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Rice Football Falls to Houston in Home Opener

September 6, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football fell to Houston in their last chance to lay claim to the Bayou Bucket Trophy for sometime. The Owls are 1-1 on the season.

After soaring to a 1-0 start in the debut of head coach Scott Abell against Louisiana, Rice football came back to ground level on Saturday in a rivalry game defeat at the hands of the Houston Cougars. With no current games on the schedule between the two crosstown teams, Houston will hold on to the Bayou Bucket, for now. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Pre-Injury Secondary Shows Out

In the season opener against Louisiana, it was the Rice football defensive line that stole the show. Cajuns’ quarterback Walker Howard barely completed 10 passes and was sacked three times. On Saturday against Houston, it was the secondary that made their bid for the most dominant unit on a stacked defensive side.

Corners Khary Crump and Omari Porter each had pivotal breakups that snuffed out Houston drives. Safety Jack Kane had a hit that separated his would-be receiver from the football and Porter closed out the next drive with a diving stop which was nearly picked off. And all of that happened in the first quarter.

More: Key Rice Football Recruiting Targets on Campus for Houston Game

Rice did register three sacks, so the front did find success in this game too, but the secondary was on another level, providing Houston quarterback Conner Weigman with no clean looks and plenty of tight windows. Even on his most accurate balls, Rice defensive backs made plays on the ball and kept the Houston offense in neutral with six breakups spread across four defenders.

Weigman didn’t do serious damage through the air until a 74-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. That score came against a backup corner following an injury to starter Khary Crump, who left the field on a prior series. That Rice was playing aggressively on the back end at the time given the two-score deficit didn’t help the situation. Crump’s injury will be one to monitor, but the secondary as a whole still played very well.

Offense Struggles with Cougars’ Front

While the defense delivered yet another masterclass, the offense took some time to get in gear. More than anything else, Houston’s athleticism proved much more arduous to overcome than anything the Owls had seen to this point. The Cougars routinely beat the Owls to the edges and kept contain, pushing the Rice offensive line inward and meeting ball carriers in the backfield.

Head coach Scott Abell seemed less phased by the talent differential than the Cougars’ approach.

“In the first half they came out in a defense we didn’t really prep for which is not abnormal for us, but in a year where we’re transitioning to a new system, we didn’t adjust very well,” Abell said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage because of that, that pretty much that whole first half.”

More: Join the Conversation on The Roost Discord

Any advantages the Owls hoped to gain from their unique offensive attack were lessened by the Cougars’ ability to overcome a slower first step with speed and power. The Rice offense went three-and-out on its first three drives before it was able to adjust, pivoting to a more steady diet of screen passes to stretch the defense for it’s power running game on the inside.

“Last week we saw a defense that lined up how we prepped and it was clean,” Abell said. “Our guys executed really pretty well all game last week. This was almost a polar opposite. I didn’t think we excuted very well from the get-go. Even when we found momentum, we couldn’t keep it. We gotta figure that out and that starts with me.”

Rice would get on the board for the first time thanks to those deft modifications, cobbling together a 14-play, 47-yard drive, consummated by an Enoch Gota field goal. The Owls were making progress on the ensuing drive before being stopped short on fourth and one as running back D’Andre Hardeman was met in the backfield before he ever had a chance to make positive yardage.

Fortunately for Rice football, they won’t face many teams with this level of talent again this season. However, the Houston is a far cry from the upper-tier of talent in this sport. That Rice was able to move the ball on long scoring drives in the second and fourth quarters proves there’s more potential in this offense still untapped, but the level of consistency was far from adequate.

Limited Offense Leaves Little Room for Error

The sum total of the defensive dominance and offensive trudging nearly netted Rice football a halftime lead in their most coveted home contest of the season. Instead, fate would ensure it was Dean Connors — who spent the last three seasons donning Blue rather than Red in this rivalry game — who took a handoff 54 yards to paydirt in the final seconds of the first half.

What made twinge touchdown of Connors’ touchdown all the worse was the proceeding clock stoppage which may have subtly encouraged its coming. Following a facemask which set Houston back inside its own 20-yard line and an eight yard run. Rice head coach Scott Abell called a timeout with Houston facing second and 15. Rather than run the clock out and go into halftime down three, Houston pushed the ball, getting a first down at the 42-yard line. Connors scored three plays later.

Decisions like whether or not to call a timeout to get the ball back often get lost in the churn of variance that comes with every college football game. That the teams were separated by so small a difference than one breakaway play could be the difference.

