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Rice Football: 10 Takeaways from 2021 season

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The 2021 Rice football season was a roller coaster, and the ride wasn’t always enjoyable. What can we take away from the Owls’ four-win campaign?

The upset of UAB in Birmingham will be the pinnacle of a Rice football season that spanned the full range of emotions. Two shutout losses, two overtime losses and two-wins shy of the postseason proved the sobering reality that this program isn’t quite where they want to be. Not yet.

Nevertheless, our coverage of Rice football is far from over. We’ll be presenting The Roosties soon, our take on an annual Rice football awards show from The Roost Podcast. There will also be Team Superlatives released throughout December featuring more traditional awards like Team MVP, Offense and Defensive Player of the Year and more.

But before we get there, here are a few final thoughts on the 20201 Rice football season with some forward-thinking questions scattered throughout and promises of more to come.

Good

1. The offense is better

It was a rocky start, but Rice football topped 21 points each in seven of its final nine games and each of its final six. That included a 48-point outing against Texas Southern and 35 points in the finale against Louisiana Tech. Rice hadn’t strung together more than three consecutive 21-point outings under Bloomgren entering the year, so capping the season of with consistent touchdowns is a step in the right direction. OC Marques Tuiasosopo deserves a lot of credit.

2. The wide receivers might be the best unit on offense

That offensive evaluation came without Bradley Rozner on the field and without Jake Bailey in the Owls’ final game. Cedric Patterson stepped up and proved to be a difference-maker. August Pitre had some big catches in key moments. Kobie Campbell made several key plays when he was called upon. Rice has weapons in the passing game and they’re starting to make noise.

3. Return of key defensive pieces

This defensive might not have been anywhere close to the level of dominance they displayed during parts of the 2020 season, but it would have been better had De’Braylon Carroll and Treshawn Chamberlain played a part in it. Rice hopes to have both men back in the fold next season, starting the defense off on a better foot than they ended this past fall.

4. Up-and-coming talent

The lass several Rice football recruiting classes have been loaded with talent. We saw several key Bloomgren-era recruits play big roles this season. Jake Bailey became the go-to pass catcher. Braeden Nutter slotted in seamlessly on the offensive line. Jordan Dunbar, Sean Fresch, and Gabe Taylor secured starting roles on defense. True freshman Aidian Siano tallied multiple starts and never looked out of place. The talent is there and it’s starting to make an impact.

5. Four wins is better than two (or three)

Rice saw a modest tick upward in the win column this season. While that was short of the six-win expectation, the decision was made to retain head coach Mike Bloomgren heading into 2022. More will be said on that move in the coming days and weeks, but it’s worth noting that we shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees. Rice won more games this year than they had since 2015. That’s important, even if it comes alongside some real disappointments.

Fix

1. The secondary needs an overhaul

Rice lost several starting defensive backs to injury prior to the start of the 2020 season, but still managed to piece together a formidable back end. A similar rash of injuries struck this year, but the results were very different. Whether it was the installation of a new safeties coach, the reliance on younger, less proven players or a combination of both, something didn’t click. If Rice is going to have success moving forward they have to be at least decent against the pass. They weren’t this year.

2. Injuries aside, who is playing QB?

The ever-rotating quarterback carousel almost makes the list of improvement opportunities. Jake Constantine, Wiley Green, TJ McMahon and Luke McCaffrey all saw meaningful snaps this season. The latter three will be back. We’ll have more to say on how the quarterback position played out this year, but 2022 needs to be the year of health and competence reach an all-time high in this room. Furthermore, whoever wins the job needs to be developed into a player than can be successful over the course of a season.

3. Rice needs a true RB

The Rice running back room was a work-in-progress this season. Khalan Griffin did not take the step forward many hoped he might. Beyond him, converted tight end Jordan Myers was a key cog while Ari Broussard might have been the best option after all, working his way up from scout team. A camp injury left Juma Otoviano working scout team duties. This is a prime opportunity for a transfer addition or a consolidation of roles.

4. Finding a kicker is near the top of the priority list

Rice made one field goal longer than 30 yards in 12 games. That make was a 41-yard kick from Christan VanSickle in his first game taking over placekicking duties from Collin Riccitelli. The offense got much better on fourth down, but having a hand tied behind their backs when it came to the kicking game was a tremendous detriment to the offense as a whole.

5. If 2021 wasn’t a prove-it year, 2022 is

Ending the 2021 season without a bowl trip was a major disappointment in year four of Bloomgren’s tenure. There will be no more mulligans in 2022. There’s a lot of work to be done to get this team and this coaching staff over the hump and Bloomgren will have another offseason to get them there. 2022 is the year this team goes to a bowl, Bloomgren’s future depends on it.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Week 13 C-USA 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 13.

