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Rice Football 2021: Spring Practice Week 2 Notebook

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Rice football had their first scrimmage of the spring this past week. A few players stood out, including one very notable position switch.

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren called spring practice “the lab” during his opening media sessions. The phrase stuck with me as I’ve watched the team go through drills over the last two weeks. Many things seem relatively mundane, but a few things did stand out as decidedly unique. Whether or not those tidbits remain in the fall might depend on how well the experiments go this month.

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For those that might have missed it, you can check out the initial depth chart reactions as well as the Week 1 notebook. Not subscribed? The Roost will have you covered every step of the way this spring and beyond. Subscribers get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

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Putting an imperfect 2020 Rice football season into perspective

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The 2020 Rice Football season has come to an end. Putting the up-and-down campaign into perspective will be an ongoing task.

With 49 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Rice football trailed UAB 21-16. Third-string quarterback Wiley Green lined up alongside third-string running back Ari Broussard, dropped back and threw to Jake Bailey. First down. Three plays later Green found Bailey again. First down. Then, on fourth-and-18, Green uncorked a Hail Mary pass which was intercepted on the 2-yard line. Game over.

“I guess I need to be more prayerful,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said after the game. He was speaking more broadly about the unfortunate injury luck his team had suffered at key positions this season, but his whistful “what if” hung in the air. Just like that last-second pass from the arm of Green.

Green, the backup to the backup quarterback, targeting a tight end in the endzone from 50 yards out was, in many ways, a fitting final play of the Owls’ bizarre 2020 season. Rice almost had to throw it to a tight end because they had run out of wide receivers.

Bradley Rozner had been injured and opted out before the season. Transfer Christian McStravick never played a down for the Owls. Neither did Zane Knipe. August Pitre caught one pass in the season opener before suffering an injury. Austin Trammell, who set multiple school records when he exploded for five touchdowns and 219 yards in the Owls’ first two games, didn’t suit up in this game either.

Rice was down to Jake Bailey, who had missed practice time during the week with an injury, and freshman Andrew Mason. Converted running back Kobie Campbell, who hadn’t touched the ball this season, was targeted twice.

“We had multiple weeks where we had a practice with one scholarship wide receiver healthy,” Bloomgren admitted, “We just love this game, and we said ‘we’re going to play’.”

Takeaways: Rice Football falls to UAB

At quarterback, Mike Collins was missing his second straight game. Backup JoVoni Johnson had been injured a few drives earlier. And that doesn’t take into account the secondary which had made do all season with players coming in and out of the lineup or the continued absence of lead running back Juma Otaviano.

Bloomgren isn’t one to make excuses, and he acknowledged Rice wasn’t the only team who had to deal with adversity this year. Their opponent on Saturday had more than a dozen key players missing (but they did have their quarterback, something that proved fateful for the Owls). Still, the Owls’ headman did say this: “We’re all better with our ones.”

Instead, that last-second heave fell into the hands of a defensive back and a year of highs and lows came to an unpleasant end. Rice was in the running for a bowl bid with a win. The loss ended the Owls’ season sooner than anyone hoped it would finish.

“We know nothing’s perfect in 2020,” Bloomgren affirmed.

Before he stepped off the stand and began the first steps of the Owls’ sudden offseason, he posed one more “what if”.

“We lost today by one score… we had a double-overtime game. We got to find a way to win those things, and that’s the difference. Think about how different we feel about our season right now, and how jubilant everybody would be if we’d won one or two of those games.”

Rice didn’t win those games. Their final 2020 record will forever be inked at 2-3. But Bloomgren’s hypothetical isn’t too farfetched. It might even have more merit than initially meets the eye. Rice beat the C-USA East champ and was one third-string-quarterback Hail Mary from beating the top team in the West.

A few more favorable bounces wouldn’t have helped the teams Rice defeated. Those victories both came by three scores. But one more bounce, or a prayer, in those losses might very well have been enough. It wasn’t perfect, but in 2020, nothing was.

