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Rice Football: Disappointed Owls ready to turn the page

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Rice football found itself on the wrong side of history in the Lending Tree Bowl against Southern Miss. Now they’re ready to turn the page.

Nobody in the Rice football locker room had envisioned participating in what Mike Bloomgren aptly dubbed “the Frank Gore show” on a chilly December night in Mobile, AL. The last team to make it into the postseason was rewarded with a spot in college football history, albeit one they’d rather not be linked to. In some ways, though, it’s a fitting in-between that’s representative of who this team was this season.

“There are a lotta guys in that locker room that are in shambles,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said after the game. “They’re incredibly invested in what we’re doing and they wanted to find a way to win this game, but we didn’t get it done.”

The failure drops the Owls to 5-8. It’s their most wins since 2014, yet somehow symbolizes the floor of expectations moving forward. Senior defensive end Ikenna Enechukwu, who likely played in his last game as an Owl, forcing a fumble and being credited with a sack, said as much in his comments following the game.

More: Takeaways from Rice football loss to Southern Miss

“I want this to the bare minimum for them,” he said. “The bare minimum should be those six wins and they should be aiming for that conference championship, even if it’s in the AAC. I feel like they can do it.”

In a sense, Enechukwu knew that being in Mobile as a five-win team required a stroke of luck. Rice didn’t get much luck on Saturday evening, whether from their own efforts, a set of dubious officials or anyone else. The results were what they were. Now the next step is figuring out how to be on the right side of history next year and beyond.

There is hope on that front. Freshman quarterback AJ Padgett completed 19-of-37 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns against Southern Miss, just his second career start. Luke McCaffrey, who led the Owls in receptions, was a go-to target for Padgett after missing essentially the last three games. Joshua Pearcy had a sack.

Joining Enechukwu, Gabe Taylor and Izeya Floyd each forced fumbles. The offense finished with two turnovers of their own, the final one occurring on the arm of backup quarterback Shawqi Itraish in the final minutes. Still, it was only the third time this season Rice had finished with a positive turnover differential. And most of those playmakers are set to return.

And then there’s Padgett, who transformed himself from a fourth-stringer to starter in the span of a few weeks. Whether he’s given the shot to start next season or not, he wasn’t afraid to echo the sentiments of Enechukwu and Bloomgren when they turned their eyes to the future,

“[Going bowling] should 100 percent be the standard. If that’s not the standard, then what is? We should approach a season with the attitude that we want to win a bowl game. We want to win conference. We want to beat everybody we play,” he declared. “I don’t really think there’s any other mindset to approach a season with or you’re just going out there to lose and that’s not what I’m about. I’m a ballplayer. I go out there to win.”

Rice didn’t win on Saturday. Everyone is crushed by that. Now they’re tasked with getting their house in order for 2023 to ensure that a loss like that — bowl game or otherwise — isn’t a part of their future again.


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Where things stand: Rice Football, Mike Bloomgren and the future

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Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren is coming back for another year. What went into the decision and what’s next for the program?

Athletic director Joe Karlgaard and Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren met with the media last week to discuss the upcoming Lending Tree Bowl. Both men were asked about the game itself, the significance of potentially winning it and other postseason-related questions. The status of Bloomgren’s job security wasn’t discussed.

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This update will focus on that previously unspoken situation. After reaching a bowl game, but not six regular season wins, where does Bloomgren stand and what is the outlook for the Owls as they look forward to entering the AAC in 2022?

Officially, official

First, let’s start with the first official statement, given to The Roost this week from Karlgaard himself:

“Mike is coming back. He’ll be our coach next season. Our progress over the last several years has been slower than we had hoped but we did post our highest win total since 2015 and our players were exceptional in the classroom.

This is not the same college athletics that was in place the last time we went to a bowl game. We’ve seen all these environmental changes with Alston and NIL and the Transfer Portal and the deregulation of the NCAA rules. I’m proud of the roster and foundation that coach Bloomgren and his staff have built and how we’ve navigated the shifts to the environment so far. But for us to strive for excellence in the future, we’re going to have to be innovative, progressive and values driven.”

What other factors are in play?

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Rice Football: Bloomgren, bowls and the latest from South Main

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Rice football faces a lot of uncertainty this week. From bowl possibilities to head coaching questions, here’s the latest from South Main.

It’s been a crazy couple of days on the Rice football front. There have, understandably, been lots of questions regarding the nuances of a five-win bowl berth and the latest on Mike Bloomgren after the team failed to reach six regular season wins.

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This update should shed some light on those pressing issues and hopefully set the stage for the weeks to come.

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Rice Football 2022: UTSA presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts UTSA this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the WKU loss and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when UTSA takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“What a great team to have on our schedule with only being three hours apart. They have been the class of conferences, certainly last year they elevated their team, they beat a Big Ten team. They scare everybody they play and they haven’t lost a conference game this year. This is a really, really good football team and I think we all can acknowledge that. But I also think it’s really cool anytime you play a team in Texas where a lot of our guys went to high school together and played against each other and have those backstories that make rivalries what they are. I’m glad this one will continue, and like I said, aside from the days we play each other, I think the world of Jeff Traylor and consider him a friend.” – Mike Bloomgren on UTSA

“You know, some people say it’s already secured, but I don’t want to think like that. I want to say that we’ve got to go earn this thing. We’ve got to win these next two games and put ourselves in the position we want to be in. You know me, I always talk process and progress, but I wanted it to be a little more than incremental progress, right? I wanted to take a bigger jump. I wanted to earn that bowl game and I want to play for a conference title. I thought those were things that if we played well on 12 Saturdays, we would have a chance to do, and we played well on some Saturdays, but we didn’t on others, so we don’t have that opportunity anymore.” – Mike Bloomgren on potentially reaching a bowl game

