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Buy Now: The Roost’s 2020 Rice Football Season Preview and C-USA Preview

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The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2020 Rice Football Season Preview and the Conference USA Football Season Preview. These digital magazines are the one-stop-shop for every Rice and Conference USA Fan.

Buy Rice Preview
Buy C-USA Preview

The 2020 Rice Football Season Preview

This 160-page publication details everything you could imagine about Rice Football. It includes insight on the entire Rice roster as well with commentary on all 110 players on the active roster. From there the scope widens to breakdowns of every Conference USA team and all four of the Owls’ non-conference opponents. Each profile was compiled with the help from local experts who cover that beat on a daily basis with timely transfer information and any available spring updates.

As one Rice administrator dubbed it:
it’s the bible for Rice Football fans.

Get answers to questions like “Who has the leg up in the Rice quarterback battle?” or “Which incoming players could make the biggest impact?” or “Who are the top returning players Rice will face in Conference USA?”

This year’s edition included a feature story based on an interview with Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard. In the piece, we discuss how he evaluates head coach Mike Bloomgren’s coaching tenure.

The 2020 Conference USA Football Season Preview

The complete contents of the Conference USA Preview are contained within the Rice Preview. This 72-page guide includes everything Conference USA fans need to know for the upcoming season. Every team in the conference has a four-page profile. These profiles including coaching notes, pressing questions and the major storylines each squad faces this season. It also includes roster breakdowns with profiles on the biggest incoming and outgoing players.

No preview would be complete without the numbers, and this one has those in bunches. Each team section includes Conference USA metrics, returning production notes and analysis as well as stat lines for every returning player. There’s also a more detailed review of the conference’s top returning players for each major statistic. And it’s all at your fingertips rather than a dozen google searches away.

The Conference USA Preview omits the Rice-specific content like the position and player breakdowns, rising stars and more. Most Rice fans would prefer the Rice Preview whereas fans of other C-USA schools might prefer this version.

What are people saying about the Previews?

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what people are saying:

  • “The Roost’s C-USA preview has been an indispensable resource for me as I make my preparations for this season.”
  • “I just spent 30 minutes going through it, but barely skimmed the surface. It’s a great way to learn the new players.
  • “I don’t know any preview that could be more detailed than that.”
  • “This is worth spending the money on. Best you will get for CUSA”
  • “I liked everything.”

Want more?

You can always find additional Rice Football and Conference USA Football content on the website. If you enjoy the Preview and want to get further involved, consider supporting us on Patreon or check out The Roost Shop. Our subscribers get exclusive content ranging from recruiting and practice updates to special analysis. For starters, they got a copy of the Preview for free!

Buy Rice Preview
Buy C-USA Preview
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Rice Football: Unpacking the quarterback situation entering Week 12 🔒

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Rice Football finds itself in the midst of another quarterback conundrum. Here’s the latest entering the final three-game stretch of the season.

It’s not groundhog day, but it sure feels like it when the Rice football quarterback situation is brought up. With a week and a half until the Owls take the field against Middle Tennessee, here’s what we know:

1. Tom Stewart is close to “100 percent”

Stewart has been practicing in full and doesn’t appear to be hindered by his back issue. He’s looked good throwing the deep ball both last week and Sunday and is moving around reasonably well. Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack said last week was the first time he’s “felt 100 percent” since injuring his back. He’s expected to be fully available for the game.

2. JoVoni Johnson is nicked up

Johnson left Saturday’s game against Marshall after taking a hit following a big run. He was in a walking boot early last week but has since shed the protective gear and resumed practicing. He’ll be well enough to play.

The bigger question is how the injury will impact his effectiveness. Bloomgren called him “a step slow” in his return to the field, but noted that they’ll monitor him closely this week. A hobbled Johnson wouldn’t pose nearly the same threat as a fully healthy one. Whether or not some percentage of Johnson is better than 100 percent of someone else remains to be seen.

3. Evan Marshman could be an option

Marshman has gotten some reps in practice. He’ll have a package of plays ready should the Owls decide to go in that direction. I don’t get the sense that’s going to be the primary direction at this point, but the staff is going to turn over every rock in their quest to turn this offense around. Whereas Wiley Green is working with the scout team now, Marshman is getting some snaps with a version of the first team offense.

4. The redshirt situation

I contend the offense looks much better with Johnson and the helm than it has with anyone else who’s stepped under center this season. Of course, Bloomgren would prefer to redshirt Johnson and have him for another full season, but the importance of stacking up some wins and giving the team something to build on for the future is a very real motivator.

