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Rice Football: Offense explodes as Owls knock off Middle Tennessee

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An explosive offense, stingy defense and strong special teams performance propelled Rice Football to their first win of the 2019 season.

Rice football had come close too many times to count. Staring down the barrel of an 0-10 start, the Owls turned in a complete game. On the road, against an unfamiliar opponent, Rice won. No points scored after halftime is concerning, but the season-high 31 points was absolutely a step in the right direction.

There will be plenty of good (and some bad) to work through in the days that follow. Here are a few immediate reactions from the win:

1. Boom!  goes the offense

A lack of explosive plays had put a hard ceiling on Rice offense all season. The Owls have been forced to execute at an unsustainable rate to simply stay on the field. As a result, way too many of their drives have ended in either punts or long field goals. Rice needed someone to jump-start the offense. On Saturday, Bradley Rozner delivered.

It started out with a big play, a 30-yard toss from quarterback Tom Stewart to Rozner in the endzone. One. Then the same duo connected for a second score, this time from 18 yards out. Two. With 14 seconds remaining in the first half and no timeouts, Rozner hauled in another one. Three.

Rozner, who led all of junior college in touchdowns last season, more than doubled his D1 touchdown tally against Middle Tennessee. That might have been enough on its own, but several others joined in the offensive explosion.

Juma Otoviano had a season-high 20 carries, several on direct snaps including a fourth-down conversion that set up one of Rozner’s long touchdown receptions. Zane Knipe joined the fray with his first career carry, a 12-yard end-around for another Rice first-down. Aston Walter iced the game with a thundering 24-yard run on third and 11 in the final minutes.

Seem like a lot? That’s because Rice hadn’t scored 30 points since August 25, 2019 — a walk-off win over Prairie View A&M in Mike Bloomgren’s head coaching debut. Here are each of the scoring plays:

2. Defense paves the way, then hangs on

The offense will get plenty of praise for their dazzling showing after two consecutive games with just one touchdown. As impressive and exciting as Stewart and company were with the football, it was the defense that set them up for success.

Middle Tennessee managed 40 yards of total offense in the first quarter. They had one first down and went 1-for-4 on third downs. As a result, the Rice offense began their scoring drives on the Middle Tennesse 24-yard line, the Rice 47-yard line and midfield. The longest Rice scoring drive of the day went 53 yards.

It wasn’t a perfect performance. MTSU’s first touchdown came on a drive in which the Owls committed three penalties on what could have been driving-ending plays, including a fourth down stop in the redzone. They also gave up a 90-yard bomb from O’Hara to Lee. Despite the warts, they gave the offense a chance, and they took advantage of it.

Middle Tennessee entered the weekend as the No. 1 rushing offense in Conference USA. Dual-threat quarterback Asher O’Hara was kept in check on the ground as the Blue Raiders were held to 120 yards rushing. They came into the game averaging 222 yards on the ground in conference play.

Blaze Alldredge tied Larry Izo’s TFL record, upping his tally to 17 tackles for a loss on the season.

3. A complete game

The offense played well. The defense played well. So did the special teams.

Chris Barnes hit a career-long 42-yard field goal to open the scoring for the Owls in the first quarter. His punting partner Adam Nunez came on and pinpointed a punt inside the 10-yard line, his ninth such kick of the season. Barnes later punned MTSU inside the five.

Nahshon Ellerbe had a career-long 37-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. Following an MTSU score, he had a 34-yard return which set up the final Rice touchdown of the first half. For perhaps the first time all season, all three phases played quality football. As a result, Rice football won its first game.

4. No JoVoni, No problem

The difference between the Rice offense under Tom Stewart compared to the same unit with JoVoni Johnson on the field could not have been any more clear after the team’s last outing against Marshall. When Johnson was in the game, the Owls marched down the field. When Stewart stepped in, the offense stalled, immediately.

Were it not for Johnson’s injury, the freshman signal-caller would have probably gotten the start against Middle Tennessee. With Johnson unable to go, Stewart got the call.

Stewart’s biggest plays were touchdowns hauled in by Rozner in which the quarterback threw it up and let the 6-foot-5 wideout make a play. To Stewart’s credit, the balls were well placed. Stewart isn’t the long-term answer for Rice football — he has two more games of collegiate eligibility — but the rush to get Johnson back on the field will lessen this week. The Owls know they have someone who can run the offense well in his place.

5. Winners win

Sludging through an 0-9 start puts the Owls’ Week 12 win over Middle Tennessee into proper perspective. We’ve seen this team play down to their competition; unfortunately, that’s happened more than Rice football fans would like. But now we’ve seen the upside, and oh boy, it’s nice.

