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The Roost Podcast | Ep 56 – 2020 Rice Football Preview with JP Heath

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Rice Owls voice JP Heath returns to the show to discuss the upcoming Rice Football season and what it’s going to look like from his booth.

Returning for his second appearance on The Roost Podcast, Rice Owls voice JP Heath joins Carter and Matthew and shares his thoughts on the 2020 Rice Football Season. The trio talk through the biggest news from the previous week — the emergence of Mike Collins as the starting quarterback and the opt-out of wide receiver Bradley Rozner — as well as a few items near and dear to JP’s heart.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 56.

Episode 56 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
    Become a Patron!
  • Rice Football breaking news!
    • Mike Collins has been named the starting quarterback
    • Wide receiver Brad Rozner will not participate this season, instead choosing to opt out
  • Conference USA news and notes
    • UTSA salvages a “moral victory” against BYU
    • FAU has only played one more game than Rice
    • Louisiana Tech leads the West. FAU and Marshall lead the East
  • JP Heath joins the show and shares his thoughts on:
    • Rice football fall camp including standout freshmen, position groups of worry and the quarterback battle
    • What the broadcast is going to look like this fall, and what’s still up in the air
    • Mental Health week and his plan to raise awareness

What do you think?

Have an opinion you’d like to share on the Owls’ opponents and/or roster? Leave it in a review on iTunes or send us your thoughts on Twitter, or any of our other social accounts.

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 Recruiting: Offensive lineman John Long commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has landed its second commitment in a week. Offensive lineman John Long has committed to the Owls.

Intellectual Brutality is at the core of the Rice football recruiting philosophy. The desire to win in the trenches led to the first commit of the 2021 class, offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe. Ethan Onianwa was the next offensive lineman to join the fold. The Owls added their third big man up front today with the commitment of Lampasas guard John Long.

Long commits to Rice football just three days removed from his first official offer. Long was offered on Oct. 11 and pulled the trigger soon after, committing on Oct. 14. He’s the second member of the 2021 class to commit within a week of receiving his offer from the Owls. Wide receiver Peyton Stevenson committed one week following his offer in mid-September.

Long chose Rice football over offers from UCF, Tulane and North Texas. Beating out a Conference USA peer and two prominent AAC programs is notable for the Owls who continue to raise their recruiting profile as they bring in waves of new talent with each successive recruiting class.

Premium: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 300 pounds, Long looks the part of a people mover in the offensive trenches. He marks the 15th commitment in the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, the third on the offensive line and the seventh offensive commit.

Long is a powerful off the line of scrimmage, capable of pushing defenders around. For a big guy, he’s fairly fleet of foot, pulling from the line and getting out in front as a lead blocker in space. He creates massive holes in the running game, something Rice running backs will appreciate when they have the opportunity to run behind his pads.

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Conference USA Football: Championship game moved to Dec. 18

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The 2020 Conference USA Football championship game has been moved to Dec. 18, a two-week delay to allow the conference scheduling flexibility.

In an announcement that seemed several weeks in the making, the Conference USA football championship game will be delayed two weeks. The game was initially scheduled to take place on Dec. 5, but will now take place on Dec. 18. Per the league office, it will be televised at 6 p.m. CT and be hosted by the team with the highest league winning percentage.

In their release, Conference USA cited scheduling flexibility as a driving force for the change.

The shift of the Championship Game from its originally scheduled December 5th date will create two additional weeks to schedule games that were postponed due to COVID-19-related issues.  Dates and matchups for those re-scheduled games will be announced at a later date.

More: Week 6 Conference USA Football Roundup

It should be noted the conference opted to delay the game two weeks rather than one. This gives two additional weekends to play games. There have been multiple league games already postponed and one team, FAU, had already scheduled a game for Dec. 5 prior to the conference formally moving the championship game. The Owls are slated to take on Georgia Southern on that date, a makeup of a game postponed earlier in the year.

For Rice Football, this move allows for two additional weeks on the back end of the current schedule. I expect a rescheduling of the UAB to be among the Owls’ most pressing items, completing a full C-USA West schedule.

