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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: Charlotte

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Rice Football needs a bounce-back win in the worst way as they travel to Charlotte for a Week 10 tilt. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Charlotte and Rice football would rather forget their last trips to the gridiron. Charlotte was dismantled by Western Kentucky, falling on the road by a final score of 45-13. Rice played their opponent, North Texas, much closer, but an overtime loss was no more satisfying given the expectations they carried into the game. Both teams need a reset in the worst way. Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Jerry Richardson Stadium – Charlotte, NC
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Charlotte this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. 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.)

Sizing up the contenders

Charlotte and Rice each enter this game .500 in C-USA action with four more games to play. The winner is still probably on the outside looking in regarding a potential trip to the conference championship game, but the loser is in danger of tumbling even further down the standings.

Each program has flashed moments of success. Charlotte upset Duke earlier in the season. Rice knocked off UAB. Neither has been able to channel those everything-went-right games into the type of consistency they need to regularly win conference games so far. After being viewed as up-and-coming programs entering the 2020 season, this game has the potential to reinforce those aspirations or crush them, depending on who ends up on which side of the result.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads Charlotte, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads Charlotte, 2-0
Last Meeting | Away 2016, Rice won 22-21

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. A few sections of this preview are reserved for those subscribers. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 65/96 (67.7 percent), 806 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Myers – 82 carries, 316 yards (3.9 yards per carry), 7 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 39 receptions, 433 yards (11.1 yds/rec), 2 TD / Patterson – 20 receptions, 296 yards (14.8 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Montero – 54 / Smith – 44 / Garcia – 44
Pass Breakups | McCord/Dunbar – 5, Smith – 4
Interceptions | Smith/Nyakwol – 2, Four others tied with one

Charlotte Stat Notables

Passing | Reynolds – 127/192 (66.2 percent), 1537 yards passing, 16 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Camp – 74 carries, 451 yards (6.1 yards per carry), 3 TD / Byrd – 92 carries, 375 yards (4.1 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | DuBose – 37 receptions, 561 yards (15.2 yards per reception), 5 TD / Tucker – 40 receptions, 553 yards (13.8 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Murray – 55 / Watts – 45 / Alexander – 41
Interceptions | Alexander -2, Two tied with one apiece
Pass Breakups | Creamer – 4, Rogers – 3, Ursery – 3

Charlotte X-Factor | Take a few shots, and convert on them

Charlotte has one of the better “intermediate” offenses in Conference USA. The 49ers aren’t quite explosive — they’ve tallied six plays of 30+ yards against conference foes, tied for the second-fewest in Conference USA — but they have a knack for getting 10 yards, and they do it almost as well as anyone else in the league.

Charlotte’s 62 plays of 10+ yards rank third in Conference USA play. While they don’t hit home runs very often, they’ll nickel and dime defenses all the way down the field. If they do start producing players further down the field, the offense can get dangerous, quickly.

A veteran quarterback and two playmaking wide receivers have the ability to give the Rice defense all sorts of trouble. If they do, not only will they be ready to trade punches with the Owls, they might be able to deliver a few knockout blows of their own.

Rice X-Factor | Jake Constantine

Constantine hasn’t been perfect this season, but he’s been a key piece in two of the Owls’ three wins this year. He rallied the team last week, showing off some schoolyard improvisation skills to will the team down the field and force overtime.

With Wiley Green likely to miss extended time after suffering an ankle injury last week and the running game struggling to get going this year, Constantine is going to have to take charge. If he doesn’t, it’s hard to decipher how the Rice offense is going to find enough success to win on the road without his help.

If he plays as well as he’s played up to this point, Rice will put points on the board. And that’s something Charlotte does not want any part of this year. The 49ers rank second to last in conference play, allowing 38.8 points per game.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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One Final Thing

Up until last week, Rice hadn’t lost a game to someone they were “supposed to beat” and they’d engineered one of their most memorable upsets in recent memory when they took down UAB on the road. Not that oddsmakers would have had faith in the Owls before, but now they’ve put Rice back in the underdog role. Given how this team faired last week, easing up the pressure can’t be a bad thing.

