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Rice Football 2022: UTEP Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football hosts UTEP this weekend in a Thursday night affair in need of a bounce-back win. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

No longer undefeated at home this season, Rice football completes a brief two-game homestand in search of win number five, facing the UTEP Miners. Both teams need this game in their quest for bowl eligibility. To get that victory, Rice has some improvements they’ll need to make.

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This week’s roundup focuses in on specific adjustments both sides of the ball are making following the Charlotte loss and the ever-evolving injury front.

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.

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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 8 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 8.

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 8 Result Week 9
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL) at Jaguars W, 21-17 — OFF —
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) vs Dolphins L, 31-27 vs Packers
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) vs Commanders L, 17-16 at Patriots
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 — BYE —  — at Falcons
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) at Eagles L, 35-13 — OFF —
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs Giants W, 27-13 at Cardinals
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Ravens L, 27-22 vs LA Rams

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson got his second start of the season this week, playing every offensive snap for the first time this season. The Broncos are 1-0 when he plays every down on offense.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen was targeted three times on Sunday, catching all three passes for 11 yards. He’s caught at least one pass in each of the Colts’ eight games this year.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

After getting in the game last week against the Panthers, Leverett earned his first start of the season against the Ravens, playing every offensive snap.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

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

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 was only called upon twice on Sunday, booming two monster kicks. His longest blast went 60 yards while the short of the two only traveled 55 yards down the field.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was ruled out for the Steelers’ Week 8  game with a groin injury and did not play.

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: UTEP

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Rice football is anxious to put last weekend behind them. Can they bounce back against UTEP? How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and UTEP are anxious to get on the field again after dropping conference home games as favorites last weekend. Rice was blown out by Charlotte while UTEP watched MTSU pull away late. As the calendar turns to November, both teams want this one. Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s game.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | CBSSN (Viewing Guide)
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. 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

It’s entirely possible the loser of this game all but ensure they’ll be sitting at home this December without a bowl berth. After UTEP, Rice closes at WKU, vs UTSA and at North Texas. UTEP finishes with FIU and UTSA. Both teams need two more wins and don’t want to count on an upset of the defending champs to get there.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 15-9
Last Five | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2021, UTEP won 38-28

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | McMahon – 131/224 (58.5 percent), 1703 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT
Rushing | Montgomery – 51 carries, 333 yards (6.5 yards per carry), 0 TD / Broussard – 91 carries, 251 yards (2.8 yards per carry), 9 TD
Receiving | McCaffrey – 47 receptions, 613 yards (13.0 yds/rec), 6 TD / Rozner – 27 receptions, 579 yards (21.4 yds/rec), 7 TDs / Esdale – 21 receptions, 255 yards (12.1 yds/rec), 0 TD
Tackles | Conti – 47 / Morrison – 40 / Taylor – 36
Pass Breakups | Dunbar – 5  / Fresch – 4 / Morrison, Taylor – 3 
Interceptions | Taylor – 2 / Morrison, Nyakwol, Chamberlain, Fresch – 1

UTEP Stat Notables

Passing | Hardison – 156/297 (52.5 percent), 1941 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT
Rushing | Hankins – 110 carries, 547 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 2 TD / Awatt –  124 carries, 538 yards (4.3 ypc), 2 TD
Receiving | Smith – 56 receptions, 803 yards (14.3 yards per reception), 5 TD / Flores – 42 receptions, 472 yards (11.2 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Knight – 74 / Hylton – 70 / Wallerstedt – 69
Pass Breakups | Johnson – 6 / Barnes – 5 / Knight, Shelton – 4
Interceptions | Johnson, Knight, James – 1 each

UTEP X-Factor | Establish it

In many ways, Rice and UTEP have built their offensive identities on a similar tenant: run the ball. Rice hasn’t had as much success on that front as they’d like, but UTEP has. And when the Miners do get it going on the ground, the rest of the offense rises with it.

Outside of a two-sore win over Boise State, UTEP hasn’t played in games this season in which they jumped out to a huge early lead and stockpiled rushing stats to salt the game away. No, they’ve run the ball to set up the rest of their offense and the numbers bear that out.

In UTEP wins, the Miners are averaging 4.6 yards per carry and average 198.3 rushing yards per game. In losses, they averaged 3.1 yards per carry and average just 94.2 rushing yards per game. If UTEP can run the football, they can dictate the terms on that side of the football and make Rice play off schedule. That’s not where the Owls want to be, and it’s been painfully evident in recent weeks.

Rice X-Factor | Figure it out on defense

After having the ability to lean on their defense for much of the past several seasons, the past two weeks have been rocky for the Owls on the back end. Rice allowed eight passing touchdowns in their first six games combined. They’ve given up 10 scores through the air in the last two weeks. The run defense started to sag last weekend against Charlotte, too, ceding 5.6 yards per carry, their worst mark in conference play.

A few weeks ago this team was musing about getting a shutout. For now, they’ll have to focus on getting one stop at a time. Fortunately, UTEP is not nearly as explosive through the air as either Louisiana Tech or Charlotte.

This defense needs a pick-me-up. They need a reminder that they can play at a high level, and that has to start with solid run defense and a more robust coverage plan down the field. Both Louisiana Tech and Charlotte were able to expose the Owls in the gap between the corners and safeties on the sidelines. Rice has to get that cleaned up, pronto. That way they can play their game instead of being forced to play catch up.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

Following Saturday’s crushing loss to Charlotte, head coach Mike Bloomgren stuck to his guns and remained resilient. “We’re trying to find a way to play for 60 minutes in all three phases. I still think we are a scary football team, with very good players [and] very good coaches when we do that,” he said. “That’s what our goal is. That’s what our goal will be next Thursday.”

Through eight weeks, that complete showing has yet to materialize. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but it does mean the Owls are running out of time to promote that elusive perfect game from paper to playing field.

Rice football has bowl game expectations this season. They need to win two of their next four to get there and UTEP is — undeniably — the weakest opponent remaining on the schedule. A complete three-phase showing might not materialize for this team on Thursday, but they’d better get enough from whatever is working that evening to carry them through. Sitting at 4-5 in need of two wins against the trio of UTSA, WKU and North Texas is not a place this team wants to be.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 131 Rice Football vs Charlotte Recap

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Rice football was blasted at home by a one-win Charlotte team, leaving lots of questions and plenty of bad feelings following the disappointing loss.

There were a lot of adjectives used to describe the product Rice football put on the field this past Saturday against Charlotte. Not many of them were positive. Not only did the Owls lose outright as two-touchdown favorites, but they were manhandled in all three phases by an interim coach-led 49ers squad, leaving lots of questions. We did our best to unpack the game and assess the damage in this week’s show.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 131.

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 Charlotte game recap

  • Is it time to worry about the Rice defense following back to back games allowing 40+ points
  • Special teams has a bad day across the board
  • The offense wasn’t nearly as bad, but it wasn’t effective enough
  • Where’d Juma go? The Owls’ surprise running back stud from the Louisiana Tech game saw just five carries and minimal usage.
  • How much should this change our perception of the team?
  • What’s at stake in the weeks to come?

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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Conference USA Football to the AAC: October Patreon Q&A

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Six Conference USA football programs are headed to the American Conference next year? Which of them is best positioned for success?

A little longer than one year ago, six schools jointly announced a big move. The six soon-to-be former Conference USA Football programs are heading to the American Athletic Conference in 2023. With half of the current season in the books, which of the programs are set to enter the AAC in the best shape? We tackle those themes in this month’s Patreon Q&A.

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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.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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