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Rice Football cruises past Texas Southern

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Rice Football cruised past Texas Southern, posting its second straight win over a Houston-based squad to improve to 2-1 on the season.

From the very first snap, it was unequivocally clear Rice football was on a different level than Texas Southern. The most talented team ever fielded under head coach Mike Bloomgren, fresh off its upset win of Houston the week before, absolutely smoked an FCS squad that couldn’t keep step with the Owls on either side of the ball. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Defensive dominance

The Rice football defense set the tone of the very first play. Tre’shon Devones scooped up a fumble to give the Owls’ offense the ball on a short field, the third consecutive game in which Rice had forced a turnover on their opponent’s first possession. Then, for the third consecutive game, Rice took a lead on their ensuing drive.

The defense allowed negative four yards on the next three TSU drives, all three-and-outs, asserting its dominance in a way that brought back memories of the 2020 side that finished as a top 15 unit in the country.

The pass rush made it all but impossible for TSU to move the football. While Rice only registered one official sack, TSU’s line was no match for the pressure the Owls were bringing. They added four tackles for a loss and two quarterback hurries.

Texas Southern threated twice before the fourth quarter. The first time TSU found a hole in the coverage and completed a long pass then got into the redzone with the help of a defensive penalty on a tackle out of bounds, setting up their lone touchdown of the night.

The second time came in the final minutes of the third quarter in which they had the ball with a first down inside the 10. Rice held firm, stonewalling them with a fourth down stop.

This could have been a shutout and honestly, it probably should have been. Rice was that much better.

Offensive outburst

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, quarterback JT Daniels made it look easy. Three of his first six passes went for touchdowns and one of those competitions that did not score was a long bomb to Landon Ransom who was ruled down on the one-yard line.

The list of accolades was, understandably, epic.

  • Rice has scored 21 points in the first quarter for the second straight week, heading into this season, the Owls had not scored 21 or more in the first since 2013
  • Rice’s 42 points in the first half are the most for the Owls since they scored 56 in the first half vs. North Texas in 2008
  • JT Daniels 4 TD passes tie his career high (Mississippi State in 2020) and he is the second Owl to throw four TDs in the first half (Chase Clement, 2008)

Daniels was not sacked. The TSU pass rush offered little threat and the Rice offensive line gave him plenty of protection. Five different receivers caught passes of 35 yards or more, another game in which Daniels was able to spread the ball around and find the open receivers. That’s an area where he’s notably impressed so far this season.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 159 – Rice Football takes down Houston

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Rice Football knocks off Houston for the first time in 12 years, a marquee win for head coach Mike Bloomgren. Let’s unpack the big game.

More than an hour after the final whistle, the Rice football scoreboard was still on. 43-41 it read, Owls over Cougars in double overtime. The win was historic for a myriad of reasons. Matthew and Carter unpack those reasons in this week’s podcast, starting with a fun first half, then a rough second half before a thrilling finish,

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 159.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Patreon

Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.

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Recapping Rice Football vs Houston

  • JT Daniels was awseome
  • What worked for the Rice offense in the first half and why did it stop?
  • Are we concerned about the running game? It’s complicated.
  • The defense made a stop when it needed it most
  • Rush and coverage were effective for most of the night
  • The significance of the win

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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Rice Football tops Houston in 2OT, wins first Bayou Bucket since 2010

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Rice Football came out hot, fell behind, took the lead and held on, earning a massive rivalry win over crosstown rival Houston for the first time since 2010.

The final moments got hairy, but the scoreboard does not lie. Rice football notched a monumental rivalry win over Houston on Saturday night, claiming their first victory in the series since 2010. After leading 28, Rice allowed 35 unanswered points before slamming the door on a pass breakup in double overtime. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

The offense comes to life

The working theory regarding the Rice football offense this week was more or less this: once the Owls’ offensive line faced a less-than-super-human pass rush and JT Daniels had time, the Owls’ would start putting up points. It didn’t take long for that theory to be tested on Saturday and the early returns were overwhelmingly positive.

On the first series of the game, Daniels stepped up into the pocket, avoided pressure and found an outlet across the middle, getting the ball to Juma Otoviano who scampered 35 yards into the redzone. Two plays later Daniels again climbed the pocket, scanning the field and found Luke McCaffrey darting across the field toward the sideline. He slung it his way and McCaffrey did the rest for the Owls’ first score.

It wasn’t a first-drive fluke, though. The Rice offense had three possessions in the first quarter and put the ball in the box on each attempt. Daelen Alexander picked up his first career score on a fourth-and-one plunge and McCaffrey added another touchdown on this spectacular grab:

Touchdown after touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. The Rice offense didn’t just kick off some dust, it went into overdrive right up until turnovers and penalties killed the positive vibes. Short of the self-inflicted wounds, the unit was productive. It’s hard to ignore a scoreless second half and an overtime that never should have happened, but the offense delivered in overtime and Rice walked away victorious.

