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Rice Football: Week 2 Wake Forest Press Conference quotes

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Rice Football suffered a close loss to Army, but Mike Bloomgren and the Owls are looking forward to getting another shot against Wake Forest in Week 2.

One week down and 11 more to go. Rice Football is ready to move on from their Week 1 loss as they prepare for a rematch with Wake Forest. Hear from coach Mike Bloomgren and a few of the Owls’ players as they recap the loss and look forward to Week 2.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the offensive philosophy against Army…

“Offensively, going into the game, I wanted to match their style of play. I didn’t want them to be able to hold the ball for 40 minutes. I wanted to be able to have a pretty even time of possession, which, at the end of the third quarter it was really close. I wanted to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter by taking them to deep water. That’s exactly what we had. We had a drive to go down and score. I told the team this, I had no intention of kicking an extra point. We were going to go for two because we were there to win the game. ”

On kicker Will Harrison…

“In college football, when you line up to kick them, they have to go through the pipes. That’s the kicker’s job. I had a good conversation with Will Harrison. Our team has his back. We’re trying to get him to do his job and be confident that he can do his job. We’re really trying to get his confidence back so he can be the kicker that we know he can be this week. We’re going to need it.”

On preparing for Wake Forest…

“They’re a unique offense with what they do. It’s a great challenge for our guys. The other thing that’s going to be a great challenge is that I heard it’s going to be Houston Hot on Friday. They’re saying 102 degrees. So we’re going to prepare for that as well. We got the advantage we can go out in it and get ready for that. So we’re going to go out in it today and tomorrow and we’re going to be battle-tested.”

On how the offense changes against Wake Forest…

“In the flow of a normal game, we’re going to have more possessions. Maybe we’ll throw a ball on possession-and-10, the first play of a drive, which we did zero times on Friday night on purpose. We’ll have more opportunities and, hopefully, find more of a rhythm. But, we have to make the most of every opportunity in the passing game.”

From Nahshon Ellerbe

On fullback Reagan Williams…

“I call him Moses because he just parts the defense on every play.”

From Antonio Montero

On the transition from practice to stopping Army on the field…

“The speed of the game didn’t feel much different, comparing Army to our scout teams. That’s a testament to how Coach Svoboda had them prepared, the effort they put into practice.”

On the confidence level of the team…

“Playing a really good team like Army, playing them that close shows that we can play with anybody. So obviously, I’m incredibly optimistic about that too. And now we have another really good challenge coming up in Wake Forest and I think we can do, if not the same, even beat Wake Forest.”

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Rice Football: Owls forge identity with physical start

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Rice Football came excruciatingly close to a program-defining win over Army, only to come up short. Even in defeat, a new identity was formed.

Pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense. Rice Football’s battle cry, per se.

That statement echoes through the halls at South Main, but it carries a different ring following Rice football’s lastest outing. The Owls dropped a one-score game on the road against Army. A game in which the Rice defense contained the run-heavy Black Knights. On the other side of the ball, the Rice offense finally began to resemble the mantra the Owls have repeated since Mike Bloomgren arrived on campus.

Against Army, Rice ran the ball 30 times on 44 offensive snaps (68.1 percent of plays), averaging 6.03 yards per carry. That marked the third time under Bloomgren the rushing offense had been that effective and amassed that large of a portion of offensive plays. But that’s about to be the new normal.

When asked about the shift in philosophy for the Owls from the Army game to the Wake Forest game in Week 2, Bloomgren was resolute.

“The 14 opportunities is really on pace with who we are. We had 49 snaps, I guess 44 official. So if you take that to a 70 play game, now we’re throwing it 25 times, and that’s about who we are,” Bloomgren said, “if we can pound the rock, we’re going to keep pounding the freakin rock and take our calculated shots. And then we’ll throw it on third down when necessary. And so I don’t think we’ll play much different”

More: Week 2 Game Preview – Rice vs Wake Forest

If that style of play is going to be truly effective, Rice is going to have to improve. Better quarterback play and more effective third downs are a must. Wiley Green had great moments against Army, but never quite seemed to settle in. He got the offense into the right calls and, for the most part, managed the game well.

As Green sees it, he says he needs to be “preparing myself to be ready to throw the ball at any point at any time.” That’s true whether its 14 times a game or 44 times. The total number of throws didn’t phase him. Despite the low point total, Green was adamant “I feel more comfortable now than I could have ever [felt before].”

There will be some differences in the Rice offensive attack on Friday against Wake Forest on Friday. The coaching staff and the players on offense know what things need to be ironed out. On the whole, though, the look isn’t expected to change much, if at all. The Owls have found their identity. And at several points against Army, it seemed to be working.

“No congrats yet, it’s a win business,” Bloomgren mused after practice. But he knows how close the Owls had come to a defining upset.

Perhaps for the first time, it feels like Rice has become the kind of physical team on both sides of the ball they’ve been working to become since Bloomgren arrived on campus. There is ample room to grow in effectiveness, particularly on offense, but the core components aren’t changing. Finally, this is Rice football.