Still, this team has to be feeling some pressure. They’re on the precipice of losing control of a postseason bowl appearance. To get there, Rice needs to win three of four, a feat they’ve done once already this year. They haven’t won three in a row yet, though, a feat the Owls’ haven’t achieved since the final three games of the 2019 season. For a team that has been erratic from week to week, preserving that margin of error seems like an absolute necessity.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not that the Owls have been more proficient on the road than they have been at home doesn’t really matter. All that matters right now is finding a way to win this game. After the UAB win, it was easy to think ahead at what could be. Now that luxury has passed and all eyes have to be on Charlotte. The wiggle room is running out.

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Rice Football: Owls stun UAB in first-ever trip to Protective Stadium

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Rice Football bounced back with a vengeance, knocking off UAB on the road in the Owls’ most complete performance of the season.

Empowered by a productive week of practice and the excitement of a move to the AAC, Rice football came out ready to play against UAB on Saturday. Despite entering the game as heavy underdogs, the Owls traded blows with the Blazers, never once looking overwhelmed or outmatched.

For all the productive plays created by the UAB offense and defense, something in this game was abundantly clear. Rice wanted this one. Not only did they play with intensity, their quality of play matched their level of desire. For the second year in a row, Rice has upset one of Conference USA’s best. And they’ve pulled off both wins away from home. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

As fast as fast can be

The X-factor for Rice football in this week’s game preview was extremely straightforward: start fast. From the moment the ball was kicked into the waiting arms of Juma Otoviano, Rice did exactly that.

Special teams started fast. Otoviano burst through the coverage team and took the ball out to the 50-yard line.

The offense started fast. Rice converted two fourth downs, marching the remaining 50 yards down the field to score the opening touchdown and put Rice up 7-0. They’d follow that up with a second touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to take a 13-0 lead.

The defense started fast. Gabe Taylor forced a fumble on UAB’s first offensive play. Antonio Montero recovered, setting the offense up for another scoring drive.

Rice goes Green

It’s been quite a career for Rice quarterback Wiley Green. Given the bench following a rough showing against Arkansas then injured in the loss to Texas, Green surprisingly resurfaced this week when Jake Constantine was unable to play. Dropped down the depth chart multiple times in his Rice career, Green’s shortcomings have always been decision-based rather than ability-based. He can make the plays, and he showcased that ability on Saturday.

Green wasn’t perfect. He was credited with a fumble on a bang-bang play where it appeared he attempted to hold back a throw he had already committed to, leading to the fumble ruling rather than an incomplete pass. Nevertheless, he bounced back and marched Rice up and down the field, again and again.

This quarterback job still belongs to Constantine when he’s ready. But Green’s big day gave proof to the coaching staff’s longstanding belief that the offense didn’t need herculean playmakers to work. It just needed execution. Now, to Green’s credit, he made some big plays like this one:

Green finished the game 17-for-22, throwing for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 77 percent of his passes, the best mark of his career in any game in which he attempted at least seven passes. Green proved this offense can work, and he did it against one of the best defenses in Conference USA.

Defensive absences noticed, but overcome

Rice managed to get by with a largely depleted secondary during the 2020 season, in part because they had remarkable healthy among the front seven. This year, more or less every level of the defense has suffered an important injury. De’Braylon Carroll was lost for the season during the summer. Rice was without him, Kenneth Orji and Trey Schuman against UAB.

Treshawn Chamberlain, who was one of the healthy cogs in that 2020 defense, missed this game. So too did George Nyakwol. Whether it was those specific absent pieces that were the ones Rice couldn’t afford to lose or the entire defense has taken a step back from where it was last season, this unit isn’t nearly as effective as it once was.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week 

Big plays and turnovers are important, but right now Rice needs to improve on things like tackling and gap integrity. It’s not as if those missing men are the only ones capable of wrapping up. Rice has capable players. They just need to start executing. The Owls are allowing their opponents way too many “easy” yards and setting themselves up for failure.

