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The Roost Podcast | Ep 132 Rice Football vs UTEP Recap

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Rice football got the job done in a must-win home game against UTEP. Was it proof of things to come as the Owls seek a bowl berth?

There was a lot at stake for Rice football this week in their penultimate home game of the 2022 season. The result hung in the balance until the final minutes, but the Owls took care of business at home to earn win number five. From the good to the bad, Matthew and Carter sift through the win over UTEP and assess where the team stands right now on this week’s show.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 132.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

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Rice Football vs UTEP game recap

  • Except for the turnovers, the offense seems to be rounding into form.
  • Is TJ McMahon a capital “G” Good quarterback? His improvement over the season has been noticeable
  • Christian VanSickle has been fantastic
  • The Rice defense has been better than it feels on third down, but not great in key moments
  • What’s at stake in the weeks to come? How good should/can we feel about this team?

Where can you find us?

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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 9 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 9.

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 9 Result Week 10
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL) — OFF —  — at Titans
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) vs Packers W, 15-9 at Bears
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Patriots L, 26-3 at Raiders
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 at Falcons W, 20-17 vs Cardinals
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) — OFF —  — vs Saints
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) at Cardinals W, 31-21 at Bucs
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs LA Rams W, 16-13 vs Seahawks

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

The Broncos were on bye this week.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen was targeted once on Sunday but did not record a catch. He did, however, tally his first rush attempt of the season, which went for zero yards.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett earned his second start of the season on Sunday, playing every offensive snap and his usual special teams duties.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive this week for the Seahawks’ game against the Cardinals.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

The Chargers were on bye this week.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

The Chargers were on bye this week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted three times in the Lions’ win over the Packers on Sunday, including al long of 47 yards and one inside the 20. He also added one tackle.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

The Steelers were on bye this week.

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 Game Preview: WKU

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Rice football is one win away from bowl eligibility as they travel to play Western Kentucky. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and Western Kentucky enter their upcoming matchup fresh off a win. The Owls rallied late to beat UTEP while WKU routed Charlotte. Both programs would like nothing more than to keep up their winning ways with another victory this weekend. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s game.

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | LT Smith Stadium – Bowling Green, KY
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
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. 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

Western Kentucky is officially bowl eligible after a beatdown of Charlotte last weekend. The Hilltoppers are playing for an outside shot at a conference championship game appearance, although they’ll need some help to get there.

On the other sideline, Rice football is one win away from a trip to the postseason. The Owls (3-2) are also a win away from being third place in the conference standings, leapfrogging WKU with a win. As the calendar turns to November, there’s plenty at stake for both programs.

Series History

All Time | WKU leads, 3-0
Last Five | WKU leads, 3-0
Last Meeting | Home 2021, WKU won 42-21

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 152/255 (59.6 percent), 2037 yards, 18 TD, 12 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 59 carries, 391 yards (6.6 yards per carry), 0 TD / Broussard – 91 carries, 251 yards (2.8 yards per carry), 9 TD
Receiving | Rozner – 33 receptions, 721 yards (21.9 yds/rec), 8 TDs / McCaffrey – 51 receptions, 656 yards (12.9 yds/rec), 6 TD / Esdale – 26 receptions, 313 yards (12.1 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 53 / Morrison – 49 / Taylor – 44
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 7  / Fresch – 5 / Taylor – 4
Interceptions | Taylor – 2 / Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Fresch – 1

WKU Stat Notables

Passing | Reed – 276/407 (67.8 percent), 3171 yards, 28 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Robichaux- 65 carries, 458 yards (6.7 yards per carry), 3 TD / Ervin-Poindexter – 82 carries, 357 yards (4.4 ypc), 3 TD
Receiving | Corley – 64 receptions, 863 yards (13.5 yards per reception), 7 TD / Davis – 56 receptions, 755 yards (13.5 yds/rec), 6 TD
Tackles | Knight – 84 / Hylton – 66 / Wallerstedt – 58
Pass Breakups | Hailassie – 8 / Williams – 5 / Evans, Simpkins – 3
Interceptions | Stout – 3 / Hailassie, Oliver – 2 / Six tied with one each

WKU X-Factor | Stay on schedule

It comes as no surprise that Western Kentucky has kept its point-scoring machine rolling, even with a new quarterback at the controls. The Hilltoppers lead conference USA with 37.2 points per game. One subtle secret to their success has been their ability to avoid negative plays.

Western Kentucky ranks first in Conference USA in tackles for a loss allowed. They rank third in sacks allowed (just 1.2o per game) and lead the league in turnover margin. All offenses are naturally more effective when they don’t have to overcome mistakes and negative plays. That doesn’t mean the Hilltoppers can’t, but they haven’t had to do so very often.

Getting Western Kentucky off schedule and forcing them to make plays in pressure situations is a must if Rice is going to pick up this road win. Letting Austin Reed sit back and pick the defense apart won’t work.

Rice X-Factor | Win third down

Third down has been a problem for Rice football, on both sides of the field. The offense converted third down at one of their most proficient rates of the season against UTEP (61.5 percent) and the Owls won, moving to 3-0 in games in which they’ve converted at least 50 percent of their third down opportunities on offense.

