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Owls defense looks to build on promising showing against UTSA

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Rice football is on to Week 7. The loss to UTSA was tough to swallow, but the Owls defense has plenty to be happy about moving forward.

Lost in the midst of a negative result for the Owls against UTSA was a defensive awakening. It’s true the Roadrunners don’t pack the same punch on that side of the ball as some of the others teams the Owls have faced so far. Still, the results speak for themselves.

The UTSA offense tallied 178 total yards, was 5-for-16 on third down, averaged 3.6 yards per carry and 2.0 yards per pass attempt. With the exception of a few short-field points, the Rice defense was nearly perfect, allowing one sustained scoring drive in 60 minutes, which ended in a field goal.

The UTSA offense ranks near the cellar of most metrics. The Rice defense needed to prove they could silence a mediocre unit, and they did.

Assessing the results

Defensive coordinator Brian Smith was pleased with how his unit played, but knows they have a lot of work left to do on both sides of the ball. Even with the step forward against UTSA, the defense was back to what Smith dubbed the fundamentals on Monday – tackling, running to the football, getting off of blocks and footwork.

According to Smith, there was no switch flipped before the game or any secret sauce. His defense just came out and played sound fundamental football. “Guys have been in position to make plays, but we haven’t made them. That was the biggest difference between this week and previous weeks. The guys in position to make the plays actually made the plays.”

One of those guys that made the biggest plays was redshirt junior cornerback Justin Bickham. He led the team with three pass breakups and was critical in the secondary’s first shutout of the season. Rice allowed 43 yards through the air and zero passing touchdowns. Bickham had a hand in that, swatting away and endzone target and locking down his side of the field.

“We put our corners in tough positions,” said Smith, “[The corners] are a key to the success of this defense. If they hold up outside if gives us the freedom to do a lot of different things up front to make us more successful.”

That success was evident, and it’s a building block for this unit moving forward. “At the end of the day, it’s all about winning and losing,” Smith concluded. “If we don’t win none of the other stats matter.” In one important sense, he’s right. This team and coaching staff will be judged on wins and losses. As for incremental progress, this unit took a significant step forward on Saturday.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 7

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Rice football fell at home to UTSA in Week 6. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 7?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte — OFF —  — vs WKU
FAU vs ODU W, 52-33 — OFF —
FIU  — OFF —  — vs MTSU
LaTech vs UAB L, 28-7 at UTSA
Marshall vs MTSU L, 34-24 at ODU
MTSU at Marshall W, 34-24 at FIU
North Texas at UTEP W, 27-24 vs Southern Miss
ODU at FAU L, 52-33 vs Marshall
Rice vs UTSA L, 20-3 vs UAB
Southern Miss  — OFF —  — at UNT
UAB at LaTech W, 28-7 at Rice
UTEP vs UNT L, 27-24  — OFF —
UTSA at Rice W, 20-3 vs LaTech
WKU  — OFF —  — @ Charlotte

Notable Week 6 results

Wild, wild West

Even though the 2018 season is only six weeks old it’s already time to throw out the preseason predictions. North Texas looked to be unbeatable, but they were upset by Lousiana Tech at home in Week 5 and barely escaped upset against winless UTEP in Week 7. Tech turned around and lost to Middle Tennessee. Now UAB and UTSA sit atop CUSA West. Nothing makes sense anymore.

Should we buy into the Blazers?

Sitting at 4-1 (2-0 CUSA), the surprising UAB Blazers own the best record in the West. The defense has carried this team to wins over Charlotte and Louisiana Tech, both of which were held to just seven points. The defense has been so dominant that UAB  quarterback A.J. Erdely was able to complete 8-of-24 passes for 136 yards and the Blazers still won by three touchdowns.

Rice speechless after disappointing home result

The Rice Owls were home favorites against a UTSA squad that had struggled to produce any sort of consistent offense in 2018. The Owls defense was rock solid, but the offense never found any real momentum. That’s going to prompt some difficult conversations on South Main this week.

Week 7 storylines

Kings of the East

Middle Tennessee entered the year without much in the form of preseason accolades. They now stand alone with FIU as the only teams in CUSA East without a loss in conference play. A win over FIU in Week 7 would give them a massive lead in the division with tiebreakers over both FIU and FAU.

Sneaky Southern Miss?

Off this past week, Southern Miss remains very much alive in the West. The Eagles have a win over Rice under their belts and an opportunity to make a statement on the road against North Texas in Week 7. A win over Mean Green propels them into no worse than second place in the West.

A game with unexpected importance

Louisiana Tech and UTSA combined for four first-place votes in the preseason CUSA poll. Now both squads have legitimate shots at a divisional title. They can set themselves up nicely with a win on Saturday; the Roadrunners host the Bulldogs.

