Rice Football wasted a strong defensive performance, turning the ball over seven times in a loss to Texas State in the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl.

Rice football is going to have to wait at least one more year to check off a bowl win from its to-do list. The Owls started slow but rallied to tie the game midway through the second quarter before self-inflicted wounds soured a second straight bowl appearance and a second straight loss.

“We didn’t perform real well today and that’s always disappointing,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said. “Some of that is certainly because of Texas State and the plays that they made but there’s a lot of plays that we’re very capable of playing that we did not make today.”

Bloomgren was quick to say all the right things about the Bobcats. He credited their playmaking ability and the ways they changed the game on both sides of the ball. But he brought the burden back upon his shoulders and the shoulders of his team. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Luke McCaffrey is special

The Texas State offense got off to a fast start while Rice football struggled to find its rhythm. As the offensive line adjusted, AJ Padgett eased into the game and the runners searched for available yards, Luke McCaffrey applied jolt after jolt to wake his teammates up.

McCaffrey picked up a key third down on a jet sweep to get the Owls inside the redzone. Then he delivered again a few plays later with a tightrope walk down the sideline for the Owls’ opening score.

Luke McCaffrey, tight-rope walker. pic.twitter.com/OAcdoRa0yM

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) December 26, 2023

If this is the last time we see Luke McCaffrey in a Rice uniform, it was a treat. That score was his 13th touchdown reception of the season, tying James Casey (2008) for the fourth most in school history. His 19 career touchdown receptions are third all-time at Rice. In just two years, McCaffrey has firmly affixed himself among the greatest receivers in program history. He will be missed.

One more bright spot on offense: Dean Connors was the first Owl with multiple rushing touchdowns in a bowl game since Dicky Maegle scored three against Alabama in the 1954 Cotton Bowl.

Offense implodes

The driver for the Owls’ offensive issues was a lack of protection up front. Whether it was in the passing game or the running game, Rice was getting punished at the line of scrimmage. AJ Padgett was sacked twice in the first quarter and took several additional hits. He evaded pressure as best he could and stood in the pocket and took some hits, but it was almost impossible to find any sort of rhythm.

“I’m sure there were times when the protection could have been better, but there were times that the first read was there and we just need to get the ball to one of our best players and give him a chance. And we weren’t able to do that,” Bloomgren said. “And things snowballed a little bit today. I don’t know that we were able to go to the next play as well as I wish we could once we got shook.”

It was the same story on the ground. Rice managed four yards on their first 12 carries, including the 12 yards lost on Padgett sacks. Even excluding the sack yardage, 1.6 yards per carry makes for a dismal outing.

All of that would have been bad enough. Then came the turnovers. The Rice offense handed the ball to Texas State five times. AJ Padgett threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Third-stringer Shawqi Itraish (who entered the season fourth string behind JT Daniels, Padgett and Jenkins) threw two more picks.

Nothing went right for the Rice offense on a night when just a little bit of juice might have gone a long way given how well the defense played.

Defense does its part

While the offense spun its wheels, the defense did all it could to keep Texas State in front of them. The Bobcat offense had seven drives in the first half. They scored two quick touchdowns on a seven-play and an eight-play drive, respectively.

On the other five drives, Texas State had four three-and-outs and one field goal, tallying 68 yards on 27 total plays, 2.5 yards per play. That included a redzone stand inside the 10-yard line to force a field goal as the clock ran down in the second quarter. Several plays of that sequence happened without Josh Pearcy and Coleman Coco on the field as they battled injuries, although Coco returned to finish the series.

Handed a short field following a special teams gaffe to start the third quarter, the defense made Texas State earn every yard of their first possession of the second half. The Bobcats would score on a throwback pass to an offensive lineman following a 10-play, 30-yard drive.

“They were dominant,” Bloomgren said. “It didn’t matter what situation they got put in they really did some really cool things tonight.”

Every point counts, but the defense was only responsible for 31 points — several on short fields —  against a Texas State team that averaged 36 points per game, a top 20 mark in the nation. It was a solid performance that could have been enough for a win had the special teams and offense done their part.

AJ Padgett underwhelms in prime time audition

Rice football signed former Temple quarterback and AAC passing leader EJ Warner during the early signing period. No declarations when Bloomgren met with the media to address the class, but Bloomgren has commented before on his strategy when it comes to adding transfers. It’s merit-based. The best player will play.

Production on the field at Rice is part of that evaluation. Padgett had a golden opportunity against a Texas State defense that has leaked yards and points all season to offer his first audition to the coaching staff and make his claim for the starting job. He failed.

Padgett’s picks were crippling. None of the turnovers were fluke plays with balls bouncing off receivers and landing in the wrong hands. All three were squarely on the decision-making of Padgett who put the ball in places where it ought not have gone.

Bloomgren confirmed after the game both of Padgett’s removals were performance-based decisions. He was benched for Chase Jenkins, returned to the game briefly, and then was lifted for Itraish. On a night when he needed to be at his best, he was benched twice.

“I thought we’d exhaust everything we had,” Bloomgren said when asked about the quarterback moves. “I wanted to make sure this team and especially those seniors on defense knew we were trying everything we could to get this thing going and give them a chance to win this game.”

We’ll probably have a quarterback battle in the spring and given Warner’s resume, he probably should have been the frontrunner to begin with. Padgett didn’t do himself any favors on Tuesday night. Neither did anyone else.

Special Teams goes out on a low note

It’s been a rough year for special teams. The bowl game might have been the lowest point yet. On Tuesday night we saw the special teams unit:

• Kick a kickoff out of bounds
• Kick a 16-yard punt
• Muff a pooch kick and allow Texas State to gain possession
• Lose possession after a player was hit in the head running down to block for a punt return

Two special teams turnovers don’t come close to the offense’s total (five), but they can’t escape notice after the year this unit has had.

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