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2018 UTSA Roadrunners Season Preview

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Rice football will break a deadlock in their all-time series with UTSA in 2018. The Owls and Roadrunners have picked up three wins apiece in their first six matchups.

UTSA enters their seventh season with a D1 football team in 2018 and its third under head coach Frank Wilson. The Roadrunners have been moderately successful in their short time with a football program, averaging a hair shy of six wins per season.

Wilson guided his program to a 6-5 finish last season but the Roadrunners sat at home during bowl season. UTSA was one of only a handful of six-win teams that didn’t go bowling, an unfortunate set of circumstances for a program still seeking its first-ever bowl win.

After one season in the WAC, UTSA joined Conference USA where they began an annual game with Rice. The Owls and Roadrunners have met six times on the gridiron with the series tied 3-3. UTSA won in 2017, can they repeat on the road in 2018?

Offense

The biggest question facing the Roadrunners in 2018 revolves around the starting quarterback position. Dalton Strum (5,768 career passing yards) leaves San Antonio with a gaping hole to fill at quarterback and not a lot of options behind him.

Graduate transfer DJ Gillens, JUCO transfer Cordale Grundy and true freshman Jordan Weeks comprise a three-man competition to be the next signal caller. None offer any form of meaningful experience and any of them could have the job come midseason.

The offensive line has three starters to replace and the Roadrunners will be without their top three receiving options. That will put the weight of the offense on the shoulders of junior running back Jalen Rhodes. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound tailback from Rowlett, Texas was the most productive back last season, averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 134 carries, gaining 690 yards and scoring five touchdowns.

UTSA finished third in Conference USA in rushing offense, averaging 184.6 yards per game on the ground. They were able to accomplish that despite finishing 10th in rush attempts and 13th in total touchdowns. It didn’t take volume for the Roadrunners to find success on the ground in 2017, making an increased workload for Rhodes troublesome for UTSA’s opponents.

The receiving corps remains a shot in the dark. Freshman Tykee Ogle-Kellog will be in the mix, as will upperclassmen wideouts Treyvion Shannon and Greg Campbell Jr. Whoever steps up over the start of the season will earn himself the lion’s share of opportunities through the air.

Defense

UTSA was one of the better defenses in Conference USA a year ago. So good, that even Nick Saban took notice. The head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide swooped in to hire Pete Doling, the Roadrunners’ defensive coordinator as the co-defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa. Filling in behind him will be linebackers coach Jason Rollins. 2018 will be his first year as a defensive coordinator in his coaching career.

On the field, this unit loses Marcus Davenport, a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints this offseason, but should still be plenty deep in 2018. Filling in behind Davenport are Kevin Strong and Solomon Wise. Neither of those players holds a candle to Davenport’s dominance, but the combination should be enough to keep the pressure on the passer in his stead.

Backing up the new edge rushers is a linebacker unit that also has a major hole to fill. 2017 leading tackler La’Kel Bass is gone, but a fully healthy Josiah Tauaefa could make for an even better piece for UTSA to build around. Tauaefa set the school record with 115 tackles in 2016 and player sparing last season as he battled with injuries.

The secondary won’t have many new faces this year, but several role players will be asked to do more than they’ve done before this season. Corner Stanley Dye Jr. and Clayton Johnson are both upperclassmen, but the duo combined for just 10 tackles last season. Sophomore Javontavius Mosley will also be in the mix.

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2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Season Preview

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A year removed from a trip to Australia, Rice football‘s furthest road trip in 2018 is a still-lengthy flight to the Pacific to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

By far the most scenic road trip on the Rice football schedule in 2018 will come in early September when the Owls travel to Oahu, Hawaii to take on the home-town Rainbow Warriors in Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii was an offensive powerhouse under now CFL head coach June Jones, but current headman Nick Rolovich has his eyes set on revamping the offense and returning it to those glory days. The third-year headman played quarterback for Hawaii from 2000 to 2001, seeing the majority of his playing time when Hawaii’s all-time leading passer Timmy Chang went down to an injury.