The defensive side has been problematic, though. Excluding the Charlotte game, Rice has been fairly effective on first and second down. It’s been third down that has given this defense trouble, particularly on third and long.

Since the bye week, a span of four games, Rice is holdings its opponents to a 31 percent conversion rate on third and short (four yards or less). On third and medium and third and long (5+ yards to go), Rice opponents are converting on 40 percent of their tries. That’s backward. The further to go, the less often it should be occurring. The Rice defense needs to find ways to get off the field.

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One Final Thing

The topsy-turvy 2022 season has maintained a steady cadence of unpredictability thus far and there’s no reason to believe that is going to stop anytime soon. Rice football isn’t the best version of themselves right now, but they’ve found ways to scratch out wins in two of their last three games, the first of which came on the road. This weekend’s road test will be an important one.

Western Kentucky isn’t quite in the same class as Marshall was in 2020 or UAB was in 2021, but the Hilltoppers have been one of the better teams in Conference USA since Tyson Helton arrived in Bowling Green. When it comes to sorting out whether Rice belongs in the top or the bottom half of the conference, the Owls have teetered back and forth from week to week.

A win on Saturday would not only clinch a bowl berth, but it would put Rice squarely in the top but it would also secure at least a .500 record in conference play. That’s a far cry from where the Owls have been in recent seasons. Rice has a few more weeks to get that elusive sixth win, but the sooner they do find it, the more notable it will be.

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“If they forgot about him, shame on them”: Rice football wideout Bradley Rozner is back with a bang

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Bradley Rozner took a winding route to get to where he is right now, once again delivering game-winning moments for Rice football.

There was 3:20 left in regulation and Rice football was facing third and long from their own 14-yard line with a six-point lead. The North Texas Mean Green led by quarterback Mason Fine had gotten hot on offense, marching through the Rice defense with relative ease over the last two quarters. That left head coach Mike Bloomgren had a decision to make.

Bloomgren could easily have opted to play it safe and run the ball. That would have taken more time off the clock and forced North Texas to go the length of the field, again. Or, he could roll the dice. On that particular Saturday afternoon, with the game hanging in the balance, Bloomgren put his trust in the arms of Bradley Rozner.

A former JUCO wide receiver, Rozner was coming off an eight-catch, 130-yard, three-touchdown game against Middle Tennessee the week prior that propelled the Owls to their first win of the 2019 season. He had just 35 yards on four catches against North Texas on Saturday, a quiet outing by his standards. But Bloomgren believed in No. 2.

Quarterback Tom Stewart dropped back to pass and surprised everyone with a deep bomb to Rozner, who exploded past the defense and hauled in the 35-yard shot. The Owls would run out the clock on the ground shortly after, winning the game.

If there had ever been any doubt, Rozner had arrived. Then things took a turn. Rozner would play the season finale next week against UTSA, then, over the span of the next 1,000 days, Rozner would play in just one quarter. After missing the 2020 season with injuries, Rozner would play the first quarter of the Owls’ 2021 season opener against Arkansas before being shut down again,

By no fault of his own, the focal point of the Rice football offense had disappeared.

“The middle chapters of this thing weren’t real cool,” Bloomgren said when looking back at Rozner’s career at South Main thus far. “They were real rocky with a kid that had to go through a lot of challenges to get back to this point.”

What point is that? Another game-winning moment from Rozner that brought back memories of that game-sealing grab against North Texas almost three years ago.

This time Rice had the ball in a tie game against UTEP at the 23-yard line, 30 seconds remaining and no timeouts. The Owls had plenty of time to hand the ball off again, spike it and attempt at 40 or so yard field goal to win the game. But Bloomgren hadn’t forgotten the playmaker he had lined up on the far side of the field.

Instead of taking the conservative route, Bloomgren dialed up another deep shot. Quarterback TJ McMahon took the snap, dropped back and delivered a dart to the pylon, finding Rozner with his hands fully extended for the game-sealing score. Number two had done it again, this time with a career-best 140 receiving yards in the process.

When asked about the gutsy call after the game, Bloomgren beamed. It’s kind of like [we] dare people to cover him one on one. That’s a heck of a weapon to have your X-receiver.”

Rozner’s explanation made the herculean grab sound remarkably commonplace. “I saw the safety kind of creeping over my way but he wasn’t far enough over,” he recounted. “I just gave the corner and inside move and TJ [McMahon] put the ball up there and I just made the play.”

More: Rice Football rallies past UTEP, game recap

Just making plays has become the norm for Rozner once again. Since returning to the field this season, Rozner has topped 100 receiving yards five times in nine games, the most of any player in Conference USA. His nine career 100-yard games are the most since Jarrett Dillard (12) and James Casey (10), who played their final season at Rice in 2018.

Dillard and Casey are among the all-time greats to catch passes at South Main. Rozner is starting to force his way into that conversation.

