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Rice Football 2023 Spring Practice Notebook 5: Emptying the Notebook

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We’re midway through the 2023 Rice Football spring practices and notes are piling up. Here’s a grab bag of several from the past few weeks.

From the defensive line to the wideouts. From the stars to the up-and-comers, there’s been a lot to pay attention to as Rice football progresses through spring camp. This update features a collection of nuggets that haven’t made it into an update quite yet and a few updates following the first scrimmage last week.

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Don’t believe the depth chart

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Rice Football 2022: UNT Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hits the road in search of their sixth win and securing bowl eligibility against North Texas. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Bouncing back has been the message for Rice football all week as they prepare for North Texas in what they hope will not be their final game of the season. The Owls can clinch bowl eligibility with a win — and might get in anyhow without one — but the focus remains on winning the game in front of them.

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This week’s roundup focuses on the team morale, the quarterback situation, injury updates and a few additional individual notes.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Setting the tone

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Last minute rally lifts Rice Football past UTEP for big win

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Rice Football delivers the wining score in the final moments, dashing past UTEP to secure a much-needed win at home.

Thursday’s nationally televised game against all the makings of a bowl-elimination bout between Rice football and the UTEP Miners. The Owls had had the upper hand in the series, particularly at home, winning nine of 12 in Houston. On Thursday night, Rice added one more important victory to the tally. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Withstand the first punch

On the first play from scrimmage, UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison tried to thread a ball through a mass of blue and gray-clad defenders. Gabriel Taylor was nearly there to meet it, but was unable to make the one-handed stab to force a quick turnover. Instead, UTEP recovered and marched quickly down the field, going 78-yards in 3:13, deflating a defense in need of that instant jolt of confidence.

Down 7-0, Rice was forced to settle for a field goal on their first offensive possession as quarterback TJ McMahon was sacked on third and short inside the redzone. When Rice kicked the ball back to UTEP down by four, it felt like the rubber was about to meet the road. Was UTEP’s early touchdown — just their second touchdown in the first quarter this year — a fluke? Or would the defense figure it out?

The defense responded with a quick three-and-out and their second sack of the day. Then they found their groove. They got pressure. They forced three-and-outs (four on the day). Trey Schuman snuffed out a reverse for a loss of yards. The defense responded to a fumbled punt return with a stop and a 51-yard field goal try after the offense fizzled inside their own five-yard line. For the first time in weeks, they looked good. Not great. But good.

To say the Rice defense was “back” would be overly generous, but the unit that took the field on Thursday night looked a heck of a lot more like the one the Owls have gotten used to seeing in recent years. If they can find a way to get off the field on third down, they might just be dangerous.

Return of the big play

On the other side of the ball, the offense responded in kind. Rice had four pass plays of 15+ yards in four quarters against Charlotte last weekend. They reached that total just three minutes into the second quarter against UTEP and continued to gain yards in chunks. Bradley Rozner reached the century mark for the fifth time this season.

The Owls ended the game with 502 total yards and a slew of big plays. There were eight pass plays of 15+ yards and five run plays of 10+ yards. The offense was legitimately explosive.

What made the performance particularly compelling was the sheer quantity of contributors. Rozner, Luke McCaffrey, Isaiah Esdale, Kobie Campbell and Jack Bradley each had critical catches that extended drives or scored points. Cam Montgomery, Juma Otviano, TJ McMahon and McCaffrey each made big plays on the ground. Uriah West had his first touchdown as an Owl. Eveything just seemed to come together.

And then… the dagger!

The steady emergence of TJ McMahon

When McMahon took the field against UTEP for his eighth consecutive start, he reached a place no quarterback had gone before under Bloomgren at Rice. The previous record for consecutive starts (seven) was held by Shawn Stankavage, who led the way in the first seven games of Bloomgren’s tenure at South Main in 2018 before being injured.

McMahon already led all Rice quarterbacks under Bloomgren in passing touchdowns entering this game. He added two more to up his Rice total to 20. He also leads all of Bloomgren’s passers in interceptions, including an inexplicable additional tipped-pass pick against UTEP, a recurring nightmare that Rice fans can’t seem to escape.

After the Charlotte loss, McMahon said his job this week was “to make sure this game doesn’t beat us twice.” He did that tonight, leading his team down the field with regularity with a bit more of a boost from the running game than he’d had in recent weeks.

It’s been clearly established for several weeks now that Rice had its guy. As McMahon continues to progress, the hope for the future builds.

Breathing room

Two weeks ago, Rice football was 4-3. Being a game above .500 and two wins away from securing bowl eligibility was a breath of fresh air for the Owls, who have fought through their fair share of hardships to get to that point.

That was two weeks ago, and it feels like the program has been through a much more circuitous journey than one could have imagined in just a fortnight’s worth of time. Splitting a two-game homestand against Charlotte and UTEP was disappointing, considering the success Rice football has had to this point. But even still, the Owls have earned three chances to clinch a bowl berth.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs UTEP

It’s not time to start booking tickets to spend Christmas in Hawaii or the holiday season in the Bahamas quite yet. But the situation is objectively more positive than it could have been had Rice not found a way to win this football game, and win it in the manner they did. The Owls have been far from perfect this year, but they have been resilient.

