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Rice Football 2022: UNT Game Week Practice Report

November 24, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

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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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: AJ Padgett, Ari Broussard, Clay Servin, Dean Connors, Isaac Klarkowski, John Hughes, John Long, Jordan Dunbar, Kobie Campbell, Luke McCaffrey, Miguel Cedeno, Miles Mccord, practice notes, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Shawqi Itraish, Shea Baker, Tre'shon Devones, Wiley Green

Rice Football cedes too many turnovers into road loss at WKU

November 12, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Too many turnovers turned an otherwise promising Rice Football start into another Owls’ loss, this time on the road against Western Kentucky.

Turnovers, injuries and a porous defense produced a gut-punch on the road as Rice football fell in what ended up becoming a lopsided affair, despite the many early opportunities. Western Kentucky clinched a bowl berth. Rice didn’t.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren summed it up in a blunt, but honest postgame comment. “We picked a bad day to have a bad day,” he said. “You just can’t win football games [when you play] like that.”

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The offense *almost* goes according to plan

The formula for Rice football to beat Western Kentucky wasn’t complicated. In fact, it was a script the Owls had leaned on before, often to much success. Rice wanted to control the football, keeping Austin Reed and the Hilltoppers’ offense off the field as much as possible.

When it came time to execute, Rice worked the plan nearly to perfection. The Owls’ first offensive drives were almost pristine. On 10 plays, Rice went 55 yards in 5:08. Then on the ensuing possession, Rice went 50 yards on 12 plays, taking 7:34 off the clock. The problem? Both of those drives ended in redzone interceptions by TJ McMahon.

The third possession was a disaster — McMahon was sacked on third down and injured — as WKU scored a defensive touchdown. The fourth possession was perfect. 13 plays, 75 yards and a one-yard touchdown run to finally get Rice on the board.

If Rice simply did not turn the ball over (yes, a feeble dream at this point), the Owls could have entered halftime tied or even leading. Instead, they faced a 24-7 deficit which spiraled further after the break. Rice moved the football really well on Saturday. They just convulsed at the wrong moments, and when they did, disaster ensued.

Houston, you’ve got a turnover problem

If there were still any doubts, Rice football has clearly moved from unlucky to clearly deficient when it comes to turnovers. The Owls did have another tipped pass interception in this game for good measure, at least the seventh time that’s happened this season, but the overwhelming inability to protect the football was frankly exhausting.

Rice turned the ball over on their first three possessions, spoiling what should have been a very competitive game and forcing the team into comeback mode as a double-digit favorite on the road with backup quarterback Shawqi Itraish at the helm. If you were to write a horror story for any college football staff, that’s how it would start.

What makes this problem particularly frustrating is the lack of one person to point to as the root cause. On some days, it’s McMahon. On others, it’s the return game. Yet others still, it’s the running backs that put it on the ground.“It’s not one person,” Bloomgren said. And therein lies the problem. One person you can bench. A whole team? Some other solution has to emerge.

“I think you talk about it. I think you coach it the right way. I don’t know really what else to do,” Bloomgren admitted.

Rice turned the ball over a staggering six times against WKU. If they can’t fix that, they’re not going to find a way to win most of their games, regardless of how well they play in literally every other aspect of the game.

Third down defensive nightmares continue

Getting off the field on third down was a talking point for the Owls all week long. They knew it was something they had to do better if they were going to win. On Saturday against Western Kentucky, they might have actually gotten worse.

As the Rice offense milked the clock but failed to score, the defense forced Western Kentucky into six third down tries in the opening half. They converted five of them, including a deflating 62-yard touchdown pass on third and long in the second quarter.

Western Kentucky finished the game  8-of-11 on third down. Rice was nearly as good (7-of-11), but there was no keeping up with the Hilltoppers’ offense, especially with turnovers aplenty.

The extra plays led to extra big plays. Not only did Western Kentucky move the ball well, they got yards in chunks. Austin Reed clinically picked apart the Rice secondary. Five different receivers had a reception of at least 19 yards. Two caught touchdowns, with Reed running one in from the one-yard line himself. WKU punter John Haggerty never stepped on the field.

The Owls can run the dang ball?

It might have taken a quarterback to force the Owls’ hand, but when push came to shove, Rice ran the ball as well as they have in any game this season against Western Kentucky. Juma Otoviano led the way with 14 carries for 96 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per tote. Cam Montgomery and Dean Connors were both north of 4.8 yards per carry, too.

The running game was absolutely superb, perhaps even more so given the situation into which they were asked to run into. Western Kentucky knew what was coming and still couldn’t stop them. Had it not been for a holding penalty that negated a touchdown run, the numbers might have looked even more impressive.