If nothing else, it made Weigman’s nine-yard touchdown run in the third quarter made it clear a near-perfect game from other phases wasn’t going to be enough without some sort of pulse on offense. A pick-six off a deflected pass in the fourth made that emphatically clear. The final score made the game appear much more one-sided than it was for the majority of three-plus quarters, but the result speaks for itself.

1-1

Starting the 2025 season with games against a Sun Belt favorite and a Big XII team was a rude awakening for an offense still in its infancy, but it’s hard to deny a 1-1 start against the caliber of opponent the Owls have played to this point is anything other above par. Two touchdown underdogs in each game, that Rice was able to move through this stretch at .500 with a home-game looming against an FCS opponent is unequivocally a good start.

“If you would have asked me back in mid-August… I probably would have said okay,” Abell acknowledged. “But we weren’t [1-1], we were 1-0 and I’m really disappointed we’re not 2-0 because that’s the expectation. Are kids are disappointed and that score is not indicative of what that game was like.”

That Rice hired Abell for his offensive wizardry which has only produced 23 total points isn’t something he’s shying away from. Finding more consistency and more success becomes that more important as the season progresses.

“There’s your 10 Million Dollar question,” Abell said, addressing the quandary of replicating the offensive boost his team found briefly in the middle of the third quarter.

“We kinda went back to the basics. We kinda went back to the simple things that I though our guys could execute against a defense that we really hadn’t replicated in practice and encouraged them to play fast. And we did. We lined up in our base two formations. We played really fast there and kind of kept it simple and that’s what it looked like. Which is exciting, but we gotta be able to handle some complexity and that we did not handle tonight.”

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Chase Jenkins, game recap, Jack Kane, Khary Crump, Omari Porter, Rice Football

The Roost Podcast | Ep 210 – 2025 Rice Football upsets Louisiana

September 2, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

The Scott Abell era of Rice Football got started with a bang as the Owls upset Louisiana on the road with strong showings on both sides of the ball.

Rice football controlled its season-opening game against Louisiana from start to finish, only winning by two points but still managing to showcase what this offense can be and how superb this defense already is. We talk through the win, debate which aspects of this program inspired the most confidence (and concern) as they move forward to face a suddenly even more intriguing matchup with Houston.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 210.

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Rice Football vs Louisiana Game Recap

  • The offense looks good, really good
  • What to make of the second half scoreless slump
  • New faces shine on the defensive line
  • What’s the ceiling for this team given this performance?

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Podcast Tagged With: game recap, Rice Football

Rice Football knocks off Louisiana in Scott Abell’s Debut

August 30, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Head coach Scott Abell and Rice Football made a statement in their season opener, knocking off Louisiana in their first-ever game at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.

Following months of intrigue, the Gun-Choice offense took center stage at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium on Saturday night as Rice football put their new scheme on display for the world to see. Head coach Scott Abell didn’t look overmatched in his first ever game as an FBS head coach, guiding his program to their first road win since 2023 and their first win in a season opening game since 2018.

More: 2025 Rice Football Preseason Superlatives

“It feels great. I think for me, I’m not surprised. I’m incredibly excited for our guys and I’m proud, but I’m not surprised,” Abell said. “I thought we had a good game plan coming into this. We thought we could move the football. We thought we could control the clock. I’m not surprised, but to get a win on the road against such a quality program… to come here into their home stadium and get that kind of gritty win, that makes me as the head coach here incredibly proud of players.”

Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Option Offense As Advertised

The first Rice football drive of the Scott Abell era featured a pair of first downs, one on a pop-pass/sweep by Drayden Dickmann and another on a punishing run up the middle from Daelen Alexander. A busted third-down play quelled the momentum and led to a punt, but the full potency of the Owls’ dynamic attack was revealed in full on their ensuing possession.

Following a field goal by Louisiana, Rice marched down the field on 13 plays, driving 72 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Landon Ransom got the first touch. Alexander, the next. Then Quinton Jackson and then Tyson Thompson. Rice willed the ball into the redzone only for the buzzer to sound, ending the first quarter. Jackson kept it on the next play and took it down to the one. Then Jackson walked into the endzone untouched.

Aaron Turner was the next Owl to get into the endzone, taking an end-around to the pylon and sneaking the ball across the line. Turner’s score is a masterclass in why this offense can be so effective. The defense sees so many bells and whistles on this run, but Turner is just moving at full speed across the formation and racing his man to the endzone.

