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Rice Football 2024: Memphis Game Week Practice Report

November 6, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football returned to the field with one focus: beating Memphis. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

Once again, it was hard to find space around the Rice football facility this week that didn’t have a “Beat Memphis” sign on full display. The Owls implemented a similar tactic against Navy last week and found success. Work has been put in the field, too. Here’s where the team stands prior to the Memphis game this weekend.

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Running out of backs

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Alex Bacchetta, Boden Groen, Braylen Walker, Christian Francisco, Conor Hunt, Dean Connors, Drayden Dickmann, EJ Warner, Elijah Mojarro, Graham Walker, Kobie Campbell, Matt Sykes, Micah Barnett, Michael Amico, Myron Morrison, practice notes, Quinton Jackson, Rice Football, Taji Atkins, Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman, trace norfleet, Weston Kropp

Rice Football 2024: UTSA Game Week Practice Report

October 10, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football is back in action this week against UTSA in search of a much-needed win. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

There was some good news on the injury front for Rice football over the bye week and lots of shifts and contortions with the depth chart as the Owls attempt to replace players still not able to participate and account for changing numbers in various position groups. Here’s where the team stands prior to the UTSA game this weekend.

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Running back ranks reset

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  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls

Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Ashton Ojiaku, Blake Boenisch, Boden Groen, Brant Banks, Chad Lindberg, Chase Jenkins, Christian Francisco, Coleman Bennett, David Stickle, Dean Connors, DJ Arkansas, Elijah Mojarro, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, Graham Walker, James Falk, John Long, Jojo Jean, Joseph Mutombo, Joshua Williams, Jovoni Johnson, Marcus Williams, Matt Sykes, Michael Daley, Owen Carter, practice notes, Quinton Jackson, Rawson MacNeill, Rice Football, Taji Atkins, Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman, trace norfleet, Tyson Flowers, Weston Kropp

Rice Football smothered in Bayou Bucket loss to Houston

September 14, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football fell behind early and never threatened to catch up, ceding the Bayou Bucket to Houston after a one-year sojourn at South Main.

It had been more than 20 years since Rice football had claimed the Bayou Bucket in successive seasons. That streak will continue for quite some time longer after Saturday’s loss at TDECU Stadium. There’s one game left in the series as things stand and Rice can’t wait for another shot to redeem themselves from a rough outing in their biggest rivalry matchup. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Going Sideways

Notwithstanding their big day on the scoreboard against Texas Southern, the Rice football offense has struggled to move the ball north and south this season. They’ve largely been a horizontal offense utilizing their speed to the edges to outflank their opponents and slowly matriculate their way down the field. When you’re playing a less talented opponent, that works. When you’re playing a Big 12 team that is just as athletic as you are if not more so, it’s impossible. Rice found that out the hard way, early on.

The first three plays from scrimmage were a Dean Connors run off left tackle followed by a swing pass to Connors off the left side and then a flat out to Boden Groen. They gained seven yards and punted. EJ Warner was under a decent amount of pressure early but misfired on most of his shots down the field. Rice didn’t get any points from their offense until there were 68 seconds left in regulation.

Against FCS competition, Rice has scored 69 points. Against FBS foes the Owls have mustered just 21 in twice as many quarters.

If there was a weak link, it was hard to identify. Warner missed some receivers downfield, the protection regularly failed to give him time to work and the receivers did not generate nearly enough separation. There were moments when everything seemed to come together, but the passing game was flat and horizontal making it near impossible to sustain any meaningful drive.

Rice had one snap on the plus side of the 50 in the first half and seven such plays in the second half. They were 2-for-13 on third down. For an offense, it doesn’t get much worse than this.

The personnel is the personnel. The staff is the staff. They’ve got to figure something out, fast.

Defense staves off a massacre

In hindsight, leading the nation in sacks through two games should have been the clear indicator that this current iteration of Rice football would be led by its defense. A tough opening quarter, which included 35 total yards from the offense and a punt return score, would have been so much worse if the defense hadn’t picked up the slack.

Josh Pearcy added to that sack total on the opening drive, although that takedown probably could have been credited to a few Owls, which is a testament to just how dominant the front seven has been so far this season.

More please, Mr. Pearcypic.twitter.com/hysLudiRdM

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) September 15, 2024

The defense was burned for a handful of chunk plays but largely limited the backbreaking Houston punches to a pair of long first-quarter runs by Re’Shaun Sanford and a screen touchdown following a special teams mistake. A 37-yard run up the gut by Donovan Smith was the cherry on top of a garbage time sundae.

Forced to carry the load for the totality of the game, the defense added three sacks to their total and did a reasonable job containing Houston quarterback Donovan Smith and the Cougars’ rushing attack, which tried its best to drain the clock as quickly as it could. It might not have been a great day from the defense as a whole, but this phase of the ball wasn’t the reason Rice lost on Saturday.