When asked the difference between Daniels’ play from last week to this week, head coach Mike Bloomgren quipped, “he was playing the game standing up, to be quite frank. He got to play quarterback.”

Defense joins the fray

The offensive explosion came, in part, because that unit was able to get into a rhythm. There weren’t any long waits confined to the bench while they waited for their next turn. Instead, the defense quickly did their job and handed the ball right back to the offense as both sides operated with a synergy that hadn’t been seen to such a degree in quite some time.

The defense pitched a shutout in the first quarter and didn’t allow points until Houston’s final drive of the second quarter, one that required a pair of fourth-down conversions including one via penalty.

Before the Cougars were able to get on the board, the Rice defense recorded its first takeaway of the season — an interception by Tre’shon Devones — and added a three-and-out on the very next possession. Houston managed just 32 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Rice had 186.

As the game progressed, the defense was strained. Houston drove the length of the field on their first drive of the second half and opted to go for it on fourth and goal, trailing by three scores.

After bringing the heat, the Owls dropped into coverage and gave Houston quarterback Donovan Smith nowhere to throw it. The Cougars turned the ball over on downs, ending a seven-minute drive without points. The defense turned Houston over on downs again on the very next drive.

It wasn’t until the offense endured a prolonged scoring drought that we saw the defense start to sag. That was the same story in the opening game against Texas, but fortunately for the Owls, it wasn’t enough to sink them on Saturday. When the defense needed a play, they got it, with Jojo Jean breaking up a pass in double overtime to win the game.

Houston, we have a quarterback

When Rice football kicked off the season, the Owls were the owners of one painful, notorious quarterback stat: Rice had started more quarterbacks than any other FBS institution since 2017. For one reason or another, the search for stable play under center had evaded Bloomgren since his arrival at Rice.

Rice had tried journeymen. They’d tried freshmen. The Owls had started pocket passers and runners, two of which made their way into the Owls’ receiving corps on Saturday night. Injuries and ineffective play had rendered the fruits negligible. For an offensive-minded head coach, the lack of production on that side of the ball was maddening.

So when JT Daniels arrived on South Main, there was ample reason to be cautious. Even though he brought his blue-chip recruiting profile, his multiple stops to reach Rice caused many to raise their eyebrows. Against Texas, the entire offense went flat. But Bloomgren kept the faith. On Saturday, he was rewarded.

Daniels lit Houston up to the tune of 401 yards (sixth most in school history) and three touchdowns. He led Rice to 28 first half points in the rivalry for the first time since 2008. He was surgical, slicing and dicing a Houston defense that secured a victory over Rice with its own finishing blow just last season. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.

With the game on the line, Daniels delivered in overtime, securing one of the Owls’ biggest victories of the Bloomgren era. For all the good and bad from Saturday night, the simple truth was this: Rice football asked a quarterback to go win them the game in overtime and he delivered.

The Owls have landed

Streaks are meant to be broken. For the first time since a 2013 victory over Kansas, Rice football has notched a win over a Power 5 opponent. The string of defeats since had spanned 18 games, including the Owls’ prior outing last weekend against Texas. Saturday’s result was quite the opposite.

For the first time since 2010, Rice football has beaten crosstown rival Houston, snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Cougars. Getting the Bayou Bucket back on this side of South Main is exciting, serving to validate years of building under head coach Mike Bloomgren while (hopefully) providing a launching point for their inaugural season of American Conference play.

Rice football sits at 1-1 with two nonconference games remaining before it’s time to take on the AAC. The Owls want to make some noise in their new conference. Wins like this suggest this is a program that should be up for the challenge, although consistency, not ability, has been this program’s nemesis in prior seasons.

Today, though, Rice football can and should feel pretty good about where they stand. They beat Houston and proved they can play with one of the most talented teams remaining on their schedule. Celebrate tonight. Then it’s time to prove they can become the program they’ve been building toward.

“We probably made it a little more interesting than we needed to, but to win the Bucket for the first time in 12 years and get it back to Main Street, which was one of our goals for this season, that’s a big deal for a program. To beat a Big 12 team is a big deal for our program.”

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 158 – Unpacking Rice Football vs Texas

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Rice Football hung around for a bit before falling to Texas. What does it mean for the Owls moving forward? We discuss on this week’s show.

The 2023 Rice football season has officially begun, and although it started with a loss, there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic about its future. The defense had a very positive showing against Texas and there are reasons to believe the offensive struggles shouldn’t persist. Let’s dig into the game.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 158.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Patreon

Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.

Become a Patron!

Recapping Rice Football vs Texas

  • Making sense of the offensive struggles
  • Evaluating JT Daniels and the offensive line
  • Defense stands out and holds its own
  • Shout out to the special teams
  • What does this mean for the team going forward?

