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Rice Football: New-look secondary learning as they go

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The Rice football secondary has been reworked and is learning on the fly, braving a “trial by fire” every week they take the field.

It’s been a challenging year for the Rice football secondary. The Owls’ seeming ever-changing combination of defensive backs took their turn at the buzzsaw that is the Western Kentucky offense last weekend and came out of it roughly the same way every other college football secondary has faired to this point: beat up.

Zappe and Co. threw for 495 yards against Rice, almost 150 more yards through the air than the most Rice had given up any previous games this season. Zappe threw for five touchdowns with just one interception, which came on Western Kentucky’s first drive of the game.

“I knew how good he was going into the game,” Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren admitted, “but watching him in person, he was phenomenal.”

The good news for Bloomgren and Rice? They don’t have to play Zappe ever again. The bad news? Western Kentucky exposed the patchwork Rice secondary, revealing it as a little bit more “work-in-progress” than the Owls would have liked to admit. The flames of the “trial by fire” Bloomgren alluded to in the week prior to the Western Kentucky game have yet to simmer down.

More: Rice Football depth chart changes and UTEP press conference notes

But the show must go on. And the Rice coaching staff hopes that these past few games will serve as valuable teaching tools for young players who could soon become household names

Those new faces like Gabe Taylor and Plae Wyatt are on the field, in part, because Rice football has been without safeties George Nyakwol and Treshawn Chamberlain for the better portion of conference play. Neither is expected back on the field anytime soon. That’s put the burden on the up-and-coming defensive backs to learn on the job.

Taylor only played football his senior year of high school and was a “COVID freshman”, a phrase used around the locker room for those that endured their first season of college ball amid so many challenges. He said he worked out three times a day for a month when he got home after last season. The drive was there, he just needed the technique, the understanding. Now he’s fifth on the team in tackles, trailing only Naeem Smith in the defensive backfield.

Wyatt’s emergence took a bit more time and a switch from safety to the hybrid “Viper” role. Bloomgren noted the Western Kentucky game was a turning point for him. “I thought he just made a big impact on the game when he got in,” Bloomgren said. “He’s getting more comfortable. Against Western Kentucky, he forced his first career fumble and registered a career-best four tackles.

Fellow safety Kirk Lockhart is quickly becoming a veteran presence. He led the team in tackles against the Hilltoppers and registered his second interception of the season. All three of those young faces — Lockhart, Taylor and Wyatt — have been forced to learn on the job, and with that has come its share of highs lows.

Preview: Rice football vs UTEP

Safeties coach Collin Spencer has seen as much. “You knew the ability was there,” he said of those up-and-coming defensive backs, “You just had to keep bring them along so that you didn’t have to worry about the mental aspect of it and you could allow them to just play and use their natural ability.”

Spencer did note the Owls have faced “some really good quarterback play” in recent weeks as the staff tried to determine which man should play which spot. They’re all smart dudes, so they can learn it. That’s not the problem,” Spencer said. “Basically the challenge is they might be learning something completely opposite at one position than the new position they’re learning, so having the discipline to stick to their new rules [is key].”

Wyatt and Lockhart both moved to the Viper position during the season from true safety spots. Freshman linebacker DJ Arkansas has transitioned into the secondary as well. Several players are in relatively new positions, and the growing pains are real.

There isn’t expected to be any further shuffling from this point onward. The Owls know what they have. Now those new faces have to take the next step. The final two opponents on the schedule, UTEP and Louisiana Tech, rank seventh and fifth, respectively in passing offense in conference games. They’re not at Western Kentucky levels, but both teams will take shots through the air.