“All we’re worried about is this week right now,” Bloomgren said. “We’ve definitely had those conversations. We’ve had those conversations with JoVoni as well, but we’re not at a point to make that decision and luckily we don’t have to.”

More: Breaking down the Rice Football offense under Johnson vs Marshall

To some extent, Bloomgren is correct. Johnson has played in three of his allotted four games. Saturday against Middle Tennessee would be the fourth. If Johnson plays this weekend and does well, the likelihood of him redshirting this season would drop exorbitantly.

For what it’s worth, Bloomgren called the offense “anemic” once JoVoni went down against Marshall. A healthy Johnson continues to look like the best option.

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Rice Football: On offense, something’s gotta change

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It was another long Saturday for the Rice football defense, leading coach Mike Bloomgren to deliver an ultimatum: “Something will change.”

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren is as unflappable as they come. The second-year head coach came to South Main with a vision, one he’s determined to see through to reality. But there have been several C-USA sized bumps along the way.

“The Process”, as Bloomgren likes to refer to his big-picture plan, has been a mixed bag. The defense, which ranked dead last in Conference USA in scoring a year ago, just held the conference’s top quarterback to a little more than half his passing yardage totals and zero touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the offense has regressed from 18.9 points per game in 2018 to 15.9 points per game this season. Bloomgren isn’t blind to that reality, far from it. He faced the music following another close loss over the weekend, this time to Southern Miss.

“Something will change,” he said. “The status quo is not good enough, the way we’re doing things is not good enough.”

What that change looks like remains to be seen. Wiley Green has played himself out of the starting quarterback job, but former backup Tom Stewart is hurt, and could be sidelined for some time. That leaves Bloomgren with two options at quarterback: sophomore Evan Marshman and true freshman JoVoni Johnson.

As recently as last Tuesday’s weekly press conference, Bloomgren’s tune was definitive: “I don’t have a plan for either of those guys to be the quarterback of the football team.” Well, plans change.

Bloomgren didn’t spell out what adjustments he had in mind. He only offered this clarifying comment. “Nothing is simplistic for us right now, offensively. Nothing is easy for us, offensively,” he said. “We have to assess. We have to make some changes.”

It’s not as if Bloomgren and the offensive coaching staff haven’t been working to improve the offense all this time. The Owls averaged 268 yards per game against their four non-conference foes (Army, Wake Forest, Baylor and Texas). Their production rose to 337 yards per game in their first three C-USA games (Louisiana Tech, UAB and UTSA). On Saturday, they registered 139 total yards.

Eliminating turnovers is an obvious first step. The Owls’ minus-six turnover margin in conference games is the worst in C-USA. Beyond that, the “elephant in the room“, as Bloomgren called it, remains a loosely defined challenge. And that makes this weekend’s upcoming game against Marshall so intriguing.

It’s homecoming weekend and Rice football fans from far and wide will return to South Main to see their team. If Bloomgren can push the right buttons and revitalize an offensive attack that has fallen stale, he could restore confidence in a fanbase seeking reasons to keep the faith.

“I want to make sure I’m saying this too. There’s no panic in my face, in this team,” Bloomgren declared. If Saturday was “a frustrating day, in so many ways,” perhaps we do see the scale of change potent enough to turn things around on South Main. The defense sure would appreciate it.

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Rice Football: Stifling defense wasted as Owls fall to Southern Miss

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One of the most valiant efforts from the Rice football defense this season went for naught as the Owls fell at home to Southern Miss.

Rice football has found ways to be in games well into the fourth quarter. The means to take the next step, to close games out and celebrate with a win, continue to stay just out of reach. The Owls found themselves in a familiar place on Saturday. They left with a familiar result: a loss in a game the Owls probably could have won.

1. Offense sleepwalks through the first half

Rice broke its scoring ceiling midway through the third quarter against UTSA, reaching 24 points for the first time this season. From that point on, the Rice offense was held to one field goal and 121 yards over the next three quarters.

Scoring droughts are nothing new for this offense, but the Owls had been limited to three points in three quarters only one other time this season, the first three quarters in a blowout loss to Texas on Sept. 14.

A touchdown on the second drive on the third quarter turned a lackluster offensive showing into a one-score game. For all their warts, the Owls had managed to do just enough to hang around in the fourth quarter. The Owls couldn’t finish.

2. Quarterback play disappoints

A later injury during the week to Tom Stewart caught everyone off guard, forcing Wiley Green back into the starting role days after he’d been told he’d be the team’s backup going forward. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of rust, with Green doing all he could to avoid pressure and give his receivers opportunities down the field.

