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Rice Football: Owls all in on Intellectual Brutality

October 2, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The Rice football offense hasn’t lived up to expectations yet in 2019, but Mike Bloomgren and his staff still believe they’re close to a breakthrough.

Mike Bloomgren isn’t one to shy away from conflict. An offensive line guru at heart, the second-year head coach has gone all in on the concept of Intellectual Brutality. At its core, the mantra relies on being tougher than the opponent in every respect, mentally and physically.

On defense, Rice is going to be relentless. They’re going to hit and hit some more. Coaches at schools the team played last season credited the Owls’ with that much, calling the Owls one of the most physical opponents they faced all season. Year 1 contained more growing pains than many on South Main would have hoped for, but the defensive effort was there even if the pieces weren’t fully in place.

This year the pieces on defense are there, and Rice has stormed out of the gates with zeal on that side of the ball. The Owls held C-USA’s top-scoring offense, Louisana Tech, to 17 points in regulation, but lost the game in overtime.

While the defense has been superb, the offense has drawn criticism. Committed to pounding the rock in the truest sense of the word, there is no trickeration or scheming. The Owls don’t beat around the bush. They come after their opponents with calculated aggression. But those calculations haven’t fully synced up just yet.

Close, but not close enough

If operated to perfection, the Rice offense works. Senior offensive lineman Brian Chaffin, who played with Bloomgren while the two were at Stanford, said the proof was evident in the Owls’ first two series. “I think the first quarter of the game we really shows what we can be,” he said, “We can go in big personnel… We can move the ball with the pass and we can get into goal line and get grimy, put everyone in the box and put them in a telephone booth and score touchdowns.”

For Chaffin, it’s not pie-in-the-sky optimism. He’s seen it happen in real life. At it’s best, Stanford averaged 37.8 points per game during the 2015 season with Bloomgren calling the shots. The jersey colors are different, but the scheme is more or less the same.

On their first two drives last Saturday the Owls racked up a combined 111 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per play. Things were looking as good as they have on that side of the ball this season.

When it’s wasn’t working, though, you saw a team that was held to three points in their final 10 drives in regulation.

In the team’s first meeting since that loss, Bloomgren iterated the plays where the Owls fell short. “I showed them 16 clips,” he said, “If any one of them goes the other way, we win the ballgame.”

Missed blocks. Poor coverage. Dropped passes. Wrong decisions. The list of woulda-coulda-shoulda is long after such a heartbreaking defeat. The scoring woes, understandably, stick out. As Bloomgren saw it, “We knew it was a very winnable game. We knew we put ourselves in position to [win] and we know we shot ourselves in the foot.”

It starts up front

Precision is the bedrock of this offense. Offensive line coach Joe Ashfield, another Rice football leader who was with Bloomgren in Palo Alto, can point to the specific moments where his unit had breakdowns.

Ashfield called the Louisiana Tech game “as physical a game that we’ve had since I’ve been here.” He was proud of how his guys handled the pass rush and commended the entire unit on their ferocious blocking in the running game. But he did note there were a few plays where four of the five linemen did the right thing while the fifth man didn’t. Those were the plays, he said, were “really frustrating.”

The offense is complicated, featuring a playbook significantly thicker than most of the teams Rice will face on a given Saturday. The responsibilities put on starting quarterback Wiley Green and each offensive player are large. The opportunities for pitfalls will always be there, making the margin for error slim. For a team that prides itself on being disciplined, that’s one frontier they haven’t mastered.

What happens next?

It seems Rice football has two choices. They can push for perfection — eliminating the errors while remaining committed to their scheme. Or they can pivot to something new.

Reflecting on his unit’s respectable, but not quite perfect outing, Ashfield remained confident. “That last step, the smallest step to take, is the hardest step,” he said, “I just don’t know how long it’s going to take to overcome it. So you just keep working.”

At this point, the Owls feel they’ve come too far to do anything else. There’s no magic bullet, but early returns indicate the team might be closer than their winless record currently indicates.

“You can’t get any closer than that,” Bloomgren mused following the most recent loss. Acknowledging his team needs to learn how to win. “We’ve got to find a way and I really believe that when we break through, it will be habit forming.”

More: Rice Football game preview for Week 6 vs UAB

There’s no better time than the present. Rice takes on defending Conference USA champion UAB this coming weekend. The Blazers blanked the Owls 42-0 last year and haven’t lost a home game since their program was reinstated in 2017. A win, regardless the circumstances, would be loud.

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

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Filed Under: Football, Archive, Featured Tagged With: Brian Chaffin, Joe Ashfield, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football

Rice Football 2019: Week 6 UAB Press Conference quotes

October 1, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football head coach Mike Bloomgren made his final comments on the Louisiana Tech game as the Owls move onward to UAB in Week 6.