Rice football wants to finish the season strong. The offense has scored 21 or more points in five of their last six games. The defense has given up 30 or more in four of those six contests, including 12 touchdowns through the air in that span. There’s no better time than the present to drive that touchdown number down.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: UTEP

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Rice football is looking to finish the regular season strong. Can they top UTEP on the road? How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Rice football and it’s been a rough couple of weeks for the UTEP Miners. Both programs bring three-game losing streaks into their late-November showdown at the Sun Bowl on Saturday. Most recently Rice fell to WKU, officially ending any bowl game aspirations. UTEP fell to North Texas last time out. Here’s what you need to know for this matchup:

Kickoff time | 3:00 PM CT
Venue | Sun Bowl – El Paso, TX
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTEP on 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

Neither Rice football nor UTEP are contenders for C-USA West, nor are the postseason fates of either program on the line this coming Saturday. These two teams will play for pride, but more than that, they’ll play for perception.

Dana Dimel and Mike Bloomgren took over downtrodden programs and were given plenty of leeway to build them up from the ground floor. The Miners appear to be cresting, finally coming to the apex of that upswing. The last few weeks have been troubling, but a win against Rice might just solidify that the trajectory of the UTEP program remains pointed upward.

On the other sideline, Rice can still reach record win totals under Bloomgren this year, but achieving those goals starts with a win over UTEP. A loss would decidedly place Rice behind UTEP in the rebuilding race, and that’s not something many of the Owls’ faithful want to be forced to contemplate. 

Series History

All Time | Rice leads UTEP, 15-8
Last Five | Rice leads UTEP, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2019, Rice won 30-16

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!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 112/181 (61.9 percent), 1439 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Broussard – 102 carries, 533 yards (5.2 yards per carry), 2 TD / Myers – 89 carries, 334 yards (3.8 yards per carry), 8 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 51 receptions, 656 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 2 TD / Patterson – 31 receptions, 430 yards (13.9 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Montero – 60 / Garcia – 55 / Smith – 52
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 7, McCord – 5, Smith/Taylor – 4
Interceptions | Smith – 3, Nyakwol/Lockhart – 2

UTEP Stat Notables

Passing | Hardison – 142/263 (54.0 percent), 2396 yards passing, 14 TD, 10 INT
Rushing | Awatt – 131 carries, 672 yards (5.1 yards per carry), 5 TD / Hankins – 99 carries, 357 yards (3.6 ypc), 5 TD
Receiving | Cowing – 51 receptions, 1097 yards (21.5 yards per reception), 5 TD / Garrett – 40 receptions, 542 yards (13.6 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Hayward – 84 / Knight – 68 / Barnes – 46
Pass Breakups | Richardson/Amawhule – 7, Wilson – 5
Interceptions | Barnes – 2, Five tied with one apiece

UTEP X-Factor | Make the easy throws

As productive as the UTEP offense has been, it hasn’t been the most efficient, especially through the air. Quarterback Gavin Hardison ranks 12th among C-USA quarterbacks with a 50.9 completion percentage in conference play this season.

Completing more than a coin-flips worth of passes is an easy starting point, but given the cushion the Rice secondary has afforded other passing attacks so far this season, that has to start with the easy throws. If Hardison and UTEP are able to find success on the easier throws, early-down routes with space and wide windows, they’re going to find it easier to connect on the intermediate and deep routes later in the game.

If Hardison can unlock every level of the field and make the Rice defense have to guess, it’s going to be a long day in El Paso for the Owls.

Rice X-Factor |  Get to the quarterback

Fixing the leaky secondary doesn’t seem to be a viable solution at this point in the season. If that was something the Owls’ were capable of patching up on the fly, they probably would have found a way to keep their previous game against Western Kentucky somewhat more competitive. The Owls best chance of doing that against UTEP is getting to the source of the passing attack and stopping it there.

UTEP wide receivers Jacob Cowing and Justin Garrett each have big-play potential. If the ball gets to them, they can make the defense pay with a first down and more. They’re going to get yards. Rice just needs to make sure they’re not getting hit in stride with green grass in front of them. And that means getting to Gavin Hardison, something few have been able to do so far this season.

