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Rice Football 2025: UAB Game Week Practice Notes

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Rice Football is assessing all their options this week from personnel to prep as they do all they can on the practice field to prepare for UAB.

Three games remain on the Rice football scheduled and head coach Scott Abell is doing all he can to find a way to earn a fourth chance to play this fall. To reach a bowl game, the Owls are going to have to reach a higher level of consistency or big-play ability than they have so far this season. Both were focal points during practice this week.

Leaning into Variance

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The Roost Podcast | No Treats in Rice Football Halloween loss to Memphis

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Rice Football never came close to scary Memphis on Halloween night. We talk through the loss in this week’s episode of the Roost Podcast.

Any thoughts of an upset were quickly laid to rest on Friday night when Rice football fell behind 21-0 in the early goings against a ranked Memphis squad. There were plenty of things that didn’t go according to plan, making a win a long shot at best before halftime arrived. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 218.

Episode Notes

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Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

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Rice Football vs Memphis Game Recap

  • Talent gap in the trenches poses an early problem
  • Offensive inconsistency explains a lot of the crooked score
  • Defense not fully to blame for the points amassed
  • Penalties and sloppy play marred any chance on an upset
  • A potential bowl chance remains in play?

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Rice Football 2025: UAB presser quotes and depth chart

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Next up for Rice football, a home game against UAB. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Memphis game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UAB.

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

We’re looking at everything from, what’s our Saturday morning schedule to what is our Friday evening schedule with our guys to what is our pre-game schedule? To what music are we warming up to? We are really tackling every possible thing that we have control over so we can get out the gate a little better. Because that’s been a common theme. I’ve stood here before and said we’ve played some really good football after the first quarter. This is not the first time I’ve said that. Some of that is our opponents and some of it is ourselves. So what can we control? – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on getting the team to start faster

He gives them the ability to expand their running game and still keep the pass game concepts that they’ve worked hard on in place. I think he’s a little more mobile. I think he makes plays with his feet. He improvises. I think that’s a challenge for your defense that maybe you don’t get that full range with the other two guys. I think he gives them a well-rounded picture of being more balanced and getting a run game going because I think they have some talented running backs. I’m not surprised that he got most of the snaps last week. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on UAB quarterback Ryder Burton

We gotta control the line of scrimmage. We gotta start fast. You’ve heard me talk about that a lot these last couple weeks. We gotta find a way that when that clock starts that we’re ready to roll and play our best football and then maintain that. The third thing for me, we’ve got to generate some turnovers and we have to protect the ball. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on keys to victory over UAB

Our mindset is to go 1-0 each week. I feel like if we keep that mindset and block out any external noise, anything like that, just keep our head down and work, we’ll be happy with the result, come Saturday. – Quarterback Chase Jenkins on the team’s mindset right now

They have good athletes all over the place, some really good athletes at receiver. … I think they’ve got some good backs. On the quarterback side, they have two guys that can go in there and get the job done. Like I said before, we can’t take any position, any situation lightly and I think they’ll be ready to come out here and compete. – Safety Marcus Williams on the UAB offense

Full Press Conference

Depth Chart

Rice Football, Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

There weren’t any major changes to the depth chart this week, just one change of any kind, actually. Semaj Pierre has moved in front of Landon Ransom. Any other adjustments will likely be injury related or driven by the subtle schematic shifts the Owls employ for this game. We’ll cover those in depth on this week’s practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be out later this week.

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Rice Football 2025: NFL Owls Week 9 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2025 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.

TeamNFL Owl(s)This WeekResultNext Week
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)vs Seahawks (SNF)L, 38-14vs Lions
Philadelphia EaglesKylen Granson (TE)— OFF — —at Packers (MNF)
Jacksonville JaguarsAustin Trammell (WR)vs RaidersW, 30-29 (OT)at Texans
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)vs VikingsL, 27-24at Commanders
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		vs ColtsW, 27-20at Chargers (SNF)

Offense

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey suffered an injury on the opening kickoff of the Commanders loss to the Seahawks and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest. He has since been placed on injured reserve with a broken collarbone.

Austin Trammell – WR, Jaguars

Trammell made his 2025 debut for the Jaguars against the Raiders this week, seeing one target on offense while making his biggest impact on special teams where he returned a kick 54 yards.

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson saw action in his fifth game of the season this weekend, playing on special teams in the Steelers’ Week 9 game against the Colts.

Kylen Granson – TE, Eagles

Granson and the Eagles were on bye this week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted five times in the Lions’ Week 7 win over the Bucs, averaging 47.6 yards per kick with a long of 58 yards. He pinned two of his kicks inside the 20 yard line.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was a perfect 2-of-2 on his field goal tries against the Colts in Week 9, converting all three of his extra point attempts, as well. He is 16-of-18 on field goals this season, including one blocked kick.

