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2018 UAB Blazers Season Preview

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Rice football meets the UAB Blazers, a relatively new foe in the middle of the 2018 season. What can the Owls expect from the newly reformed team?

Three years ago UAB football ceased to exist. The university decided it was in its best interested to shut down the football program. That left head coach Bill Clark without a job and a multitude of the Blazers’ fans extremely disgruntled. That frustration turned into action, and soon enough the football program was reinstated.

After a two-season hiatus, UAB returned to action in 2017. In Year One of the new era, UAB shocked many. They finished the year 8-5 (6-2 CUSA) with both conference losses by a combined four points. It’s safe to say that nobody is writing off the Blazers as newbies this year, including Rice.

Rice fell at home to UAB 52-21 last season. The loss dropped the all-time series record even at 3-3, setting up an interesting rubber game for the two teams at Legion Field this season. Here’s how the Blazers will look this 2018:

Offense

AJ Erdely will once again lead the offense in 2018. The Blazers’ quarterback made Conference USA history last season against the Owls, completing 20-of-21 passes, a 95 percent completion percentage. His season average of 60.7 percent was right in the middle of the pack in CUSA as were his 16 touchdowns and 2,331 passing yards. Erdely’s mobility should be a plus for the Blazers as well. Last year, excluding sacks, he picked up 539 yards on the ground and added 13 rushing touchdowns.

Complementing Erdely on the ground will be one of the most productive running backs in school history. Sophomore Spencer Brown ran wild last season, racking up 1,329 yards on the ground as he shattered Jordan Howard‘s freshman rushing record of 881 yards. Spelling him will be Fresno State transfer James Noble (54 carries last season compared to Brown’s 250).

In front of them returns one of the more experienced offensive lines in Conference USA. Outside of the loss of Chris Schleuger at left guard, the rest of the line is intact.

Wide receiver should be another area of strength for the Blazers. Leading wideout Andre Wilson should be in line for another big year, assuming he can transition smoothly to new offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent. Vincent joins the team for a second time after spending two years at South Alabama during UAB’s hiatus from football.

Behind Wilson, Collin Lisa and JUCO transfer Austin Watkins will be in the mix for sizable roles with several contributors from last season returning as well. On paper, this is one of the deepest offenses in the conference. UAB was the No. 5 scoring offense in CUSA last season and has the potential to take another step forward in 2018.

Defense

If the someone can step up and fill the void left by Tevin Crews the Blazers defense could be as powerful as their offense in 2018. The senior linebacker led the team with 102 tackles, led the team with two forced fumbles and tied for the team lead with three sacks. They also lose Shaq Jones who also had three sacks and led the team with 13 tackles for a loss.

Sliding in behind those are Stacy Keely and rising sophomore Thomas Johnson. Johnson made waves when he spurned Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson and LSU when he committed to UAB in 2017. After playing sparingly in the deep unit a season ago, he’ll be trusted with the starting weakside linebacker spot moving forward.

The linebacker position is the most inexperienced on the team, which bodes well for the rest of the defense as a whole. Three starters return on the defensive line, led by 6-foot-5, 340-pound tackle Anthony Rush. The road grader tallied nine tackles for a loss last year and added an interception at the line as well.

Rush will ease the pressure on a secondary that finished second in CUSA in pass defense a year ago. Replacing strong safety Jordan Petty won’t go unnoticed, but the mostly intact unit should pick up right where they left off. UAB never allowed more than 270 passing yards in any game last season and had a five game stretch in which they registered eight interceptions.

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2018 Old Dominion Monarchs Season Preview

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Rice football will experience many firsts in the first year of the Mike Bloomgren era. They’re hoping one such first is their first win over the Old Dominion Monarchs.

Old Dominion has been a sneaky strong team since joining the FBS in 2014. The Monarchs came one win shy of a bowl berth last season, finishing 5-7. They hold  26-23 record in three seasons in Conference USA, headlined by a 10-win campaign in 2016. Several of those pieces remain on the team, although many have been supplanted with fresh talent.

