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Rice Football: Injury updates — October 2021 Patreon Q&A

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Questions this month were short and sweet, focused on the health of various Rice football players we haven’t seen on the field in some time.

We had several questions submitted for the October mail bag as Rice football passes the midpoint of the season and looks ahead toward a matchup with North Texas. Injuries, and primarily when the limited players will be back on the field, were the overwhelming theme.

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Rice Football 2021: North Texas presser quotes, updates and depth chart

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Rice football returns home to take on North Texas in Week 9. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup, injury updates and depth chart notes.

This is the first of a couple of updates coming this week as Rice football prepares to take on North Texas. We’ll include updates from head coach Mike Bloomgren’s midweek press conference, then dig further into the details on the depth chart and what the team looks like on the field headed into the weekend.

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Rice football is riding high, on the arm of Wiley Green and reinforcements from a handful of younger faces that are becoming key cogs in the Owls’ program. The depth chart continues to evolve, hopefully for the better, showcasing the depth the Owls have built over the last several seasons. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“I’m just so proud. You don’t have to talk about him being our Game One starter. You can talk about him being our Year One starter in this program. All of the peaks and valleys that we’ve gone through as a program with Wiley [Green] together. How we’ve come out the other side a little bit in this game. It meant the world to me. There’s nobody I would have rather seen that success and the fact that he was able to go out there, turn it loose and play the way he’s capable of playing in a green light manner meant everything to me. It really did. I said it after the game, he put on a quarterback clinic. That’s exactly what he did.” – Mike Bloomgren on Wiley Green

“What I see on film is a very good football team. I see a dangerous football team with skill all over the place. A team that’s played a great schedule (and) a really difficult schedule. I know that it’s going to take us preparing the way we did last week and even better for us to come out here and go 1-0 this week. That’s our challenge. Our challenge is real simple: prepare the way we know that we need to, go out there and practice in such a way and then find a way to still go green light on Saturday to give ourselves the best chance to win.” – Mike Bloomgren on North Texas

“I just feel like this is a team that is just very confident in what we’re doing right now. I know we look back two weeks ago and it’s a little different story but I think that really helped grow us into the team that we are today and hopefully we can continue that going into this next week. But again, that’s kind of what we’re really focused on. Not too worried about the past and just continuing to go 1-0 this week.” – Wiley Green on how this team has changed

“We talked about having this green light mentality and that is just not being hesitant — because you care so much about the team that you don’t want to mess up — but instead just giving absolutely everything you can every single play, having this green light mentality where you don’t worry about the last play but you worry about this one. I think that makes a big difference in our confidence.” – Wiley Green on the team’s ‘green light mentality’

“It was the best feeling, just coming together as a brotherhood. It was the best feeling ever. Of course, last week and the week before that we didn’t show really our full potential. But everything just came together, we clicked as a unit from start to finish. And hopefully we can do that next week against North Texas.” – Gabe Taylor on the win over UAB

Depth Chart

The Rice football depth chart continues to evolve, including a change at the most important position: quarterback.

Rice Football

Going Green

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 97 – Rice football knocks off UAB

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Rice football ricocheted from a tough loss to a stunning upset victory. This week we debrief the Owls’ upset win over UAB on the road.

From the lowest of lows back up to the highest of highs, Rice football has run the emotional gauntlet over the past week and change and come out on the better side. The Owls became the first Conference USA team to beat UAB at home since 2014 and the only conference foe to topple the Blazers since their program was reinstated in 2017. How’d they do it? Behind a complete performance from all phases and a near-flawless outing from quarterback Wiley Green.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 97.

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
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from fall camp, practices and more.
      Become a Patron!
  • Rice football vs UAB 
    • Rice wasn’t perfect, but they made the plays when they needed to
    • Offense goes 5-for-5 on fourth down
    • Both the offensive and defensive line played extremely well
    • What do we make of Wiley Green moving forward?
    • Season-long expectations and a quick look ahead at North Texas

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: NFL Owls Week 7 Stats Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2021 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 7.

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 7 Result Week 8
Los Angeles Chargers Christian Covington (DL) — BYE —  — vs New England
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL)
Bryce Callahan (CB)		 at Cleveland (TNF) L, 17-14 vs Washington
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) — BYE —  — at Cleveland
Detroit Jack Fox (P) at Los Angeles Rams L, 28-19 vs Philadelphia
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) vs Chicago W, 38-3 at New Orleans
Indianapolis Andrew Sendejo (Saf) at San Francisco (SNF) W, 30-18 vs Tennessee

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

After seeing some action the week prior following an injury to starter Garrett Bolles, Anderson returned to special teams duty in Week 7. That meant two snaps against the Browns on Thursday Night Football.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was officially active for the first time this season for the Bucs’ Week 7 win over the Bears. He did not play.

Defense

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan started and made fice tackles, including a tackle for a loss in the Broncos’ Week 7 loss to the Browns. He has now had at least three tackles and at least one TFL in three consecutive games, two starts.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington and the Chargers were on bye in Week 7. They play the Patriots in Week 8.

