The source for Rice sports news

  • Football
    • Recruiting
    • Offer Tracker
    • Roster
    • Schedule
    • NFL Owls
  • Premium
    • Patreon
    • Season Preview
    • Join / FAQ
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Store
    • News
    • Basketball
    • Baseball
    • About
    • Contact
  • Login

Rice Football 2023: Bowl Prep Practice Report 2

December 22, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football plays in the first SERVPRO First Responders Bowl next week. Here’s what we learned from the Owls as they prepare for the game.

Another week of Rice football bowl practice is in the books. The Owls hit the road for Dallas on Friday where they’ll have a few more days of practice then celebrate Christmas before taking on Texas State next Tuesday.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

This week’s roundup focuses on a handful of potential bowl game risers and surprise impact players as well as some milestones to watch for when the game arrives and some additional notes.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Potential bowl game risers

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

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: AJ Padgett, Aquantis Clemmons, Ari Broussard, Braylen Walker, Chase Jenkins, Clay Servin, DJ Arkansas, Jack Bradley, Joseph Mutombo, Josh Pearcy, Jovoni Johnson, Luke McCaffrey, Miguel Cedeno, Myron Morrison, practice notes, Quinton Jackson, Rice Football, Trey Phillippi, Ty Morris, Weston Kropp

Rice Football 2023: Houston Game Week Practice Report

September 7, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football comes home this week to play the Bayou Bucket rivalry game against Houston. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

This week was spent refining some things as Rice football prepares for its 2023 home opener, an important intra-city rivalry game with Houston. The Owls came close a year ago and believe they have what it takes to get over the hump this time around.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

This week’s roundup focuses on a shakeup at one offensive possession, some learnings from the Texas game and some healthy updates as the team readies for Week 2.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

What’s going on at wide receiver?

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?

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

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

Filed Under: Featured, Football, Premium Tagged With: Andrew Awe, Boden Groen, Brad Baur, Chase Jenkins, Chike Anigbogu, Coleman Coco, DJ Arkansas, Jack Bradley, John Long, Jordan Dunbar, Jovoni Johnson, Luke McCaffrey, Matt Sykes, Miguel Cedeno, Myron Morrison, practice notes, Rawson MacNeill, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Tre'shon Devones, Ty Morris, Tyson Flowers, Tyson Thompson, Weston Kropp

Texas overwhelms Rice Football as the Owls fall in lopsided opener

September 2, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

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.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers. Haven’t joined yet? Sign up here:

Become a Patron!

Count ’em

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

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Blake Boenisch, Braylen Walker, Chibby Nwajuaku, Coleman Coco, De'Braylon Carroll, DeMone Green, game recap, Jovoni Johnson, JT Daniels, Kobie Campbell, Rawson MacNeill, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Tre'shon Devones

Rice Football 2023: Texas Game Week Practice Report

August 31, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football is gearing up for its first game of the season, a road trip to play Texas in Austin. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

This week was spent ironing out the final touches as Rice football readies itself for the 2023 season and an opening game against a ranked Texas squad. The Owls finalized their depth chart and some of their critical rotations this week and got some news (both good and bad) regarding the availability of some members of the two-deep in question entering Saturday.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

This week’s roundup focuses on a few key position battles, some players on the rise who won jobs this week and a few potential concerns for the team as the begin their season on the road.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Secondary shakeup

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?

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

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: Ari Broussard, Braylen Walker, Daelen Alexander, Dean Connors, Drayden Dickmann, Gabe Taylor, Jack Bradley, Jordan Dunbar, Jovoni Johnson, Juma Otoviano, Lamont Narcisse, Marcus Williams, Max Ahoia, Myron Morrison, Plae Wyatt, practice notes, Quinton Jackson, Rice Football, Sean Fresch, Tre'shon Devones, Tyson Flowers, Tyson Thompson

Rice Football 2023 Season Preview: Preseason Superlatives

August 26, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2023 Rice football season is right around the corner. Here’s the final forecast for player superlatives this fall.

There are high expectations for a host of individual Rice football players this season. The roster is deep and there appear to be playmakers at a variety of positions. Handing out superlatives is always a challenging exercise, but this year felt particularly difficult compared to years past. Here’s where I landed. Who did I miss? Which other players have breakout campaigns in 2023?

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
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?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: 2023 Rice Football Season Preview, Boden Groen, Coleman Coco, De'Braylon Carroll, Dean Connors, DeMone Green, Josh Pearcy, Jovoni Johnson, JT Daniels, Landon Ransom, Luke McCaffrey, Rice Football, Tim Horn

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 15
  • Next Page »
  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3
  4. Item 4
  5. Item 5
  • Rice Football
  • Rice Basketball
  • Rice Baseball, David Pierce
  • Rice Football
  • “He’s a Bulldog”: Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace
Become a patron at Patreon!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter