shocker of the weekend in Conference USA. The next day Middle Tennessee blasted a raked Miami team in their own stadium, dropping 45 points on the Hurricanes and doing it in style. The Blue Raiders completed a 71-yard touchdown pass, an 89-yard pass, a 69-yard pass and a 98-yard touchdown pass on their way to the emphatic victory.

Several more near-misses

Those would be the only major upsets for the conference this weekend, but several other C-USA squads came close. Rice led Houston in the fourth quarter of the Bayou Bucket and had what could have been the game-tying touchdown fall incomplete in the endzone. Florida Atlantic took Purdue to the brink on the road while Charlotte gave South Carolina a scare, entering halftime down just one score.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Buckle Up in Murfreesboro

UTSA pushed past an early scare against Texas Southern this weekend and went on to win with relatively comfort, but that paled in comparison to Middle Tennessee’s historic win. Picked to finish significantly higher in the standings than the Blue Raiders, the Roadrunners had better get back to the film room quickly. Their next game just got a lot tougher.

Battling for a bowl

Charlotte has one win on the season. UTEP has two. Both programs have a long way to go if they’re going to reach bowl eligibility and while it wouldn’t be too surprising if one of them were able to get hot and make a run, that task gets harder for the loser of this game. We’re way too early in the season for this to be a make-or-break contest, but the margin gets thinner for the team that comes out behind in this one.

Bring on the rematch

Rice shocked the country when they knocked off UAB last season. To do so required nearly a perfect effort, excelling in all phases, which resulted in the narrowest of margins. Rice might not have put together a perfect game yet this season, but early returns suggest the Owls might be feisty enough to battle with the Blazers regardless. Winner might just have a shot at a deep C-USA run.

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