UTEP has allowed 13 sacks in 10 games, tied for third fewest in Conference USA. The Miners’ offensive line has been solid. Rice has found success against some of the conference’s sturdier front fives before. They’ll need to do it again this weekend.

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One Final Thing

With bowl hopes dashed, Bloomgren said this team would be “playing for each other” from this point onward. From a wins and losses perspective, the Owls do have some positive thresholds to reach on that front.

Ultimately, though, these last two games are an opportunity to prove they have what it takes and were a few bad bounces away from their goals. That might not satisfy all the critics and it might not prove to be enough the program maintains the same upward trajectory Bloomgren remained confident it does, but it’s all they can control going forward.

Beating UTEP, and doing so without an overtime period or controversy, is a must. Winning convincingly and accruing some “style points” is exactly what this team needs right now. Whether or not they can do that is on them.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: Western Kentucky

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If Rice Football wants to achieve their postseason aspirations, they’ll need to get past Western Kentucky. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

For the second consecutive Saturday, Rice football lost an overtime game. This one was different though. Instead of trailing for the duration, Rice had a two-score lead and was unable to finish. Meanwhile, Western Kentucky was taking care of business against Middle Tennessee, their fourth win in a row. Can Rice right the slide? Will the Hilltoppers stumble? Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs WKU on 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

There’s a lot on the line for both teams at Rice Stadium on Saturday. The home team has reached do-or-die status when it comes to their bowl game aspirations. Sitting at 3-6 with three games to go, Rice has to be perfect down the stretch and that starts with Charlotte.

As linebacker Antonio Montero pointed out after the Charlotte loss, while the circumstances are far from ideal, “3-0, my sophomore year we did it,” he recalled. “It’s not impossible at all. Very, very possible, actually. There’s not a conference team that we can’t beat.”

On the other side of the field, Western Kentucky can clinch a bowl berth of their own and keep pace with Marshall for the top spot in the East Division standings.

Series History

All Time | WKU leads Rice, 2-0
Last Five | WKU leads Rice, 2-0
Last Meeting | Away 2016, WKU won 46-14

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!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 84/131 (64.1 percent), 1059 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Broussard – 87 carries, 473 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 2 TD / Myers – 89 carries, 334 yards (3.8 yards per carry), 8 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 46 receptions, 576 yards (12.5 yds/rec), 2 TD / Patterson – 24 receptions, 341 yards (14.2 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Montero – 60 / Garcia – 49 / Smith – 48
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 6, McCord – 5, Smith – 4
Interceptions | Smith/Nyakwol – 2, Four others tied with one

Western Kentucky Stat Notables

Passing | Zappe – 308/441 (69.8 percent), 3688 yards passing, 37 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Cofield – 64 carries, 321 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 4 TD / Whittington – 60 carries, 317 yards (5.3 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | Sterns – 104 receptions, 1276 yards (12.3 yards per reception), 11 TD / Tinsley – 43 receptions, 680 yards (15.8 yds/rec), 6 TD
Tackles | Kincade – 62 / Malone – 62 / Ignont – 43
Interceptions | Cain/Bishop -2, Seven tied with one apiece
Pass Breakups | Ignont – 6, Edwards – 4, Four others tied with three apiece

WKU X-Factor | Keep your foot on the gas

Rice doesn’t want this to turn into a shootout. The Owls did win a 48-34 affair with Texas Southern earlier this season, but their ideal style of game is much lower-scoring. They want to maximize time of possession, grind out the clock and win on the margins. Falling behind early, as they did recently in losses to UTSA and North Texas, can be dangerous.

The Owls struggled in the kicking game too, missing three straight field goals between the end of the North Texas game and the start of the Charlotte contest. They then proceeded to go for it on fourth down in areas of the field where a long field goal might be an option.

