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The Roost Podcast | Ep 100 – WKU review and coaching thoughts

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Rice football fell to WKU, halting bowl aspirations. We discuss the game and share a few big-picture thoughts on head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure.

Matthew and Carter are back this week to break down another Rice football loss, although one seemingly less crushing than the previous overtime defeats. They discuss what to make of the Owls’ performance against Western Kentucky and the outlook for the rest of the season and beyond both for the program and its head coach. The program has improved from where it was almost four years ago. Can Bloomgren keep the trajectory pointed upward?

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 100.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Check out the Blue and Gray Preview Show every Wednesday at Noon, hosted by Matthew and Rice radio broadcaster JP Heath on the Rice Athletics Youtube Channel
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  • Rice football vs WKU Review 
    • Jake Constantine had a bad day, but he wasn’t the reason Rice lost this game
    • The offense has evolved under Coach Tuiasiopopo and now scored 20 points in four straight
    • What’s the missing piece that is hindering this defense?
    • How much from this game can/should have any bearing on the next one?
  • The Mike Bloomgren Era
    • Evaluating how far the program has come under his tenure
    • Weighing disappointment and what’s best for Rice going forward

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 2021 Game Preview: UTEP

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Rice football is looking to finish the regular season strong. Can they top UTEP on the road? How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Rice football and it’s been a rough couple of weeks for the UTEP Miners. Both programs bring three-game losing streaks into their late-November showdown at the Sun Bowl on Saturday. Most recently Rice fell to WKU, officially ending any bowl game aspirations. UTEP fell to North Texas last time out. Here’s what you need to know for this matchup:

Kickoff time | 3:00 PM CT
Venue | Sun Bowl – El Paso, TX
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTEP on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. 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

Neither Rice football nor UTEP are contenders for C-USA West, nor are the postseason fates of either program on the line this coming Saturday. These two teams will play for pride, but more than that, they’ll play for perception.

Dana Dimel and Mike Bloomgren took over downtrodden programs and were given plenty of leeway to build them up from the ground floor. The Miners appear to be cresting, finally coming to the apex of that upswing. The last few weeks have been troubling, but a win against Rice might just solidify that the trajectory of the UTEP program remains pointed upward.

On the other sideline, Rice can still reach record win totals under Bloomgren this year, but achieving those goals starts with a win over UTEP. A loss would decidedly place Rice behind UTEP in the rebuilding race, and that’s not something many of the Owls’ faithful want to be forced to contemplate. 

Series History

All Time | Rice leads UTEP, 15-8
Last Five | Rice leads UTEP, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2019, Rice won 30-16

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 112/181 (61.9 percent), 1439 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Broussard – 102 carries, 533 yards (5.2 yards per carry), 2 TD / Myers – 89 carries, 334 yards (3.8 yards per carry), 8 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 51 receptions, 656 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 2 TD / Patterson – 31 receptions, 430 yards (13.9 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Montero – 60 / Garcia – 55 / Smith – 52
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 7, McCord – 5, Smith/Taylor – 4
Interceptions | Smith – 3, Nyakwol/Lockhart – 2

UTEP Stat Notables

Passing | Hardison – 142/263 (54.0 percent), 2396 yards passing, 14 TD, 10 INT
Rushing | Awatt – 131 carries, 672 yards (5.1 yards per carry), 5 TD / Hankins – 99 carries, 357 yards (3.6 ypc), 5 TD
Receiving | Cowing – 51 receptions, 1097 yards (21.5 yards per reception), 5 TD / Garrett – 40 receptions, 542 yards (13.6 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Hayward – 84 / Knight – 68 / Barnes – 46
Pass Breakups | Richardson/Amawhule – 7, Wilson – 5
Interceptions | Barnes – 2, Five tied with one apiece

UTEP X-Factor | Make the easy throws

As productive as the UTEP offense has been, it hasn’t been the most efficient, especially through the air. Quarterback Gavin Hardison ranks 12th among C-USA quarterbacks with a 50.9 completion percentage in conference play this season.

