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Rice Football 2021: UTSA presser quotes, injury updates and depth chart

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Rice football returns to action this weekend against UTSA. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about it, injury updates and practice notes.

This is the first of a couple of updates coming this week as Rice football prepares to take on UTSA. We’ll include updates from head coach Mike Bloomgren’s midweek press conference, then dig further into the details on the depth chart and what the team looks like on the field headed into the weekend.

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The depth chart looks a decent amount different from where things left off against Southern Miss. There are a variety of reasons for that, and a couple of notable injury updates that coincide with some of those changes. This update will focus on those, with some more in-depth practice notes coming later in the week. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“It was a great week because we were able to get healthier. Nobody is healthy in Week 7 of the season. But, we got some guys back and they looked great. We also got some young guys some work…. So I would say it was a very good bye week. We got exactly what we needed out of it.” – Mike Bloomgren on the bye week

“I don’t know that our conference has seen a defense like this since maybe 2018 UAB. It is just a dominant group out there. It’s an old, veteran group. I think nine of their 11 starters are seniors or super seniors. They are a very good group. They’re very well-coached.” – Mike Bloomgren on the UTSA defense

“I think, with a win like this, people will really start to wake up and understand Rice is here to play. We didn’t ahve the best start to the season, but like we said whenever we started out first confernece game against Southern Miss, it’s a new season… our goals are still attainable.” – Jordan Myers on the significance of the UTSA game

“I got to rest my legs a bit and heal up some minor bruises. It was good to get off your feet for a couple days, but I’m excited to be back in this building and back to work. It got a little boring over the weekend, just not playing in the games, watching games on tv. I want to be out there right now, playing.” – Elijah Garcia on the significance of the UTSA game

Depth Chart

The Rice football depth chart looks slightly different after the bye week. Here’s how the two-deep the Owls will trot out against UTSA on Saturday.

Rice Football

Pitre poised for return

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: UTSA

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Rice Football took a pause for a bye week then began prep for its upcoming game against UTSA. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

The last time we saw Rice football take the field, they left as victors, defeating Southern Miss at home in their second consecutive win of the season after an 0-2 start. UTSA is also riding a winning streak, albeit a much longer one. The Roadrunners knocked off WKU in a thrilling affair on Saturday while Rice watched from afar. Now both teams are set to meet on the gridiron for the first time since 2019.

Kickoff time | 5:00 PM CT
Venue | Alamodome – San Antonio, TX
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTSA this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.)

Sizing up the contenders

As things currently stand, UTSA sits atop the West in a three-way tie with UAB and UTEP. Should the Roadrunner seek the most straightforward path towards a conference championship, keeping pace with UAB prior to their showdown with the Blazers in mid-November is an absolute must.

The Owls are one of five teams in C-USA West with unblemished conference records. The East, conversely, only has one program that can make such a claim, Charlotte. Staying among that company with a date against UAB looming the following weekend would position Rice extremely well for a darkhorse conference title run, and at the very least, get them within favorable striking distance of a bowl berth.

Series History

All Time | UTSA leads Rice 5-2
Last Five | UTSA leads 5-0
Last Meeting | Away 2019, UTSA won 31-27

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Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. A few sections of this preview are reserved for those subscribers. Don’t miss out! Join now!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 46/60 (76.7 percent), 543 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Myers – 53 carries, 251 yards (4.6 yards per carry)
Receiving | Bailey – 21 receptions, 232 yards (11.1 yds/rec), 1 TD / Patterson – 10 receptions, 207 yards (20.7 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Montero – 39 / Smith – 31 / Garcia – 28
Pass Breakups | Smith/Nyakwol/Dunbar – 3, McCord/Montero – 2 
Interceptions | Nyakwol – 2, Five others tied with one

UTSA Stat Notables

Passing | Harris – 127/182 (69.8 percent), 1475 yards passing, 12 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | McCormick – 154 carries, 661 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 6 TD
Receiving | Cephus – 42 receptions, 457 yards (10.9 yards per reception), 3 TD / Franklin – 37 receptions, 447 yards (12.1 yds/rec), 4 TD
Tackles | Wisdom – 39 / Harmanson – 27 / Taylor – 25
Interceptions | Four tied with one apiece 
Pass Breakups | Robinson – 4, Woolen/Brown – 3

UTSA X-Factor | Flying Frank Harris

Quarterback Frank Harris has had a circuitous path to the starting job at UTSA. Whether by injuries or inconsistency, he’s never held onto the job for very long at any one time. Until now. Harris is playing some of the best football of his career. He ranks second among C-USA passers in completion percentage, fourth in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns.

Harris threw a career high six touchdown passes against Western Kentucky last time out. Unless this game turns into a similar shootout, reaching that high of a bar probably won’t be a must. But, Harris needs to continue to be efficient on third down and get the ball to his playmakers. If the Rice defense can slow down Sincere McCormick to any degree, it’s going to fall to Harris to carry the load.

