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30 Days: Owls must continue to find offensive success in conference play

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Rice football had a tough 2017 campaign but even a 1-win conference record leaves reasons for Owls to be hopeful for the future.

The non-conference slate for Rice football in 2018 is a mixed bag. From Prairie View A&M to LSU, the Owls will face the full spectrum of difficulty outside the bounds of Conference USA competition. Those games are good measuring sticks for the program but ultimately aren’t as valuable in the long run if Rice doesn’t take care of their eight-game conference schedule.

The Owls weren’t perfect in conference play last season, but they did pick up their lone victory against CUSA foe UTEP. There’s more to the conference story beyond the singular victory. Rice was 30 percent more productive on offense in conference games than they were in non-conference games in 2017.

Here’s how the Rice offense fared inside and outside of CUSA action:

Per Game Avg CUSA OOC Change
Total yards 360 277 30%
Points 20.4 8 155%
Third down conv. 42.6 32.1 33%
First downs 18.4 9.8 87%
Turnovers 1.9 3.5 46%

Rice was better across the board in every major offensive metric in conference play. That bump up in production only translated into one win, but its a strong launching point for new head coach Mike Bloomgren and his staff to build on. The Owls must find success in conference play before they can tackle more ambitious goals like another conference championship.

Excluding Rice, five of the 14 teams in conference USA allowed more than 400 yards per game last season. The Owls play four of them this season: FIU, Old Dominion, North Texas and UTEP. Taking advantage of some of the softer defenses in CUSA won’t just pad the stats; it will pave the way for more wins. Rice is already heading in the right direction. They just need to kick things into a slightly higher gear.

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2019 WR Zane Knipe commits to Owls

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Houston, speed is not a problem. Rice football has secured the commitment of blazing-fast wideout Zane Knipe from Lamar High School.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

Houston speedster Zane Knipe is staying home. After bringing in several out-of-state prospects early on this summer the Owls returned to their own stomping grounds to reel in another big-time commitment. The 3-star wide receiver out of Lamar High School in Houston announced his commitment to the Owls on Twitter :

https://twitter.com/k_zane28/status/1022298969425231873

This one was a big one for the Owls. Knipe put himself into the spotlight with a strong showing at The Opening – Houston. He’s got great finesse and moves well on the field, but his speed is what could make him a gamebreaker on the next level. A 4×100 relay runner, Knipe has the ability to turn on the jets and go.

Knipe’s recruitment has been relatively quiet up to this point. When he decided the time was right to commit to Rice he’d only reportedly received one other D1 scholarship offer from Illinois. Regardless of whether it was the allure of the Owls or his happiness with home cooking, Knipe’s commitment is one more brick in a message that coach Mike Bloomgren has been building for some time. Rice is good enough on every front for kids to stay in town rather than go out of state. Knipe obviously believes it, and more could follow.

The commitment from Knipe will bump the Owls back up to No. 6 in Conference USA, sliding in one spot in front of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. That’s a good start for mid-summer, especially considering where the Owls have been in the ranks at this point in prior years (hint: think bottom).

Bloomgren’s first full recruiting class continues to move along. Whether it’s the dead period, the quiet period or the normal course of the season, he’s working. His efforts to get Knipe into the fold have paid off. Who’s next?

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31 Days: It’s time for Owls to start picking off some passes

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Rice football tallied six takeaways over 12 games in 2017 which contributed to one of the worst turnover margins in school history.

The turnover battle was not kind to the Owls in 2017. In truth, it hasn’t been favorable for some time. Since winning the conference title in 2013 the Owls have regressed significantly in turnover margin. Last season the Owls hit rock bottom. Their six total turnovers forced were not only the worst mark in Conference USA, it was the fewest turnovers forced in Division I football.

Rice was one of only four programs last season that forced fewer than 10 takeaways. They finished tied for fourth-worst in giveaways with 29. All told Rice finished with a dismal turnover margin of -23. Including the Owls’ 2017 season, there have been only six instances in which a team finished with a turnover margin -20 or worse since 2000.

In 1977 Rice registered an outstanding 51 takeaways, including 31 interceptions. Spread across 11 contests, the Owls averaged 2.8 interceptions per game. That’s a world of difference when juxtaposed with the three interceptions the 2017 squad accumulated in 12 games. Here’s how the record-setting 1977 season compared to the five most recent seasons:

Season INT Gain Fumbles Gain Total Takeaways INT Lost Fumbles Lost Total Turnovers Turnover Margin
2017 3 3 6 16 13 29 -23
2016 5 6 11 10 8 18 -7
2015 2 8 10 9 13 22 -12
2014 9 11 20 8 4 12 8
2013 14 12 26 9 10 19 7
1977 31 20 51 10 10 20 31

The numbers are pretty jarring and they speak to why Mike Bloomgren was brought in as the new head coach. Although he’s cut his teeth on the offensive side of the ball he still plans to bring the Stanford brand of football, centered on power running and physical defense, to South Main. It won’t be hard to improve on last season’s results, but it’s safe to say the tip drill will be incorporated into practices more frequently moving forward.