Get more insight on “The Process” in an exclusive interview with Mike Bloomgren, available in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview.
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Rice Football 2019 Game Preview: Owls vs Wake Forest

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Rice Football returns to Houston for their 2019 home opener against Wake Forest. How to watch, stats to know, x-factor picks for both teams and more.

A 1-0 start for Wake Forest and an 0-1 start for Rice were both results of games that came down to the final minutes. Neither team faced a deficit larger than seven points in their first game the difference was what each squad was able to accomplish when the clock ticked under two minutes.

Rice quarterback Wiley Green saw his fourth down pass fall to the ground incomplete. Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman found Kendall Hinton in the endzone on fourth down for the go-ahead score.

The Owls feel like their Week 1 loss to Army was a winnable game which got away from them. Here’s how they stack up with their Week 2 opponent, Wake Forest.

Broadcast Info

Kickoff time | 7:00 PM CT
Venu | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | CBS Sports Network
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)
Streaming | CBSSN Online

Audio Preview

Episode 6 of The Roost Podcast is live. 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.) This week Carter and I broke down the good and the bad from the Army game then moved on to Week 2, discussing how Rice matches up with Wake Forest.

Sizing up the contenders

A year ago these teams didn’t look to belong on the same field. Wake Forest rolled at home, winning 56-24 behind the dangerous combination of quarterback Sam Hartman and wide receiver Greg Dortch. That duo combined for four touchdowns in the rout, but neither will be in the starting lineup against Rice on Friday. Dortch has moved on. Hartman was beat out for the starting job this fall.

The 2019 versions of these teams look slightly different. The Rice defense looked aggressive in their opener against Army while their offense stalled. On the other sideline, Wake Forest had a hard time getting off the field against Utah State, but overcame those deficiencies with a surplus of offensive firepower.

This matchup will pair strength against strength (Rice defense vs Wake Forest offense) and weakness against weakness (Rice offense vs Wake Forest defense).

Series History

All Time | Series tied 1-1
Last Five | Series tied 1-1
Last Meeting | Wake Forest won at Wake Forest 56-24 in 2018

Rice Stat Notables

Passing | Green – 7/14 (50 percent), 62 yards passing, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Ellerbe – 9 carries, 103 yards (11.4 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Trammell – 4 receptions, 40 yards (10 yards per reception)
Tackles | Montero – 11
Pass Breakups/Interceptions | N/A

Wake Forest Stat Notables

Passing | Newman – 34/47 (72.3 percent), 401 yards passing, 3 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Carney – 25 carries, 105 yards (4.2 yards per carry)
Receiving | Surrat – 7 receptions, 158 yards (22.6 yards per reception), 1 TD
Tackles | Strnad – 12
Pass Breakups/Interceptions | Henderson, Strnad, Rucker – Tied with 1

Wake Forest X-Factor | The ground game

Quarterback Jamie Newman is not a traditional pocket passer. He has a good arm, but he’ll try to attack the Owls on the ground too, along with lead running back Cade Carney. That duo combined for 46 carries, 141 rushing yards and a touchdown in their Week 1 win over Utah State.

Stopping the run was a strength of the Rice defense a year ago and the notable bright spot of their Week 1 game against Army. That will make setting the tone in the trenches a necessity for the Owls in Week 2. If Rice can hold their own up front, they’ll limit force Wake Forest to be more one-dimensional, allowing the safeties to spend more time helping in pass coverage than plugging holes at the line of scrimmage.

Rice X-Factor | Corner play

This will be the first true test for a Rice secondary of the season. Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins attempted just eight passes, but the lone touchdown came on a critical fourth quarter drive with no defender in the vicinity of the wideout who snagged what would be the game-winning touchdown.

Rice has had strong safety play, highlighted by the swarming defense of Treshawn Chamberlain and the intensity of George Nyakwol. The corners are unproven. Corners Andrew Bird, D’Angelo Ellis, Tyrae Thornton, Josh Landrum and Tre’shon Devones saw action against Army and should all be in the mix against Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons are going to throw the ball around the yard, something they succeeded in against the Owls last year. If the corner play doesn’t show improvement, the Rice offense is going to be tasked with digging out of a sizable hole.

Injury Report

A detailed injury update is available in our Sunday practice update. Further updates will be provided here as the week progresses. Here’s a quick synopsis.

Running back Juma Otoviano underwent a procedure and will be out for the foreseeable future. Given the depth in the backfield and the uncertainty of his recovery timetable, he could be a candidate to redshirt this season, possibly playing in a few games down the stretch.

Both running back Charlie Booker and wide receiver Zane Knipe were last minute scratches against Army, but both could have gone if the situation warranted it. Barring a set back during the week, it’s possible both play against Wake Forest.

Kicker Zack Hoban is out of his boot but not yet kicking in practice. His status for Friday’s game is unknown.

Need More?

The Roost’s 2019 Rice Football Season Preview has four pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth chart, important new arrivals and depth chart breakdowns for each foe. Better yet, it’s not just speculation, each profile was created with insight from local experts who cover those teams day in and day out. Pick up your copy today and get four pages and more than 1,000 words on Wake Forest.