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Bloomgren says loss is “on me”, vows to get better

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Rice football fell 20-3 in a home game in which they were considered slight favorites. Head coach Mike Bloomgren took the defeat personally and vows that he and his team will get better.

There were no distractions or excuses offered at the Patterson Center late Saturday night. Head coach Mike Bloomgren calmly approached the podium and delivered an honest, contrite apology for the team’s struggles against UTSA. “I did everything I knew to do to jump-start an offense today that was struggling. Nothing worked,” admitted a frustrated Bloomgren, “Point the finger squarely at me. We will get it fixed.”

The variety of unique offensives looks, personnel packages and more were no accident. The shifting methods were intentional, they just didn’t work. Bloomgren was at a loss for what would have worked against the Roadrunners. “I tried [changing quarterbacks]. I tried to get hard-headed and just run it, but we couldn’t get first downs. We tried to throw the ball around a little bit. We tried going for it on fourth down more than I ever had in my life,” he said, lamenting the zero touchdowns scored by his offense.

Rice is fortunate to have a head coach that doesn’t hide behind anyone or anything. What Bloomgren said in the aftermath of one of the most puzzling losses of his brief tenure at Rice took courage. And he’s hellbent on not having to have another one of those conversations ever again. “I need to fix this,” he declared, “I will get it right.” There were many more words said, but the message was clear. “It’s on me.”

Bloomgren knew what he was doing when he made the decision to step away from Stanford and come to Rice. He knew the road was going to be difficult, but he always believed he had the experience and the tools to build something special at South Main. He’s not giving up, and if history is any indication, he’s got the offensive brilliance to salvage reasons for hope in the midst of a devastating offensive drought.

Defense gives a reason for optimism

One of those silver linings was an incredible performance by the Rice defense. After being gashed repeatedly through the air, the Owls tightened up, allowing 43 passing yards and zero touchdowns, both the best marks for this team in 2018. “If our defense will perform like that in this program we will win a lot of games here,” Bloomgren said, adding that the performance was ” a huge step for them and a huge step in our program.”

He credited the defense with playing with a “different kind of energy”, something that was abundantly clear. The message this week hinged on playing four complete quarters. The offense didn’t play one complete quarter, but the defense held their own from start to finish.

Once again, it’s time for this team to pick themselves off the mat and move on. Bloomgren is all about the process. It’s time to see if the process can continue to progress through a rough weekend which Owls fans are ready to forget. Bloomgren won’t forget, though. He’ll learn, and hopefully be more prepared for the future.

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Offense stalls as Owls drop home contest to UTSA

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Rice football put up a strong effort on defense but never found enough offense, dropping a home contest to UTSA and falling to 1-5 (0-2 CUSA).

After a long hiatus from Rice Stadium, the Owls returned home in Week 6 to play the UTSA Roadrunners. It was a low-scoring contest throughout much of the game that saw one touchdown scored in the first 30 minutes. Trailing 13-0 at halftime, Rice was unable to much in the way of reducing the deficit in the second half.

The Owls ended the game with nothing to show from their offense but a 28-yard field goal from Haden Tobola. Rice attempted six fourth down conversions, succeeding on three. On a night in which the defense played their best game yet, the offense never found the spark it needed to kick into gear.

When it was all said and done, Rice football walked away with a heartbreaking loss their to fall to 0-2 in conference play. There were a few bright spots, but there’s still work to be done if this team is going to find that second win. Here are the biggest takeaways from the defeat.

1. The defense is getting better

Who stole the defense? The unit that came out to play on Saturday against UTSA looked like a completely different set of players compared to those that took the field against Wake Forest and Southern Miss. The defensive line was aggressive, the linebackers were disciplined and the secondary kept UTSA from getting behind them.

Up front, the push from the starting four was enough to make UTSA quarterback Cordale Grundy pay attention to the pass rush. That opened up the door for defensive coordination Brian Smith to dial up a few blitzes, several of which put Grundy on his back. The Owls tallied one sack, three quarterback hurries and had seven tackles for a loss.

Earlier in the week Martin Nwakamma said all this defense needed to do was play top-down and do what the coaches had been telling them to do. Those words turned into action against UTSA. The Roadrunners still found a few holes between the second and third levels of the defense, but a strong pass rush prevented them from developing into big plays.

The secondary played what was hands down their best game of the year. Justin Bickham faced a lot of deep targets but battled all night, leading the team with three breakups, including a touchdown denying swat in the endzone.

After allowing 18 touchdowns and more than 300 yards per game through the air in their first five games, holding Grundy to 6-of-18 passing for 33 yards was a much welcomed first step toward improvement. He’s far from the best passer the Owls will face this year, but silencing him is proof this team has what it takes on the back end.