If Rice struggles when they fall behind and the Owls have learned towards a “touchdown or bust” offensive philosophy, all Western Kentucky has to do is keep putting points on the board. Force Rice to play the style of game they don’t want to play and, more importantly, to execute at a high rate on their third and fourth down conversions in the redzone. That’s been a pain point for Rice in recent weeks.

Rice X-Factor | Force Bailey Zappe to make mistakes

Western Kentucky is far and away the most proficient offense in Conference USA. They’re going to score points and Bailey Zappe is going to attack down the field early and often. The Rice secondary had the chance to win the game against Charlotte but couldn’t limit the 49ers on their final fourth quarter drive nor could they stop the bleeding in overtime.

If the secondary can’t contain Zappe, they need to make him mortal. Rice forced 11 turnovers in 12 games in 2019, 0.92 per game. They had nine in five games in 2020, 1.80 per game. This season, they’ve forced 11 in nine games, 1.20 per game. They’ve finished better than +1 in the turnover margin once, that came against Southern Miss, a game they won at home.

Relying on turnovers and big plays to win games can’t be the entirety of the Owls’ game plan, but it’s going to have play some role in the outcome. Even an offense this good has its hiccups. Rice absolutely has to expose those and make it count when they do.

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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One Final Thing

For better or worse, Rice football will know for sure whether or not their postseason hopes remain alive after this weekend. Western Kentucky is a good football team, and possibly if not probably the best team remaining on the Owls’ schedule. If they can upset the Hilltoppers, they’ll have a chance to run the table. They’ve beaten good teams before, and fairly recently at that, but they’re out of wiggle room.

“Some of the games we may be a favorite, some of the games we may be an underdog, but it doesn’t really matter,” Bloomgren said of this upcoming stretch. It’s going to come down to how we play and how we finish. But we’re good enough. We’re going to be good enough to win these games. Now when we get to that deep water that we talk about and work for, now we’ve got to finish.”

The UAB upset proved this team is good enough. Their ability to rally from behind against North Texas and force overtime proved they could fight back, even on a bad day. But when it’s come to execution, this team hasn’t been able to weather the storm. Now they’re on their last chance.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: Charlotte

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Rice Football needs a bounce-back win in the worst way as they travel to Charlotte for a Week 10 tilt. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Charlotte and Rice football would rather forget their last trips to the gridiron. Charlotte was dismantled by Western Kentucky, falling on the road by a final score of 45-13. Rice played their opponent, North Texas, much closer, but an overtime loss was no more satisfying given the expectations they carried into the game. Both teams need a reset in the worst way. Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Jerry Richardson Stadium – Charlotte, NC
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Charlotte 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

Charlotte and Rice each enter this game .500 in C-USA action with four more games to play. The winner is still probably on the outside looking in regarding a potential trip to the conference championship game, but the loser is in danger of tumbling even further down the standings.

Each program has flashed moments of success. Charlotte upset Duke earlier in the season. Rice knocked off UAB. Neither has been able to channel those everything-went-right games into the type of consistency they need to regularly win conference games so far. After being viewed as up-and-coming programs entering the 2020 season, this game has the potential to reinforce those aspirations or crush them, depending on who ends up on which side of the result.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads Charlotte, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads Charlotte, 2-0
Last Meeting | Away 2016, Rice won 22-21

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!

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Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Constantine – 65/96 (67.7 percent), 806 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Myers – 82 carries, 316 yards (3.9 yards per carry), 7 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 39 receptions, 433 yards (11.1 yds/rec), 2 TD / Patterson – 20 receptions, 296 yards (14.8 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Montero – 54 / Smith – 44 / Garcia – 44
Pass Breakups | McCord/Dunbar – 5, Smith – 4
Interceptions | Smith/Nyakwol – 2, Four others tied with one