Fortunately for Rice, the tackling improved as the game progressed. That played a huge role in the Owls’ retaking the lead early and controlling the game into the second half. For the most part, they kept the play in front of them. Well-timed blitzes and solid coverage made UAB work for every yard the rest of the way.

Not consistent, but resilient

The perils of last week’s trip to San Antonio seemed lightyears away to the Rice football players and staff on Saturday afternoon at Protective Stadium. In the wake of what was certainly one of the most frustrating and disappointing losses of Mike Bloomgren’s tenure, the Owls once more found a way to write their own history.

After an 0-3 start, Rice bounced back with three consecutive victories. The UTSA loss was crushing, but this is still a team that’s won 6 of their last 10 conference games — 7 out of 11 now. That included the upset of No. 15 Marshall and now a win over C-USA conference favorite UAB, both of which took place outside the confines of Rice Stadium.

The concern after the rough start and shutout losses to Texas and UTSA was legitimate. But the discovery of quarterback Jake Constantine and the proof the team can still win without him when they play together proved even more meaningful. Rice hasn’t ironed out all the kinks, but they’ve proven they can win, and win big games. And after all the low points over the last few years, winning is all that really matters.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers.

Point proven

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: UAB

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Rice Football looks to rebound from its first C-USA loss, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against UAB. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Rice football and UAB, the Owls’ upcoming opponent, could not have had more diametrically opposing weekends. The Blazers blanked a Southern Miss team Rice had just edged out at home, winning by a final score of 34-0. Meanwhile, Rice was in the middle of a shutout of their own, but the Owls were on the wrong side of the margin, falling 45-0 to UTSA.

UAB will look to keep rolling at home this weekend while Rice needs a bounce back in the worst way. Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UAB this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. 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.)

Sizing up the contenders

UAB currently sits tied atop the Conference USA West standings with UTSA and UTEP, all three of which boast sterling 3-0 records. If the start of conference play is any indication, the battle for this division might be close, making every game all the more important for each team still in the hunt.

Rice (1-1 C-USA) isn’t technically eliminated from that race, but the Owls have some issues of their own to work through before they can seriously start to consider themselves bonafide contenders. Sitting at 2-4 on the season, the Owls need to finish 4-2 down the stretch to reach bowl eligibility. That task gets decidedly harder if they don’t walk away from Birmingham this weekend with the upset.

Series History

All Time | UAB leads Rice 6-3
Last Five | UTSA leads 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2020, UAB won 21-16

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. A few sections of this preview are reserved for those subscribers. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 49/66 (74.2 percent), 564 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Myers – 60 carries, 264 yards (4.4 yards per carry), 5 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 23 receptions, 245 yards (10.7 yds/rec), 1 TD / Patterson – 14 receptions, 226 yards (16.1 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Montero – 45 / Smith – 37 / Garcia – 33
Pass Breakups | Smith/Dunbar – 4, Nyakwol – 3
Interceptions | Nyakwol – 2, Five others tied with one

UAB Stat Notables

Passing | Hopkins – 62/102 (60.8 percent), 973 yards passing, 10 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | McBride – 80 carries, 421 yards (5.3 yards per carry), 2 TD / Brown Jr. – 59 carries, 343 yards (5.8 yds/car), 2 TD
Receiving | Prince – 17 receptions, 357 yards (21.0 yards per reception), 6 TD / Shropshire – 12 receptions, 265 yards (22.1 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Wilder – 42 / Boler – 32 / Wright – 26
Interceptions | Swoopes – 2, Six tied with one apiece 
Pass Breakups | McWilliams – 4, Five tied with two apiece

UAB X-Factor | Make Rice earn it

UAB enters this game tied for second in the conference in 20+ yard plays allowed. They’ve given up 26 such plays across seven games, an average of 3.7 per contest. That number almost disappears when considering their conference games. In three games against North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss the Blazers have allowed just four gains of 20+ yards, 1.3 such plays per game.