There’s also a chance the Bayou Bucket game against Houston is rescheduled later in the year. Houston is tentatively free on Dec. 5. One would assume conference games would be the priority, but if those are played as scheduled don’t rule an intra-city matchup between the Owls and Cougars this fall.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 5 Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 5.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Week 5 results

Cleveland (Sendejo) def. Indianapolis, 32-23
Baltimore def. Cincinnati (Covington), 27-3
Denver (Anderson, Callahan) vs New England, postponed
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. Philadelphia, 38-29
Houston (Gaines) def. Jacksonville, 30-14
Seattle (Willson) def. Minnesota, 27-26
Detroit (Fox) — BYE

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

The Broncos thought they were playing the Patriots in Week 5 and the Dolphins in Week 6. Neither of those things came to pass. A positive COVID-19 test in New England delayed the DEN-NE game to next weekend with Denver receiving an unexpected off weekend. The Broncos will now visit the Dolphins in Week 6.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

McDonald caught the only pass thrown to him in Week 5, hauling in the four-yard reception which contributed to a 14-play, 62-yard drive which ended in the Steelers’ first touchdown of the day against the Eagles. McDonald has at least one reception in each of Pittsburgh’s first four games. The Steelers host the Browns in Week 6.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Willson continues to see most of his action on special teams. Through the first five weeks of the 2020 season, 77 percent of his snaps have come on special teams with just a handful of plays run with the offense. The Seahawks are on a bye in Week 6.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was busy on Sunday with the Steelers scoring early and often against the Eagles. Boswell had at least one extra point made in each of the four quarters, five in total, and converted his lone field goal attempt of 41 yards. The Steelers host the Browns in Week 6.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

The Broncos thought they were playing the Patriots in Week 5 and the Dolphins in Week 6. Neither of those things came to pass. A positive COVID-19 test in New England delayed the DEN-NE game to next weekend with Denver receiving an unexpected off weekend. The Broncos will now visit the Dolphins in Week 6.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in the Bengals’ Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He tied Amani Bledsoe and Sam Hubbard with the most tackles among Cincinnati’s defensive linemen. The Bengals visit the Colts in Week 6.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

The Lions were off in Week 5, but Jack Fox still leads the NFL in net punting and average. Detroit visits the Jaguars in Week 6.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines did not record a tackle but was active in coverage against the Jaguars in Week 5, Houston’s first win of the season. The Texans visit the Titans in Week 6.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo had four tackles in the Browns’ Week 5 victory over the Colts. He’s had four or more tackles in four of his five games this season. The Browns visit the Steelers in Week 6.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others 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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2020 Rice Football Schedule: How to watch, tv channels and broadcast info

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The broadcast lineup for the 2020 Rice football schedule is as up in the air as the season itself. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Owls.

Every game of the Rice Football schedule in 2020 should be available to watch either through a local cable provider or some sort of streaming service. This guide will have the most up to date information for all of the Owls’ broadcasts, so be sure to bookmark it and refer back every Saturday.

Basketball update

Most of the currently scheduled Rice men’s and women’s basketball games will air on ESPN+. It is a separate, stand-alone streaming service from ESPN3. This streaming-only service is not included in a basic cable subscription or any other ESPN offering. You can subscribe to ESPN+ here. They also offer seven day free trials at any time.

Radio

Rice Owls Voice JP Heath will be on the call for every Rice football game of the season. Listen to him here:

  • Sports Map 94.1 (FM)
  • Stretch Internet (Online)

TV Schedule

The original Rice football schedule featured games exclusively on ESPN3 or ESPN +. The list below will be updated as revised information is made available.

  • 10/24 – vs Middle Tennessee | ESPN3
  • 10/31 – at Southern Miss | ESPN3
  • 11/7 – vs UTSA | ESPN3
  • 11/14 – at Louisiana Tech | ESPN3
  • 11/21 – at North Texas | ESPN3
  • 11/28 – vs UTEP | ESPN3
  • 12/5 – at Marhsall | ESPN+
  • 12/12 – vs UAB | ESPN3

Get to know the Owls’ Opponents

Profiles on every opponent on the 2020 Rice Football schedule as well as all Conference USA peers, including key conference games to watch and storylines across Conference USA are featured in our 2020 Rice Football Season Preview, available for purchase now.

How to watch

ESPN+ is a separate, stand-alone streaming service from ESPN3. This streaming-only service is not included in a basic cable subscription or any other ESPN offering. You can subscribe to ESPN+ here. They also offer seven day free trials at any time.

ESPN3 is available with all major cable providers and can be streamed on the ESPN mobile device or online. Access the streaming service here.

Possible Alternates

CBS SN (Channel Information | DirecTv 221, Dish 158, AT&T Uverse, 643, Xfinity 106). This is not the same as CBS. Depending on your cable provider, it might require a subscription beyond the basic package.

Stadium will broadcast through Facebook for this year’s game with no tv broadcast component. You can find the Stadium page on Facebook here.

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