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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Texas overwhelms Rice Football as the Owls fall in lopsided opener

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Rice Football delivered the first blow, but it was Texas that had the last laugh as the Longhorns overwhelmed the Owls in the trenches to hand them a season-opening loss.

The final score might not have been completely indicative of the intensity of Saturday’s season-opening matchup between Rice football and Texas. The Owls kept things close through the first half until the defense ran out of gas, worked to the max under the sweltering Austin heat as the Owls’ offense struggled to get into gear. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Throw the first punch

You couldn’t have drawn it up much better than this. Texas received the opening kickoff, picked up a couple of yards and found itself facing a fourth-and-two from its own 33-yard line. Rather than play it safe, the Longhorns rolled the dice. The Owls overwhelmed quarterback Quinn Ewers in the backfield and forced a short throw, turning Texas over on downs on their first possession.

“That’s something that doesn’t really surprise us,” linebacker Myron Morrison said postgame. “We consider ourselves one of the best short-yardage defenses in the country.”

Rice would get three points for their efforts, picking up one first down before turning to Tim Horn who booted through a 42-yard field goal to give the underdogs the lead. Head coach Mike Bloomgren had mentioned this week that he didn’t believe the game would be too big for his team this time around and that certainly seemed to be the case from the opening whistle.

Rice entered the second quarter trailing 7-3 and went into halftime down 16-3. In both instances, Rice was very much so in the game and had given Texas reason to be concerned, at least on one side of the ball. This was a matchup that hadn’t been interesting in the second half in the last several meetings. Rice kept the game in reach at the halftime whistle.

Defense makes its mark

How about that defense? This unit lost Ikenna Enechukwu, Trey Schuman, Quint Titre, George Nyakwol and others from last year’s squad and somehow looked even more dangerous. The front seven engineered two fourth-down stops in plus territory in the first half and gave Ewers all he could handle, racking up two sacks and several more near misses that still managed to impact the game. Coleman Coco and De’Braylon Carroll noticeably impacted the game.

Texas was a five-touchdown favorite on Saturday largely because oddsmakers believed the Longhorns would be able to move the ball. Texas did that to some extent — the Longhorns finished with 458 yards gained — but the Rice defense never lost its composure and seemingly always bounced back following a big Texas gain.

Through the air, Sean Fresch and Tre’shon Devones kept the ball in front of them and prevented Ewers and Texas from connecting on home run balls down the field. Instead, Texas was forced to do much of its damage after the catch.

Although the box score won’t be kind to the defense after surrendering 37 points, when field position and the lack of help from the Owls’ offense is taken into account, it’s hard to walk away from this one not feeling largely positive above this side of the ball. There were missed tackles, missed assignments and missteps, but the defense was not the problem on Saturday, far from it.

Oof, Offense, Oof

While the defense rose to the occasion, the offense was largely stuck in quicksand throughout the game. Handed so many opportunities by their counterparts on the other side of the ball, quarterback JT Daniels and company did little to return the favor. His Rice debut was largely underwhelming, he completed 14 of 26 passes for 149 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

In the aftermath, Bloomgren pumped the brakes on putting the all blame on his quarterback, and for good reason. The Texas defensive line had its way with the Rice offensive line from start to finish, flustering Daniels and making him through with hands in his face and arms on his jersey. “You can’t evaluate quarterbacks like that,” Bloomgren said.

The unit had the opportunity to go back to the drawing board at halftime but came out of the gates with a false start on the first snap of the half which proceeded a quick three-and-out. The ensuing drive did move the chains once, but a fourth-and-one stop by the Texas defense turned the ball over on downs.

In many ways, that short yardage stop, an area the Owls have found tremendous success in during recent years, typified the Owls’ largest offensive problem on Saturday: the trenches. Plain and simple, Rice was simply outmanned up front. They had no answer for the sheer power of the Longhorns inside and it completely crippled their offensive attack. “The best quarterback in the world needs something,” Bloomgren said of the protection. “There were a lot of times I didn’t feel he had those opportunities today.”

Rice football won’t face many teams with the combination of size and strength Texas possesses up front this season. Before writing this unit off entirely, let’s see how they fair against a more evenly matched front.

Onto the next

It would have been a remarkable, unforgettable beginning to the season had Rice football done the unthinkable and upset a ranked Texas team on the road to begin the 2023 season. Those dreams have passed, and Rice is on to what the Owls hope to be the more representative portion of their schedule.

Oddsmakers aren’t infallible, but Saturday’s matchup with the Longhorns should be the only time this season Rice will be an underdog but four or five touchdowns — a margin the Owls managed to cover. No, from this point onward, every game is not only winnable, but victory should be achievable without herculean means.

Rice gave Texas a scare, stayed relatively healthy and got a good look at what will likely be the most talented opposition they’ll face this season. Now it’s time to move on. All eyes are now on Houston as Rice readies for a rematch of a game that went down to the wire last season and is anticipated to be extremely competitive once again.

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Become a Patron!

Count ’em

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