The Rice offense has struggled on third down. Poor protection put them in long downs and distances frequently last weekend against UTSA. If UAB can keep Rice behind schedule, forcing them to need long gains to stay on the field, it’s game over for the Owls who enter the weekend dead last in Conference USA with 16 plays of 20+ yards across six games.

Rice X-Factor | Start fast

For all the growing pains that have beset Rice football over the past several seasons, starting strong was never a problem for this team until now. Rice entered the UTSA game riding a 16 games streak in which they’d prevented a conference opponent from scoring on their opening drive, dating back to their meeting with UTEP in 2018.

Rice scored first in every game last season and did not allow a single first quarter point in five games. Perhaps that high of a standard was unsustainable — and it probably was — but regressing as far as they have has been much too excessive of a slide, especially considering the talent they have returning.

So, until proven otherwise, Rice absolutely must start strong if they’re going to find the motivation and confidence to play a four quarter football game. Two bad possessions on top of each other has doomed Rice in several games already this year, and the season is only six games old. For Rice, they need to do everything they can control to lead 7-0 after the first couplet of drives, even if that means pulling out every trick in the book.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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One Final Thing

Dwelling in the past never does too much to benefit the present, but there are a few glaring similarities between where Rice stands entering the UAB game and where Rice stood a year ago prior to their now lauded road tilt with No. 15 Masrhall.

Rice football had just been dealt a discouraging loss, on the road to a conference opponent they were expected to (at the very least) contender with. The Owls saw their starting quarterback get injured in that game and were already without multiple starting players on the defensive side of the ball and had been without Bradley Rozner for the season.

With not much going for them other than what the team coined “unwavering belief”, they pulled up one of the most significant upsets in the history of the program. Rice needs to get out of the business of being multi-touchdown underdogs, but if nothing else, they’ve always found a way to bounce back from their bottoming-out moments.

Rice started 0-9 in 2019 before winning three straight to close the year. They recovered from the quadruple-doink in 2020 to squash Southern Miss 30-6 on the road. And then were was the aforementioned rebound against Marshall. This team hasn’t discovered consistency whatsoever, but they have been resilient when they’ve needed it most. They need that resiliency now more than ever.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: UTSA

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Rice Football took a pause for a bye week then began prep for its upcoming game against UTSA. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

The last time we saw Rice football take the field, they left as victors, defeating Southern Miss at home in their second consecutive win of the season after an 0-2 start. UTSA is also riding a winning streak, albeit a much longer one. The Roadrunners knocked off WKU in a thrilling affair on Saturday while Rice watched from afar. Now both teams are set to meet on the gridiron for the first time since 2019.

Kickoff time | 5:00 PM CT
Venue | Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTSA this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. 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.)

Sizing up the contenders

As things currently stand, UTSA sits atop the West in a three-way tie with UAB and UTEP. Should the Roadrunner seek the most straightforward path towards a conference championship, keeping pace with UAB prior to their showdown with the Blazers in mid-November is an absolute must.

The Owls are one of five teams in C-USA West with unblemished conference records. The East, conversely, only has one program that can make such a claim, Charlotte. Staying among that company with a date against UAB looming the following weekend would position Rice extremely well for a darkhorse conference title run, and at the very least, get them within favorable striking distance of a bowl berth.

Series History

All Time | UTSA leads Rice 5-2
Last Five | UTSA leads 5-0
Last Meeting | Away 2019, UTSA won 31-27

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. A few sections of this preview are reserved for those subscribers. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Become a Patron!

Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 46/60 (76.7 percent), 543 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Myers – 53 carries, 251 yards (4.6 yards per carry)
Receiving | Bailey – 21 receptions, 232 yards (11.1 yds/rec), 1 TD / Patterson – 10 receptions, 207 yards (20.7 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Montero – 39 / Smith – 31 / Garcia – 28
Pass Breakups | Smith/Nyakwol/Dunbar – 3, McCord/Montero – 2 
Interceptions | Nyakwol – 2, Five others tied with one

UTSA Stat Notables

Passing | Harris – 127/182 (69.8 percent), 1475 yards passing, 12 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | McCormick – 154 carries, 661 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 6 TD
Receiving | Cephus – 42 receptions, 457 yards (10.9 yards per reception), 3 TD / Franklin – 37 receptions, 447 yards (12.1 yds/rec), 4 TD
Tackles | Wisdom – 39 / Harmanson – 27 / Taylor – 25
Interceptions | Four tied with one apiece 
Pass Breakups | Robinson – 4, Woolen/Brown – 3

UTSA X-Factor | Flying Frank Harris

Quarterback Frank Harris has had a circuitous path to the starting job at UTSA. Whether by injuries or inconsistency, he’s never held onto the job for very long at any one time. Until now. Harris is playing some of the best football of his career. He ranks second among C-USA passers in completion percentage, fourth in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns.

Harris threw a career high six touchdown passes against Western Kentucky last time out. Unless this game turns into a similar shootout, reaching that high of a bar probably won’t be a must. But, Harris needs to continue to be efficient on third down and get the ball to his playmakers. If the Rice defense can slow down Sincere McCormick to any degree, it’s going to fall to Harris to carry the load.

Rice X-Factor | Win the line of scrimmage

The Owls’ most recent outing against Southern Miss was perhaps the most impressive showing they’ve had in the trenches on both sides of the ball so far this season. The defensive line forced copious amounts of pressure and the other side of the ball more than held their own, giving quarterback Jake Constantine plenty of time and room to maneuver.

It wasn’t a coincidence those strong outings up front led to one of the more complete games this team has posted this season. Now they have to prove they can do it again and improve on the consistency that has been missing at times thus far.

UTSA is more well-rounded and dangerous on both sides of the ball than Southern Miss is, but Rice has shown they have the ability to execute, be disciplined and win one-on-one battles. That starts up front. Sometimes it really is that simple.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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?

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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Need More?

The Roost’s 2021 Rice Football Season Preview has FIVE pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth charts, important new arrivals and positional breakdowns for every team in Conference USA sourced from local beat writers and sources on the ground who cover these teams every day. It’s the most thorough C-USA publication on the market.

One Final Thing

This should be a great “measuring stick” game for Rice football. One way or another, everyone will know how close they are to the upper-echelon of Conference USA over the next two weeks (UAB is on deck). Winning at least one of these games would be a definitive step forward from where this program has been in years prior, and having a healthy enough roster to go toe-to-toe with an undefeated UTSA squad should give as good of a shot as they could have asked for this season.

The past two weeks really felt like must-win games for this team. This one doesn’t have that same level of direness to it, but the opportunity present is undeniable. It’s a big game for Rice, which was unable to turn things around at the Alamodome in 2019. How poetic a season to continue an upward ascent than this? Rather than returning to ashes, this could really be an opportunity for the Owls to take flight.

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Rice Football: Owls outlast Southern Miss for first conference win

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Rice football got four interceptions from its defense, weathering a late Southern Miss rally to clinch the Owls’ first conference victory of the season.

For the second time in as many weeks, Rice football threw the first punch. Jake Constantine hit Jake Bailey on a third down slant and he did the rest, torching the Southern Miss defense for the 39-yard score. The Golden Eagles would level the game at seven, but were never able to take the lead as Rice opened conference play 1-0. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Not so special teams

Rice allowed a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and watched Southern Miss recover an onside kick in the same game. Charlie Mendes put one out of bounds in the fourth quarter, netting just 29 yards on a potential field-flipping opportunity. They did convert on a field goal, Christian VanSickle’s first as a Rice Owl, but were largely a liability on the day.

This comes not too far removed from a fumble on a kick return of their own and a series of misses in the kicking game. It’s just been a tough season for this unit, one that Rice has gotten used to being an asset.

Rice was extremely fortunate to have its defense step up in key moments and neutralize several of those mistakes.