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Rice Football 2020 Game Preview: UTEP

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Rice Football looks to rebound from a disappointing loss with a home win over UTEP. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

The next game can’t come fast enough for Rice football. The Owls are eager to put last weekend’s road loss to North Texas behind them and shake off whatever rust lingered from the back-t0-back postponed games in the weeks prior. Rice looked rattled and far from the dominant form they displayed in their win over Southern Miss.

UTEP wasn’t in action last weekend, losing a game against UAB (scheduled to take place on Friday morning in Midland, TX) because of COVID-19 concerns among the Blazers. Last time out, UTEP was outgunned by UTSA, falling 52-21 in San Antonio.

Broadcast Info

Kickoff time | 12:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | ESPN3 (Streaming)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTEP on Episode 62 of The Roost Podcast which will be released on Thursday. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.)

Visual Preview

Make sure you check out Inside the Hedges, a weekly show with myself and former Rice football quarterback Taylor McHargue. Watch it live on Wednesday nights here or watch it at your leisure on the Rice Athletics Youtube page.

Join the Conversation

What are your keys to victory this week? What pitfalls must the Owls avoid? Did you like that third down call? Share your thoughts on the matchup on the forum and make sure you tune in Saturday for our live game blog keeping track of every score and key moment.

Sizing up the contenders

Rice has swung between extremes so far this season, but can get back to .500 on the season with a win against UTEP. The remaining weeks of their schedule are still a bit up in the air with postponed games against UTSA and Louisiana Tech possible candidates to replace a road trip to Marshall on Dec. 5. Before they get there, Rice has to control what’s in front of them, and this weekend, that’s scheduled to be UTEP.

UTEP wants so desperately to rebound from an unfavorable start to conference play. The 3-win Miners haven’t won four games in a season since 2016. Doing so in a shortened year would be a tremendous step forward for Dana Dimel’s bunch.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads 15-8
Last Five | Rice leads 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2019, Rice won 30-16

Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Collins – 53/86 (61.6 percent), 802 yards passing, 10 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Otoviano – 45 carries, 195 yards (4.3 yards per carry) | Griffin – 41 carries, 159 yards (3.9 yards per carry)
Receiving | Trammell – 16 receptions, 335 yards (20.9 yards per reception), 6 TD | Myers – 14 receptions, 138 yards (9.9 yards per reception)
Tackles | Alldredge – 32, Montero – 23, Garcia – 19
Pass Breakups/Interceptions | Calderon – 2 PBU / McCord – 1 INT

UTEP Stat Notables

Passing | Hardison – 108/199 (54.3 percent), 1419 yards passing, 5 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Hankins – 99 carries, 493 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 7 TD
Receiving | Cowing – 36 receptions, 573 yards (15.9 yards per reception), 1 TD | Garrett – 36 receptions, 498 yards (13.8 yards per reception), 3 TD
Tackles | Forester – 56, Knight – 43, Harrell/Inyang/Prince – 32
Pass Breakups/Interceptions | Amaewhule – 8 PBU / Lowe – 2 INT

UTEP X-Factor | Capitalize on opportunities

Turnovers and self-inflicted wounds have proven to be fatal flaws in each of Rice’s losses to date. The Owls haven’t played a turnover-free game yet. UTEP hasn’t been productive on that front this year. The Miners are averaging just one turnover per game and nearly one and a half giveaways themselves, but recent history suggests they’ll have more opportunities handed to them by Rice — what will they do with those chances?

UTEP enters the game second-to-last in conference play in total offense, averaging less than 300 yards per game. Even North Texas had trouble at times when it came to driving the length of the field against the Rice defense. UTEP’s best chance of putting up points will be to take advantage of opportunities Rice hands to them. And when they get their chances, they need to turn them into touchdowns.

Rice X-Factor | Win in the trenches

When Rice wins on the offensive and defensive lines, they’re going to be in a position to win. Through three games, that’s happened more often than not. There is no Dion Novil in the defensive trenches for UTEP and the Rice front seven won’t be pulling double duty to support coverage threats on the outside. There shouldn’t be any reason why Rice can’t win on both fronts.

