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Quinton Jackson propels Rice Football Past UConn in 2OT

October 25, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

UConn scored first. Rice Football scored last with running back Quinton Jackson clinching a walk-off win in double overtime to lift the Owls over the Huskies.

A tale of two halves, plus a little extra, ended in a thrilling Rice football victory. The two teams combined to score 38 points in the first half, 10 in the second half and 17 in overtime. No points were more important than Quinton Jackson’s 23-yard run in the second and final overtime period, securing the Owls’ victory.

“Two weeks ago, we left San Antonio kind of battered and bruised. Our egos were beat up. Our bodies were beat up,” head coach Scott Abell said. “Today speaks so much volumes of our locker room, our players our staff. Incredibly proud of them. What a great win for our program here at home.”

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Corner Room Concerns

The Rice football corner room was an open point of concern entering the bye week. The indefinite suspension of top corner Khary Crump days following the UTSA contest, which featured the Owls’ other starter Omari Porter being briefly sent to the bench for allowing a big play, signaled trouble at the position that had little proven depth behind them.

Then UConn hit an 80-yard touchdown pass on their first play from scrimmage.

Huskies’ receiver Skyler Bell beat Porter one-on-one, catching the ball in stride at full speed in the open field. From there, it was a race to the pylon against the rest of the Owls’ secondary, a race that Bell won.

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Linebacker Andrew Awe said it best during the Owls’ off week. The defense is schemed in such a way that players have to make the plays assigned to them. At some point, the players have to make the plays. To be completely fair to that unit, there were some good moments like Jerrick Harper’s red zone swat to deny UConn on a fade late in the second quarter.

The reality of the situation is sobering. After a coaching change and transfer portal attrition, there wasn’t much that could have been done. With Crump gone and no reinforcements coming, this room is going to be the focal point for opposing offenses the rest of the way.

Unforced Errors and Mental Mistakes

Given the heightened focus, Rice absolutely cannot allow the situation to worsen by committing unforced errors. UConn’s first quarter touchdown was explainable — a man got beaten. Their second quarter scores? Both came on walk-in receptions with no Rice defender in the area to offer any sort of challenge.

On the first bust, UConn back Cam Edwards was left wide open when Porter moved inside to cover the tight end, who was also being shadowed by Jack Kane. That left two men on the tight end and none on Edwards, who waltzed in for six. A minute later, Jerrick Harper passed his man off to the help behind him. Except there was no help and the receiver galloped free into the endzone for another gimme touchdown.

Getting out-talented is something that’s hard to scheme around. Both of those plays were execution busts, something that cannot happen if there’s already reason for concern given the personnel issues.

Additionally, Rice was flagged for having 12 men on the field coming out of a timeout. Later, they squandered a chance at points before halftime by attempting a deep shot play on third and long. That ball fell incomplete, leaving Rice outside of field goal range on fourth and medium.

None of those singular mistakes cost Rice the game, but in aggregate they made for quite a large mountain the Owls had to overcome. Fortunately, those issues were sparse in the second half. Defensive coordinator Jon Kay ratcheted up the pressure and made UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano uncomfortable and that proved to be the difference.

New Wrinkles and Fresh Legs

Given a bye week to regroup and reassess, the offensive design Rice football put on display this past Saturday was masterful. Jenkins was effective as a runner and a thrower, but it was his ability to make good reads and keep the offense on schedule that kept this train on the tracks.

Rice racked up 296 of offense in the first half alone, roughly 60 yards short of their season-best totals against an FBS when they tallied 353 yards in four quarters against Charlotte. They hit the high-points of what had worked for them to this point, mixing in traditional and option run schemes with short passes to keep the defense honest.

More: Rice Football by the Numbers — Midseason Checkup

With a productive base offense moving the ball, head coach Scott Abell was able to incorporate some new elements that caught UConn off guard. Some two-back sets produced productive runs. The offense lined Jackson out wide in a diamond formation for a couple of quick screens.

None was more impressive than Jackson’s long touchdown reception — which has to be specified because he also had a breakaway touchdown on the ground — late in the second quarter.

The base concept was one of the Owls’ staple triple-option plays, which they’ve run numerous times this season. Jenkins faked the ball to the back and took a step to his right, appearing to be setting up to continue to option on a roll out with slot Aaron Turner trailing him for the pitch. Instead, Jenkins took one step to get the defense to bite, reversed field, and tossed it long to Jackson, who had turned his fake into a wheel route. Jackson took it the rest of the way.