Rice X-Factor | Win the line of scrimmage

The Owls’ most recent outing against Southern Miss was perhaps the most impressive showing they’ve had in the trenches on both sides of the ball so far this season. The defensive line forced copious amounts of pressure and the other side of the ball more than held their own, giving quarterback Jake Constantine plenty of time and room to maneuver.

It wasn’t a coincidence those strong outings up front led to one of the more complete games this team has posted this season. Now they have to prove they can do it again and improve on the consistency that has been missing at times thus far.

UTSA is more well-rounded and dangerous on both sides of the ball than Southern Miss is, but Rice has shown they have the ability to execute, be disciplined and win one-on-one battles. That starts up front. Sometimes it really is that simple.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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Need More?

The Roost’s 2021 Rice Football Season Preview has FIVE pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth charts, important new arrivals and positional breakdowns for every team in Conference USA sourced from local beat writers and sources on the ground who cover these teams every day. It’s the most thorough C-USA publication on the market.

One Final Thing

This should be a great “measuring stick” game for Rice football. One way or another, everyone will know how close they are to the upper-echelon of Conference USA over the next two weeks (UAB is on deck). Winning at least one of these games would be a definitive step forward from where this program has been in years prior, and having a healthy enough roster to go toe-to-toe with an undefeated UTSA squad should give as good of a shot as they could have asked for this season.

The past two weeks really felt like must-win games for this team. This one doesn’t have that same level of direness to it, but the opportunity present is undeniable. It’s a big game for Rice, which was unable to turn things around at the Alamodome in 2019. How poetic a season to continue an upward ascent than this? Rather than returning to ashes, this could really be an opportunity for the Owls to take flight.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: Southern Miss

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Rice Football opens conference play on Saturday against Southern Miss. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Week 4 could not have gone more different for Rice football and Southern Miss. The Owls notched their first win of the season, leading from wire to wire over Texas Southern. Meanwhile, Southern Miss was shellacked by Alabama in a game that was never as close as the score seemed to indicate. Both squads sit at 1-3 with the chance to turn their seasons around with a 1-0 start in Conference USA action.

Kickoff time | 5:30 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN3
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Southern Miss this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. You can also catch the recap of last week’s game on The Roost Podcast, which should be released shortly. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.)

Sizing up the contenders

Southern Miss head coach Will Hall came in with lofty goals before being punched in the mouth in his first month on the job. Sitting at 1-3., all is not lost, but the trajectory of the 2021 season could hang on what happens in the next few games. A win against Rice on Saturday and another against UTEP the following weekend would right the ship and absorb some early frustrations.

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren finds himself in a similar spot. Also 1-3, he’s won every game he was “supposed to win”. At home against a team without an FBS win, this game could prove equally important for the Owls on their quest for the first bowl game since 2014.

Series History

All Time | Southern Miss leads Rice 6-5
Last Five | Southern Miss leads 4-1
Last Meeting | Away, Rice won 30-6

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. A few sections of this preview are reserved for those subscribers. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Become a Patron!

Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 30/38 (79.0 percent), 351 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Myers – 43 carries, 224 yards (5.2 yards per carry)
Receiving | Myers – 15 receptions, 119 yards (7.9 yards per reception), 1 TD / Bailey – 16 receptions, 149 yards (9.3 yds/rec) / Patterson – 7 receptions, 180 yards (24.3 yds/rec)
Tackles | Montero – 33 / Smith – 25/ Garcia – 21
Pass Breakups | Smith – 3, Nyakwol/McCord/Dunbar – 2 
Interceptions | Nyakwol/Fresch/Taylor – 1

Southern Miss Stat Notables

Passing | Keyes – 31/62 (50.0 percent), 338 yards passing, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Gore Jr. – 64 carries, 281 yards (4.4 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Jones – 8 receptions, 88 yards (11.0 yards per reception), 1 TD / Gunter – 5 receptions, 85 yards (17.0 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Shorts – 27 / Stanley – 21 / Habas – 15
Interceptions | Shorts/Daniel -1
Pass Breakups | Shorts – 6 / four others tied with one

Southern Miss X-Factor | Control the line of scrimmage

Through four games, Southern Miss has the No. 20 ranked run defense in the nation. The Golden Eagles held South Alabama to 31 yards on 34 carries, Grambling to 58 yards on 26 carries and Troy to 49 yards on 32 carries. Alabama had their way with this unit, racking up 211 yards on the ground, but Rice won’t present that level of athletic challenge.

Take out the Alabama game and Southern Miss is allowing a staggering 1.5 yards per carry.

