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Rice Football 2022: UTSA Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts UTSA in their final home game on Senior Day, their final home game of the 2022 season. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

The final quarter of a rigorous 2022 Rice football schedule begins this week with a road trip to Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are just ahead of the Owls in the current conference standings with both teams in need of one more win to reach bowl eligibility (WKU needs seven wins this year because of their 13th game with a trip to Hawaii).

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This week’s roundup focuses the quarterback situation, the running game and injury questions in the secondary and the pass-catching corps, and more.

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.

Houston: We might need a quarterback

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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 10 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2022 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 10.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 10 Result Week 11
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL) at Titans L, 17-10 vs Raiders
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Bears W, 31-30 at Giants
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Raiders W, 25-20 vs Eagles
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 vs Cardinals L, 22-16 vs Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) vs Saints W, 20-10 vs Bengals
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) at Bucs L, 21-16 — BYE —
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Seahawks W, 21-16 — BYE —

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson started his second straight game this weekend and the third of the season

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen tied a season-high with four receptions on Sunday, racking up 57 yards to aid the Colts’ win over the Raiders.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett made his third consecutive start of the season on Sunday, this time playing against fellow Rice football alum Myles Adams.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was active this week and registered one tackle while playing special teams and defensive snaps. He lined up on the other side of the line from fellow Rice football alum Nick Leverett.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

Callahan had a quiet week on the stat sheet, accounting for one tackle in the Chargers’ loss to the 49ers.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington had a season-high five tackles in the Chargers’ loss to the 49ers.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted four times in the Lions’ win over the Bears on Sunday, including al booming 59 yarder.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

The Steelers placed Boswell on IR prior to their Week 10 game against the Saints. He’ll be out for at least the next four weeks.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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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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The Roost Podcast | Ep 133 Rice Football vs WKU Recap

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Rice football fumbled away too many opportunities in a crushing road loss to Western Kentucky. It’s time to unpack the defeat and search for answers.

Six turnovers and very few third down stops is a recipe for disaster and unfortunately for Rice football, their main course served extra cold on Saturday against Western Kentucky. To further dour the mood, quarterback TJ McMahon left the game in the second quarter and was unable to return. What should we make of the rough loss? We unpack the defeat on this week’s show.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 133.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

  • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
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Rice Football vs WKU game recap

  • Will the turnovers ever stop, or at the very least, slow down?
  • What’s the latest on the quarterback situation?
  • Weekly reminder: Juma Otoviano is really good at football
  • What’s the deal with the third down defense?
  • How much of the issues from this week are terminal and which ones can be fixed?
  • How does all of this impact the next two weeks and the Owls’ quest for bowl eligibility?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football 2022 Game Preview: UTSA

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Rice football is preparing for their final home game of the season, a tall challenge against UTSA. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Neither Rice football nor UTSA played a competitive game last weekend. The Roadrunners ran past Louisiana Tech at home while Rice watched Western Kentucky run away with their contest in Bowling Green, KY. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s game.

Kickoff time | 12:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs UTSA on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, streaming live on Wednesday at Noon on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week. 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

UTSA is playing out the stretch on their way to a second consecutive appearance in the Conference USA Championship Game. Meanwhile, tensions are much higher in Houston. The Owls have two more chances to reach six wins and an elusive bowl eligible season. This is the last home game of the year for Rice, who would love nothing more than to send their seniors out on a high note.

Series History

All Time | UTSA leads, 6-3
Last Five | UTSA leads, 5-0
Last Meeting | Away 2021, UTSA won 45-0

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 160/266 (60.2 percent), 2102 yards, 18 TD, 14 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 70 carries, 452 yards (6.5 yards per carry), 0 TD / Otoviano – 43 carries, 274 yards (6.4 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Rozner – 35 receptions, 733 yards (20.9 yds/rec), 8 TDs / McCaffrey – 51 receptions, 656 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 6 TD / Esdale – 29 receptions, 353 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 58 / Morrison – 53 / Taylor – 48
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 7  / Taylor – 6 / Fresch – 5
Interceptions | Taylor – 2 / Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Fresch, Narcisse – 1

UTSA Stat Notables

Passing | Harris – 246/356 (69.1 percent), 3039 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Brady – 146 carries, 623 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 9 TD / Barnes – 63 carries, 419 yards (6.7 ypc), 5 TD
Receiving | Cephus – 73 receptions, 823 yards (11.3 yards per reception), 5 TD / Franklin – 65 receptions, 791 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 9 TD
Tackles | Ligon – 64 / Chattman – 53 / Harmanson – 45
Pass Breakups | Chattman, Mayfield – 11 / Fortune – 5 / Taylor – 3
Interceptions | Mayfield – 3 / Griffin – 2 / Chattman, Morris, Jones – 1

UTSA X-Factor | Take away the air

UTSA hasn’t lost yet, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t survived a few scares along the way. They won one-score games against UAB, North Texas and Western Kentucky. What did each of those contests have in common? Aggressive quarterback play by the Roadrunners’ opponents. WKU averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. North Texas averaged 10.5 . UAB averaged 8.5.

Austin Reed has made a name for himself as a passer this season, but Austin Aune and Jacob Zeno aren’t world-beaters.

Conversely, UTSA has been pretty stingy on the ground, averaging less than 160 total yards per game allowed, fourth best in the conference. If the Roadrunners can limit Rice through the air and force them to run into their fierce front seven, they’ll cap the Owls’ offensive upside. So although it might sound counterintuitive to entice Rice to run, UTSA can find the most success if they stop Rice through the air.

Rice X-Factor | Take it away

At this point, it seems like wishful thinking to hope for a turnover-free game from Rice football. While that would, of course, be ideal, there is one other way for the Owls to find success in that respect: take the ball away.

More takeaways would also be a boon to a defense that has struggled to get off the field. At this points, more risks and more potential takeaways might be the best solution. Granted, defensive coordinator Brian Smith will put together a game plan that’s more nuanced than this, but at the end of the day, if you can’t stop them, take the football away.

Winning the turnover battle is something the Owls haven’t done with any regularity this season. If they’re going to try and beat the only team still standings that hasn’t lost a Conference USA game yet, they’ll need to do so on Saturday. There’s no way around it.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

Rice football has not lost following a loss this season. Put another way, the Owls are undefeated following a defeat. If they can extend that streak to one more series, they’ll clinch bowl eligibility and secure another marquee win in a season smattered with highs and lows.

If we’ve learned anything this season about the Owls, it’s how frustrating and unpredictable this team can be. Every unit has gone through the same bouts of inconsistency and results have gone from encouraging to quite unwatchable on a week-to-week basis. Which version of the Owls shows up next weekend? Who knows?

What the Owls do possess is a certain level of fearlessness that goes beyond understanding. They aren’t scared when they step into the ring with the best Conference USA has to offer. And quite often, if they can start out on the right foot and avoid a disaster snowball, they’ll give the top teams a run for their money.

Perhaps that then is the x-factor of all x-factors. Can Rice throw the first punch and avoid shooting themselves in the foot? When they’ve been able to do that this season, they’ve won.

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