This play call was glorious. Triple option concept, but the wheel route surprises everyone and @RiceFootball strikes through the air.pic.twitter.com/S3pikTR3dc
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) October 25, 2025

That run, and the overtime clincher, were part of a standout performance from Jackson, who finished the game with 248 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.

“If he’s not conference player of the week or national recognized player of the week, people aren’t paying attention,” Abell said after the game.

Jackson tried to modestly deflect the praise to his teammates, crediting their efforts for the big day the offense had as a whole. In his eyes, the entire mentality of the unit had shifted.

“I think we’re out there having fun. I think the past few weeks, we weren’t’ having fun, we were thinking too much, trying not to make mistakes, playing scared,” he said. “I think this week we went out there and just let it loose. We didn’t have nothing to lose.”

Changing the Narrative

Oh how much difference can one week make. Heading into the bye this was a team in crisis, reeling from injuries and riding a three-game losing streak. Now the Owls are feisty again, winning for the second time this season as a double-digit underdog, this time against a team that beat a Power conference opponent seven days before they landed in Houston.

“We needed a win. I don’t hide from that,” Abell said. “I knew that we had this capability in us. It’s just win was it going to hit? And that’s a real good football team we beat.”

The win came in what was truly a complete overall team performance. The defense was tremendous in the second half and the end of overtime. Special teams contributed some important field position swings late. The offense made big plays when they needed to most, looking as consistent and confident as they had all season.

“I felt like truly for the first time you saw a lot of trust and confidence in some of the things that we were trying to get done. Some of the things that we’ve done a lot this year and we’ve just missed on a couple things,” Abell said. “Today, they trusted each other. They trusted the concepts and the game plan. They executed in phenomenally.”

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Defense Tightens Up

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 216 – A Night to Forget for Rice Football at UTSA

October 15, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Almost from opening kickoff, Rice Football got run out of town in San Antonio in a one-sided loss to UTSA. How does that impact this team’s outlook?

Rice football finally gets its much-needed bye week, but the price to get past that final game before the break was costly. Rice allowed 61 points in a horrific contest against UTSA which included two players ejected, four quarterbacks and plenty of questions.

Head coach Scott Abell told The Roost on Wednesday that one of the ejected players, CB Khary Crump, has been suspended from the program indefinitely. We hit on that at the top of the show. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 216.

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Episode Notes

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Rice Football vs UTSA Game Recap

First Quarter Debacle
Defensive execution was a problem
Quarterback Injuries and what to make of the offense
Khary Crump
Abell’s Year One’s
What to make of this team going forward
Thank goodness for bye weeks

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Rice Football Blasted into Bye Week in One-Sided UTSA Defeat

October 11, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football hoped to limp into the bye week. Instead, UTSA sent the Owls reeling into their open weekend with injury concerns and a crushing loss.

It’s hard to envision a more terrible night than the one Rice football had in San Antonio on Saturday. In the span of 30 minutes of real time, the Owls saw a starting corner back sent to the bench after allowing a long pass, a starting defensive end ejected for targeting and watched in horror as starting quarterback Chase Jenkins was knocked out of the game with a left ankle injury.

While all that was happening, UTSA dropped three touchdowns on their shellshocked visitors. Then the first quarter mercifully came to an end.

Head coach Scott Abell did not mince words in the aftermath. “I’m not sure what to say except for I’m embarrassed by how we played. I’m embarrassed for our program,” Abell said. “I don’t have a lot of words to describe what happened.

All the Owls wanted was to limp into the bye week with some semblance of hope. Instead they’re bruised, physically, and forced to wrestle emotionally with a three-game skid that has made their incredible 3-1 start seem like a distant memory. UTSA meanwhile, scored the most points in a game in their program’s history. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Quarterback Woes

As if losing one quarterback to injury wasn’t enough suffering for one night, Rice also saw backup Drew Devillier knocked from the game following a crushing hit in the second quarter. Meanwhile UTSA quarterback, who jogged back to his locker room relatively unscathed, was the only passer to draw a penalty for an aggressive play made against him. It was that kind of night for the Owls in San Antonio.

Jenkins was carted to the locker room following a collision in the first quarter. He returned to the sideline shortly afterward and was spotted coming in and out of the blue medical tent with tape on his left ankle, trying to test it out for a potential return to the game. He did jog down the sideline briefly, but returned to the tent soon afterward. He left it with a boot on his foot and a towel draped over his head.