If Southern Miss can replicate that on Saturday and force the Rice offense to be one-dimensional, they’ll put the pressure on a quarterback who’s only started one career game at the FBS level. He had a strong debut, but having a running back go for 160 yards and four touchdowns by his side undoubtedly helped.

Rice X-Factor | Get to the quarterback

The Rice defense has seen its greatest level of success this season when it’s gotten pressure on the opposing quarterback. We saw what happens when they can’t get home soon enough last week when a true freshman, making his first start, torched what was presumed to be a stout secondary.

Rice faces another first-year player this week, and one that is still learning on the job. Ty Keyes was head coach Will Hall’s hand-picked man when he got the job. But for as much excitement as he’s generated in Hattiesburg, he’s thrown for 338 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions in three contests. While he might live up to those lofty expectations someday, he’s not there yet. And that presents an opportunity.

The front four has had its moments. They’ll need to find that extra gear this coming Saturday. Pressure and young quarterbacks don’t mix well.

Pick ‘Em Contest (Subscribers only)

Make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. There will be swag and prizes for the top finishers at the end of the season. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and comment on this post on the Patreon page to enter. It’s that easy.

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?

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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?

Need More?

The Roost’s 2021 Rice Football Season Preview has FIVE pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth charts, important new arrivals and positional breakdowns for every team in Conference USA sourced from local beat writers and sources on the ground who cover these teams every day. It’s the most thorough C-USA publication on the market.

One Final Thing

Rice football answered its biggest outstanding question last Saturday in their win over Texas Southern. Through their first three games, the offense hadn’t shown up. 48 points later, it’s evident that side of the ball does have the ability to perform. Whether they can do it at a similar level against a more talented opponent remains to be seen, but now we know the offense can score.

Had the offense not turned up, Rice could be looking at a defense that’s giving up 34+ points per game AND an offense that had shown no life through four games. No thanks.

Now the onus falls on Rice to combine that offense with the defense of old and a reformed special teams unit for sixty minutes. A complete game. If Rice can do that, against a conference opponent, the outlook for the rest of the season could change overnight. If they can’t, the goals they set months ago might still be in reach, but the week-to-week grind will be very real. Either way, we should learn a lot about this team this weekend.

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Rice Football: Jake Constantine delivers when Owls needed him most

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Jake Constantine quarterbacked Rice football to its first win of the 2021 season, providing stability and hope for an offense in need of direction.

When Jake Constantine took the first snap on Saturday night against Texas Southern, he made history. Constantine became the 11th different quarterback to start a game for Rice football since the 2017 season, the most of any FBS program over that time. He also launched that first ball over the heads of the Texas Southern defense for a 73-yard touchdown pass.

For as bumpy as the journey has been for Constantine and for Rice, something clicked for both parties in the Owls’ first win of the 2021 season. Constantine, who was making his first start since falling to No. 2 James Madison in the FCS Playoffs in 2019, looked like he’d been calling shots in the Rice offense for years. He completed 78.3 percent of his passes, throwing for 271 yards, one score and one interception.

Only once since head coach Mike Bloomgren arrived on campus had a Rice quarterback been that efficient, Tom Stewart also went 18-for-23 against Middle Tennessee in 2019. Bloomgren took notice. “From an efficiency standpoint,” Bloomgren recalled from his Rice tenure, “it’s one of the better [quarterback performances].”

He went on to mention a string of outings from Mike Collins last season, citing that as “the standard we’re trying to get to.” Collins completed 61.6 percent of his passes in three games at Rice with 10 touchdowns and just one interception before injuries ended his collegiate career.

More: Rice football downs Texas Southern for first win

Constantine hasn’t gotten to that mark quite yet, but still led the offense on seven touchdown drives, several of which were capped off by a quartet of touchdown runs from Jordan Myers. Rice scored touchdowns on five of six trips to the redzone.

Both Bloomgren and his quarterback lamented Constantine’s lone interception. Still, the tone remained upbeat. For the first time in four tries, Rice had won, and won behind a strong showing from the offense, rather than its defense.

For Constantine, it was the continuation of his own lofty standard. Now in his fourth season as a collegiate starter, he has yet to lose a regular-season game at home, dating back to his days as a freshman at Ventura College. His only blemish in front of his own fanbase came in a playoff game during his sophomore year. “I love winning,” Constantine says with a smile. “We just need to keep moving forward.”

Moving forward, building on one good game and turning it into two, then three will be the focal point as Rice football returns to action against Southern Miss next week. “We want to be a well-oiled machine,” Bloomgren said as he closed out his postgame comments. “We want to be able to put all three phases out there for 60 minutes. I certainly don’t think we’ve put that kind of performance on the field this year, but that’s what we’re working towards.”

Myers, who was responsible for half of those points on his own, is confident they can sustain that success, in large part because of the man pulling the trigger. “That’s the type of QB we need,” he said.

