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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 2 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 2.

Team Week 2 Result Up Next
Charlotte vs Maryland L, 56-21 at Georgia State
FAU vs SE Louisiana W, 24-9 vs UCF
FIU at Texas St L, 41-12 — OFF —
LA Tech vs SFA W, 52-17 at Clemson
MTSU at Colorado St W, 34-19 vs Tennessee St
North Texas vs Texas Southern W, 59-27 at UNLV
Rice vs McNeese St W, 52-10 vs Louisiana
UAB at Liberty L, 21-14 vs Georgia Southern
UTEP vs New Mexico St W, 20-13 at New Mexico
UTSA at Army W, 41-38 (OT) at Texas
WKU — OFF —  — at Indiana

Notable Week 2 results – Standings

UTSA posts another thriller

Because one overtime barnburner wasn’t enough, UTSA followed up a Week 1 triple overtime loss to Houston with a Week 2 single overtime victory over Army. The Roadrunners have been all over the place in this young season thus far, but at 1-1 with a road win under their belts and Frank Harris continuing to excel, expectations remain high among the UTSA faithful.

Middle Tennesee bounces back

Everything that could go wrong went wrong for Middle Tennesee in their season-opening loss to James Madison, but the Blue Raiders have clearly put that behind them. MTSU lept out to a 27-0 halftime lead on the road against Colorado State, weathering a 19-point third quarter from the Rams to clinch their first victory of the year.

UTEP gets reprieve

The UTEP faithful entered the season with high expectations and might not have been able to stomach an 0-3 start. Leading 20-13, the Miners watched nervously as New Mexico marched down the field in the final four minutes before finally stalling out on the 13-yard line in the final seconds. It was too close for comfort, but a win is a win.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Roadrunners rowdy for more?

It might behoove UTSA to keep their proclivity for exciting football games going for at least one more week. The Roadrunners travel to Austin next weekend to play a Texas team that will be licking its wounds from a near-upset of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Longhorns might be without their starting quarterback, too.

Winning record?

A week removed from their first win of the year, can Rice football make it two in a row? The Owls host Louisiana in Week 3. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a new head coach and posted modest early season wins over South Eastern Louisiana and Eastern Michigan. Riding some momentum, Rice could be in reach of their first winning record under head coach Mike Bloomgren.

Sunshine State Showdown

There’s no lack of hostility among football fans of various programs throughout the state of Florida. Needless to say, emotions will be high when UCF makes the trip to Boca Raton to play Florida Atlantic in Week 3.  The Owls take on the Knights and then the Purdue Boilermakers the week following. A win in either game would be sweet, but you can bet FAU fans really want to knock off UCF.

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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?

Digging deeper

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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 Baseball: 2022 MLB Owls update – Sep8

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The 2022 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

J.T. Chargois – Tampa Bay Rays

Chargois appeared in three games this week, beginning with a scoreless three out appearance against the Yankees last Friday where he earned his first official hold. He allowed three earned runs across 2.1 combined innings in his next two games, including his first start of the season on Tuesday where he served as an opener against the Red Sox.

Through September 8, Chargois has a 3.00 ERA with a 1.111 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lucas Luetge – New York Yankees

Luetge worked an extended relief appearance in a Wednesday win over the Twins in the second game of a doubleheader. He entered the game in the seventh inning with two away and finished the contest, notching his second save of the season with a no-run, three-hit outing with three strikeouts.

Through September 8, Luetge has a 2.55 ERA with a 1.257 WHIP. He’s averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Glenn Otto – Texas Rangers

Otto went four innings against the Astros on Tuesday, allowing just two earned runs while striking out five. He did not earn a decision in the game, but the Rangers did go on to win. He’s 6-8 on the season.

Through September 8, Otto has a 4.80 ERA with a 1.380 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Injured List

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

The Angels announced on June 17  that Rendon would undergo season-ending surgery on his right wrist. His season is done.

Rendon finished the year hitting .228 with 15 extra-base hits, 23 walks and 32 strikeouts. His OPS is .707 and he’s collected 24 RBI.

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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

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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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