In 2018 Rice beat 5-6 Prairie View and 4-8 Old Dominion. On Saturday they beat a Middle Tennessee squad that had scored 70 points in its previous two conference games and already had a win over Marshall under their belt.

There’s no debating it, this was the most impressive, most impactful victory in the history of the Mike Bloomgren era. This staff hadn’t won away from the confines of Rice Stadium. Now they have. After many had thrown in the towel on what had become a disappointing season, this team kept fighting, found a way to take a team to deep water in the fourth quarter. More importantly than any cliche, they won.

The Owls still have to prove they can replicate the product they put on the field this weekend, but it’s clear they’ve gotten over the hump. North Texas will be a tough test with a road trip to El Paso the week after that. But now we know — and this team knows — Rice football can win.

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Rice Football Film Room 2019: Marshall review

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The Rice football offense has some new players to break down. In this week’s edition of the film room we take a look at JoVoni Johnson and Juma Otoviano against Marshall.

Hey y’all, and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. This week we’ll be taking a look at a few plays that hopefully bode well for the future of Rice’s struggling offense.

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Rice Football: JoVoni Johnson not enough to power Owls past Marshall

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Rice football found a way to keep it close, but the offense’s spark came too late to overcome a late deficit as the Owls fell to Marshall on Homecoming.

A win on Homecoming against Marshall was something Rice football desperately needed to snap a grueling streak of losses. Like seemingly every other game this season, the game was close into the second half. When both teams looked up at the scoreboard at the start of the fourth quarter they saw a two-score game with plenty of time remaining.

This one ended the same way the others had to this point in the season, with Rice falling short on the scoreboard. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

1. Hello, Jovoni Johnson

Things were pretty clear during the week that Wiley Green was not going to start this game, regardless of the health of quarterback Tom Stewart. After Stewart’s limited availability in practice, his status entering Saturday was very much so up in the air. As reported on Friday, that left JoVoni Johnson as the most likely alternative should Stewart be unable to go.

Stewart warmed up but it was Johnson who started the game and played all but one snap, leaving briefly for one play after getting the wind knocked out of him on a hit. The coaching staff raved about his athletic ability throughout fall camp and liked how he’d progress in recent weeks.

In his first outing as the Rice football starting quarterback, Johnson played well. As long as he was on the field, the offense had life. When Tom Stewart took over, the offense fizzled. He completed one of his nine passes, ending promising drives with nothing to show for it.

Limited possessions didn’t do anything to help the young quarterback find his rhythm, but the simplified scheme and some plus running lanes provide by the offensive line aided him in his first career start. After starting 8-of-9 passing for 77 yards, No. 3 went on to complete 10/17 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown. He added 65 yards rushing with his legs. Perhaps even more importantly, he committed no turnovers.

2. Redzone warriors

The Rice defense almost singlehandedly kept the team in the game last weekend against Southern Miss. The Eagles reached the redzone four times but only found the endzone once in those possessions. The same sort of pattern emerged early against Marshall. The Herd got into the redzone twice in the first quarter alone but left with just three points. For the game, they managed two touchdowns on four redzone possessions.

Linebacker Adrian Bickham was the star of the first Marshall redzone drive. One of three true freshmen to play in every game this season, Bickham reached up and knocked down the Justin Rohrwasser’s first field goal of the day.

A strategy of keeping the offense in front of them, which they’ve achieved more often than not this season, has lent itself to this sort of bend-but-don’t-break style of defense. At the very least, they’ve softened the blow of some of C-USA’s most powerful offenses, giving the Owls’ own offense a chance.

3. Not the best day for the Rice secondary

The mandate given to this team by the coaching staff has been constant all season: don’t turn the ball over on offense and don’t let the ball go over your head on defense.

The former has been the sticking point for the Owls this season. Several quarterbacks have been cycled through to fix the problem. The latest, Johnson, did not turn the ball over on Saturday. With that half of the mandate delivered finally delivered, the secondary struggled to hold up their end of the bargain.

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Green was masterful through the air against the Owls. He completed 17-of-22 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown. He hit several long plays, including a 63-yard strike to Xavier Gaines who was tackled at the one-yard line, setting up a touchdown run from Brenden Knox. On the next possession, Green hit Talik Keaton over the top for a 19-yard score.

The secondary was able to clamp down in the second half, limiting Green’s effectiveness. But the points scored in the first half proved to be too many for the Owls’ own offense to overcome.

4. In search of playmakers

Marshall tight end Armani Levias and running back Brenden Knox were difference makers in this game. When the Herd needed a big play, one of those delivered time and time again. In fact, six different Marshall players had a play from scrimmage of 18-yards or more.