Green handled every snap with no fumbles. When he threw downfield, it was to spots where only his guys could make plays on the ball. He had a few big plays go for naught thanks to penalties (or the lack thereof on a first quarter deep shot to Brad Rozner). If the charge was to play smart and not turn the ball over, Green certainly achieved those expectations — right up til the biggest moment of the game.

More: Calvin Anderson joins The Roost Podcast

On first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Green dropped back and was intercepted. That’s the third time this season a Rice quarterback has turned the ball over inside the 10-yard line. A touchdown in that situation would have tied the game, instead, the Owls walked away with no points in another crucial situation.

Green was benched immediately following the interception. Evan Marshman took over. That sets up a messy quarterback situation going forward. Who starts next week against Marshall? Stewart? Marshman? Green? Johnson? The lack of clarity 10 weeks into the season is agonizing.

3. Regaining some defensive swagger

A relatively positive defensive showing throughout nonconference play gave way to a somewhat inconsistent unit through the first three Conference USA games. The Owls played well on that side of the ball, but faltered in key moments, most notably in the final possessions against Louisiana Tech and UTSA.

Keeping Southern Miss out of the endzone was supposed to be a daunting task. The Eagles had scored 38, 47, 31, 45 and 30 points in games against non-SEC teams, scoring at least three touchdowns in each of those contests.

The defense started out strong, joining Alabama and Mississippi State as the only teams to hold Southern Miss to zero points in the first quarter this season. Southern Miss only managed 10 points at half and 20 at the end of regulation, 18.2 points fewer than their non-SEC season average (38.2).

Southern Miss had four redzone possessions, but only one touchdown. That came on a 2-yard carry by Kevin Perkins in the second quarter. The Rice defense is the reason this game remained winnable down the stretch.

4. Pass protection is still a problem

The infusion of graduation transfers into the Rice offensive line has rendered clear improvements from where the unit was at this point last season. The play up front has been better over the last few weeks, but their showing against Southern Miss was far from their best.

Rice quarterbacks were sacked eight times and forced to pay way too much attention to the pass rush. Scrambling became a necessity. The lack of clean pockets forced the quarterbacks to make most of their high-pressure throws on the move rather than with two feet on the ground.

The lack of impact plays in the running game put the Rice offense, once again, between a rock and a hard place. Rice struggled to run the ball and didn’t have the protection to make it through more than one or two reads in the passing game.

5. Another step backward

If Mike Bloomgren and company new before they game their defense would hold Southern Miss to 13 points through 59 minutes and stay even in the turnover battle they would have liked their chances. Sure enough, Rice was in this game to the very end. Again, the final score came up in favor of the Owls’ opponents.

Rice has done good things on both sides of the ball this season — we saw that again in this game — but they remain plagued by an inconsistent offense. Good teams will take all the lucky bounces they can get to push them over the edge. It sure feels like Rice needs those favorable bounces to have a chance at their first C-USA win this season.

The road ahead isn’t any easier. Marshall comes to town next weekend before Rice has their second off weekend of the year. If the Owls are going to turn things around and eclipse their C-USA win total from last season, they’re going to have to find a way to generate their own luck. Because right now, the sum total of the parts hasn’t found a way to get over the hump.

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2019 Rice Football Season Preview by The Roost

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The staff of The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, a 143-page digital magazine detailing everything you could imagine about the Owls’ upcoming season.

This preview is the culmination of months of research, interviews and analysis. Consider it your one-stop-shop as you prepare for the Owls’ 2019 season.

Available as a downloadable PDF for on-the-go access, this preview contains the following:

1. A breakdown of every position group on the team

Who are the favorites to start entering fall camp? What sort of production should you expect from returning starters? Which of the incoming transfer players should make their mark the quickest? Answers to all of those questions are included, as well as notes on every single player on the 102-man roster.

2. An exclusive interview with head coach Mike Bloomgren

We sat down with coach to get his honest evaluation of where the Rice football program is right now and how he views the progress the team is making as they approach 2019. He’s sticking to a process, one which he remains confident will bring success to South Main.

3. Previews of each 2019 opponent and all 14 CUSA Teams

Supported by local beat writers and experts who cover each team, this section has a wealth of knowledge about every CUSA Team and all the Owls’ 2019 opponents.

Rice fans will want to familiarize themselves with the teams they’ll be facing this year. Get to know which players each squad will have to replace, which newcomers could make noise in 2019 and what outstanding questions those in the know have about their respective squads.

4. A complete 2019 Conference USA Football Preview

Available separately to purchase, everyone who purchases the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview will also get The Roost’s 2019 Conference USA Football Preview. We made our picks for preseason honors, top games to watch in 2019 and a closer look at how every team in the conference stacks up.

Don’t need any more convincing? Get a copy for yourself today

Buy Now

 

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