Completing more than a coin-flips worth of passes is an easy starting point, but given the cushion the Rice secondary has afforded other passing attacks so far this season, that has to start with the easy throws. If Hardison and UTEP are able to find success on the easier throws, early-down routes with space and wide windows, they’re going to find it easier to connect on the intermediate and deep routes later in the game.

If Hardison can unlock every level of the field and make the Rice defense have to guess, it’s going to be a long day in El Paso for the Owls.

Rice X-Factor |  Get to the quarterback

Fixing the leaky secondary doesn’t seem to be a viable solution at this point in the season. If that was something the Owls’ were capable of patching up on the fly, they probably would have found a way to keep their previous game against Western Kentucky somewhat more competitive. The Owls best chance of doing that against UTEP is getting to the source of the passing attack and stopping it there.

UTEP wide receivers Jacob Cowing and Justin Garrett each have big-play potential. If the ball gets to them, they can make the defense pay with a first down and more. They’re going to get yards. Rice just needs to make sure they’re not getting hit in stride with green grass in front of them. And that means getting to Gavin Hardison, something few have been able to do so far this season.

UTEP has allowed 13 sacks in 10 games, tied for third fewest in Conference USA. The Miners’ offensive line has been solid. Rice has found success against some of the conference’s sturdier front fives before. They’ll need to do it again this weekend.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

With bowl hopes dashed, Bloomgren said this team would be “playing for each other” from this point onward. From a wins and losses perspective, the Owls do have some positive thresholds to reach on that front.

Ultimately, though, these last two games are an opportunity to prove they have what it takes and were a few bad bounces away from their goals. That might not satisfy all the critics and it might not prove to be enough the program maintains the same upward trajectory Bloomgren remained confident it does, but it’s all they can control going forward.

Beating UTEP, and doing so without an overtime period or controversy, is a must. Winning convincingly and accruing some “style points” is exactly what this team needs right now. Whether or not they can do that is on them.

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Rice Football: Owls in search of growth as regular season wanes

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Rice football hasn’t reached the goals it set for itself this season. What’s next for the Owls and what’s at stake moving forward?

“Not the way we wanted this game to go.” An understatement that felt like it carried more weight than the words alone could possibly have expressed when they were uttered by Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren following the team’s third consecutive conference loss on Saturday at the hands of Western Kentucky. The loss dropped the Owls’ record to 3-7, realistically eliminating them from postseason contention.

It was after that loss that Bloomgren was officially forced to come to terms with his team was in relation to the expectations they set for themselves entering the season.

Senior leaders Shea Baker and Elijah Garcia delivered their brutally honest feelings, too. Baker called the loss “disappointing”. Garcia struck a heartstring with his assessment. “It hurts, man. It hurts. [Making a bowl game] is why I chose to come back.”

The atmosphere was, understandably, grim.

Although downtrodden, there were no signs of throwing in the towel just yet. Bloomgren said the message to his team remainder focusing on what’s next, on “how we’re going to go forward right now and stick together.”

Rice still has two games remaining on their schedule. The Owls travel to El Paso next week to play a UTEP team currently on a three-game losing streak. They then end the season against a Louisiana Tech team that has dropped five of their last six. On paper, neither opponent seems as daunting as the juggernaut that is Western Kentucky and quarterback Bailey Zappe.

Rapid Reaction: Rice football falls to Western Kentucky

One more win would give Rice the most victories in a season under Bloomgren to date (four). Two wins would give Rice an increased winning percentage in every season since he took over the program prior to the 2018 season. Both outcomes are still on the table and Rice has proven — with their wins over UAB this year and Marshall last year — that they can beat just about any conference foe on any given Saturday.

That’s not the question though. The question isn’t can they win. The question is have they and will they continue to show the growth that’s been expected of them. Can they become a program that consistently wins? And further still, have they shown enough progress to reaching those ends, and will they finish down the stretch?

“My confidence is really high. I look back at the program we took over that was 1-11. And then the first year in 2018 we went 1-7 in the conference and our average margin of defeat was 21 points,” Bloomgren said, looking back before addressing the here and now.