Third downs crucial for Owls’ offensive success

Third down has been a boogeyman for Rice football in recent weeks. Coming into the game, Rice had converted just 32.7 percent of their third down tries, the 12th best mark in Conference USA. The defense was equally ineffective, allowing opponents to convert on 42.9 percent of their tries, ninth-best in the conference.

Things started off on the right foot for the Rice offense. They converted on both of their third down attempts on their first possession of the game, setting up a 39-yard touchdown grab by Jake Bailey (on third down).

Then things took a turn. Not only did Rice fail to convert their next three third down opportunities, they went three-and-out on their next three drives. It might have been four, had Cedric Patterson not made a soaring grab on third and long on the following possession.

Constantine guided the offense on a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the first drive of the second half. At that point, Rice had converted 4-of-4 third downs on their two touchdown drives and 1-of-5 third downs on all other drives to that point. Sometimes it’s that simple. When Rice converts on third down, this offense works, and works well.

Rice football finds its quarterback

The third down efficiency was sporadic, but for the second consecutive game, Jake Constantine looked composed and accurate in the pocket. He bookended the three listless first half drives with a pair of lengthy scoring drives, giving his team the lead going into halftime. The running game did him no favors early, but he was able to do enough through the air to get the offense moving down the field.

Constantine completed 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) of his passes against Texas Southern. He completed 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) against Southern Miss. In the two games he did not play this season, Rice quarterbacks posted a combined completion percentage 48.1 percent. It’s hard to view what amounts to a 30 percentage point increase in efficiency as anything other than a massive improvement.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week 

It’s going to be interesting to see what the split looks like between him and Luke McCaffrey following the Owls’ bye week. McCaffrey saw limited action against Southern Miss, possibly because of the limited redzone opportunities Rice saw. When he was in the game, he proved a spark, rushing for 16 yards on two carries and completing his lone pass attempt. He picked up two first downs.

If the plan is to bring McCaffrey along at his own pace, there was no reason to rush that process after this week’s positive outing from both players.

Rice Stadium took a collective deep breath midway through the third quarter after Constantine was leveled on a scary blow. Targeting was called and Constatine was taking directly to the medical tent. He reentered the game shortly after.

Busted coverage

The Rice defense made colossal strides from downright abysmal in 2018 to the unit that shut out an undefeated Marshall squad on the road last fall. The talent profile increased, and that undoubtedly played a major role in the improvement, but their sound fundamental play was perhaps equally as important.

Last fall, balls didn’t fly over the heads of Rice defenders. The Owls made stops on third down. They tackled well. The defense’s performances weren’t always perfect, but they looked like a unit that knew where they were supposed to be and did what they were asked to do the vast majority of the time.

Then this happens:

The corner bites, but allows the receiver to pass right by, assuming he has help with the safety behind him. He doesn’t. That allows the receiver to waltz into the endzone for a 31-yard score. The quarterback, Jake Lange, was third on the depth chart for Southern Miss when the season began, forced into action by multiple injuries. Making third-string quarterbacks look good is a recipe for disaster.

Fortunately, the Rice defense bounced back down the stretch. Each of their four interceptions and five sacks was crucial when it came to pulling out the win.

Back on track

If the 0-3 start was the worst-case scenario for Rice football, the 2-0 rebound has to be weighted equally as the best-case follow-up. Through five games, Rice is exactly where most would have projected them to be — and perhaps slightly better — given the uncertainty surrounding the matchup with Southern Miss entering the season.

With their backs up against the wall, Rice responded well. It wasn’t perfect, but a winning streak is a winning streak. And its ramifications on this team’s own outlook on themselves and this schedule cannot be overstated.

Rice hasn’t found the answers to all of their most pressing questions just yet, but they’ll have some time to ponder entering the bye week. Sitting at two wins with the bulk of their conference schedule still ahead, the Owls are positioned reasonably well to make a run at their goals.

Digging deeper

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Will this team be able to pound the rock?

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