Here's the Aaron Turner touchdown. Look how simple Turner's concept is, but how intricate it looks to the defense at the same time. It's wonderful.pic.twitter.com/6Wk5F3STVZ

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) August 31, 2025

It wasn’t a perfect debut. The second half showcased some of the issues when a run-based attack gets behind schedule with a couple of three-and-outs on the offense, which looked awkward when forced into third-and-long situations.

How much of that changes when Jenkins and this staff have more experience in those scenarios remains to be seen. Abell pointed toward the opportunities now afforded to them with actual game film under their belts. “You gotta learn how to win first,” Abell said. “And that was a great step toward that tonight.”

Daelen Alexander is Back

Midway through practice two years ago, Daelen Alexander emerged from obscurity, earning a role as the Owls’ goal line back after an injury in the middle of a practice period thrust the then-freshman into the spotlight. He dazzled in that role, scoring five touchdowns on 18 rush attempts before an injury cut his season short.

Alexander lost all of the 2024 season with another injury, landing him back in the middle of a crowded running back room in a new offense. Quinton Jackson emerged as the clear RB1 immediately upon Abell’s arrival, but Alexander wasn’t solidified as the team’s RB2 until midway through fall camp.

More: Join the Conversation on The Roost Discord

In the Owls’ opener, Jackson and Alexander operated as an effective one-two punch with Alexander’s power playing off Jenkins’ quickness to great effect. Alexander carried the ball nine 15 times for 74 yards, boasting a sturdy 4.9 yards per attempt. More impressive still, those runs were bruising runs, going through defenders and propelling them backwards.

His most important runs of the game came quite some time later when he bulldozed through defenders again to move the chains on third down in the redzone. That setup up a crucial fourth and one that could have proved to be the game-winner had a mishandled snap squashed the chance.

The preseason excitement around the tandem of freshmen running backs Tyvonn Byars and D’Andre Hardeman was well deserved — and they will get their turn in this deep stable of backs — but Rice football has a clear one-two punch right now.

Defensive Line Shines Bright

As deep as the defensive line was purported to be, there was always an unspoken expectation that this unit would only truly have the chance to make the leap from good to great if an alpha emerged. It’s still quite early in the season, but Joseph Mutombo threw his hat into the ring on Saturday night.

Mutombo altered the outlook of the first Louisiana drive by winning his rep and thumping Cajuns’ quarterback Walker Howard who was flagged for intentional grounding on the play. On the next drive, Mutombo flew into the face of Howard again, forcing a panicked deep throw which Jack Kane stepped in front of for the Owls’ first interception of the season. Official statistics credit Mutombo with one sack of the Owls’ three sacks and the only hurry in the game.

The rest of the line did their part, too. Tony Anyanwu made his first big play as an Owl on the next possession, knocking the ball from Walker’s hands for a fumble. Blake Boenisch fell on it to take possession back for Rice. Three drives in and Rice football got three big plays by the line on their way to a two-score lead on the road.

Some of the defensive numbers will appear a bit inflated when paired opposite an offense that is going to naturally minimized possessions for their opponents. Nonetheless, allowing one touchdown and 12 total points in your season opener against an FBS team is quite a strong statement from a unit that entered the season with relatively high expectations.

It’s also quite fitting that it was the defense that slammed the door with edge Michael Daley tipping the final pass at the line of scrimmage to thwart the Cajuns’ late rally attempt. Daley, the latest in a growing line of defenders to make a big play in a big moment, was ecstatic. “It was amazing. It goes to show the kind of guys that we have on this football team,” he said. “We have a lot of great players that can make big plays in big-time moments.”

Proof of Concept, Passed

The biggest question entering this game was not whether or not Rice would win, although that was certainly a very important unknown needing to be answered. No, the quandary truly being tested in Lafayette, LA was whether or not this offense would work. Would all the misdirection and jazz actually prove to be an efficient way of moving the football against an FBS-caliber defense.

Answer: Yes.

Now, all the caveats of a Week 1 game against a team without any film of this offense being run at Rice are valid. However, its undeniable these concepts have some juice and warrant further inspection. Cue a rivalry game against Houston in what currently is the last Bayou Bucket game scheduled between the two crosstown teams.

Athletic Director Tommy McClelland went off the beaten path when he hired an FCS head coach running a “Gun Option Choice” at a small private school in North Carolina. The hire wasn’t “safe” or “conventional” by any means. But it just might work.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Aaron Turner, Blake Boenisch, Chase Jenkins, Daelen Alexander, Drayden Dickmann, game recap, Jack Kane, Joseph Mutombo, Landon Ransom, Michael Daley, Quinton Jackson, Rice Football, Tony Anyanwu, Tyson Thompson

Rice Baseball season ends with AAC Tournament loss to FAU

May 21, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Baseball started fast but couldn’t hang on to an early 4-0 lead, falling 8-6 to Florida Atlantic and seeing their 2025 season come to an end.