“The last three weeks prior to today we beat the defending conference champs and then in addition to that, we went to overtime twice. So I’d say that’s growth. Now we’ve got to take another step. We got to win those games. And that’s what we’re working towards.”

The team has talent. They’ve won some big games. If they can pull things together and close things out on a positive note, they’ll have achieved tangible growth in each successive season. It’s just been much harder and taken much longer than anyone on South Main would have liked.

Bloomgren called those big picture progress checks “conversations for after the year”, reverting his attention back to UTEP. Rice beat the Miners in El Paso the last time these two teams met. If conversations of tangible growth are still in the cards, finding a way to dig out another win against the Miners now seems like a must.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Week 11 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 11.

Team Week 11 Result Week 12
Charlotte at LA Tech L, 42-32 vs Marshall
FAU at Old Dominion L, 30-16 at WKU
FIU at MTSU L, 50-10 vs North Texas
LA Tech vs Charlotte W, 42-32 vs Southern Miss
Marshall vs UAB L, 21-14 at Charlotte
MTSU vs FIU W, 50-10 vs Old Dominion
North Texas vs UTEP W, 20-17 at FIU
Old Dominion vs FAU W, 30-16 at MTSU
Rice vs WKU L, 42-21 at UTEP
Southern Miss at UTSA L, 27-17 at LA Tech
UAB at Marshall W, 21-14 at UTSA
UTEP at North Texas L, 20-17 vs Rice
UTSA vs Southern Miss W, 27-17 vs UAB
WKU at Rice W, 42-21 vs FAU

Notable Week 11 results – Standings

Southern Miss scare

Owners of a seven-game losing streak, Southern Miss decided to throw everything they had against UTSA on Saturday… everything except a quarterback. And it almost worked. Frank Gore Jr. operated out of the wildcat for much of the game, completing two-of-three passes and running for 123 yards. This game was deadlocked at 17-17 well into the fourth quarter before UTSA was able to escape.

Monarchs heating up

Old Dominion has quietly won three games in a row. Before that, the Monarchs had been blasted by Western Kentucky (not unlike several other C-USA foes) and dropped one-score games to Marshall and UTEP. It took some time for the off-year dust to fall off, but Old Dominion is playing their best football of the year at the right time.

Miners trending backward

It wasn’t that long ago that UTEP was being mentioned amongst the best records in Conference USA. The miners were tied for the lead in the West through seven weeks, but have now dropped three in a row. Already at six wins, a bowl trip is secure, but the dreams of finishing near the top of the West took a hit when they fell to North Texas this past week.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

For the West

Opinions were split regarding C-USA West entering the 2021 season and folks fell into one of two camps. Some sided with Bill Clark and the UAB Blazers, the West Division champs three years running. Others felt UTSA and Jeff Traylor could continue their meteoric rise. Those two programs meet next weekend. The winner takes the West.

Controlling their own destiny

If Western Kentucky wins out, they win the East. The road to get there will be challenging, though. Up next is FAU, a team reeling from an upset at the hands of Old Dominion this past weekend. If Bailey Zappe and Co. continue to put up the points they could face the UTSA/UAB winner in a few weeks.

Bowl Battle

A mid-November tilt between Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion just much more interesting. The Monarchs kept bowl hopes alive with their win over Florida Atlantic. They need to more wins to reach the six-win plateau. MTSU needs one. This game could prove pivotal to both programs’ holiday plans.

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Rice Football: Bowl hopes dashed as WKU overwhelms Owls

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An important game got away from Rice Football quickly as Western Kentucky poured on the points to officially eliminate Rice from bowl eligibility.

Just about any Rice football fan would have happily accepted a one-score game against Western Kentucky after the first quarter. That’s exactly where the Owls found themselves in this one, even possessing the ball at midfield as the clock started to run on the second period. Then the bottom seemingly fell out.

Mistakes, turnovers and errant passes saw a close game turn into a blowout with remarkable speed. By the time the clock hit zeroes and both teams headed back to their locker rooms for halftime, the deficit had reached 28 points, with the Hilltoppers blanking the home team. The second half seemed like a formality at that point, with Western Kentucky coasting to the win. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Making (and losing) their own luck

At the risk of oversimplifying what has been a very sporadic season, the first 12 minutes of the Owls’ game against Western Kentucky felt like a decent synopsis. Western Kentucky moved down the field almost effortlessly, gliding into the redzone for what looked might be the opening score.