Charlotte Stat Notables

Passing | Reynolds – 127/192 (66.2 percent), 1537 yards passing, 16 TD, 5 INT
Rushing | Camp – 74 carries, 451 yards (6.1 yards per carry), 3 TD / Byrd – 92 carries, 375 yards (4.1 ypc), 1 TD
Receiving | DuBose – 37 receptions, 561 yards (15.2 yards per reception), 5 TD / Tucker – 40 receptions, 553 yards (13.8 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Murray – 55 / Watts – 45 / Alexander – 41
Interceptions | Alexander -2, Two tied with one apiece
Pass Breakups | Creamer – 4, Rogers – 3, Ursery – 3

Charlotte X-Factor | Take a few shots, and convert on them

Charlotte has one of the better “intermediate” offenses in Conference USA. The 49ers aren’t quite explosive — they’ve tallied six plays of 30+ yards against conference foes, tied for the second-fewest in Conference USA — but they have a knack for getting 10 yards, and they do it almost as well as anyone else in the league.

Charlotte’s 62 plays of 10+ yards rank third in Conference USA play. While they don’t hit home runs very often, they’ll nickel and dime defenses all the way down the field. If they do start producing players further down the field, the offense can get dangerous, quickly.

A veteran quarterback and two playmaking wide receivers have the ability to give the Rice defense all sorts of trouble. If they do, not only will they be ready to trade punches with the Owls, they might be able to deliver a few knockout blows of their own.

Rice X-Factor | Jake Constantine

Constantine hasn’t been perfect this season, but he’s been a key piece in two of the Owls’ three wins this year. He rallied the team last week, showing off some schoolyard improvisation skills to will the team down the field and force overtime.

With Wiley Green likely to miss extended time after suffering an ankle injury last week and the running game struggling to get going this year, Constantine is going to have to take charge. If he doesn’t, it’s hard to decipher how the Rice offense is going to find enough success to win on the road without his help.

If he plays as well as he’s played up to this point, Rice will put points on the board. And that’s something Charlotte does not want any part of this year. The 49ers rank second to last in conference play, allowing 38.8 points per game.

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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One Final Thing

Up until last week, Rice hadn’t lost a game to someone they were “supposed to beat” and they’d engineered one of their most memorable upsets in recent memory when they took down UAB on the road. Not that oddsmakers would have had faith in the Owls before, but now they’ve put Rice back in the underdog role. Given how this team faired last week, easing up the pressure can’t be a bad thing.

Still, this team has to be feeling some pressure. They’re on the precipice of losing control of a postseason bowl appearance. To get there, Rice needs to win three of four, a feat they’ve done once already this year. They haven’t won three in a row yet, though, a feat the Owls’ haven’t achieved since the final three games of the 2019 season. For a team that has been erratic from week to week, preserving that margin of error seems like an absolute necessity.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not that the Owls have been more proficient on the road than they have been at home doesn’t really matter. All that matters right now is finding a way to win this game. After the UAB win, it was easy to think ahead at what could be. Now that luxury has passed and all eyes have to be on Charlotte. The wiggle room is running out.

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Rice Football 2021 Game Preview: UAB

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Rice Football looks to rebound from its first C-USA loss, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against UAB. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Rice football and UAB, the Owls’ upcoming opponent, could not have had more diametrically opposing weekends. The Blazers blanked a Southern Miss team Rice had just edged out at home, winning by a final score of 34-0. Meanwhile, Rice was in the middle of a shutout of their own, but the Owls were on the wrong side of the margin, falling 45-0 to UTSA.

UAB will look to keep rolling at home this weekend while Rice needs a bounce back in the worst way. Here’s what you need to know:

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
TV | ESPN+
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UAB 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

UAB currently sits tied atop the Conference USA West standings with UTSA and UTEP, all three of which boast sterling 3-0 records. If the start of conference play is any indication, the battle for this division might be close, making every game all the more important for each team still in the hunt.

Rice (1-1 C-USA) isn’t technically eliminated from that race, but the Owls have some issues of their own to work through before they can seriously start to consider themselves bonafide contenders. Sitting at 2-4 on the season, the Owls need to finish 4-2 down the stretch to reach bowl eligibility. That task gets decidedly harder if they don’t walk away from Birmingham this weekend with the upset.