Following a loss, Rice football is 4-0 this season. And now instead of being forced to grapple with the real possibility of their one-time storybook season ending in a nightmare, Rice has hope again. Hope can be a dangerous this at times, but right now, it’s exactly what the Owls need. That, and one more win down the stretch. But they’ll focus on that final W tomorrow.

Digging deeper

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When in doubt, be clutch

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Rice Football 2022: FAU Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football travels to the Sunshine State this weekend to play FAU. Here’s what we learned from practice as the Owls prep for C-USA’s other Owls.

Rice football returns from their bye week in search of their first road win of the season. FAU, the only Conference USA squad Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren has yet to play, promises to be another good test for this rising team.

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This week’s roundup highlights changes on the team during the bye week, focusing on some up-and-coming players and a few healthy players set to make their 2022 debuts after injuries sidelined them earlier in the year. Plus, continuity on the offensive line… finally!

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Rice Football 2022: Owls come up short across town vs UH

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Rice Football took Houston to the wire in the battle for the Bayou Bucket and came up just short, falling 34-27 in their nonconference finale.

Back-and-forth, back-and-forth. That was the cadence of a thrilling Bayou Bucket battle between Rice football and Houston on Saturday night. Heavy underdogs by the oddsmakers, the Owls looked every bit the Cougars’ equals until a pair of untimely fourth quarter turnovers doomed their upset bid. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Withstand the first punch

Rice football has played Houston twice during head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure. In 2018 the Owls kept the game close, leading at halftime 24-17. That gave the team a fighting chance despite their limited roster. That wasn’t the case in 2021. Trailing 10-0, Rice turned the ball over. Houston quickly jumped ahead 17-0 and scored on their first two drives of the second half to put the game out of reach.

Their recent struggles were irrelevant on Saturday, Rice had to find a way to survive the first punch and turn this into a heavyweight fight. It wasn’t pretty, but they hung tough in the early goings. A bad bounce on the opening kickoff forced the Owls to start their first possession from their own two-yard line. Rice got two first downs before punting, salvaging important field position. Then got the Houston offense off the field after just four plays.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice football vs Houston

Houston would take the lead on their second offensive series, picking up a couple of first downs on their way to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Clayton Tune to Matthew Golden. Then the momentum changed.

Trailing 7-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, the Rice defense got pressure on Tune who threw into heavy traffic. The ball bounced around and fell into the hands of Myron Morrison. Four players later, Rice was in the endzone and the game was tied. Houston won the first quarter, but after 20 minutes, the game was tied. It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty and proof this team was ready to grind one out.

Just add offense

Over the past several seasons, Rice football fans have seen some tremendous defensive performances. From the five-interception shutout against Marshall to allowing just 175 total yards to Louisiana last week, this defense has proven its worth time after time. More often than not, it’s been the offense that’s come up wanting.

Early returns from that side of the ball were encouraging. Saturday’s showing reaffirmed a new reality for the Owls’ offensive attack.

The underdogs averaged 6.0 yards per carry in the first half and were perfect in their pair of redzone appearances (extending their streak to 14 consecutive red zone trips with a score). Broussard’s short touchdown plunge might seem that impressive, but when you consider the regularity with which this team can get two yards on the ground when they need to, it’s an essential tool in the Owls’ arsenenal.

It starts and ends in the trenches

Trey Phillippi made the start at right guard for Rice football on Saturday night. His insertion into the lineup was notable for several different reasons. First, his addition to the starting lineup marked the fourth different starting offensive line combination in four games for Rice football in the midst of an offensive renaissance. More importantly, Phillippi had never played guard before in his life.

Philippi was a tackle in high school. He started his Rice career as a tackle and moved to tight end with injuries at that position early this season. His first snaps at guard in his football career happened during practice this week. His first game just concluded. As a whole, the offensive line held their own and gave Rice a chance.

Not to be outdone, the Rice defensive line had its moment. On third and one near the end of the third quarter, Houston was stonewalled at the line of scrimmage. Given the break between quarters to reconvene, the Cougars lined up to go for it again. They didn’t get it.

A Rice defensive front that was without De’Braylon Carroll for much of this game went toe-to-toe with Houston and looked every bit their equal. Houston will be playing in the Big 12 next season. Rice will be in a “Group of 5” Conference. The supposed talent gap didn’t feel that large in this game.

House Money

To say the result of Saturday’s showdown at TDECU Stadium did not matter would be entirely disingenuous. Beating a rival always matters, especially for a team that hasn’t hoisted the Bayou Bucket Trophy since 2010 with six consecutive losses in the matchup since.

No matter what the result would be, even with a loss, the Owls would have split their nonconference slate for the first time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. A win, however, had the potential to material shift the outlook of the Rice football program. That wasn’t in the cards this week.

Nevertheless, the product the Owls put on the field against the Cougars proved these two teams are more evenly matched than many may have suspected. Houston was projected to contend for an AAC title this season. Rice traded blows with them for four quarters. Are the Cougars scuttling well below expectations? It’s possible. But it seems much more likely the Owls are starting to rise up.

Rice exits this game four wins from a bowl berth. That’s an achievable target if they continue to play with this level of intensity and execution. It was a tough day across town, but the 2022 Rice Football season still has plenty more good to come.

Digging deeper

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McMahon’s magic overcomes the odds

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