Head coach Bobby Wilder enters his 10th season in Norvolk, Virginia having spanned the FCS and FBS eras of the school. During his tenure, the Monarchs are 22-9 at home and 11-18 away. That could suggest a strong finish; ODU has three-straight home games before ending their regular season on Nov. 24 against Rice on the road.

Rice and Old Dominion have met two times with the Monarchs holding a perfect 2-0 advantage in series history. Both games so far have been close, each ending in three-point victories for ODU. Here’s how the Monarchs will stack up entering 2018:

Offense

The Monarchs return the vast majority of their skill players from a year ago. Outside of former starting running back Ray Lawry and receiver Melvin Vaughn, the team is more or less intact from a year ago. That should be a good sign for ODU, but much of the burden of offensive improvement will rest on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Steven Williams.

Reasons for optimism on that front are abundant. Williams was thrust into the fray midway through last season and had to learn on the fly. He started slow (0-6, 49.4 percent completions, four touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first six games before ending with a bang (3-1, 68.1 percent completions, two touchdowns and no interceptions).

A step forward for Williams should push the receiving corps forward as well. Four of the Monarchs’ five leading receivers return this season and four of them averaged at least 11 yards per reception. Moving the ball downfield should be an area this offensive improves this season. Five returning starters on the offensive line should help to that end.

At running back senior Jeremy Cox should be next in line. He registered more rushing attempts that Lawry last year but wasn’t nearly as productive, averaging 4.2 yards per carry to Lawry’s 5.6 He does bring a more versatile skillset to the team, though. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound back moonlighted as an adequate pass catcher last season, catching 20 passes for 176 yards.

Defense

The defense also brings back a good amount of experience, starting up front on the defensive line. ODU was fourth in Conference USA with 31 sacks last season and lost just 5.5 of those sacks this offseason. The Monarchs have a pair of All-CUSA first team standouts on the line: defensive tackle Miles Fox and end Oshane Ximines.

If that line can generate pressure up front they’ll make things a lot easier for a secondary that had its issues a season ago. The Monarchs finished in the middle of the conference in passing yards allowed but registered only five interceptions while surrendering 18 touchdowns through the air. A veteran group led by strong safety Justin Noye and Justice Davila will be tasked with being more aggressive against the pass.

That leaves the linebackers. Marvin Branch and Jordan Young anchored the ODU defense in the middle last season, accounting for 96 and 85 tackles, respectively. They were also active against the pass, registering seven combined passes defensed.

If the defense can stay healthy, which was a problem for them at times last season, this could become one of the most improved units in Conference USA. Depth concerns prevent sky-high expectations, but the talent is definitely there for ODU in 2018.

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2018 FIU Panthers Season Preview

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Rice football dropped a close game to Florida International in Houston last season. Can they rebound with a win over the Panthers on the road in 2018?

Florida International is coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Panthers tied a school-best eight wins in 2017 under the leadership of new head coach Butch Davis. Davis has now had eight wins in four consecutive seasons.

Once the head man at Miami and later North Carolina, Davis brought a career 64.8 winning percentage to FIU. That average, when applied to an entire season, comes out to roughly to eight wins per year. That was more or less the standard for Davis before he landed at FIU. He has two sub-.500 seasons in his head coaching career.

Eight wins won’t be enough at most Power 5 schools, but FIU welcomes the improvement. The Panthers were 4-1 in one-score games a year ago, including a 17-10 win over Rice in Houston.

The 2018 FIU squad has a lot of similar pieces. Here’s how the Panthers stack up this season.

Offense

FIU finished in the middle of the pack in Conference USA in terms of total offense averaging 25.6 points per game. The bulk of their 41 total touchdowns were generated by dual-threat quarterback Alex McGough, who leaves the school No. 2 in all-time passing yardage.

McGough threw for a personal best 2,798 passing yards last season, adding 17 touchdowns through the air and five more on the ground. Additional losses for the Panthers are star wide receiver Thomas Owens and starting running back Alex Gardner. Both players were yardage and touchdown leaders at their respective positions.

Although they have several holes to fill, the bulk of the depth returns in 2018. FIU brings back four receivers who caught 20 or more passes last year led Austin Maloney.