Rice and Hawaii have met on the gridiron seven times, all occurring in the last 20 seasons. The two squads alternated home games from 1999 to 2004; Rice went 4-2 in those games. The teams then took a break, meeting most recently at Rice Stadium in 2014, a 28-14 victory for the Owls. What will this version of the Rainbow Warriors look like in 2018?

Offense

Hawaii was thrown for a loop when Dru Brown announced he would transfer to Oklahoma State for the 2018 season. After joining the Rainbow Warriors from the JUCO ranks, Brown threw for 2,785 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.

Brown wasn’t perfect, but he was by far the most experienced passer on the roster. Backup Cole MacDonald had more rushing attempts last season (16) than passing attempts (nine). He’ll be in the mix with Sacremento State transfer Kolney Cassel and USC transfer Larry Tuileta.

Whoever wins the job will benefit greatly from a full season with wide receiver John Ursa. Despite missing half of the 2017 campaign, Ursa led the Mountain West in receiving yards and hauled in five touchdowns.

Outside of Ursa, the skill positions are baren. The Rainbow Warriors will have to replace their next three pass catchers and their top two running backs. The departed receivers were nothing special, but running back Diocemy Saint Juste leaves Hawaii as the No. 2 all-time leading rusher with 3,102 yards.

Sophomore Freddy Holly will be given the first crack at the starting tailback role. Blocking for him will be a bevy of JUCO transfers along the offensive line thanks to the departure of all-Moutain West left tackle Dejon Allen and starters John Wa’a and Chris Posa.

Defense

Hawaii has always prided themselves on their offense almost at the detriment of their defense. The Rainbow Warriors have allowed fewer than 32 points per game once in the last five seasons and actually showed modest improvement a year ago when they allowed 33.9 points per game (10th in the Mountain West) compared to 37.3 allowed in 2016.

Although they face the same amount of attrition as the offense, the defense could be better prepared to make big strides next season. Linebackers Jahlani Tavia and Soloman Matautia were ballhawks last season, accounting for 209 tackles, 6.5 sacks and four interceptions in 2017. Both return this year and will serve as anchors for a defense with a lot of new faces.

More JUCO transfers were brought in to reinforce the defensive line which returns just one player that saw a significant amount of playing time, Sam Akoteu. Zeno Choi, Blessman Ta’ala and Jeffrey Keene Jr. will round out the front which owns three starts between the quartet.

The secondary will have to replace a pair of safeties. The corners they do bring back were part of a unit that allowed 248.6 passing yards per game and a conference-high 29 touchdown passes. With little reason for increased optimism in the form of a stronger pass rush, the back end of the Hawaii defense could be in for another rough year in 2018.

Teams that can move the ball through the air are going to be able to beat this unit consistenly making shootouts more likely for this squad once again.

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8 Days: Looking back at each of Owls 8 conference titles

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In more than 100 years of collegiate football, the Rice football team owns eight conference championships in two different conferences.

1934 Southwestern Conference Champions

The first nine-win season in Rice football history, the 1934 team came six points shy of an undefeated season. The Owls took down SWC foes SMU, Texas, Arkansas and Texas A&M that year, but lost to TCU 7-2 and tied LSU 9-9. They were one of four teams (the others being Stanford, Tulane and Alabama) to finish with nine or more wins. Meaning they would have been a top-five squad had the AP Poll existed.

1937 Southwestern Conference Champions

After starting out winless in their first three games (one draw and two losses, all in non-conference play), Rice kicked it into gear. The Owls won six of their final eight games, capping off the season with a 28-14 victory over No. 16 Colorado in the Cotton Bowl. Rice finished the season ranked No. 18 in the nation.

1946 Southwestern Conference Champions

Rice rolled through the SWC in 1946,  ending the year 5-1 in conference play. The lone loss came to Arkansas by seven points and the team registered a landmark victory over No. 3 Texas at home. The season ended with an 8-0 shutout victory over No. 8 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl and the Owls’ first official top-10 finish in school history.