Series History

All Time | UAB leads Rice 6-3
Last Five | UTSA leads 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2020, UAB won 21-16

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 – 49/66 (74.2 percent), 564 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Myers – 60 carries, 264 yards (4.4 yards per carry), 5 TD
Receiving | Bailey – 23 receptions, 245 yards (10.7 yds/rec), 1 TD / Patterson – 14 receptions, 226 yards (16.1 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Montero – 45 / Smith – 37 / Garcia – 33
Pass Breakups | Smith/Dunbar – 4, Nyakwol – 3
Interceptions | Nyakwol – 2, Five others tied with one

UAB Stat Notables

Passing | Hopkins – 62/102 (60.8 percent), 973 yards passing, 10 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | McBride – 80 carries, 421 yards (5.3 yards per carry), 2 TD / Brown Jr. – 59 carries, 343 yards (5.8 yds/car), 2 TD
Receiving | Prince – 17 receptions, 357 yards (21.0 yards per reception), 6 TD / Shropshire – 12 receptions, 265 yards (22.1 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Wilder – 42 / Boler – 32 / Wright – 26
Interceptions | Swoopes – 2, Six tied with one apiece 
Pass Breakups | McWilliams – 4, Five tied with two apiece

UAB X-Factor | Make Rice earn it

UAB enters this game tied for second in the conference in 20+ yard plays allowed. They’ve given up 26 such plays across seven games, an average of 3.7 per contest. That number almost disappears when considering their conference games. In three games against North Texas, Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss the Blazers have allowed just four gains of 20+ yards, 1.3 such plays per game.

The Rice offense has struggled on third down. Poor protection put them in long downs and distances frequently last weekend against UTSA. If UAB can keep Rice behind schedule, forcing them to need long gains to stay on the field, it’s game over for the Owls who enter the weekend dead last in Conference USA with 16 plays of 20+ yards across six games.

Rice X-Factor | Start fast

For all the growing pains that have beset Rice football over the past several seasons, starting strong was never a problem for this team until now. Rice entered the UTSA game riding a 16 games streak in which they’d prevented a conference opponent from scoring on their opening drive, dating back to their meeting with UTEP in 2018.

Rice scored first in every game last season and did not allow a single first quarter point in five games. Perhaps that high of a standard was unsustainable — and it probably was — but regressing as far as they have has been much too excessive of a slide, especially considering the talent they have returning.

So, until proven otherwise, Rice absolutely must start strong if they’re going to find the motivation and confidence to play a four quarter football game. Two bad possessions on top of each other has doomed Rice in several games already this year, and the season is only six games old. For Rice, they need to do everything they can control to lead 7-0 after the first couplet of drives, even if that means pulling out every trick in the book.

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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One Final Thing

Dwelling in the past never does too much to benefit the present, but there are a few glaring similarities between where Rice stands entering the UAB game and where Rice stood a year ago prior to their now lauded road tilt with No. 15 Masrhall.

Rice football had just been dealt a discouraging loss, on the road to a conference opponent they were expected to (at the very least) contender with. The Owls saw their starting quarterback get injured in that game and were already without multiple starting players on the defensive side of the ball and had been without Bradley Rozner for the season.

With not much going for them other than what the team coined “unwavering belief”, they pulled up one of the most significant upsets in the history of the program. Rice needs to get out of the business of being multi-touchdown underdogs, but if nothing else, they’ve always found a way to bounce back from their bottoming-out moments.

Rice started 0-9 in 2019 before winning three straight to close the year. They recovered from the quadruple-doink in 2020 to squash Southern Miss 30-6 on the road. And then were was the aforementioned rebound against Marshall. This team hasn’t discovered consistency whatsoever, but they have been resilient when they’ve needed it most. They need that resiliency now more than ever.

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