The Panthers are equally equipped on the ground. Napoleon Maxwell and Shawndarrius Phillips combined for 185 carries, 972 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season. They’ll be able to split the rushing duties behind one of the most experienced offensive lines in college football. The Panthers return every starter up front led by All-CUSA guard Jordan Budwig.

If sophomore quarterback James Morgan, a transfer from Bowling Green, can be effective this unit will be one of the better squads in Conference USA.

Defense

The FIU defense doesn’t enter 2018 in as good of a position as the offense. The top four and seven of the top nine leading tacklers are not returning this year, leaving fairly significant questions at every level of the defense.

The biggest unknown lies in the defensive backfield. FIU finished 13th in CUSA against the pass last season, allowing a staggering 65.3 completion percentage. Not a single player who registered an interception for FIU returns and the only meaningful addition is Rutgers grad transfer Kiy Hester at free safety. Hester registered three picks for the Scarlet Knights.

An improved pass rush might be the best recipe for improvement on the back line and that’s something that could be possible this season. An infusion of talent is inbound in the form of Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Wood and 4-star JUCO defensive tackle Tayland Humphrey. The talent was impressive enough that last year’s leader along the defensive line, Fermin Silva has been freed up to play linebacker.

Silva will pair up with returning starter Sage Lewis. Those two finished first and third on the team in quarterback hurries last season and combined for seven tackles for a loss and 12 sacks.

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2018 UTSA Roadrunners Season Preview

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Rice football will break a deadlock in their all-time series with UTSA in 2018. The Owls and Roadrunners have picked up three wins apiece in their first six matchups.

UTSA enters their seventh season with a D1 football team in 2018 and its third under head coach Frank Wilson. The Roadrunners have been moderately successful in their short time with a football program, averaging a hair shy of six wins per season.

Wilson guided his program to a 6-5 finish last season but the Roadrunners sat at home during bowl season. UTSA was one of only a handful of six-win teams that didn’t go bowling, an unfortunate set of circumstances for a program still seeking its first-ever bowl win.

After one season in the WAC, UTSA joined Conference USA where they began an annual game with Rice. The Owls and Roadrunners have met six times on the gridiron with the series tied 3-3. UTSA won in 2017, can they repeat on the road in 2018?

Offense

The biggest question facing the Roadrunners in 2018 revolves around the starting quarterback position. Dalton Strum (5,768 career passing yards) leaves San Antonio with a gaping hole to fill at quarterback and not a lot of options behind him.

Graduate transfer DJ Gillens, JUCO transfer Cordale Grundy and true freshman Jordan Weeks comprise a three-man competition to be the next signal caller. None offer any form of meaningful experience and any of them could have the job come midseason.

The offensive line has three starters to replace and the Roadrunners will be without their top three receiving options. That will put the weight of the offense on the shoulders of junior running back Jalen Rhodes. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound tailback from Rowlett, Texas was the most productive back last season, averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 134 carries, gaining 690 yards and scoring five touchdowns.

UTSA finished third in Conference USA in rushing offense, averaging 184.6 yards per game on the ground. They were able to accomplish that despite finishing 10th in rush attempts and 13th in total touchdowns. It didn’t take volume for the Roadrunners to find success on the ground in 2017, making an increased workload for Rhodes troublesome for UTSA’s opponents.

The receiving corps remains a shot in the dark. Freshman Tykee Ogle-Kellog will be in the mix, as will upperclassmen wideouts Treyvion Shannon and Greg Campbell Jr. Whoever steps up over the start of the season will earn himself the lion’s share of opportunities through the air.

Defense

UTSA was one of the better defenses in Conference USA a year ago. So good, that even Nick Saban took notice. The head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide swooped in to hire Pete Doling, the Roadrunners’ defensive coordinator as the co-defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa. Filling in behind him will be linebackers coach Jason Rollins. 2018 will be his first year as a defensive coordinator in his coaching career.

On the field, this unit loses Marcus Davenport, a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints this offseason, but should still be plenty deep in 2018. Filling in behind Davenport are Kevin Strong and Solomon Wise. Neither of those players holds a candle to Davenport’s dominance, but the combination should be enough to keep the pressure on the passer in his stead.