Bloomgren promised to evaluate the film but was confident the split between Constantine and the more mobile Luke McCaffrey paid off well. Has Rice found the right combination to rejuvenate their offense? 48 points, the most scored by a Rice offense at any point under Bloomgren’s leadership, is a good start.

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Rice Football: Owls outpace Texas Southern for first win

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Rice football notched their first win of the season, leading from start to finish in their first-ever meeting with intra-city foe, Texas Southern.

Rice football might very well look back at the first place of their Week 4 game against Texas Southern as the moment things clicked for a team in desperate need of a spark. The Owls had turned to their third starting quarterback in four weeks, but rolled the dice, trusting him to take a shot right out of the gate.

Not only did Weber State transfer Jake Constantine connect on that gutsy opening call, he hit wide receiver Cedric Patterson in stride and watched him gallop the rest of the way into the endzone.

That proved to be the catalyst this team needed, jump-starting a rout of Texas Southern in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Rice offense wakes up

When Patterson crossed the white line of the Rice endzone on that long touchdown pass, he secured the longest scoring play for Rice football since Juma Otoviano’s 80-yard touchdown run against Old Dominion on Nov. 18, 2018. It was also the first time Rice had scored on the first play of a contest since Driphus Jackson found Jordan Taylor for an 88-yard score on Nov. 25, 2014 against North Texas.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week 

The couple of firsts pales in significance when compared to the noticeable boost it gave to the 2021 Owls’ morale. After being shut out against Texas and limited to one scoring play against Houston the week prior, Rice put 48 points on the board against Texas Southern. For this team on this day, it didn’t matter who was lined up on the other sideline this offense needed proof that they could do it. And they did.

Now, it wasn’t perfect. Constantine was intercepted on a deep shot on first down following a Texas Southern penalty. A muffed center/quarterback exchange set Texas Southern up for points at the end of the first half. It was a mixed bag, but it was proof the upside exists, nonetheless.

Build the whole plane out of Jordan Myers

Head coach Mike Bloomgren didn’t make it far into his opening remarks in his postgame press conference following the Texas loss before he hinted at what was to come for the Rice offense, specifically who he was going to trust to carry the load moving forward.

“We’ve got to lean on him more,” Bloomgren said of versatile do-it-all utility man Jordan Myers. “We’ve got to give him more opportunities because we trust that he’ll get it done for us.”

On Saturday against Texas Southern, Myers got it done.

He carried the ball 26 times for 160 yards and four rushing touchdowns, the most touchdown runs from a Rice Owl since Nahshon Ellerbe had four against Southern Miss in 2017. He also added four receptions for 48 yards. That included this run, that put away any chance of a late Texas Southern comeback:

Cam Montgomery saw an increased workload, but his carries seemed to eat more from Khalan Griffin’s usual workload than from Myers’ snaps. If anything, it was just enough to ensure Myers was fresh and ready to go from start to finish. He certainly made his presence felt.

Quarterback questions linger, for now

As expected, Rice football played two quarterbacks against Texas Southern. Jake Constantine saw the vast majority of the work, completing 18-of-23 passes for 271 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He looked extremely comfortable in the pocket and delivered on-time, catchable passes to his receivers all night.

McCaffrey entered the game for specific packages, primarily in the red zone. He did not attempt a pass but carried the ball five times for 36 yards and a touchdown. The starter for the Texas game, McCaffrey was relegated to ad-hoc duty in his return to play. Whether or not that remains the plan going forward remains to be seen.

On one hand, Constantine looked very much the part against Texas Southern. Outside of the interception, a first down throw that probably should have been held instead of slung downfield, he led the offense well.

Will McCaffrey be Wally Pipp’d? More importantly, should Rice ride with the hot hand who produced almost as many points in the first half as Rice had scored to that point in three games prior? Very possible, will we see both quarterbacks in action against Southern Miss? Those are the questions that will be asked this week. For now, the Owls will enjoy their first win of the season.

Going 1-0 this week

Bloomgren has an oft-heard mantra that’s heard almost nonstop reverberating off the walls of the Brian Patterson Center. Whether in meetings with the team or media sessions, Bloomgren consistently implores his team to “go 1-0 this week”. For the first time this season, Rice football has risen to that request.

The chances for a thrilling non-conference upset are long gone, all that’s left is for this team to follow Bloomgren’s drumbeat.

A 1-3 start isn’t what anyone at South Main was hoping for, but it was probably the most likely outcome any outside the hedges would have projected prior to the start of the year. So, despite the harrowing highs and lows, Rice has the chance to step back into line with preseason expectations.

If Rice football hopes to beat those expectations and reach their aspirations of bowl games and more, it’s going to take a return to that “1-0” mentality. This week, they checked the box. Now it’s on to Southern Miss.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers.

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