Andrew Sendejo – S, Colts

Sendejo made two tackles in the Colts’ Week 7 victory over the 49ers. It was his third start in the teams’ last four games.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Perhaps inspired by the Owls’ own fake-punt hijinks, former Rice punter Jack Fox pulled off a fake punt of his own on Sunday:

He only attempted one punt, which went for 36 yards.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell and the Steelers were on bye in Week 7. They play the Browns in Week 8.

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 2021 Game Preview: North Texas

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Rice Football returns to Houston this week to take on a struggling North Texas team. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

North Texas and Rice football could not have had more opposite weekends despite both holding multi-score leads midway through the third quarter of their respective games. The Mean Green surrendered 21 straight points, losing at home to Liberty in a game they controlled for the entirety of the first half, if not longer.

Rice, on the other hand, was able to complete the upset. The Owls became the first Conference USA team to beat UAB at home since the Blazers’ program was reinstated beginning with the 2017 season. Riding high, the Owls now seek to pick up a much-needed win at home. Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN3
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs North Texas 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

North Texas is playing for pride at this point. Discussions regarding the security of head coach Seth Littrell’s job have endured throughout the season with the voices of his detractors growing louder and loud with each successive loss. A bowl game is still nominally within reach, but even that might not be enough for Littrell at this point.

On the other sideline, Rice football very much so has plenty to play for on Saturday. Should they win, they’d even their season-long record to 4-4 and be two wins away from the bowl berth they’ve had their eyes fixed on all year. More still, they’d be 3-1 in league play and firmly in the race for a conference title. Both objectives get much harder should Rice not hold serve on their own turf against North Texas.

Series History

All Time | North Texas leads Rice, 6-5
Last Five | North Texas leads Rice, 4-1
Last Meeting | Away 2020, North Texas won 27-17

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 49/66 (74.2 percent), 564 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Myers – 71 carries, 284 yards (4.0 yards per carry), 6 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 29 receptions, 290 yards (10.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Patterson – 16 receptions, 265 yards (16.6 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Montero – 48 / Smith – 41 / Pearcy – 36
Pass Breakups | McCord/Dunbar – 5, Smith – 4
Interceptions | Smith/Nyakwol – 2, Four others tied with one

North Texas Stat Notables

Passing | Aune – 78/149 (53.4 percent), 851 yards passing, 6 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Torrey – 164 carries, 853 yards (5.2 yards per carry), 7 TD
Receiving | Burns – 40 receptions, 448 yards (11.2 yards per reception), 2 TD / Pirtle – 25 receptions, 211 yards (8.4 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Davis, KD – 59 / Davis, Tyreke – 39 / Nixon III – 31
Interceptions | Five tied with one apiece 
Pass Breakups | Sanders – 3, Three tied with two apiece

North Texas X-Factor | Get off the field

On paper, the North Texas defense has been ever so slightly a hair below Rice’s defense. If it’s possible to boil the difference down to one specific factor, third down is unquestionably the Mean Green’s Achilles heel. North Texas opponents are converting 47.4 percent of their third down opportunities this season, the second to worst mark in C-USA and the 122nd rate in all of FBS football. C-USA opponents convert on average 43.6 percent of their third down tries against the Mean Green.

UTEP, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, UTSA and UAB own the best third down defenses in the conference. It’s no coincidence those five teams also boast the top five scoring defenses in C-USA. Yes, better defenses (tend to) give up less points, but the North Texas defense could take a substantial leap up the ladder by finding a way to get off the field at a better clip.

Rice wants to grind the clock and extend drives. If the North Texas defense can’t get Rice off schedule, it’s going to make it tough for this team as a whole to do much of anything to get out of sync.

Rice X-Factor | Do it again

When Rice knocked off Marshall on the road in 2020 it managed the feat behind a stellar defensive performance. The Owls picked off the Herd five times that game, returning one of those snags for six points of their own.

That wasn’t the case for Owls against the UAB Blazers last weekend. Rice found success in all phases, from Wiley Green’s first-ever 3-touchdown passing day to a masterful fake punt to the final stand by the defense to close the door. The ask for this team is to do something they’ve done few times in recent memory, do it again.

Safety Naeem Smith used the word resilient in his postgame comments on Saturday. Rice has now proven on multiple occasions they can shake off one bad day and turn the page quickly. The next step is stringing multiple good days together. That can start on Saturday, and if it doesn’t, they’ll have enough firepower to beat North Texas.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

For better or worse, Rice football gave the rest of their opponents notice of just what they are capable of when they put together a complete game, because that’s exactly what we saw Rice cobble together against UAB. It wasn’t perfect — far from it — but it was arguably the first time this season where all three phases have worked in unison to win a football game.

If UAB was sleeping on Rice at all, something head coach Mike Bloomgren did make a passing comment regarding following the game, that’s not going to be the case again this season. Nobody is going to overlook Rice anymore, largely because Rice has shown its hand.

Now, assuming Rice is going to get the best North Texas has to throw at them, it’s time for them to prove they are what their record says they are. The Owls have a better conference record than North Texas and Louisiana Tech, both of which are still on the Owls’ schedule. Rice can get within one win of a bowl berth simply by beating the teams they’ve already moved above in the standings.

It’s not that simple. But in many ways it is. Rice has beaten a team they weren’t “supposed to” beat. Now they have to beat someone they should.

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