Team Week 13 Result Up Next
Charlotte at Old Dominion L, 56-34 End of Season
FAU vs MTSU L, 27-17 End of Season
FIU at Southern Miss L, 37-17 End of Season
LA Tech at Rice L, 35-31 End of Season
Marshall vs WKU L, 53-21 Bowl Eligible
MTSU at FAU W, 27-17 Bowl Eligible
North Texas vs UTSA W, 42-23 Bowl Eligible
Old Dominion vs Charlotte W, 56-34 Bowl Eligible
Rice vs LA Tech W, 35-31 End of Season
Southern Miss vs FIU W, 37-17 End of Season
UAB vs UTEP W, 42-25 Bowl Eligible
UTEP at UAB L, 42-25 Bowl Eligible
UTSA at North Texas L, 45-23 C-USA Title Game
WKU at Marshall W, 53-21 C-USA Title Game

Notable Week 13 results – Standings

Let’s go bowling

Three programs clinched bowl eligibility on the final weekend of the regular season. Old Dominion was a a favorited entering their game with Charlotte and dispatched the 49ers behind a thunderous 21-point fourth quarter. North Texas and Middle Tennessee were both underdogs. The Mean Green upset a ranked UTSA squad while Middle Tennesee won a battle of 5-6 teams, effectively ending FAU’s postseason dreams. The latter two games were some of the more surprising results of the week.

Ending on a high note

Although they won’t be going bowling, both Rice and Southern Miss ended the season with a win. The Owls rallied to knock off Louisiana Tech in what was the final game of Skip Holtz’ tenure and the first four-win season for Rice under Bloomgren. Meanwhile, Southern Miss perfected the quarterbackless offense, closing their season with successive wins over Louisiana Tech and FIU.

At least it’s over

The Conference USA reps from the state of Florida are ready to put a pair of disappointing seasons to bed. FIU wasn’t expected to be a real contender, but going 0-11 against FBS opponents was a tough blow leading to the end of the Butch Davis era. Fellow Sunshine-staters FAU fell much further. A preseason pick by some to win the East, the Owls finished 3-5 in conference play and missed out on bowl eligible entirely.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Let’s play two

The first meeting between Western Kentucky and UTSA was arguably the game of the year in Conference USA with the Roadrunners edging the Hilltoppers 52-46. Western Kentucky has not lost since, scoring 42 points or more in six of their seven consecutive victories. UTSA entered the national polls, but slowed down, falling to North Texas to end their hopes of a perfect season. Everything is on the line in this rematch which will (hopefully) live up to the hype.

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“Tangible Progress” and the future for Rice Football, Mike Bloomgren

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A thrilling comeback has Rice football and head coach Mike Bloomgren feeling good, but what’s next for Bloomgren and for the Owls?

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren coached his first game at South Main on August 25, 2018. On that day, his team trailed Prairie View A&M 28-19 entering the fourth quarter before winning on a walk-off field goal by Jack Fox.

The Owls would face many fourth-quarter deficits from that point onward. Up until Saturday, they hadn’t overcome a margin of as much as a single point since that opening game. In fact, Rice entered their final game of the 2021 season 1-31 when trailing at any point in the fourth quarter.

So when Rice quarterback TJ McMahon, who opened the season as the fourth-stringer on the depth chart, tossed an interception with the home team already trailing by 10 points with just under 10 minutes to play, things looked bleak.

Then the Rice defense forced a punt and McMahon and Co. unleashed a stunning five-play, 92-yard touchdown drive. The defense picked Louisiana Tech off once again, forced another three-and-out and a long punt return from Sean Fresch set McMahon up for his second fourth-quarter touchdown pass and a remarkable come-from-behind victory.

The victory was the Owl’s fourth of the season and, as Bloomgren was apt to mention postgame, the most wins Rice football has had since 2015. What does that mean for this program moving forward?

“It’s happening. It’s not happening at the pace that we want it to. It’s not happening at the pace I want it to, but it’s happening,” Bloomgren said with an assured, yet measured enthusiasm.

Bloomgren then steered the conversation back to the senior class. “It was so important for them to leave the program better than they found it and I think they can tangibly say they did,” he contended. “Their freshman year they had one win. Their next year they had two and now we’re building. Again not at the pace any of us want, but we’re building and I think their impact is going to be felt and remembered in this program for a while to come.”

More: Rice Football rallies to knock off LA Tech

Four wins are, indeed, tangible progress. Add in two overtime contests and somehow account for the loss of several defensive starters who missed the bulk of the season and Rice football could be as close to that next step as many between the hedges believe themselves to be.