Reliable slot man Austin Trammell was the only non-quarterback to gain 18 yards on a single play for the Owls. Bradley Rozner came close, hauling in a 17-yard reception. But those are the two names we’ve come to expect to make plays from on offense this season.

Rice needs somebody else to step up. Johnson helped fill the void, picking up several first downs with his legs. Juma Otoviano had his best day running on the season but was held to 66 yards on the ground. With Johnson at the controls, the offense was better today, but its upside could rise dramatically if someone else can generate a few more chunk plays of their own.

5. Is it too much to ask for both?

Against Southern Miss, the Rice defense pitched a near-shutout through 59 minutes against one of the best offenses in Conference USA. On Saturday against Marshall, that same defense looked a step slow and far less consistent than they’d been to this point in the season. The offense looked promising, hindered by Johnson leaving the game twice in big moments.

That’s been the story of the 2019 Rice Football season in miniature. The defense wows while the offense goes quietly. Then when the offense has their moments, the defense is good, but not quite as proficient as we’ve come to expect. Special teams has ebbed and flowed, too.

If Rice puts its best product on the field, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have at least one, if not multiple conference wins. To this point, the Owls’ worst enemy has been themselves. They know that but have thus far been unable to find the right combination of all three phases to win.

The law of averages would suggest that Rice will find that combination. With three games left, they’re running out of time.

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Rice Football Film Room 2019: UTSA review and Southern Miss preview

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This week’s edition of the Rice Football film room features two very different teams starting with a review of UTSA and looking ahead at Southern Miss.

Hey everybody and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. Today we’ll be looking at a play from Rice’s heartbreaking loss to UTSA, as well as one from upcoming opponent Southern Miss in their Week 5 win against UTEP.

UTSA

As Matthew noted in his breakdown of the loss, Rice has turned the ball over a stunning *nine* times in three conference games. It’s not a stretch to think that if they’d maintained the low turnover rate from their brutal non-conference schedule (a mere two turnovers in four games) or even stayed close to it, they might be 2-1 or even 3-0 in C-USA play now. But the UTSA game in particular featured some backbreakers, including the play I’ve included here.

Rice Football, film room

Setup

It’s the first play of the third quarter. Rice is leading 10-7 and on offense at their own 25. They’re in a 21-personnel I-formation look, with a TE to the right. Bradley Rozner is the wide receiver to the top of the screen. Somewhat surprisingly, UTSA is in a two-deep 4-2-5 nickel look, ceding numbers to Rice in the box. As a quick note, the FB is Brendan Suckley and I think that’s Aston Walter as the RB, but I can’t tell who the TE is from the clip.

The Play

Now we see what UTSA’s up to—they rotate into a single-high look at the snap, with the boundary corner blitzing and Austin Trammell being picked up in man by the free safety. Both the LBs drop into shallow zones, so with six blockers up front (the TE runs a route but Suckley stays in). Rice stymies the 4 DL. Walter does a nice job cut-blocking the blitzing CB, so Green gets time to throw off this short drop.

We’ve talked on the pod about how Rice’s offense and their use of heavy personnel allows them to get one-on-one match-ups outside and how they’ve been particularly effectively lately throwing jump balls to Rozner and August Pitre in the end zone out of these looks. Understanding how personnel and formations dictate what the defense gives you is a key quality for a quarterback: by processing these things pre-snap and knowing what looks you’re likely to get, you can make quick decisions about what to do once the ball is snapped.

But this can also be a trap: defenses routinely show QBs one thing pre-snap and then change it up post-snap. If you’ve already made up your mind about where you’re going pre-snap—and what’s more, if the defense is guessing that’s what you’ve decided to do and has a counter in mind—then what looks like a sound read can turn into a horrible mistake. Note that this happens to even the best of quarterbacks: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa has thrown 70 touchdowns and only 8ight interceptions in his 22 starts for the Crimson Tide. At least half of the interceptions have come on plays like this, when savvy defensive coordinators have used Tagovailoa’s aggressiveness and rapid decision-making.

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That’s what happens to Wiley Green here. He thinks he has Rozner in single coverage and plans to go there right from the beginning, staring down Rozner the whole way. Based on the alignment, Green probably thinks the nickel DB is going to stay closer to the box to play in run support, but instead he bails and sinks to double Rozner. Green doesn’t see him, and the ball is picked and returned for a touchdown.

