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Rice Football: Jack Fox dazzles in NFL debut with Lions

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Jack Fox made Rice Football fans proud in his NFL debut, excelling as the starting punter and kickoff specialist for the Detroit Lions.

Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox kicked played in his first NFL game this weekend. He showed no signs of any first-game jitters, blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback to start the game. He would go on to excel in a variety of roles in his pro debut.

Fox tallied two other touchbacks, put six kickoffs into the endzone. He had two punts travel more than 50 yards, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also handled holding duties for kicker Matt Prater. If that wasn’t enough already, he registered his first career tackle on kick coverage.

“Honestly I think I built it up in my head leading up to the game,” Fox said. “When I got on the field it just felt like a normal football game. But still a cool experience.”

For Fox, it took a “redshirt” year to master the finer details of the punting profession. A season spent on and off practice squads combined with an offseason working out with fellow specialists in Birmingham (at what has been dubbed the Punter Conclave on Fox’s recent appearance on The Roost Podcast) ended in a heated battle for the starting job in Detroit. Fox won the job at the end of camp. He proved on Sunday he was more than deserving.

Despite Fox’s efforts, the Lions were unable to win the game. Running back D’Andre Swift dropped what would have been the go-ahead touchdown pass from in the closing seconds. Had he hauled it in, the Lions would have won and made Fox’s NFL debut that much sweeter. Even still, Fox had a stellar start to what continues to look like a promising professional career.

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Conference USA Football 2020: Week 2 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 2.

Team Week 2 Result Week 3
Charlotte  at App State L, 35-20 at UNC
FAU — OFF —  — at G. Southern
FIU — OFF —  — — OFF —
LA Tech  at Baylor Canceled at Southern Miss
Marshall — OFF —  — vs App State
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Troy
North Texas — OFF —  — vs SMU
Rice — OFF —  — — OFF —
Southern Miss — OFF —  — vs LA Tech
UAB at Miami L, 31-14 — OFF —
UTEP at Texas L, 59-3 vs ACU
UTSA at Texas St W, 51-48 OT vs SFA
WKU at Louisville L, 35-21 vs Liberty

Notable Week 2 results – Standings

Jay Hopson out at Southern Miss

Southern Miss didn’t have a game this week, but the program still lost, this time their head coach. Hopson leaves after being upset by South Alabama in the Golden Eagles’ season opener. We talked with Jamie Arrington and Jason Bailey of To The Top Talk Podcast on The Roost Podcast this week to get an insider’s perspective on what happened in Hattiesburg and what Southern Miss fans think of the news.

Miami finally gets a win over C-USA

After taking successive losses to FIU and Louisiana Tech, Miami prevailed against C-USA’s UAB to kick off Week 2 of college football. UAB couldn’t stem the Canes on the ground (337 yards, 3 touchdowns) and stubbed their toe with 11 penalties. The Blazers have now played a clearly inferior opponent and one a step above them and yet to play their best game but still should be a formidable C-USA contender.

Off with a bang

New UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor was dealt a rough hand when he inherited a program at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges he and his staff faced, the Roadrunners pulled out an overtime victory against an upstart Texas State team.

Week 3 storylines

FAU debut

Willie Taggart’s first game as the head coach at FAU is this week. The Owls should be slight favorites when they visit Georgia Southern in Week 3. How FAU responds to a new quarterback could prove to be the difference-maker in a season with high expectations despite the offseason turnover in personnel and on the coaching staff.

Conference play is here

Weeks before Rice and FIU are scheduled to begin their 2020 season, the first C-USA conference game is on the docket. The interim coached-Southern Miss hosts Louisiana Tech in a game that could prove pivotal for the C-USA West Division race.

Two-win UTEP?

When we previewed UTEP on The Roost Podcast this summer, we talked about the real possibility of a winless season. With a win over SFA already under their belt, the Miners could surpass their entire 2019 win total by beating Abilene Christian next weekend. That’s kind of a big deal, especially in the midst of this uncertain season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls hand out two new 2021 offers

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Two offers were extended this week to prospective members of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, one on each side of the ball.

For the first time in roughly a month, Rice football extended new offers toward members of the 2021 class. Prior to the Owls offering this pair, Rice hadn’t offered anyone since offers to wide receiver MJ Singleton and offensive lineman Graham Keating on August 7.