More: Rice Football game preview for Week 6 vs UAB

Defensive tackle Elijah Garcia and newly minted placekicker and team captain Chris Barnes joined head coach Mike Bloomgren at the podium on Tuesday. The trio made closing comments on the Louisiana Tech game and looked ahead to their Week 6 game against UAB.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the leadership of Aston Walter…

“I thought Aston Walter had a heck of a day. He ran for a career-high 112 yards on 20 carries. He scored our first two touchdowns and I noticed that he was the leading rusher in the conference. As I’ve talked about Aston before, he’s so good right now in his role. The things that he does without the ball are phenomenal. The leadership he is providing for our team as a sixth-year senior has been great. So, I’m really pleased with how Aston’s performing.”

On the play of the defense…

“Defensively, we’re playing at a really high level right now. That’s the bottom line. We’ve given ourselves a chance to be in those games in the fourth quarter because of the ferocious way that our defense is playing. I think that they are really playing in a relentless manner; swarming to the ball and you know what? We’re still going to ask them for more.”

On UAB and Bill Clark…

“Bill Clark is a heck of a football coach. I’ve known him since 1997. I respect everything that he has done at every stop along the way. But, what he’s done since taking that program back from the ashes has been phenomenal. Nothing short of phenomenal. Winning the conference last year. This year they are still a very, very good football team and I just appreciate the way that he coaches. I appreciate the way he pushes his guys. I appreciate that when you watch their defense –the effort that they play with.”

On the team’s belief right now…

“I know what Las Vegas said. I know we were an 8.5-point underdog. I know people say that LA Tech’s the number one team in Conference USA. But, our team feels like that was an upset because we knew we could play with them. We knew that we could win that game.”

From DT Elijah Garcia

On responding from the shutout at home against UAB last season..

“It’s a payback man. I mean, they shut us out here and it would be a treat to go and do that over there on their home field. So that’s, that’s the mindset this weekend. We want to get after it just like we did last week.”

From P/K Chris Barnes

On how he’s handled the transition to punting and kicking duties…

“[It’s] Just focusing on what you’re doing at that point, whether its kicking field goals or punting, just focusing on your technique and trusting the guys in front of you. Campbell Riddle is a fantastic snapper, he’s been giving us great snaps all year so I trust him. I trust all the blocking. And Adam [Nunez] is a great holder, too. I just trust those guys and it kinda makes things a little easier.”

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

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Chris Barnes, Elijah Garcia, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football

Rice Football: Owls frustrated after dropping winnable game

September 29, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football never trailed in regulation but left their own stadium without a win. That’s not something that will sit well with any Owls.

“This week was huge for us. This was supposed to be our breakout game… and it really stinks that we couldn’t finish it.” A Rice football team captain, Austin Trammell’s disappointed words were weighty as they hung in the air during a postgame press conference which lasted just over 10 minutes. Question were fired away. They were met with honest, frustrated answers.

Trammell said the goal of this week was to show everyone the Owls are “a lot better than our record shows.” Although they never trailed in regulation, they’ll have to wait at least one more week.

In a season littered with moral victories, Saturday’s overtime loss to Louisiana Tech doesn’t quite qualify. Once more, the Rice defense was superb, holding their opponent to multiple scores less than their season average through regulation. The offense didn’t hold up their end.

Rice scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. Then Mike Bloomgren stuck to the predetermined script, swapping quarterback Wiley Green for backup Tom Stewart. And all the momentum Rice had generated up to that point began to disintegrate. After a three and out, Stewart moved the ball down the field and into the redzone. That possession ended in an interception, the first thrown by a Rice quarterback this season.

In a game which ended in overtime, Rice could ill afford to leave points on the field. They did with that interception, a missed field goal and a three-play overtime possession which ended in a field goal instead of a touchdown.

More: Takeaways from Rice’s OT loss to Louisiana Tech 

“I’m sure there will be some calls that I regret as we watch this film, there’s no doubt about that,” Bloomgren admitted, “I don’t know if anybody in our program will watch this film and not have any regrets at their job or their position. I think we’ll all have things we wish we had done different.”

If Rice doesn’t throw that interception and instead kicks that field goal, they might have avoided overtime altogether. The same is true if they’d converted that missed attempt. The Owls might not have watch J’Mar Smith end the game with his overtime touchdown run had they found a way to get the ball into the endzone on their first overtime possession. Instead, Rice football is surrounded with “ifs”.

Bloomgren is tired of those “ifs”. He, more than anyone, wants answers to the Owls’ inefficiencies on the offensive side of the ball. Ultimately, he’s the one that’s going to have to. If Rice had a few mulligans, they could be sitting at 3-2. Instead, they’re a painful 0-5. But it’s the same team that sat in the locker room at the Patterson Center on Saturday night and began to process another tough defeat.

Regardless, they’re still fighting. Results aside, the Owls unquestionably continued to battle eright up until the final whistle. They’re playing for four quarters.

Trammell’s sneak peek into the mindset of the team proved to be a fitting way to end his comments. “Usually most people need that extra push, but our team right now,” he said,” everyone is in. Everyone is fully in. Everyone’s after the same goal, the same mission”

United, Rice football isn’t throwing the towel any time soon. They’ll take it in, breakdown the film, and move on, knowing they’re closer to breaking through than their now 0-5 record reflects.