Backing up the new edge rushers is a linebacker unit that also has a major hole to fill. 2017 leading tackler La’Kel Bass is gone, but a fully healthy Josiah Tauaefa could make for an even better piece for UTSA to build around. Tauaefa set the school record with 115 tackles in 2016 and player sparing last season as he battled with injuries.

The secondary won’t have many new faces this year, but several role players will be asked to do more than they’ve done before this season. Corner Stanley Dye Jr. and Clayton Johnson are both upperclassmen, but the duo combined for just 10 tackles last season. Sophomore Javontavius Mosley will also be in the mix.

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2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Season Preview

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A year removed from a trip to Australia, Rice football‘s furthest road trip in 2018 is a still-lengthy flight to the Pacific to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

By far the most scenic road trip on the Rice football schedule in 2018 will come in early September when the Owls travel to Oahu, Hawaii to take on the home-town Rainbow Warriors in Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii was an offensive powerhouse under now CFL head coach June Jones, but current headman Nick Rolovich has his eyes set on revamping the offense and returning it to those glory days. The third-year headman played quarterback for Hawaii from 2000 to 2001, seeing the majority of his playing time when Hawaii’s all-time leading passer Timmy Chang went down to an injury.

Rice and Hawaii have met on the gridiron seven times, all occurring in the last 20 seasons. The two squads alternated home games from 1999 to 2004; Rice went 4-2 in those games. The teams then took a break, meeting most recently at Rice Stadium in 2014, a 28-14 victory for the Owls. What will this version of the Rainbow Warriors look like in 2018?

Offense

Hawaii was thrown for a loop when Dru Brown announced he would transfer to Oklahoma State for the 2018 season. After joining the Rainbow Warriors from the JUCO ranks, Brown threw for 2,785 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.

Brown wasn’t perfect, but he was by far the most experienced passer on the roster. Backup Cole MacDonald had more rushing attempts last season (16) than passing attempts (nine). He’ll be in the mix with Sacremento State transfer Kolney Cassel and USC transfer Larry Tuileta.

Whoever wins the job will benefit greatly from a full season with wide receiver John Ursa. Despite missing half of the 2017 campaign, Ursa led the Mountain West in receiving yards and hauled in five touchdowns.

Outside of Ursa, the skill positions are baren. The Rainbow Warriors will have to replace their next three pass catchers and their top two running backs. The departed receivers were nothing special, but running back Diocemy Saint Juste leaves Hawaii as the No. 2 all-time leading rusher with 3,102 yards.

Sophomore Freddy Holly will be given the first crack at the starting tailback role. Blocking for him will be a bevy of JUCO transfers along the offensive line thanks to the departure of all-Moutain West left tackle Dejon Allen and starters John Wa’a and Chris Posa.

Defense

Hawaii has always prided themselves on their offense almost at the detriment of their defense. The Rainbow Warriors have allowed fewer than 32 points per game once in the last five seasons and actually showed modest improvement a year ago when they allowed 33.9 points per game (10th in the Mountain West) compared to 37.3 allowed in 2016.

Although they face the same amount of attrition as the offense, the defense could be better prepared to make big strides next season. Linebackers Jahlani Tavia and Soloman Matautia were ballhawks last season, accounting for 209 tackles, 6.5 sacks and four interceptions in 2017. Both return this year and will serve as anchors for a defense with a lot of new faces.

More JUCO transfers were brought in to reinforce the defensive line which returns just one player that saw a significant amount of playing time, Sam Akoteu. Zeno Choi, Blessman Ta’ala and Jeffrey Keene Jr. will round out the front which owns three starts between the quartet.

The secondary will have to replace a pair of safeties. The corners they do bring back were part of a unit that allowed 248.6 passing yards per game and a conference-high 29 touchdown passes. With little reason for increased optimism in the form of a stronger pass rush, the back end of the Hawaii defense could be in for another rough year in 2018.

Teams that can move the ball through the air are going to be able to beat this unit consistenly making shootouts more likely for this squad once again.

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