Rice doesn’t play Texas or Arkansas next season, but they do play USC. The rest of the non-conference slate includes Houston, McNeese State and a Louisiana team that might have a new head coach in the coming weeks. Other C-USA programs on their schedule like UTSA and WKU both project to have massive amounts of turnover given how many seniors fill their rosters. There is opportunity.

Even if his moment in the spotlight is brief, McMahon seemed fully in touch with its significance. “I think it just shows that we can hang with anybody we play with,” he said, before going on to address a looming question the Rice fanbase desperately wants to know, adding, “I think in the next year we’ll be where we want to be, at the least.”

That promised land includes a bowl trip. It speaks of a season that in which, in Bloomgren’s own words could see this program get to “six, seven, eight, nine, 10 wins, whatever that looks like next year,” provided they find a way to turn those near misses into wins, no matter what it takes.

The ascent has been slow, but it’s there. Bloomgren has championed process since he arrived at Rice. The next step is to take a hard look in the mirror and to modify the process to squeeze out every win this program is truly capable of achieving. Even if that means some uncomfortable conversations.

“Somehow, we gotta find a way to do it,” Bloomgren said. Indeed they do. It started with winning one more on Saturday, reminding all this program is certainly capable of rediscovering winning ways. Where next? Only time will tell.

Photo credit Maria Lysaker
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TJ McMahon, defense lift Rice Football to come-from-behind win

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It wasn’t easy, but a Rice football fought to the end for a gritty win over Louisiana Tech, capping off a 4-win season for the Owls.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Rice football quarterback TJ McMahon stepped up in the pocket and unleashed a bullet… right into the waiting arms of a Louisiana Tech defensive back. A turnover committed by the former fourth-string quarterback with the season on the line seemed a fitting way to a season that did not go according to plan. Except that’s not where this story ends.

McMahon and Rice needed to be perfect from that point onward to win. They were. Not only did Rice rally to overcome the deficit, they held on, intercepting Louisiana Tech with the clocking winding down to clinch an improbable victory. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Secondary slump continues

The Rice secondary has been picked apart by their opponents this year. Seeing Bailey Zappe carve them up a few weeks ago was understandable, but allowing the likes of JD Head to lead a mediocre Louisiana Tech offense up and down the field was particularly discouraging. Injuries or not, this defense was largely unable to find a way to get off the field on third and medium and third and long, scenarios in which they should be more likely to succeed than not.

A former Pearland High school product, Head entered Saturday with minimal collegiate experience. He threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns against UAB earlier this season. Against Rice, he more or less had this way. He wasn’t perfect, but he guided the Bulldogs down the field with regularity.

The secondary stepped up and made plays when they needed to. Had it not been for two fourth quarter picks, Rice would not have won this game. It’s better to win ugly than not win, so this unit should get credit for the outcome on Saturday.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice football vs UTEP

Getting De’Braylon Carrol and Treshawn Chamberlain back next season will help, but it’s starting to look like something more drastic needs to be done. Rice has done a fairly decent job of keeping receivers in front of them and limiting the 75-yard bomb touchdowns, but its come at the expense of being picked apart at the intermediate levels of the field.

Some sort of answer needs to be found going forward. It’s not fair to blame the Owls’ struggles on a unit that largely carried them for the prior two seasons, but had the Owls been just a little bit more sturdy on the back end, Rice probably squeezes out another win, or two.

Slow and steady, with some pop

Luke McCaffrey played well during his first start in more than two months’ time, showcasing patience through the air and incredible vision on the ground. Head coach Mike Bloomgren mentioned earlier this week that McCaffrey didn’t fully comprehend the full breadth of the offense, but he did showcase a remarkable ability to execute the plays he was asked to run on Saturday.

Rice mixed a heavy rotation of running backs with some razzle-dazzle and picked their moments when it came time to take shots down the field. The result was an offense that, while not quite electric, was able to produce enough explosive plays to take pressure off the running game and open up space for McCaffrey to maneuver.

The first home run was a perfectly blocked run by Cameron Montgomery:

Rice came back quickly afterward to take the lead thanks to McCaffrey getting just enough mustard on this pass to Cedric Patterson, and perhaps a fortunate whiff by the Louisiana Tech defensive back.

The Rice football offense is still a ways away from putting up video game numbers, but they’ve showcased they can get points without needing a 16-play, 8:00 minute drive. The quick-strike ability is an important sign of growth this season.

And then there was this: a perfect strike from backup TJ McMahon to Cedric Patterson to go ahead in the fourth quarter.