1949 Southwestern Conference Champions

Chronicled in more detail here, the 1949 squad remains the most successful team in Rice football history. Outside of another loss to LSU, the fifth straight defeat for the Owls against the Tigers, Rice played nearly flawless football. During a three-game stretch against Texas Tech, Arkansas and Texas A&M the Owls scored 55 points and surrendered zero. The season ended with a win over No. 19 North Carolina in the Cotton Bowl and the highest AP ranking in school history, No. 5

1953 Southwestern Conference Champions

The third Cotton Bowl win in less than two decades came following the 1953 season. The Owls were a top 15 team at the beginning of the season and kept pace at that level throughout the year. They started the season by knocking off a ranked Florida team before ending it with a victory over Alabama in Dallas.

1957 Southwestern Conference Champions

The last of Jess Neely’s four conference championships came in 1957. That was the year the Owls finally got over the hunt and beat LSU on their way to posting three victories over Top 20 teams including No. 17 Stanford, No. 12 Arkansas and No. 1 Texas A&M. A loss to No. 5 Navy in the Cotton Bowl spoiled what was otherwise a historic season.

1994 Southwestern Conference Champions

In March of 1994 Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech announced their merger with the Big 8 to form the Big 12, effective in 1996. In its dying days, the SWC produced a bizarre finish that year. Texas A&M (10-0-1) that season, but under NCAA penalties. That gave way to a five-way tie for the conference crown between Texas, Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech and Rice, all who finished 4-3 in SWC play. That’s how Rice, with a 5-6 overall record, won their final SWC Crown.

2013 Conference USA Champions

The only non-SWC title in the archives came under David Bailiff in 2013. Rice was near-perfect in conference play, dropping a road contest to North Texas, but otherwise going 7-0 in their remaining CUSA games. The team suffered three non-conference losses, including a Liberty Bowl loss to Mississippi State and added wins over the Big 12’s Kansas and independent New Mexico State.

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2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles Season Preview

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Rice football came close to upsetting Southern Miss last season but couldn’t hang on. What will the Golden Eagles bring to the table in 2018?

Southern Miss worked through some quarterback turmoil a year ago on their way to an 8-5 finish, including six wins in conference play. Third-year head coach Jay Hopson improved on a seven-win campaign the year before but continue that trend in 2018 might prove more difficult.

The Golden Eagles are going to be much younger this season and lose several key pieces from last year’s squad that needed a late fourth quarter rally to beat the Owls. The nine-point victory won by the Golden Eagles on their home field last season brought the all-time series to an even four-game split.

Southern Miss has won three straight in the series and opens conference play against the Owls this year. What can the Owls expect to see from the Golden Eagles?

Offense

Ineffectiveness and injuries created a messy situation for Southern Miss at quarterback last season. Although it wasn’t how Hopson drew it up, both Kwandra Griggs and Keon Howard gained valuable starting experience, each contributing to the Golden Eagles’ offensive success last season.

Griggs (1,879 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions) projected to be the starter before he was suspended indefinitely during fall camp. That openee the door for Howard (1,199 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions), but he has since transferred to Tulane. That leaves Jack Abraham as the front runner in Hattiesburg.

Whoever lines up in the backfield will be handing the ball to a new primary tailback. Ito South was named to the All-CUSA first team after churning out 1,483 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Tasked to recreate his production in aggregate will be returning senior Tez Parks (290 rushing yards, two touchdowns) as well as speedster George Payne and converted quarterback Steven Anderson.

In addition to replacing Smith the offensive line that blocked for him saw several meaningful departures. Gone are center Devin Farrior and tackle Jerry Harris, making for a lot of change for the Southern Miss rushing attack.

The receiving corps isn’t much better off. The Golden Eagles three leading receivers from a year ago are gone, leaving Quez Watkins (23 receptions, 337 yards and two touchdowns) as the most experienced pass catcher on this team. For as much as this team likes to throw the football (fifth in CUSA with 439 attempts in 2017) it’s hard to believe they won’t suffer a setback in the receiving department this season.

Defense

If the offense was green, the defense is greener. South Miss allowed 24.5 points per game in 2017, their best mark since they allowed 20.8 in 2011. That figure will be hard pressed to improve this year with just four of their top 11 leading tackles returning to Hattiesburg.

The production they do get back largely consists of members of the front seven. Linebackers Racheem Boothe (79, 3.5 sacks, five tackles for a loss) and Picasso Nelson (missed 2017 season due to injury) have to be the glue that holds this team together. The ability of that duo to get to the quarterback and force hurried plays will go a long way to determining whether or not the Southern Miss defense will be able to stay afloat in 2018.