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

The unfortunate part, in this instance, was the disastrous way Rice started this game. Had they not handed over two red zone possession with interceptions, the running attack would have been able to do its job. Instead, Rice was forced to juggle a successful rushing attack against an ever-ticking clock. The result wasn’t what the Owls had been hoping for.

The bright spot — if there is any — was a resurgent performance by the offensive line and a strong rushing attack. If McMahon does miss further time, they’re going to need both aspects to succeed to scratch out another win. And even if McMahon does return, a balanced offensive attack is clearly the answer right now.

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Keeping time

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Recent Posts
  • Fast start not enough as Rice Baseball falls to Texas A&M for third time
  • Rice Women’s Basketball’s WNIT run blocked by stingy Oregon defense
  • Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU
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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Cam Montgomery, Dean Connors, game recap, Juma Otoviano, Rice Football, Shawqi Itraish, TJ McMahon

Rice Football 2022: LA Tech Game Week Practice Report

October 20, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football visits Louisiana Tech this weekend for their final time in Conference USA play. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Back in action after a Week 7 loss to FAU, Rice football enters the weekend as road favorites for only the second time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. They’ve got to get the offense going this weekend against Louisiana Tech and they’ve made some plans to do just that.

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This week’s roundup highlights what the team is doing to get the running game going, injury updates (both good and bad) as well as some individual highlights from the week.

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.

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?

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • Fast start not enough as Rice Baseball falls to Texas A&M for third time
  • Rice Women’s Basketball’s WNIT run blocked by stingy Oregon defense
  • Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU
  • Rice Baseball grinds out hard-fought sweep at UAB

Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Aidan Siano, Andrew Awe, Ari Broussard, Braedon Nutter, Cam Montgomery, Cedric Patterson, Clay Servin, Dean Connors, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, George Nyakwol, Isaiah Esdale, John Hughes, John Long, Kenny Seymour, Kirk Lockhart, Marcus Williams, Miles Mccord, Myron Morrison, Peyton Stevenson, practice notes, Rice Football, Shea Baker, TJ McMahon, Uriah West

Rice Football 2022: FAU Game Week Practice Report

October 13, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

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.

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?

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • Fast start not enough as Rice Baseball falls to Texas A&M for third time
  • Rice Women’s Basketball’s WNIT run blocked by stingy Oregon defense
  • Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU
  • Rice Baseball grinds out hard-fought sweep at UAB

Filed Under: Archive, Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Ari Broussard, Cam Montgomery, Cedric Patterson, Clay Servin, Daveon Hook, Dean Connors, DeMone Green, Ethan Onianwa, Gabe Taylor, George Nyakwol, Ichmael Joseph, Isaac Klarkowski, Izeya Floyd, John Long, Jojo Jean, Jordan Dunbar, Kirk Lockhart, Kobie Campbell, Marcus Williams, Nate Kamper, practice notes, Quinton Jackson, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Shea Baker, Shepherd Bowling, TJ McMahon, Tre'shon Devones, Trey Phillippi, Trey Schuman, Tyson Flowers, Uriah West

Rice Football 2022: Houston Game Week Practice Report

September 22, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football takes on Houston in the Bayou Bucket this week. Here’s what we learned from practice as the Owls prep for the Cougars.

Rice football is 2-1 for the first time since 2015 and looking to go to 3-1 for the first time since 2001. They can reach that mark with a win over crosstown rival Houston in the Bayou Bucket. It’s going to be a tall order, but the bunch inside the hedges are optimistic, and why shouldn’t they be after a big win last Saturday and another strong week of practice?

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Hours of film watching have been logged and snap after snap taken on the practice field this week. Along the way, there have been some interesting tweaks to the gameplan, position groups hit by the injury bug and a few learnings to pass along prior to Week 4.

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.

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?

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • Fast start not enough as Rice Baseball falls to Texas A&M for third time
  • Rice Women’s Basketball’s WNIT run blocked by stingy Oregon defense
  • Furious comeback falls short as Rice Basketball falls to SUU
  • Rice Baseball grinds out hard-fought sweep at UAB

Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Ari Broussard, Blake Boenisch, Bradley Rozner, Braedon Nutter, Cam Montgomery, Clay Servin, De'Braylon Carroll, Dean Connors, Ethan Onianwa, Faee Pepe, Ikenna Enechukwu, Isaac Klarkowski, Isaiah Esdale, Izeya Floyd, John Hughes, John Long, Joshua Pearcy, Juma Otoviano, Kenneth Orji, Luke McCaffrey, practice notes, quent titre, Rice Football, Shea Baker, Trey Phillippi, Uriah West

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