Special teams roulette

Many of the largest swings in this game came in the sometimes overlooked third phase of football. Houston’s second touchdown was a 75-yard punt return touchdown. A few series later, a muffed punt by Sean Fresch was followed by a 44-yard touchdown from the Cougars on the very next play.

The Owls’ punt return woes didn’t stop there. Tyson Thompson, Fresch’s replacement, was leveled on his first return, putting the ball on the deck. Fortunately, Rice recovered and was aided further by a targeting penalty on the Cougars. The Owls were only in need of being bailed out because Thompson failed to signal for a fair catch, perhaps hoping to make the most of a rare opportunity.

While so many of his teammates struggled, Rice punter Alex Bacchetta was a bright spot on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium. Bacchetta punted seven times in the first half and two more in the second. The Rice football program record is 12 punts in one contest, most recently achieved by Jack Fox in 2018.

Bacchetta had one bad boot, a 24-yard on his first touch of the game. The remainder of his kicks were booming blasts. He averaged 42.2 yards per punt, 44.2 yards apiece when excluding the first dud. He was superb, but special teams on a whole were way too erratic in the moments that mattered most.

Behind schedule

Beating Houston would have gotten the Owls to 2-1, par for the season according to oddsmakers, with a marquee win and a rivalry trophy retained. The loss, while not unexpected from a spread standpoint, officially puts Rice behind expectations with a road trip to Army looming.

Picked to finish in the middle of the AAC, presumably with another bowl trip in tow, it’s time to officially put all of those aspirations on hold. Rice could very well achieve both of those objectives, but the team that was talked about as a dark horse to contend for the AAC title quite frankly hasn’t shown up to play in this season. Beating an FCS squad is nice, but the remainder of the schedule is against FBS opponents, against which Rice is 0-2.

Maybe things would feel a bit more hopeful if Rice had found a way to not stub their toe in their opening game against Sam Houston, but right now this is a team with more questions than answers and there are still two more games to play before the first bye week of the season.

Digging deeper

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Downfield, please?

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Recent Posts
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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Alex Bacchetta, Boden Groen, Dean Connors, EJ Warner, game recap, Josh Pearcy, Matt Sykes, Rice Football

Rice Football Depth Chart Questions and Stadium Notes: August 2024 Q&A

August 23, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2024 Rice Football season is around the corner. What does that mean for the depth chart and when are we getting news on the stadium front? Here’s the latest.

There’s a lot going on around South Main these days. Fall camp wrapped up last week and the 2024 Rice football season kicks off next week against Sam Houston on brand new turf that was utilized by the team for the first time on Friday morning. Could stadium news be coming soon? And what will the first depth chart of the season look like when it is officially released? This month’s Q&A focuses on those two topics.

Questions were edited briefly for clarity. Want to get your questions answered? Subscribe on Patreon for our monthly mailbag.

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Q: Are we expecting any update on the plan for Rice Stadium in the near future?

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Recent Posts
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  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: AJ Padgett, Alex Bacchetta, Bailey Fletcher, Blaise Tita, Blake Boenisch, Boden Groen, Brad Baur, Brant Banks, Braylen Walker, Chad Lindberg, Charlie Looes, Christian Francisco, Colby Connell, Conor Hunt, Daveon Hook, David Stickle, Dean Connors, DeMone Green, DJ Arkansas, Drayden Dickmann, Drew Devillier, EJ Warner, Elijah Mojarro, Elroyal Morris, Enoch Gota, Ephraim Dotson, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, Geron Hargon, Graham Walker, Izeya Floyd, John Long, Jojo Jean, Josh Pearcy, Kobie Campbell, Lamont Narcisse, Marcus Williams, Matt Sykes, Max Ahoia, Micah Barnett, Michael Daley, Michael Larbie, Miguel Cedeno, Myron Morrison, Plae Wyatt, Quinton Jackson, Rawson MacNeill, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Shawqi Itraish, Spencer Cassell, Taji Atkins, Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman, Tim Horn, trace norfleet, Ty Morris, Tyson Flowers, Weston Kropp, wyatt freeman

Rice Football 2024 Season Preview: Rising Stars

August 21, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Which new faces will emerge as difference makers for Rice football in 2024? The Roost picks three rising stars for the upcoming season.

An annual tradition, this Rising Stars segment attempts to highlight potential differential players for the 2024 Rice football team that might not quite be household names… yet. Transfers, freshmen and newcomers of all kinds have graced this list in recent years.

With two weeks before the season starts, it’s time to lock in the picks. Here are our 2024 Rising Stars.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2024 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
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Recent Posts
  • Rice Baseball blows past PVAMU at home
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Boden Groen, Dean Connors, DeMone Green, Drayden Dickmann, Rice Football, Taji Atkins, Ty Morris

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