Beyond those two the defensive line and secondary both contain more question marks than answers. The team tallied 24 sacks a year ago but only 6.5 of those are out the door.

Big plays in the secondary is another matter entirely. Southern Miss tallied nine interceptions by five different players and none of them will be on the field this season. Both of their starting safeties, Jomez Applewhite and Tarvarius Moore, as well as leading corners Curtis Mickell and Cornell Armstrong are gone as are three other rotation players. This has the potential to be the least experienced defensive back unit in the nation.

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2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Season Preview

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Rice football and Louisiana Tech don’t have an extensive history, but the series has been rather one-sided since the Bulldogs joined CUSA in 2013.

After three straight nine-win seasons, Louisiana Tech stumbled to a 7-6 finish last in 2017. Things could have turned out quite differently had the Bulldogs not lost three games by one point. Those narrow defeats at the hands of South Carolina, UAB and North Texas kept the Bulldogs away from their first 10-win season as a D1 FBS program.

Head coach Skip Holtz will have a double-digit target placed in front of his team this season. Getting to that mark will be challenging considering a schedule that includes road trips to LSU and Mississippi State in non-conference play. That will require near-perfection in conference play.

Rice and Louisiana Tech have met on the gridiron 10 times. The Owls own a 3-7 record against the Bulldogs and have lost four straight. Righting that record starts one game at a time, but it could be a challenge for the Owls this year. Louisiana Tech fields a promising team in 2018. Here’s how they’ll look on both sides of the ball:

Offense

Louisiana Tech has typically boasted well-rounded offensive attacks under Holtz who took over the program in 2013. In his five years leading the Bulldogs he’s constructed offenses that averaged north of 430 yards per game and a lot of points. Last season marked the first time since his first season at LaTech in which his team averaged less than 37 points per game, falling off to 30.5 points per contest.

One of the driving forces behind the variation in points per game was the variation in quarterback play. The Bulldogs’ offense will once again live and die on the decision making of junior quarterback J’mar Smith.

Smith’s back-and-forth quarterback play made every game an adventure through his 13 starts last season. In consecutive weeks he posted these two very different box scores:

Week A: 15-of-28 passing (53.6 percent) for 203 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions
Week B: 7-of-21 passing (33.3 percent) for 101 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception

Week A was a win over UTEP. Week B was a win over UTSA. Both starts by Smith, but his play could not have been more hot-and-cold.

The Bulldogs will benefit from the deep receiving corps led by returning star Teddy Veal (79 receptions for 950 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017). The offensive line returns a ton of experience and will add former LSU offensive lineman Willie Allen to the mix as well.

Running back is another big question mark for the Bulldogs who lose their two leading rushers from a season ago. No one remaining on the depth chart has had any meaningful touches, setting up a wide-open competition between Jaqwis Dancy Jr. and Kam McKnight for lead back duties. A committee approach is most likely here.

Defense

Replacing three of their top five tacklers will be the biggest challenge facing LaTech as they enter the 2018 season. The good news is they carry depth at every level on the defense and have more than enough options to plug into the gaps left by Secdrick Cooper, Russell Farris and DaMarion King.

The secondary was one of the best in Conference USA last season thanks in large part to the tandem of Cooper and true freshman Amik Robertson. He forced his way into the starting lineup quickly and led the team in interceptions (five) and pass breakups (six) by the end of the season while also finishing third on the team in tackles.

While Robertson and his companions are locking down the back end, future NFL draft pick senior Jaylon Ferguson is providing the rush up front. The talented defensive end tallied seven sacks last season and is already receiving legitimate first-round buzz. He’s got a long way to go before that happens, but at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds he has the frame that NFL teams will look to build on.

The glue in between those two units will be the linebackers. In addition to last year’s leading tackler Dae’Von Washington the team adds three JUCO transfers including NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year Connor Taylor. A Snow College product, Taylor led the NJCAA in tackles (139) with a stunning 21 tackles for a loss and three sacks.

This unit allowed 25.4 points per game in 2017 and should be even better. If the offense comes along with it the Bulldogs could be looking at a special season in 2018.

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