For Rozner, though, he’s just trying to win football games and his coach continues to put him in positions to do just that. “It’s huge,” Rozner said of the trust Bloomren continues to display in him. “When you’re able to go to your coach and you know you can tell him, ‘Hey, I got this.’ And they give it to you and it all works out.”

Things just keep working out for Rozner, who once again is back at the center of the Owls’ offensive success. Almost as if he never left.

“If they forgot about him, shame on them,” Bloomgren said. “He’s reminding them right now.”

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Last minute rally lifts Rice Football past UTEP for big win

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Rice Football delivers the wining score in the final moments, dashing past UTEP to secure a much-needed win at home.

Thursday’s nationally televised game against all the makings of a bowl-elimination bout between Rice football and the UTEP Miners. The Owls had had the upper hand in the series, particularly at home, winning nine of 12 in Houston. On Thursday night, Rice added one more important victory to the tally. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Withstand the first punch

On the first play from scrimmage, UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison tried to thread a ball through a mass of blue and gray-clad defenders. Gabriel Taylor was nearly there to meet it, but was unable to make the one-handed stab to force a quick turnover. Instead, UTEP recovered and marched quickly down the field, going 78-yards in 3:13, deflating a defense in need of that instant jolt of confidence.

Down 7-0, Rice was forced to settle for a field goal on their first offensive possession as quarterback TJ McMahon was sacked on third and short inside the redzone. When Rice kicked the ball back to UTEP down by four, it felt like the rubber was about to meet the road. Was UTEP’s early touchdown — just their second touchdown in the first quarter this year — a fluke? Or would the defense figure it out?

The defense responded with a quick three-and-out and their second sack of the day. Then they found their groove. They got pressure. They forced three-and-outs (four on the day). Trey Schuman snuffed out a reverse for a loss of yards. The defense responded to a fumbled punt return with a stop and a 51-yard field goal try after the offense fizzled inside their own five-yard line. For the first time in weeks, they looked good. Not great. But good.

To say the Rice defense was “back” would be overly generous, but the unit that took the field on Thursday night looked a heck of a lot more like the one the Owls have gotten used to seeing in recent years. If they can find a way to get off the field on third down, they might just be dangerous.

Return of the big play

On the other side of the ball, the offense responded in kind. Rice had four pass plays of 15+ yards in four quarters against Charlotte last weekend. They reached that total just three minutes into the second quarter against UTEP and continued to gain yards in chunks. Bradley Rozner reached the century mark for the fifth time this season.

The Owls ended the game with 502 total yards and a slew of big plays. There were eight pass plays of 15+ yards and five run plays of 10+ yards. The offense was legitimately explosive.

What made the performance particularly compelling was the sheer quantity of contributors. Rozner, Luke McCaffrey, Isaiah Esdale, Kobie Campbell and Jack Bradley each had critical catches that extended drives or scored points. Cam Montgomery, Juma Otviano, TJ McMahon and McCaffrey each made big plays on the ground. Uriah West had his first touchdown as an Owl. Eveything just seemed to come together.

And then… the dagger!

The steady emergence of TJ McMahon

When McMahon took the field against UTEP for his eighth consecutive start, he reached a place no quarterback had gone before under Bloomgren at Rice. The previous record for consecutive starts (seven) was held by Shawn Stankavage, who led the way in the first seven games of Bloomgren’s tenure at South Main in 2018 before being injured.

McMahon already led all Rice quarterbacks under Bloomgren in passing touchdowns entering this game. He added two more to up his Rice total to 20. He also leads all of Bloomgren’s passers in interceptions, including an inexplicable additional tipped-pass pick against UTEP, a recurring nightmare that Rice fans can’t seem to escape.

After the Charlotte loss, McMahon said his job this week was “to make sure this game doesn’t beat us twice.” He did that tonight, leading his team down the field with regularity with a bit more of a boost from the running game than he’d had in recent weeks.

It’s been clearly established for several weeks now that Rice had its guy. As McMahon continues to progress, the hope for the future builds.

Breathing room

Two weeks ago, Rice football was 4-3. Being a game above .500 and two wins away from securing bowl eligibility was a breath of fresh air for the Owls, who have fought through their fair share of hardships to get to that point.

That was two weeks ago, and it feels like the program has been through a much more circuitous journey than one could have imagined in just a fortnight’s worth of time. Splitting a two-game homestand against Charlotte and UTEP was disappointing, considering the success Rice football has had to this point. But even still, the Owls have earned three chances to clinch a bowl berth.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs UTEP

It’s not time to start booking tickets to spend Christmas in Hawaii or the holiday season in the Bahamas quite yet. But the situation is objectively more positive than it could have been had Rice not found a way to win this football game, and win it in the manner they did. The Owls have been far from perfect this year, but they have been resilient.

Following a loss, Rice football is 4-0 this season. And now instead of being forced to grapple with the real possibility of their one-time storybook season ending in a nightmare, Rice has hope again. Hope can be a dangerous this at times, but right now, it’s exactly what the Owls need. That, and one more win down the stretch. But they’ll focus on that final W tomorrow.

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When in doubt, be clutch

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