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BREAKING: Rice Football vs UTSA postponed

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Rice football will not play UTSA on Saturday. Instead, the game has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues at UTSA.

For the first time since resuming its season on Oct. 24, Rice football has had a game taken off its schedule. The Owls were expected to play UTSA on Saturday, Nov. 7, but the teams announced the game will not be played due to COVID-19 issues at UTSA. The Rice team was informed of the news for the first time early Friday morning.

The teams do not share any opponent dates. Both schools were originally available on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, but Conference USA filled those dates for Rice just this week. Rice is now scheduled to play Marshall on Dec. 5 and UAB on Dec. 12.

There has been no word from the league office as to whether or not divisional games would take precedent in a situation like this. If they do, the move could actually be a net positive for Rice. The Owls could presumably swap the Marshall game for UTSA and potentially get multiple defensive starters back against Louisiana Tech.

The postponement of the UTSA game marks the sixth announced scheduling change this fall and the ninth game to be added or removed fro the Owls’ schedule. Rice has also seen the postponement of games against Houston and Army, LSU, Lamar, Marshall and UAB, plus the rescheduling of the Marshall and UAB games.

Podcast: Breaking down Rice Football’s win over Southern Miss

For now, Rice joins a group of 12 Conference USA schools to have at least one game postponed so far this season. Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, both of which have played seven games, are the only C-USA schools that have yet to experience a midweek turn of events like this.

Rice football will take the field next on Nov. 14 at Louisiana Tech. The next home game is scheduled for No.v 28 against UTEP. With the cancellation, the Owls will now go more than a month without a home game at Rice Stadium. As things currently stand, Rice would still have the opportunity to play enough games to qualify for the Conference USA Championship Game on Dec. 18.

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Rice Football vs UTSA: Q&A with UTSA Insider’s JJ Perez

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Rice Football squares off with UTSA this weekend. UTSA Insider JJ Perez tells us what to expect from the Roadrunners on Saturday.

1. What’s the plan for UTSA at quarterback this week?

It has been tumultuous at quarterback for the Roadrunners this season. The day one starter Frank Harris suffered a knee injury in the third game of this 2020 campaign. Since then, it’s been up and down. At various points this season, UTSA has gone through all four of their experienced signal callers.

Josh Adkins suffered a broken collar bone against BYU. Lowell Narcisse suffered a break in his leg against Army. And Jordan Weeks was unavailable to play in the two games prior to last week. Harris returned to the starting role several weeks ago. He’ll get the start this week against Rice.

Last week against FAU, Harris and the entire offense struggled at times. Weeks came into the game late. It’s likely UTSA will stick with Harris for much of the game. But with Weeks going through a normal practice workload for the first time is several games, you have to wonder how much rope Harris will have if the offense continues to struggle.

2. Which UTSA offense will Rice see? The One that scored 50 against Texas State or the one that scored 3 against FAU?

UTSA offense has struggled in the last two of the last three games. FAU stacked the box last week and didn’t let All-American running back Sincere McCormick get going. The Roadrunners were forced to try to pass the ball the down field and they simply could not connect on any of those attempts. They were close on a few tries. Both Harris at QB and the wide receivers would tell you that they should have landed a few big passing this past week.

That, along with the play of the offensive line, is the difference is the up and down play of the offensive unit. Last week’s game vs FAU was probably the worst offensive performance of the season. While I don’t look for UTSA to put up the numbers they did early in the season, I do believe we’ll see an offensive uptick this week.

3. What’s been the biggest reason for UTSA’s successes on defense this year?

It starts with the defensive line. That unit has been dominant at times this season. The Roadrunners play 3-4 base scheme. UTSA rotates those three down linemen aggressively. And that unit has been able to apply pressure and stop the run. That’s allowed the linebackers to stay home and do their thing.

The biggest surprise of the defensive is the pass coverage in the secondary. Early in the season, that was the biggest weakness of the team. Through eight games, UTSA’s defensive backfield has improved and are now solid against the pass.

Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix came to UTSA from Mississippi. His pedigree and experience as a coordinator has been noticeable this season. And his defensive unit has adopted his hard-nose demeanor.

4. Following the hot start, UTSA has lost four of five. What’s the confidence level in the program right now?

Last week was a big opportunity for UTSA to take the next step against FAU, the defending league champion. But it didn’t happen. The Roadrunners’ schedule the last five games have been a gauntlet. UTSA hung tough against top opponents. And they even won a game against La Tech they probably wouldn’t have won in the past.

The team is also banged up. Playing eight straight games without a bye week has taken a toll. So while the record isn’t as good as they may want, the 4-4 record is probably an accurate reflection of where they are right now, which is a decent team that has done some good stuff and done some bad stuff, and are still adapting and learning under a first-year coaching staff.

5. What’s your prediction for the game? Can UTSA extend their winning streak over Rice?

UTSA has won five straight matchups against Rice. But this series has always felt more close than all-time series records indicate. The Roadrunners and Owls have played some classics throughout the years. UTSA has played more games but are also more injured while Rice is more fresh but would probably like a little more game reps than they’ve had at this point in the season. I think we’ll be in store for a barn burner Saturday. I think it’s too close to call but I will predict UTSA wins a one score game.