“I don’t know that I can give you a straight answer on that right now. What I can tell you is Shawqi [Itraish] came in and finished out the game and he took a lot of reps with the ones yesterday and did a really nice job. TJ [McMahon] was at practice and did all the things in drill work which is probably more than I expected. He’s still hurting and I have no idea exactly what the future looks like in that position. We’re taking it day by day. I heard Sean McDermott when asked about Josh Allen said it was hour by hour. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re day by day and whomever the trainers say is in a position where they’re clear and ready to perform, they’re going to go out there and do it.” – Mike Bloomgren on the plan at quarterback

“Just really buckling down on the offense, knowing kills, knowing when not to kill, reading defenses, all that type of stuff, just learning our playbook that much better really helped me out there, really helped my growth… I think my biggest strength is my ability to stay in the pocket and take some of those hits but deliver the ball down the field at the same time, and deliver it accurately.” – Quarterback Shawqi Itraish on how he feels his game has improved this year 

“Those guys are special, they’ve done a lot for this program. Those guys are my leaders. I look up to them, all my class does, all the classes below them do. That’d be very special to us, to go get this sixth win and make history with these guys that we love so much and admire so much.”- Defensive tackle Blake Boenisch on winning for the senior class on Senior Day

“Practice is practice. We get tons better from practice and I always say perfect practice this perfect play. But a game is just a whole different atmosphere. Everything’s happening so much more fast, everything’s more physical. I just feel games is a better opportunity to learn more stuff like that at a faster speed. And that’s more you can do in practice.” – Defensive tackle Blake Boenisch on what he’s taking away from his first career start

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

For the first time in several weeks, Wiley Green finds his name on the depth chart. Green has been back at practice for more than a week, but as of now his availability for Saturday is unknown. Catch a full detailed breakdown of the quarterback situation later in the week in our practice notes (available to our subscribers).

Additional changes this week include the addition of Uriah West to the depth chart, a formality given his assigned role as the short-yardage specialist. The team has also listed Isaac Klarkowski as the starting center this week — he started last week.

On defense, Chike Anigbogu has replaced Marcus Williams as the backup to Treshawn Chamberlain at Viper.  After serving in an expanded role over the last several weeks, Daveon Hook earned an or designation behind George Nyakwol at free safety. At corner, Lamont Narcisse is listed as a starter opposite Sean Fresch, who missed the Western Kentucky game.


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Rice Football 2022: WKU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits Western Kentucky this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UTEP win and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when Western Kentucky takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“It was pretty cool for our team to get that win; to have the response that we needed and to do the things that we needed to do on a short week and make sure that we were prepared for that game on Thursday night. Our guys had to be pros. They had to take every walkthrough like it was a game rep and I’m really proud of the fact that they did that. After watching the film, I think we’re doing a lot of good things for the team. There’s no doubt about that.” – Mike Bloomgren on the UTEP win

“When you talk about Austin Reed, you talk about a winner. He’s a guy who won a Division II national title at West Florida. He’s doing a great job. This offense looks a little different with him in there. His willingness to run and the fact that he really is a duel threat, so I think he brings a lot to the table. They’re moving the sticks at a great rate and they’re putting the ball in the box. Against a conference opponent, they scored 73 points. That’s pretty crazy in 2022.” – Mike Bloomgren on WKU quarterback Austin Reed

“The bottom line for our defense right now is that on first and second down, I think we’re doing some really productive things. But, there’s still too many times where we get someone in third-and-long and we’re allowing them to move the sticks. That’s something that we’re continuing to work on. You look back at the last two games; to have a third-and-14 and a third-and-16 and they’re converted on the ground, that’s not what we want. We want to still rally and make those plays. In each of those examples, you either had somebody miss an assignment or get a hand on the ball carrier where it would have been well short of the first down marker and we didn’t make the play. We just have to continue to trust and believe in what Coach Smith is presenting and we have to make the plays that are there for us and we’ll be just fine. ” – Mike Bloomgren on adjustments needed for the Rice defense

“We’re resilient team and we can we can play through anything. We practice hard. The things that we go through in practice, the things we went through in the summer, it all comes into play now. When you got a tough game, a tight game, when it’s close you got to look to the guy next to you to make a play. And I think we’re capable of doing that and obviously you saw it on Thursday. Players are gonna make plays. That’s what we do.” – Defensive lineman Quent Titre on what he’s learned about this team 

“I’m fine with it. I thrive in that siatuon, all the pressure. When you’re up against the corner and you know you need somebody to make that play, that’s my favorite situation because that’s when you shine. That’s when everybody sees it. I like being in that position, I think that’s a fun position to be in.” – Wide receiver Isaiah Esdale on his role in the offense 

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

The only changes to the depth chart this week appear to be procedural. The offensive line is now listed as they started the game against UTEP, with Isaac Klarkowksi returning to center and Shea Baker sliding over to left guard in place of John Hughes. The only other adjustment is the removal of Ari Broussard, who has missed the past two games with injuries. It’ll be Juma Otoviano and Cameron Montgomery atop the depth chart this week as expected.

Punt return is the other change. Luke McCaffrey was given a shot last week, but he fumbled. The next man up will be Isaiah Esdale. The WVU transfer has worked at punt return throughout the season, but hasn’t been tasked with the assignment in a game just yet. That could change on Saturday.

Some questions remain as to the availability of others currently listed on the depth chart that did not play in prior weeks, namely safety George Nyakwol and receiver Cedric Patterson. We’ll have more updates on both players and their projected availability in our practice notes later in the week (available to our subscribers).


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