2. Stacked boxes remain a problem for the offense

Intellectual brutality invokes the very ethos of smash mouth football. Lining up in a power formation with several tight ends and pounding the rock is what this offense is supposed to do. That’s no secret, and it’s something that opposing defensive coordinators are prepared to face.

UTSA, like many defenses that have worked to contain the Rice offense so far, put body after body at the line of scrimmage and dared the Owls to run. Time after time, Emmanuel Esukpa plowed into the line of scrimmage only to be swarmed by all-white jerseys.

Part of the reason opponents have been able to throw the kitchen sink at the run game has been the inconsistent performance of the offensive line. Quarterback Shawn Stankavage was being harassed all night, giving him little opportunity to make plays down the field. Even when players did break open, he was forced to navigate a disintegrating pocket rather than throw the ball down the field.

Rice opened up the offense in the second half and found success in pistol and shotgun formations. They still ran the ball, but giving the defense a different look helped all aspects of the offensive attack.

3. Is there a quarterback battle brewing?

The short answer to this one is no, Rice has their quarterback. That’s not a blanket endorsement of Stankavage or a critique of Jackson Tyner. It’s more so a byproduct of what has caused the downward trend in quarterback play for the Owls. Poor pass blocking have limited what the Owls can do offensively. Knowing the playbook and making the right reads don’t come into play if the line doesn’t protect the quarterback.

With that crucial caveat, there are still opportunities for both guys to improve. Tyner saw his first snaps since the Houston game against UTSA and was not productive. Whether it was jitters or a rotten case of bad luck, he has an interception and a fumble to his name in the final box score from a game in which he played a handful offensive snaps.

Stankavage, as expected, saw more usage. He completed 15 of 26 passes for 175 yards. He was under duress all night but did not turn the ball over until garbage time. If you’re looking for one all-important stat that should solidify his status to start next week against UAB, that’s the one to look at.

4. Jack Fox is a stud and the special teams are still elite

Mike Bloomgren made sure he gave Jack Fox praise during his first ever postgame press conference as the head coach at Rice. Those words, “Jack Fox is a stud”, have continued to be his mantra about the Owls’ do-it-all specialist from that point forward. Fox lived up to the billing again against UTSA.

Fox put three punts inside the 10-yard line. He averaged 45.8 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards. He did everything he could to flip the field and keep the Owls in the game.

When the offense struggled, he remained consistent, even throwing in a little razzle-dazzle of his own. Rice lined up to punt on the opening drive of the second half, but Fox kept the ball and delivered a well-placed pass to Jordan Meyers to pick up the first down.

The return game was limited, but they weren’t afforded many opportunities. Austin Walter and Austin Trammell combined for 37 return yards. Walter with one kickoff return for 15 yards and Trammell with two punt returns for 22 yards.

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Keys to victory over UTSA

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Rice football returns home in Week 6 to play UTSA in their second game in conference play. Here’s how the Owls emerge with the win.

1. Step up on defense

Rice football opened the season against some of the most explosive offenses they’ll face all season. Houston, Hawaii and Wake Forest all have plenty of weapons and they each game this defense fits. UTSA is nowhere close to sustaining that level of production, something that should work in the Owls’ favor.

Houston, Hawaii and Wake Forest rank No. 1, No. 17 and No. 23 in the nation, respectively in total offense. UTSA, in stark contrast, owns the No. 128 offense. They don’t have the weapons those other offenses have and lack the explosiveness to beat opposing secondaries deep. The Roadrunners are one of three teams in the nation without any pass plays of 40 yards or more this season. There won’t be a more favorable matchup for the secondary this year, they must take advantage of it.

2. Get Emmanuel Esukpa going

The offense has fallen behind schedule during each of the Owls’ last two games in large part because of their inability to move the ball between the tackles. During the Owls first three games, Esukpa averaged 119.3 yards per game on the ground. That rate fell to 28.5 yards per game in the most recent two contests. It’s no coincidence that Rice had a chance to win their first three games and never really came close to beating Southern Miss or Wake Forest.

Esukpa is the engine that opens up the rest of this offense. The play-action pass works better when he’s running well, as does the lightning quickness of the nation’s leader in All-Purpose Yards, Austin Walter. Whether it’s creative blocking schemes, advantageous formations or sheer stubborn play calling, Esukpa needs to get back on track.

3. Play four quarters

Rice is a modest home favorite in this game for a reason. If the Owls play their game — pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense — they should be able to win this game. The talent gap that existed last weekend against Wake Forest doesn’t exist against UTSA. Rice is just as talented as these guys, if not more so. The biggest key to determining success will be which Rice teams shows up, and for how many quarters.

Slow starts and mid-game lulls and bitten the Owls more than once this year. They’re five games into the season and still looking for their first complete performance. If they can play to the level their capable of playing, they should be able to pick up their second home win of the season. A slow start will make that much harder to achieve and force the Owls to play catch up for the fifth game in a row.

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