Give JJ a follow on Twitter and check out the great work by UTSA Insiders as we get ready for Rice Football vs UTSA this weekend.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 59 – Rice Football vs USM Recap, UTSA Preview

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Carter and Matthew breakdown the first Rice football win of the 2020 season over Southern Miss and preview the Owls upcoming game against UTSA.

Rice football picked up its first win of the 2020 season, smashing Southern Miss in a much-needed rebound following a heartbreaking loss to Middle Tennessee. Comparing and contrasting the two-game sample size led to an interesting discussion about the long-term potential of this team.

But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we addressed the game at hand. Tune in to hear our recap of the Southern Miss win and our preview of the upcoming matchup with UTSA.

Quick note: the addition of the UAB and Marshall games were announced after we hit the stop button this week. The UTEP cancelation came after we recorded as well — begin the question, if the game didn’t happen, was UTEP ever favored? We’ll cover all of that on next week’s show.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 59.

Episode 59 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, film room sessions, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
    Become a Patron!
  • Conference USA news and notes
    • UTEP favored to beat an FBS team (note: the game was canceled after recording)
    • Conference standings and where Rice football fits in the mix
  • Rice Football vs Southern Miss game recap
    • Mike Collins is playing on another level
    • Austin Trammell is the best version of himself
    • Defense impressive, especially with so many key pieces missing
    • Aggressiveness pays off on multiple occasions
  • Rice Football vs UTSA game preview
    • Limiting Sincere McCormick is a must
    • What’s the best game Frank Harris can put together? Will it be enough to outscore the Owls?
    • Impact of this game on C-USA West

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: UAB and Marshall games rescheduled for December

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The previously postponed Rice football games against Marshall and UAB have been officially rescheduled. Both contests wil be played in December.

The fifth (and hopefully final) adjustment to the 2020 Rice football schedule was announced on Wednesday. After a delayed start to their season, which began in earnest at home against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 24, Rice has finalized it’s 2020 slate.

Conference USA has rescheduled both games. Rice will travel to West Virginia to play Marshall on Dec. 5. The Owls will host UAB on Dec. 12. Adding both games back to the 2020 schedules gives Rice a complete C-USA schedule. Should they play out their games, they would be eligible for a spot in the conference championship game, meeting the treshold for games played.

More: Rice Football vs UTSA Game Preview

This is the first time Rice football has added games to its 2020 schedule since the delays began. The LSU game was the first to go on July 30. Son afterward, games against Houston and Army were postponed on Aug. 10 with the removal of the Lamar game following sooner after on August 21.

Here is the newly revised schedule as it currently stands: The Owls are home against Middle Tennessee (Loss, Oct. 24), UTSA (Nov. 7) and UTEP (Nov. 28) and UAB (Dec. 12). Rice plays at Southern Miss (Win, Oct. 31), Louisiana Tech (Nov. 14), North Texas (Nov. 21) and Marshall (Dec. 5).

The Conference USA Championship game is scheduled to take place on Dec. 18. With the conference’s bowl slate beginning almost immediately afterward, there’s no more wiggle room to push that game back furter. If Rice were to play in every game, that would account for nine consecutive weekends of football with no off weekend.

Rice football returns to the field this Saturday at home against UTSA. Kickoff time is set for 2:30 p.m. with the broadcast on ESPN. The Owls are 1-1 on the season.

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Rice Football 2020: Post Southern Miss presser and practice notes

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There’s a lot going on in the world of Rice football. Here’s a rundown of the weekly press conference and an update from practice headed into the UTSA game.

The season is back in full swing and we’ve got a full slate of Rice football updates on deck for everyone this week. I’ll include a few snippets from today’s press conference here as well as updates from practice on Monday. The players were off on Tuesday for the Election.

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Press conference notes and quotes

Head coach Mike Bloomgren did note a few players of the week following the victory:

  • Defensive Player of the Game – Chike Anigbogu
  • Offensive Player of the Game – Austin Trammell
  • Special Teams Player of the Game – Charlie Mendes
  • Offense Scout Team Player of the Week – Caleb James
  • Defense Scout Team Player of the Week – TJ McMahon
  • Special Teams Player of the Week – Terreance Ellis

“Anytime you are giving up big plays the way we did in the first game, that’s never a good thing. I think we talked a lot about eliminating the big plays, keeping it in front of us, and I think the guys got the message and we played a lot better in those critical situations at the end of the half and on third down.” – Brian Smith on the what the defense did differently from game one to game two

It felt good to get a win, it really did. It felt great to get a win on Saturday. An incredible effort from start to finish from our guys. I think, really the opening kickoff all the way through the fourth quarter you saw a lot of strain, a lot of physicality. And I can’t say enough about how proud I am of that team for continuing to work the way they did.” – Bloomgren on the Owls’ first win of 2020

“Mike [Collins] is the biggest change. It’s the best play we’ve had out of a quarterback in our time here… Mike is changing the game for our football team. He’s giving everybody a chance to showcase their talent. And it sure doesn’t hurt that the offensive line and the blocking unit is giving him time as well. Everything’s working together, but if I were to identify one change, so far, it would be Mike Collins.” – Bloomgren on the biggest change in the offense from last year to this year

“Two games in, we’re in a good spot… I just don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves I think we’ve got so much we can improve on right now. Yes, we’re better, but that was a pretty low bar. I want to see how good this offense can perform.” – Bloomgren on how the offense meets his expectations

Practice updates and Southern Miss takeaways

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