Pick ‘Em Contest

If you haven’t yet, make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and submit them on the forum thread to enter.

  1. How many players attempt a pass for Rice?
    (Over 1.5 / Under 1.5)
  2. Which team will have more rushing yards?
    (Rice / Wake Forest)
  3. Which happens first – Rice touchdown or Rice forces a turnover?
    (Touchdown / Turnover)
  4. How many sacks will the Rice defense get?
    (Over 2.5 / Under 2.5)
  5. Who is leading at the end of Q1?
    (Wake Forest / Rice or Tied)
  6. Who wins?
    (Rice / Wake Forest)

One Final Thing

There was plenty of good and bad to take away from the Owls’ Week 1 loss against Army, but it was just one game. The sample size is too small to draw too many meaningful conclusions. That’s what makes this next game all the more important. Rice can either solidify concerns leftover from their season-opening defeat or they can alleviate the worry with a strong showing in Week 2.

Wake Forest is a good football team, another quality opponent in a challenging non-conference slate. Rice showed their competitive spark against Army, now it’s time to see if they can get all phases working together at the same time. At this point in the season, it’s hard to be sure exactly what this team is going to be but the first impression was overwhelmingly positive.

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Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox released by Chiefs

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Per Dani Welniak, Former Rice Football Jack Fox has been released by the Kansas City Chiefs. What’s next for Fox in his NFL journey?

The NFL is a tough business, particularly for specialists. While wide receivers and offensive lineman view for more than 100 starting jobs and dozens of other backup roles, there are only so many special teams positions open at any one time.

Jack Fox finds himself in the midst of that unfortunate roster crunch. Competing with NFL vet Dustin Colquitt in Kansas City, Fox held his own, matching the long-time pros leg throughout the preseason. When it came time for the Chiefs to make a decision, they opted for the guy that’s been around for a decade.

More: Owls fall short of upset, drop heartbreaker to Army

That puts Fox in an uncomfortable state of limbo, for now. After his release from the Chiefs, Fox was put on waivers. Teams will have until Sunday at 12:00 p.m. ET to claim Fox and other players off waivers before teams will begin to construct their practice squads.

As he demonstrated during the preseason, the talent is there for Fox to take another run at a full-time gig. Here are a few things to keep a look on over the weekend.

1. Teams need punters

Kansas City was forced to make a decision between two good punts. Not every NFL squad is that fortunate, and that bodes well for Fox. Teams like the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers had particularly suspect punting games. It’s well within the realm of possibility that Fox is signed to a team like that and given another chance to win a starting job as early as this season.

2. The Chiefs aren’t off limits

It’s also possible that Kansas City liked what they saw in their rookie punter. The extended audition through the preseason might not have been enough for him to win the job outright, but the Chiefs may be open to keeping a close eye on Fox to see how he develops throughout the season. Another team could claim him from the practice squad or he could get another shot at battling Colquitt in the future.

3. Injuries and performance issues

There’s no circumstance where anyone would root for a player to be hurt, but the NFL is a dangerous business. The same 32 punters who begin the year might not make it through the season healthy, opening the door for others like Fox. Beyond that, those who remain healthy might not perform to expectations.

Similar possibilities exist for Fox’s former teammate, Austin Walter, who was released by the 49ers this weekend.

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Rice Football: Owls salvage hope from tough loss at Army

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Losing isn’t fun, but although they suffered a tough loss to Army in Week 1, Rice football proved to themselves and the nation they’ve come a long way.

“Defensively I just don’t know if we could have asked for more.” That’s how Mike Bloomgren opened his comments following what can only be labeled a heartbreaking loss on the road to Army in Week 1. The Owls defense had indeed stood tall, limiting a high-powered Army offense to 14 points — the Black Knights had dropped 70 points on crosstown rival Houston in their last game.

That defense, led by Antonio Montero’s 11 tackle performance, helped set the Rice offense up with a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The Owls were able to push the ball into Army territory but failed to convert on a fourth and one.

Seven points from the offense was disappointing, but the end result, a narrow defeat to a quality opponent, gave the entire team a confidence boost. “[We] took a team to deep water,” Bloomgren remarked,  “took a team of that caliber to deep water… and we came up a play short at the end of the day. We’re going to learn from it.”

Montero echoed those sentiments. “If we can hang in with a really good team like Army we can win a lot of games this season and down the road,” he said.

Hope is a dangerous thing. Entering Friday night, that belief was the only thing Bloomgren and his players had to hold onto. Now they have data, real life results of their hope in action. It wasn’t perfect and the taste in their mouthes is decidedly bitter. But something clicked on Friday. The Owls were able to prove to themselves they were different from a year ago.

More: Read more about the Owls’ next opponent, Wake Forest, in our 2019 Season Preview

Bloomgren said it best. “There’s so many things that will be so obvious to so many people that we are no the same team from 2018, we’re just not,” he declared. “The programs different. The way guys are working is different. Everything is just different.”

Following a 2-11 season, different is a very good thing. Thus far in 2019, Rice Football is 0-1 with 11 more opportunities to turn that confidence into reality. The next game can’t come soon enough.

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