Even if the DB hadn’t been there, it’s not a great play by Green. He probably needs to get that ball out at the top of his drop, because:

1) it’s a long throw, and while Rozner’s break gets him space, the corner probably would have had time to close and make the play as is; and
2) by the time he makes his throw the pocket has been pushed back enough that he can’t step into the throw, and so the ball is underthrown.

If he gets it out at the top of the drop and doesn’t take that extra step forward, he’s got more space to step into the throw and drive the ball. That would mean getting the ball out well before Rozner is out of his break, but a throw off a 5-step drop like this one is usually a timing-based throw. You’ve got to get the ball out when you’re supposed to and trust that the receiver will be in the right spot to make the catch. I don’t mean to dog Green too much here; I know that all sounds harsh, but these are mistakes Rice cannot afford to make in winnable games.

Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles are led this year by their high-flying passing offense, directed by coordinator Buster Faulkner, who came in this offseason and installed his version of the Air Raid. (Faulkner played and coached at Valdosta State under Chris Hatcher, who was an assistant at Kentucky under Air Raid architects Hal Mumme and Mike Leach). The engine of this offense is QB Jack Abraham, who’s been a bit turnover-prone (8 INTs), but has also thrown for over 2200 yards and 13 TDs on a 70.5 percent completion percentage.

Their offense will primarily run out of four receiver sets, with plays designed to get those receivers in space. One of those plays, mesh, is one of the staple concepts of the Air Raid (which, in its purest forms, actually only includes four or five passing concepts). We’ll take a look at a version of mesh that Southern Miss runs below.

Rice Football, film room

Setup

It’s late in the second quarter in Southern Miss’ win over UTEP. and the Gold Eagles are up 14-3, with the ball at the UTEP 38 yard line. Southern Miss in a four receiver set, with three receivers in a bunch to the left. UTEP counters with a two-high look out of dime (6 DBs) personnel, with three down linemen and two linebackers.

The Play

As I said above, Southern Miss runs “mesh”, which is a core concept of the Air Raid but also shows up in playbooks across all levels of football these days. It involves a pair of shallow crossing routes from opposite ends of the field nearly meeting in the middle of the field. There are many variations, both in terms of formation and the other routes being run, but the crossers are the key. It’s a great play because it can put stress on both man and zone coverages, and having versatile plays which work against different defensive looks is a core Air Raid philosophy.

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The version here is pretty classic, though the bunch allows for a variation. Normally an inside receiver to the strong side runs the crosser from that side, but here’s it’s the outside (or No. 1) receiver, running under the No. 2 (who’s on the line) and the No. 3 inside. The No. 2 runs a corner route, the No. 3 runs to the flat, and to the weak side the back leaks into the flat and the receiver runs the other crosser.

It looks like UTEP’s in 2-Man coverage, with two deep safeties and everybody else playing man. The press corner is on the strongside No. 2, the boundary corner is on the weakside No. 1, and the weakside LB has the back. I can’t be sure but I think the other two underneath DBs to the trips side are playing banjo coverage on the two other receivers to that side.

Basically, that means the outside DB will pick up whichever receiver (in this case, the No. 3 receiver) goes outside, and the inside DB will pick up whoever goes inside (in this case, the No. 1, who’s running the crosser). Receivers often run “rubs” or “picks” (or “illegal offensive pass interference” if you’re a defensive guy) on DBs out of these bunches to get free releases for the other receivers, and banjo is a common strategy for preventing that.

More: Previewing Rice Football vs Southern Miss

In this case, it seems to be the inside DB that makes the error, chasing the No. 3 receiver to the flat instead of picking up the no. 1 receiver (Jaylond Adams) running the crosser. That crosser is actually usually the fourth read in most versions of mesh (the corner, the other crosser, and the flat route to that side are the first three), but I don’t think Abraham gets that far. Based on how quickly he turns his head and gets to the open man, I think he quickly sees that inside DB start to flow to the flat and knows that means that Adams will be wide open, which he is. The safety to that side does a great job slowing down and then tackling Adams to prevent a TD, but Adams still turns it into about a 15-yard gain.

So the Rice secondary, likely down top CB Andrew Bird, has its work cut out for them this week against this Southern Miss offense. They’re going to have to play smart and disciplined to keep these receivers from picking up chunk after chunk against them. Let’s hope the Owls are up to the challenge.

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Rice Football: Owls fall to UAB in delayed downpour

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Rice Football traded blows with UAB before the offense dried up under heavy rains as the Owls fell to the Blazers in a sloppy night.

Rain and lightning turned a promising start into a drawn-out, waterlogged affair on Saturday night in Birmingham. The Owls put together a strong first half but couldn’t overcome the elements, falling to UAB on a dreary night at Legion Field. UAB won by the final score 35-20 a few minutes past midnight. Here are a few takeaways from the game.