Devillier’s exit came several drives later on a carry at the end of the second quarter. As he scampered toward the sideline a UTSA defensive back KK Meier came flying out of the secondary to separate the Owls’ quarterback from his footing. Devillier went flying to the turf and was removed from the game, with Rice being forced to spend a timeout in the process.

“It was a tough game for those guys. I’m a little frustrated, I’m not going to lie. For a couple of weeks now I think our guys have taken some hits that they shouldn’t have taken that I think are close to being late or targeting,” Abell said. “They’ve taken some tough shots. That kind of caught up with us today.”

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Devillier was escorted to the locker room before the half came to an end. Things had gotten so dire at that point that AJ Padgett, who had switched from quarterback to tight end during camp and spent time cross-training as the team’s backup long snapper spent halftime taking snaps on the sidelined to server as the de-facto emergency quarterback.

By the time the second half came along, Devillier had been ruled out with a shoulder injury. That left Crayton, who was knocked out of the game at the end of the third quarter, handing the cursed baton to Lucas Scheerhorn, who entered the game questionable with an injury, as the last men standing at the position. Scheerhorn would see the field Padgett would not, meaning Rice played four quarterbacks on Saturday instead of five.

Rice has not played four quarterbacks in a single game since their loss to Texas in 2021. Luke McCaffrey started that game and was replaced after an injury by Wiley Green who was also hurt and replaced by Jake Constantine. TJ McMahon saw two snaps the contest, as well.

As for the 2025 team, Abell indicated Crayton needed stitches but should be fine to return to practice. He didn’t have insight to share on either Jenkins (left ankle injury) or Devillier (left shoulder injury). Scheerhorn, who finished the game, had not thrown in multiple weeks prior to Saturday and impacted how Abell was able to call the offense.

Secondary Swoons

Dealing with a decimated quarterback room would have painful enough — especially after Crayton was on the worse end of a pick-six off a deflection and a fumble returned for a score after he was hit while throwing again on the ensuing possession — but the bad news did not stop there.

After giving up a deep pass on the first possession corner Omari Porter was remitted to the bench in favor of redshirt freshman Lavonte Johnson, who had just recently passed Ephraim Dotson on the depth chart. Johnson and Khary Crump played on opposite sides for the next few possession before Khary Crump was ejected from the game.

Crump’s ejection came on the heels of a scrum following a third and short carry. Crump came flying in and appeared to punch at the pile, although whether he was after the ball or what his target might have been was unable to be seen from any of the available angles. Regardless, Crump emerged from the pile without any flags being thrown. It was when he turned around and appeared to shove the official that the flags went flying and Crump was escorted to the sideline by his teammates, not to return.

That Crump was involved in any sort of altercation is notable given his history prior to arriving on South Main. He touched an official. He turned around, didn’t know the official was there. Thought it was one of their players,” Abell said. “Just wasn’t paying attention to the moment. Gotta be better.”

By the time the second half arrived, Porter was back on the field and Jerrick Harper was playing opposite him. As the deficit grew, a host of players saw the field throughout the secondary. Who is going to be playing corner the next time Rice takes the field? Like at quarterback, it’s another question without a clear answer at this moment.

Thank Goodness for a Bye

No program needs a break more than Rice football does right now. Both sides of the ball have been decimated with injuries at key positions and even the healthy portions of roster didn’t play up to par.

“Holistically, there’s not a whole lot we did right. There’s not a whole lot to be proud. We gotta hit the reset button and get healthy, really take a deep dive on who we are, line back up and get ready to compete,” Abell acknowledged. “At the end of the day, no matter who’s hurt and what’s going on that shouldn’t happen. It shouldn’t look like that. We’ll be better. I’m guaranteeing we’ll be better. We’ll fix this. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

The tackling in the secondary was flat out bad. Neither line had a good night. The quarterbacks were set up for failure, even if they did some things to hurt themselves along the way.

Abell called the next two weeks a time for “soul searching”. Whatever the end result, it’s quite clear they’re a lot of work to be done following a result like this.

“There will be positives, I’m sure on film. But holistically, there’s just not many. You don’t leave this night with a lot of positives,” Abell said. “What I will tell you, we’ll fix this. I guarantee we’ll be better. The next time we step on the field, we’ll be a better football team, there’s no doubt in my mind. I want every Rice Owl to hear that. When we step on the field against UConn, we’ll be a better football team. We’ll be better prepared and we’ll be ready to compete.”