Rice is still without a rushing touchdown this year, an odd occurrence considering they’ve run the ball a conference-high 43.4 times per game. The Owls’ woeful 3.1 yards per carry has also been problematic. A kick start from one of their talented running backs and consistent lanes to run through will help them set the tone in this game.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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Need More?

The Roost’s 2020 Rice Football Season Preview has four pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth charts, important new arrivals and depth chart breakdowns for every team in Conference USA. Better yet, it’s not just speculation, each profile was created with insight from local experts who cover those teams day in and day out. Pick up your copy today and get four pages and more than 1,000 words on every foe.

Pick ‘Em Contest

If you haven’t yet, make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and submit them on the forum thread to enter.

  1. Will either team score on defense or special teams?
    Yes / No
  2. How many combined touchdown passes with be thrown (both teams)?
    Three or less / Four or more
  3. Does Rice rush for at least one touchdown?
    Yes / No
  4. How many total yards will the Rice defense allow?
    Over 330.5 / Under 330.5
  5. Which team defense forces the first turnover?
    Rice / UTEP / No turnovers
  6. Who wins?
    Rice / UTEP

One Final Thing

How Rice football lost to North Texas was almost more concerning than the defeat itself. Rice just wasn’t ready for what the Mean Green threw at them and failed to get things going on offense until time had run out. When this team is on, they’ve proven they can be dangerous. Now they need to prove they have the fortitude to respond to adversity and win a very winnable game.

This upcoming weekend also marks the end of November. With the Conference USA Championship game four weeks away and bowl season beginning on the same day, Rice is running out of opportunities to play football this fall. They simply have to make every Saturday count.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls get multiple starters back to practice this week

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Rice football has been hit hard by injuries prior to their season opener. Several of those players were back at practice this week.

Rice football is less than two weeks away from their first game of the 2020 season. The Owls remain on track to host Middle Tennessee on Oct. 24, with no fans. If you haven’t yet, check out some of the virtual offerings Rice has put together for the game. There should be a few more things in store this week.

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Perhaps the most notable happening in prior Rice football practices was the number of players who weren’t on the field. The injury bug hit Rice hard during fall camp. It’s already cost them the entire seasons of Cam Montgomery and Bradley Rozner. The Owls’ are still a ways from being fully healthy, but this week brought with it much more encouraging news.

First, Rice football is COVID-19 free after reporting one positive test on Oct. 3. They do not have any players unavailable because of positive tests or contact tracing right now. In non-COVID related news, we’ve seen a turn for the better with several key players who were on the field this week after missing time earlier in camp.

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What’s coming next?

I’ve got a few breakout freshmen that I’ll be sharing soon. It’s probably safe to say a few of them could play important roles this fall, especially if the Owls enter the season banged up. I have some more depth chart updates that I’ll work to have finalized following the third and final scrimmage on Saturday. Stay tuned for another update then, the last before we get to game week against Middle Tennessee.

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Rice Football 2020: Practice Notes, starting quarterback and projected depth charts

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Rice football has two scrimmages in the books. Mike Collins has been named the starting quarterback and the depth chart behind him is starting to materialize.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren has been cautiously optimistic in each of his previous post-practice media sessions. “We’re not where we need to be to play a football game, but thank God we’re not where we used to be,” he said following Saturday’s scrimmage. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last week and we’ve got a lot of progress we need to make in the next two weeks.”

Among the most notable points of progress this week was the official endorsement of a starting quarterback. Grad transfer Mike Collins has officially won that job. As for takeaways from the rest of Saturday, injuries and the announcement of wide receiver Brad Rozner’s opt out took center stage.

After seeing both scrimmages and talking with those close to the program, I’ve put together my first pass at what a depth chart for the Rice football’s season opener against Middle Tennessee might look like.

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For those on the fence when it comes to subscribing, you’ll get access to all previous practice reports and special features throughout the season. Plus, you’ll get to see which true freshmen I think could be starting against Middle Tennessee.

Defense wins the day

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