Then a bad snap and questionable decision by Bailey Zappe opened the door for Naeem Smith to step in front of a low pass and for a turnover. Given an opportunity to take the lead, the Rice offense marched down the field into the redzone on a long drive that burned more than six minutes off the clock.

The August Pitre fumbled what would have been a first down reception inside the five-yard line and WKU took over. The Hilltoppers drove 97-yards for their first touchdown on the subsequent possession.

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

Rice made a big play. They had a golden opportunity to tilt the game into their favor and executed extremely well for a meaningful duration. Then, when it looked like Rice football might have set themselves up for success, disaster struck.

From “oh no!” to “yes!” to “oh no!” all in the span of three relatively short drives. A potential 7-0 Rice lead flipped to a 7-0 Rice deficit in a matter of minutes. And Rice made good plays on both sides of the ball to get them close. To start the second quarter the Rice defense forced a three-and-out. Not long after Rice punter Charlie Mendes misfired for a net of 14 yards. One step forward, another step back.

Unforced errors are stacking up

The special teams woes have been just as surprising as the defensive regression. Every week there’s an unflattering moment (or two, or three) to write home about for a unit that was among the most efficient in the country in the early years of Bloomgren’s tenure. The Rice special teams unit ranked 124th out of 130 teams in terms of efficiency entering the WKU contest.

Against the Hilltoppers, the Owls kicked the aforementioned 14-yard punt. They delivered a low snap on another punt attempt that resulted in a hurried, 32-yard punt. The first punt of the third quarter netted just 25 yards.

Rice also had a punt returned muffed, but were fortunate to recover that one with the return man quickly falling on the loose ball.

Add in four fumbles (one lost), four interceptions and eight penalties for 80 yards and you get a recipe for losing football games. Even when your defense is able to force four turnovers to help lighten the load.

Imperfect offensive evolution

Although it might have been missed in the series of close games Rice has played in recent weeks and the blowout at the hands of Western Kentucky, the Rice offense has taken a meaningful step forward. Against Charlotte, Rice recorded the highest yardage total (468 yards) they’d managed against an FBS opponent under Bloomgren. The play was sloppy against WKU, but the Owls did move the ball.

During this recent stretch, Rice had mixed running and passing and has proven effective on both fronts. Ari Broussard has been a revelation on the ground, but for every long, bruising run he delivers, the offense has also spread out in a five-wide formation and trusted quarterback Jake Constantine to find the open man.

It’s entirely possible Rice has run more plays with empty backfields in the past three weeks than they ran in the previous three seasons combined.

With no Bradley Rozner or Jordan Myers (a late scratch) on the field, Rice got down the field. Costly turnovers and errant throws from Constantine were the limiting factors for Rice against WKU, but the scheme itself was productive.

Broussard ran for 60 yards on 15 carries. Constantine passed for 380 yards and one touchdown. This offense has an identity — they finished with 504 total yards against Western Kentucky — but they’re not playing clean. And they’re running out of time.

Officially missed the mark

Reaching the postseason was the unquestioned expectation for Rice football this year. They will not get there. The Owls’ seventh loss of the season on Saturday ensured they will be staying home for the holidays once more. On that front, this season is a disappointment.

Bloomgren will undoubtedly have to answer for the shortcomings, and he has largely owned the missteps to this point. His team did not reach the expectations they set out to achieve and he, the coaching staff, and these players were noticeably frustrated by the overtime losses and missed opportunities along the way, as they should be.

Now what? Rice football has two games remaining on its 2021 slate: at UTEP and home vs Louisiana Tech. Should the Owls win both games, they’d finish with a 5-7 record and a .417 winning percentage, still the highest any Rice team has reached since 2014. Even winning one of the final pair would represent the most victories in a single season since the 2015 squad went 5-7. To that end, there is something to play for.

Digging deeper

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Secondary sinking

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