1. Throw the first punch. Check.

Playing with the lead is always a good thing, but it’s especially important if you want to run an offense predicated on grinding out games. Controlling the clock and running the football don’t complement comeback attempts well. That’s why it’s a good thing to have a smart running back and great blocking to set up plays like this:

Rice struck first against Louisiana Tech and never trailed in regulation. The encore performance against UAB included a shutout pitched by the Rice defense through the first quarter before UAB eventually equalized the score. Rice threw punches with UAB for a while before the Blazers pulled away in the second half.

2. Opening things up on offense

Rice snapped the ball in a five wide formation twice in the first quarter, including the very first play of the game. Wiley Green went downfield on the first play, looking for Bradley Rozner who drew a flag for defensive holding. The Owls converted the second five wide play on a post to Jake Bailey before it was called back on a hold by Rice.

Neither play will show up in the box score because of the penalties, but both were a clear indication Rice is willing to open up the offense and try some new things.

It wasn’t just new formations; Rice noticeably took more shots downfield than they had in previous weeks. Green was actively scanning further than the line of scrimmage and he connected on a few throws that traveled vertically down the field, rather than trusting his receivers to do most of the work after the catch.

Green had a season-high 161 yards passing, two touchdowns and somewhere around 100 yards of pass interference penalties along the way.

3. Secondary shows some leaks

UAB running back Spencer Brown left the ball after the first drive of the game. Not only was Brown a critical piece to the Blazers offense, he became the school’s all-time leading rusher this season. Without him in the game the Blazers took to the air, finding plenty of early success.

Quarterback Tyler Johnston connected on touchdown passes of 46-, 36- and 57-yards in the first half. UAB’s longest score driving lasted 2:41.

This wasn’t the first team to test Rice deep. Wake Forest took shots, so did Baylor. Rice had given up a few deep balls, but the secondary seemed nowhere near as suspect as it did last season when the Owls surrendered an average of 2.5 pass plays of 30 yards per game allowed. Entering the UAB game Rice had given up eight such plays, an average 1.6 per contest, a mark that sits roughly in the middle of C-USA.

Even with the imperfect pass defense, the Owls hung around. George Nyakwol registered the Owls’ first interception of the season in the closing minutes of the first half. Treshawn Chamberlain added to the total with a third quarter pick.

4. Loud and clear

An emphasis on downfield passing wasn’t the only noticeable change with the Rice offense on Saturday. The Owls played an aggressive brand of football. Even when Rice didn’t complete their passes down the field they forced UAB into uncomfortable situations. The opposing secondary was littered with flags all night for defensive holding and pass interference.

A few other decisions stood out. Trailing by seven in the second quarter, Rice went for it on fourth and 10 from the UAB 36 yard line. Not only did they get it, they finished the drive with Green’s first touchdown of the season — an endzone jump ball to Brad Rozner.

In like fashion, Rice rolled the dice before the halftime whistle. After getting possession of the ball with 90 seconds to play, Rice chose to push down the field rather than run off the final seconds. The Owls made it to midfield and did not score, but the decision not to neal the ball was a tone-setter for what this offense could become.

5. Messy, messy, messy

UAB didn’t play a perfect game by any means. Multiple turnovers and flags all over the defensive secondary made it a relatively sloppy night for the home team. Then the rain — which somehow managed to stay away for nearly the entirety of the hour and a half lightning delay — began to come down in buckets.

Conveniently for the Blazers, Mother Nature opened the heavens around the time the home team had scored their second touchdown of the third quarter. Trailing by two scores, The Rice offense never got back in sync. Tom Stewart, inserted for his running ability, put the ball on the deck.

Including two rain-induced fumbles, the Owls tallied a season-high four giveaways. Rice also committed six penalties for 65 yards. That was bad, but not early as careless as UAB’s 167 yards of penalties. You can’t write a loss off based on weather, but there’s no doubt the rain played a significant factor in the second half of this game.

Rice football has played too well over the past month to not have any wins to show for themselves. A lengthy weather delay and sudden pouring rain made this most recent defeat a soggy one. There’s a lot of hurt in the Owls’ locker room right now making this the perfect time for an off week and a cooling off period.

We’re not taking a break

Rice football has the week off, but there will still be content going up on the site and on the podcast. A portion of next week’s episode is up for y’all to decide. Carter and I are going to work through some of your questions in a mailbag segment. We’ll cover everything from the UAB game to midseason thoughts and beyond.

Leave a question in the comments here or on the podcast post, shoot it to us on Twiter or email it to [email protected].

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