Check the clock

After weathering the early onslaught, the Rice defense picked up a few stops and the offense adding some touchdowns. All was working well with Rice driving and looking to extend its lead. Rice faced 1st-and-10 from the Louisiana Tech 36-yard line with a minute and a half to play in the first half and three timeouts.

Not only did Rice not score, but the Owls did manage to burn through the 90 seconds left on the clock quicker than a West Texas brush fire. Rice found themselves attempting a hail mary on fourth and 10 with two seconds on the clock and multiple timeouts left uncalled.

Clock management is a learned skill, but this isn’t the first time this season Rice has utilized their timeouts ineffectively. Rice spiked the ball multiple times on the fourth quarterback comeback drive against North Texas despite having timeouts to burn.

Even if they had managed minimal yardage and settled for a 40ish yard field goal, Rice had a golden opportunity to go into the break leading by a touchdown or more with the opportunity to extend that lead when they received the kickoff to start the second half. Instead, McCaffrey took a sack and Rice ended up with nothing. For a team looking to learn how to win, they have to start winning on the margins. That includes managing the clock more effectively.

Out on a high note

This game was important for the seniors, for players like Jordan Myers and Elijah Garcia who saw this program bottom out and slowly begin to climb back upward. Rice football hasn’t won four games in a season until this year. It’s not the bowl trip they aspired to, but it is tangible concrete evidence that these seniors have left things better than they found them.

For those remaining, it speaks of a future still in progress. Yes, there are questions — there will be plenty of time in the offseason to address those — but for those searching for reasons to keep the faith, Saturday delivered. This mixture of four wins, two overtime losses and a slew of injuries will prove to be tough to swallow, but the framework to become what this program seeks to become is still in place.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard and head coach Mike Bloomgren must sift through the mess and determine what changes need to be made for Rice football to take that next step. Just about everything should be on the table, but expect the approach to be as measured and thoughtful as it is thorough. No hasty decisions will be made, but proof of course corrections will be needed. This team is capable of more, and everyone at South Main believes it.

Digging deeper

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Find a quarterback, please

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Rice Football 2021: LA Tech presser quotes, updates and depth chart

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Rice football wraps up its 2021 season on Saturday against Louisiana Tech in a battle of 3-8 teams. 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 UTEP loss and looked ahead at the week ahead, discussing how important the season finale against Louisiana Tech was as the Owls honor their seniors. We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend.

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The depth chart did not change week over week, but who lines up at several spots this coming Saturday is in flux. Injuries to Jake Constantine and others leave us with lots to work though in this week’s updates. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“I thought we came out fast and competed well, and overcame a lot of adversity in the first half. I thought we finished that (first) half in almost a perfect fashion, going down and scoring with a minute thirty, (UTEP) trying to get a two-minute drive going, Gabe Taylor forcing the turnover, and then two plays later, Ced Patterson finds himself in the end zone. That’s a 14-point swing in the game in the last 1:TO in the second quarter is a big-time way to go into the half. That’s exactly where we wanted to be, going up 21-14.

In the second half, there are a lot of things we have to fix. From finding a way to extend that lead on offense and putting more points on the board and putting the game in a different place and on defense, I don’t know, aside from the Texas game, if anyone has scored on them four straight drives like that and there are some things we have to get fixed there. We’re working towards that.” – Mike Bloomgren on the UTEP loss

“The thing that I love about this team, is how much they care. I love how they are competing and trying to get better and I know that they will. When we play well in all three phases of the game, I believe we can beat anyone on our schedule. There’s nobody in the locker room who is flippant about winning or losing in the locker room. They care a lot and they are going to try and find a way to go 1-0 this week.” – Mike Bloomgren on the locker room

“I’m very comfortable. I spend a lot of time in my playbook, a lot of notes writing down, going back through them every night. Trying to know it like the back of my hand. I know when you can go out there and play fast and play confident, you’re pretty much unstoppable. So I was really trying to just know the playbook like I know my own name.” – Wide receiver Cedric Patterson on his comfort level in the Rice offense 

“I know when I first came here as a freshman, these seniors took me in and like welcomed me in, really helping me, helping us help lead this team. They put in the same work that we all do every day and they’ve been here the longest. So I definitely look up to them, definitely want to win this game for them, definitely finishing out a win for their last game is going to mean the world for all of us because we all got the same love for these guys.” – Edge Joshua Pearcy on winning this game for the senior class 

Depth Chart

There are no official changes on the official Rice football depth chart heading into the Louisiana Tech game. However, there will be a few differences based largely on who is able to go on Saturday.

Rice Football

Next man up: quarterback edition?

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