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BREAKING: Transfer Quarterback Luke McCaffrey commits to Rice football

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Rice Football has a quarterback. Former Nebraska signal-caller Luke McCaffrey has committed to play for the Owls.

On the surface, the Rice football roster looks more or less complete. The Owls have one of the best defenses in Conference USA. They’ve got talented wide receivers, a couple of good running backs and an offensive line that’s been reasonably effective. What they’ve lacked, for multiple years now, is a surefire quarterback. Enter Luke McCaffrey.

McCaffrey’s college football career began in 2019 with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He played in 11 games over two seasons in Lincoln, throwing for 608 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions. He added 540 yards and four touchdowns with his legs. He would later transfer from Nebraska to Louisville, but shortly after arriving on campus at Louisville, decided the fit wasn’t right for him.

It was at that point the Owls swooped in. Head coach Mike Bloomgren coached Luke’s older brother, Panthers’ running back Christian McCaffrey, while the two were at Stanford. That connection, combined with McCaffrey’s interest to start and the Owls nebulous quarterback situation, made for a perfect pairing between McCaffrey and Rice.

At the time of his original recruitment, McCaffrey was the No. 1 athlete in the state of Colorado, the No. 13 athlete in the nation and a four-star rated recruit. From a pure composite score perspective, when McCaffrey takes his first snap he’ll become the most highly-rated player to ever play for Rice football. That distinction is currently held by safety Gabe Taylor, who took over the top spot last season.

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McCaffrey instantly becomes the favorite to be the quarterback for the Owls in 2021. He’ll have to get caught up on the playbook and work diligently to understand the scheme, but his talent level, particularly as a runner, has the potential to revolutionize the Rice offense. This was a big get for the Owls.

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Rice Football Burning Questions: Who steps up at wide receiver in 2021?

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The abbreviated 2020 Rice football season provided some answers regarding where the program is at. But questions remaining, starting with the receiving corps.

The injuries sustained by the Rice football wide receiving corps last season were unbelievable. Never in my time covering college football had I seen a group of pass catchers so depleted by injuries. It’s not as if there weren’t enough wideouts on the roster — there were enough bodies — they were just all hurt.

By the time Rice played its final regular season game against UAB, the Owls had one scholarship wide receiver available at practice, and he was beaten up, too. Which brings us to the 2021 season and our first of a few pieces in our Burning Questions series this offseason. Who fills that void in the passing game in 2021?

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Rice Football: 2021 Schedule and kick times announced

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Complete with broadcast information and kickoff times, the 2021 Rice Football schedule has been released. Here are a few quick notes.

The opponents and the dates for the 2021 Rice football schedule had already been finalized. Now we know when the games are happening and (roughly) how to watch the Owls this fall. First, the schedule:

2021 Rice Football Schedule

Sat 9/4                  @ Arkansas                        ESPN+/SEC+                       1:00 p.m. CT

Sat 9/11                Houston                               CBSSN                                   5:30 p.m. CT

Sat 9/18                @ Texas                               LHN                                       7:00 p.m. CT

Sat 9/25                Texas Southern                 ESPN Networks                 5:30 p.m. CT

Sat 10/2                Southern Miss                   ESPN Networks                 5:30 p.m. CT

Sat 10/16             @ UTSA                                ESPN Networks                 5:00 p.m. CT

Sat 10/23             @ UAB                                  ESPN Networks                 TBD

Sat 10/30             North Texas                        ESPN Networks                 1:00 p.m. CT

Sat 11/6                @ Charlotte                        ESPN Networks                 2:30 p.m. CT

Sat 11/13             WKU                                      ESPN Networks                 1:00 p.m. CT

Sat 11/20             @ UTEP                                 ESPN Networks                 3:00 p.m. CT

Sat 11/27             LA Tech                                 ESPN Networks                 12:00 p.m. CT

Where to watch

The “ESPN Networks” designation more than like means the game will be streamed on ESPN3 or ESPN+, you can sign up for the latter here. That means one streaming subscription will more than likely account for the vast majority of the games Rice football plays this coming season. After years of pivoting back and forth between Facebook, Stadium, NFL Network and others, it’ll be nice to have it all in one place.

A tale of two halves

For whatever reason, the early portion of the schedule is heavily weighted toward evening kickoffs. In fact, only the season opener at Arkansas kicks before 5:30 p.m. CT. Contrast that with the second half of the schedule, which has one game that begins at 3:00 p.m. or later. For those looking to brave the Texas heat, that’s actually the optimal combination.

Built-in flexibility

The move toward ESPN platforms does come with some wiggle room. Each of those game listed as “ESPN Networks” will officially have a 12 day window to accommodate changes to the linear television lineup. In laymen’s terms, that means all of those games can be moved throughout ESPN’s platform of networks however they see fit. That could mean altered kick times and perhaps, if the Owls fair well enough, an extra game on television, too.

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Conference USA Football: Unpacking the Transfer Portal in 2021

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Each Conference USA Football program has approached the Transfer Portal in different ways. Here’s the latest snapshot following the 2021 class.

The Transfer Portal never had anything near the level of discretion that might have been intended when it was launched a few short years ago. Players that enter and exit the portal are tracked publicly, with sites like 247 Sports and Rivals keeping tabs on their movements.

With data on the 2021 cycle nearly complete and offseason programs approaching, now seemed like an appropriate time to take stock of that latest from Conference USA football programs and the Transfer Portal.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Where are 2018 decommits now?

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There were a host of decommitments in the 2018 Rice Football recruiting class. Where are those players now? Did the Owls miss out or luck out?

The 2018 Rice football recruiting class was impacted by the biggest transition Rice had seen in more than a decade. On November 27, the Owls dismissed head coach David Bailiff. The Owls lost several commits after that decision and a few in the months and weeks before.

According to 247 Sports, Rice had nine decommitments during the cycle. Where are those players now?

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