The Owls tend toward of conservative approach on offense; So far it hasn’t worked. They need to find a way to finish, a way to turn three-and-outs into downfield successes, and more importantly, into points. Until that happens, Rice could continue to find themselves in this uncomfortable position.

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

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Austin Trammell, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football

Rice Football: Owls believe C-USA offers even playing field

September 28, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

After four grueling battles, Rice Football has finished nonconference play. The Owls hope for better fortunes as Conference USA play begins.

The positive side for Rice Football is clear. Mike Bloomgren sees his team as battle-tested. As he said following four games against teams who hold a combined 13-2 record, “who the heck are we going to be scared of?”

The Owls might not be scared, but they do need to find their offense.

Rice football averaged 6.0 yards per carry in their season opener against Army. The Owls’ executed their gameplan to a tee, controlling the game and putting themselves in position for a game-winning drive. That drive stalled out just outside the redzone. The Rice offense stalled with it.

In subsequent games against Wake Forest, Texas and Baylor the Owls averaged 1.8, 2.8 and 1.8 yards per carry, respectively. Rice just wasn’t winning in the trenches against those three Power 5 opponents to the same degree they did against Army.

On the basis of talent alone, that makes sense. All three of those programs ranked inside the Top 60 in weighted four-year recruited rankings. Rice checks in at No. 119 and Army at No. 103. So, in theory, once the Owls resume playing opponents of a similar caliber, the offense should get back on track. At least, that’s what Rice offense coordinator Jerry Mack is counting on.

“The speed of the game is just so much different when you play those upper-tier top 25 teams,” he said, “Those guys are still really talented in Conference USA, but the size of the guys is a little bit different… Now those guys are a couple of inches smaller or 20 pounds lighter. So it should balance out a little bit more just from a physicality standpoint.”

More: Rice vs Louisiana Tech Game Preview

Closer to even in terms of team talent. Rice will stick to their guns and run the ball. They’ll have the benefit of tackles Clay Servin and Justin Gooseberry, both of whom missed the Owls’ most recent game with injuries. Not having bruising fullback Reagan Williams will be a big loss, but the Owls have a stable of backs ready to give it their best shot.

Mack is sticking to his guns. “You can’t panic. You have to stay the course. I think at the end of the day, we know want to have a physical brand. We know we want to be a run-first style of offense and we have to stay committed to that.”

The Owls are committed. On Saturday we’ll see whether or not that resolve is well placed.

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

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Jerry Mack, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football

Rice Football 2019: Week 5 LA Tech Press Conference quotes

September 24, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football head coach Mike Bloomgren made his final comments on the Baylor game as the Owls move onward to Louisiana Tech in Week 5.

Running back Charlie Booker and safety Treshawn Chamberlain joined head coach Mike Bloomgren at the podium on Tuesday. All three made comments on the end of nonconference play and what the team expects as the begin their Conference USA schedule this coming week against Louisiana Tech.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the team’s goals…

“The team’s goals are very clear. We want to win the conference. That conference trophy is at the very top. The other goal is to go to a bowl game and win. That’s what we want to do.”

On where the program is right now…

“I just believe so much in the steps we’ve taken. I don’t know if anybody outside of our program thought two years ago that we could be here. Standing toe-to-toe with an Army team that’s going to play the way they do for 60 minutes and fighting with Baylor and giving ourselves a chance in the end. I’m really proud of the progress. But, like I told these guys yesterday morning, it’s about time to win.”

On the current quarterback dynamic…

“I probably hoped that someone would really separate in the last game. The reality is they both played really well. So, we’re going to continue to do what we did last game. Wiley (Green’s) going to start. He’ll get take two series and then Tom (Stewart) will come in and we’ll see where it goes from there.

“We’re going to treat it, really right now until it defines itself completely, like any other position on our team. I think that they can all do everything we asked, but each of them brings something different to the table.

“Wiley’s time in our system allows him to be more comfortable with any change that we can make on the sideline. Obviously, pre-snap Wiley is still, not light years ahead, but he’s still ahead of him. What Tom does better is Tom elongates plays to keep them alive and when Tom runs with the ball he runs with a passion to get in the end zone. We’ve seen him do it on multiple occasions now. He’s a determined runner.”

On the redshirt rule and the recent decisions at Houston…

“I love our kids and our culture and I’m so glad we’re not dealing with it. It wouldn’t be good for our football team right now if a starter decided not to continue to play. It would make me question what we were doing”

From Charlie Booker

On how he hopes to contribute to the team this year…

“From my standpoint, I’m just going to do whatever I can do. I’m going to go out there — my job is every week when I get out there, I’m supposed to make the right reads and I’m always supposed to break the first cycle. So that’s my main focus right now.”

From Treshawn Chamberlain

On how the defense can improve…

“The next step would be to eliminate explosive plays. Most of the explosive plays are due to your own mistakes so being able to take this in and going to this week with the mindset of perfecting every personnel every formation that they’re giving us so we can basically be a step ahead of the offense without them knowing.”

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Filed Under: Football Tagged With: Charlie Booker, Mike Bloomgren, Rice Football, Treshawn Chamberlain

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