Rice doesn’t need to climb all the way up to +31, but getting out of the negatives would go a long way toward making the Owls competitive on a weekly basis in 2018.

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32 Days: Owls proud owners of 32 ties in school history

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Rice football hasn’t registered a tie in more than two decades. Even then, draws were a rare occurrence. The Owls have played 32 tied games in school history.

The tie has quickly become a footnote in college football history. Outside of soccer, which has had mixed interest in the United States at best, ties don’t frequently make appearances on any level of professional or collegiate sports. Rice football is no exception to that trend.

Entering the 2018 season Rice football has finished 269 consecutive games without a tie. That string of tie-less outcomes dates back to a 21-all finish against Army on Sept. 30, 1995. The result was a near-miss for the Owls, who were coached by Ken Hatfield at the time. With Rice leading by three points in the final moments, Army placekicker  J. Parker booted through a 44-yard field goal to bring the score even. The final whistle sounded and the game was ended without a deciding point ever being scored.

At the time, no provision for overtime existed. That game was the 32nd tie in school history and the last time the Owls would leave a gem unresolved ever — at least according to the current college football overtime rules that were implemented in 1996. That season, the year following the Army-Rice draw, overtime was instituted. If the game ended without a winner teams would trade possessions starting at the 25-yard line until the score was no longer equal. Since then, draws have faded away from the lexicon of the modern college football fan.

Even when a tie was possible it was still an extremely rare occurrence. From 1970 to 1994 Rice tallied four tied games, a rate of 1.5 percent or three times for every 200 games. Now, the tie is nothing but ancient history, but it remains an interesting anecdote, a quirky part of Rice football history.

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2018 Prairie View A&M Panthers Season Preview

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Rice football kicks off the 2018 season with a home game against the Prairie View A&M Panthers. Can the Panthers challenge the Owls on their home turf?

Since moving on from the Southwestern Conference in 1996 Rice football has gone through some difficult stretches. Some years were tough, but none were as draining as the 80-game losing streak the Prairie View A&M Panthers accrued from 1991 to 1998. PVAMU has come a long way since then, showing enough improvement to warrant the construction of a new stadium, completed in 2016.

Head coach Willie Simmons shockingly resigned following the 2017 season to take over at his Alma Mater, Florida A&M. In his place, Prairie View A&M hired former Grambling State offensive coordinator Eric Dooley as the school’s 33rd head coach. He inherits a program that finished 6-5 last year, their third consecutive winning season.

The 2018 game between PVAMU and Rice marks the second meeting in the series. Rice won the first contest in 2016 by the final score of 65-44.

Offense

Any missteps the Panthers have suffered over the last several years have not fallen upon the offense. PVAMU has been a consistent offensive power in the SWAC for several years, most recently on the arm and legs of quarterback Neiko Hollins. Following a marvelous freshman season, Hollins was set to lead the Panthers in 2018 before announcing his decision to transfer late this summer.

Hollins earned the starting job midway through last season. Even with the late start he finished second in the conference in passing touchdowns and third in passing touchdowns. PVAMU, which had begun the season 2-3, finished 4-2 under his leadership. He’ll be a tough man to replace.

In his place, PVAMU will turn to redshirt junior Jalen Morton. Morton appeared in six games last season, completing 8-of-17 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. He’ll be asked to spread the ball around to playmakers on the outside and could surpass those season-long statistics early on against Rice.

Joining Morton on offense will be junior running back Dawonya Tucker who rushed for 531 yards and five touchdowns as a complimentary piece to All-SWAC running back Sta’Fon McCray. McCray has since moved on leaving Tucker and Kansas State transfer Bernard Goodwater as the primary ballcarriers moving forward.

There will be plenty of new faces in the receiving corps too. Markus Hardy, the Panthers’ leading returning receiver, registered 14 catches, 280 yards and three touchdowns in 2017. The focus should shift to Trinity Valley College transfer Tristen Wallace, a former four-star recruit who was dismissed from Oregon before making his way through the JUCO ranks to PVAMU.

Defense

At a bare minimum, the Prairie View A&M defense will need to hold the line in 2018. The Panthers were hot and cold on defense last season before ending the year on a bit of a hot streak. They held three of their last five opponents to 17 points or fewer.

Defensive coordinator Henry Miller is the new man in charge and he inherits a cupboard, that while not overflowing with riches, has some key pieces that could be difference makers for the Panthers next season. Junior defensive back Ju’Anthony Parker picked off four passes in 2017, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Joining him in the defensive backfield is junior Reggie Stubblefield who tallied eight pass breakups a year ago.

In the front seven, linebacker Anthony Stubbs is the name to know. He picked up 69 tackles (eight for a loss) in 2017 and promises to have an equally productive 2018 season.

Schedule

Date Opponent
8/25/2018 Rice
9/2/2018 North Carolina Central
9/8/2018 Sam Houston
9/15/2018 UNLV
9/22/2018 Arkansas – Pine Bluff
9/29/2018 Grambling State
10/13/2018 Southern
10/27/2018 Alcorn State
11/3/2018 Jackson State
11/17/2018 Alabama State
11/24/2018 Texas Southern
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