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 details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football 2025 Game Preview: UAB

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Rice football aims to keep their bowl eligibility hopes alive with a Homecoming game against UAB. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Four-win Rice football is still mulling the possibility of a postseason berth, but getting their will likely require a win over UAB following a Halloween night loss at the hands of No. 25 Memphis. The Blazers didn’t fair much better in their most recent action, falling to UConn who had lost to Rice the week prior. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and UAB.

Kickoff time | 1:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the Contenders

A fifth win would exceed the program’s total a season ago and mark a significant step forward for head coach Scott Abell in his first season, but it would also keep those bowl hopes alive for one more week. That gives Rice football plenty of motivation to avoid another misstep against UAB.

The Blazers are playing under an interim head coach, but still technically have an outside shot at the postseason by virtue of their upset of Memphis prior to the Tigers’ trip to South Main. At a minimum, this is a program eager to put the Trent Dilfer era behind them and move forward.

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Last Time Out

Make sure you check out The Roost Podcast every week this season as we review the Owls’ most recent game, breaking down the key moments, decisions and their impact on the outlook of the program moving forward.

Series History

All Time | UAB leads, 7-5
Last Five | UAB leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2024, UAB won 40-14

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 88/127 (69.3 percent), 844 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 126 carries, 677 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 6 TD / Jenkins – 112 carries, 366 yards (3.3 yards per carry) – 4 TD / Alexander – 74 carries, 392 yards (5.3 yards per carry), 3 TD
Receiving | Dickmann – 32 receptions, 305 yards (9.5 yds/rec), 3 TD / Turner – 32 receptions, 214 yards (6.7 yds/rec)
Tackles | Awe – 71 / Morris – 61 / Williams – 51
Pass Breakups | Crump (Suspended) – 6 / Williams – 5 / Porter – 4
Interceptions | Kane, Stevenson, Wyatt – 1

UAB Stat Notables

Passing | Burton – 42/58 (72.4 percent), 467 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 97 carries, 503 yards (5.2 yds/car), 3 TD / Beebe – 34 carries, 249 yards (7.3 yds/car), 5 TD
Receiving | Hooks – 45 receptions, 588 yards (13.1 yds/rec), 5 TD / Hawkins Jr. – 30 receptions, 344 yards (11.5 yds/rec), 2 TD / Milliner – 21 receptions, 294 yards (14.0 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Hightower – 55 / Small – 39 / Royster – 37
Pass Breakups | Crumpley – 6 / Fisher – 3 / Four tied with two apiece
Interceptions | Royster – 2 / Hightower – 1

UAB X-Factor | Limit the Owls’ Opportunities

Part of what has led to a more feisty UAB squad in recent weeks has been the Blazers seemingly newfound ability to maintain drives. UAB ranks fourth in third down conversion rate on offense in conference games, converting at a 49.1 percent clip. That’s a massive jump from their 39.6 percent conversion rate against non-conference opponents.

Rice has shown they’re good for a few strong offensive drives each game. The likeliest way for UAB to prevent those from happening is not to produce an abnormally potent defensive showing, but rather to keep the Rice offense off the field and dare the Owls to not waste limited opportunities.

Rice X-Factor | Avoid Negative Plays

Consistency on offense will remain the focal point for Rice football until the unit fully hits its stride. There were moments where that seemed to be the case coming out of the bye, but eight offensive drives without a first down against Memphis underscores how much work to be done. To get there, Rice has to eliminate the negative plays.

Rice allowed 11 tackles for a loss against Memphis, two more than nine allowed against UConn (in two overtimes). That drops Rice down to 136th in the nation — dead last — in tackles for loss allowed per game. That’s the opposite of what should be normative for an option offense. Navy is No. 2. Army is No. 17.

The Owls could see their offensive success sky rocket and ensure themselves a better chance to win this game if they can turn those second down runs that lose a yard into ho-hum three yard gains that set up manageable third down opportunities. It’s not a Herculean ask, but it could make all the difference.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

A repurposed roster and a slew of injuries have contributed to an inconsistent Rice football team this season. This isn’t a group that has reliably bested teams it should, nor has it been a bunch that’s been afraid to out-punch it’s weight class and dare to deliver a marquee upset or two. Two wins as double-digit underdogs already this season is proof to all opponents this isn’t a team to be underestimated.

That won’t be the case this coming weekend, though. Rice and UAB are more closely matched in terms of talent and projected margins. That shouldn’t have any impact on the Owls’ preparation, but it does make this game one the team probably needs to win if they want to keep those dreams of a bowl berth alive.

That Abell brought up a bowl game in his post game comments on Friday was bold. It would have been much easier to sweep those thoughts under the rug, only to mention them if the team had taken care of business and gotten within a game of that crucial sixth win. But Abell didn’t play it safe and spoke confidently about his team.

If this team is going to defy the odds, double their preseason win projections and make a bowl game, beating a flawed UAB team is the best place to start.

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