You can find the latest on all of the Owls’ offers for this class as well links to highlights, recruiting services and commitment profiles on our Offer Tracker. This list is updated daily and reserved for our subscribers.

WR Peyton Stevenson – Demopolis, AL

The Owls don’t have a wide receiver in the fold in this class yet but they have a few uncommitted targets they’re still working on. In particular, the roster needs someone with size to fill the outside role behind Brad Rozner in the future.

Stevenson fits that mold. He’s 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with some vertical ability. He’s versatile, also lining up at corner and some quarterback. No matter where the ball is, he’s ready and willing to push through contact.

Rice was the first FBS school to offer Stevenson. Prior to the Owls, his existing offers included Jacksonville State, North Alabama and Culver-Stockton.

DL AJ Sargent – Wichita Falls, TX

Size also seems to be a priority for the Owls along the offensive line. Current commits Elroyal Morris (6-foot-2, 270-pounds) and Blake Boenisch (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) make for a sturdy foundation up front. Rice would like to add another big guy to that mix in Sargent

Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 290 pounds, Sargent is able to make plays from the interior as well as the outside. Missouri State was the only school to offer him before the Owls swooped in this week.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 50 – Rice schedule, LA Tech outbreak, Hopson’s firing

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Rice football’s schedule was only a piece of a wild week in Conference USA that also included a COVID-19 outbreak and a coaching change.

We might have to wait a little bit longer for Rice football to take the field. In this week’s episode, Carter and Matthew talk through what changes could be coming to the Rice schedule and where the Owls stand when it comes to playing football this fall. Then they hit on the outbreak at Louisiana Tech and the postponement of the Bulldogs’ season opener.

That might have been enough, but the rest of Conference USA had other plans. Jamie Arrington and Jason Bailey from To The Top Talk Podcast stopped by to breakdown Jay Hopson’s departure from Southern Miss after just one game.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 50.

Episode 50 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Schedule news and other updates are coming fast and furious. Make sure you hit the button and subscribe on Patreon so you don’t miss what’s happening. You would have been the first to know about the looming schedule changes this past week and more As always, thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference.

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  • Rice football postpones practice
    • No practice this week means to games before the Owls bye week
    • What do the Owls hope to achieve with this delay?
    • What would a potential further-delayed season look like?
  • Louisiana Tech forced to cancel opener 
    • Impact from Hurricane Laura impacts Louisiana Tech’s players returning to campus
    • 38 positive tests on Tuesday force the postponement of the Baylor game
  • To The Top Talk talks Southern Miss football
    • Jamie and Jason take us behind the curtain of Jay Hopson’s decision to step down
    • Potential coaching candidates ranging from interim Scotty Walden to Hugh Freeze

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 Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – September 10

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of September 10.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

At this point, it might be enough to leave this portion simple. Something like this: Anthony Rendon is good at baseball.

Rendon continues to produce and gives the Angels a chance. His bat helped lead the team to a series sweep over the Houston Astros over Labor Day weekend. He had a pair of home runs in the series and drove in five.

Through September 9, Rendon is hitting .291 with 15 extra-base hits, 30 walks and 24 strikeouts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey continues to be a workhorse for the Twins. He’s appeared in more than a third of their games and has only allowed any earned runs on three occasions. One of those off nights came this week against the Tigers. Duffey surrendered three hits and two runs (one earned) while fanning three in 1.1 innings. He was handed his first blown save of the season.

Through September 9, Duffey has a 2.16 ERA with a .840 WHIP. He’s averaging 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Washington Nationals

Holt joined the Nationals at the end of August after he was released by the Brewers. His first start came on Sept. 2 at third base. A few days later his bat woke up from its slumber. Holt went 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 5. He raised his average more than 70 points in that outing alone.

Holt showed off his speed in the Nats next game, sliding under the tag to score from first on a single to right field.

Through September 9, Holt is hitting .250 overall and .400 with the Nationals. Since signing with Washington, Holt is 12-for-30 with four extra-base hits.

Other Owls

Jon Duplantier is unlikely to rejoin the Arizona Diamondbacks this fall. General Manager Mike Hazen indicated Duplantier’s season is most likely finished as he works to rehab from injury.

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