With their season on the line, Rice baseball came out on the offensive, loading the bases in the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead. Rice added another run in the second and two more in the third and looked to be in command with a 4-0 lead in their elimination game against FAU as JD McCracken returned to the mound for his third inning of work.

McCracken recorded two quick outs before issuing back-to-back walks. A long fly to center field should have ended the threat, but the ball glanced off the webbing of Colin Robson’s glove, allowing two runs to score. A home run by John Schroeder in the next at-bat leveled the score turning one pivotal miscue into a game-changing inning.

“You’re in such a groove, everything’s going right and you’re feeling your pitches, then things don’t go your way,” Rice baseball head coach David Pierce said of McCracken’s fateful inning. “He did a really nice job of regrouping and continuing to pitch for us.”

After escaping the remainder of the third without further damage, McCracken would retire seven FAU batters in a row until Schroeder returned to the plate. He opened the sixth inning with a solo home run, putting FAU in front for the first time on the afternoon. Another solo home run in the seventh drove McCracken from the game and put Rice in a two-run hole.

More: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

For a few moments, Max Johnson looked to be the Owls’ unlikely hero. The senior delivered a bases-loaded bloop single with two outs in the the top of the eighth, driving in the two runs Rice needed to even things up. FAU would answer with haste with another home run in the bottom half of the inning, this one a two-run blast from Brando Leroux to retake the lead.

Rice would threaten in the ninth — bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs — but could not complete the rally. The Owls season ends with a 17-40 overall record and a long road ahead for Pierce in his first offseason as the helm of the program.

“At the end of the day, I feel like this program’s gotten better,” Pierce said. “Our guys are bought in. The culture is going to continue to get better.”

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Filed Under: Archive, Baseball Tagged With: AAC, game recap, Rice baseball

Rice Baseball falls to UTSA in AAC Tournament Opener

May 20, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Baseball faces elimination after taking an eighth inning lead against UTSA but failing to hold on, falling to the Roadrunners for the fourth time in the past six days

For Rice baseball, things looked rather dire rather quickly in the opening game of the AAC Tournament against UTSA. After the Owls failed to score in the opening half inning, staff ace Davion Hickson gave up a solo home run and allowed two runners into scoring position, an inauspicious start against a team that had scored 33 runs in three games against the Owls this past weekend.

Hickson would rebound, though, recording a strikeout to escape the jam. From there, Hickson was locked in, retiring 14 batters in a row before UTSA got their next hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. By that time, the Rice bats had done enough to give the team a chance.

More: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

A perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Colin Robson tied the game in the fifth. An inning later, Paul Smith roped a two-out single just past a diving second baseman to give Rice their first lead of the afternoon.

Staked to a one-run lead, Hickson worked through traffic but kept compiling outs. Hickson navigated between a pair of singles in the sixth and a one-out double in the seventh. A strikeout started the eighth, but a hit batter and a double put runners on the corners with one out in a pivotal moment.

Head coach Davide Pierce called a meeting on the mound to the set the defense and talk strategy. There was no intention of pulling Hickson from that game at the time with the skipper opting to trust his best arm. This time, Hickson couldn’t escape. A double to the gap in right center plated two, giving UTSA the lead and knocking Hickson from the game.

“I thought he pitched outstanding,” Pierce said of Hickson after the game. “Really did a great job staying ahead in counts. He didn’t walk anyone. He hit one guy.”

That guy would come around to score, souring what will likely be Hickson’s final collegiate outing. After he was lifted, Garrett Stratton allowed another run to score, sending Rice to the ninth inning facing a two-run deficit from which they would not recover. UTSA held on to win the opening game 4-2.

Even when accounting for that final at-bat, Hickson was rock solid, striking out seven through 7.1 innings of work and giving his team a chance. It was always going to be a tough ask to expect two runs on two hits to be enough against the conference’s top team.

With the loss, Rice heads to an elimination game against Florida Atlantic tomorrow. Pierce will take some time with his staff this afternoon to gameplan his pitching approach, but he knows the level of urgency they’ll have to operate with the next time they take the diamond.

“You can’t afford to extend a guy if we’re living on the edge. I’d like to see someone go out there and really pitch like Davion did today,” he said. “No matter what, we just gotta have everybody ready.”

Up Next: Wed, May 21 at 1:00 pm CT vs Florida Atlantic (Elimination Game)

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