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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 219 – Rice Football Edges UAB and Stadium News

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Rice Football takes down UAB on homecoming to improve to 5-5 days following the massive renovation new for Rice Stadium.

It was a wonderful Homecoming weekend on South Main. Rice Football triumphed over UAB in what was a rather workmanlike effort and the university announced some rather significant renovation plans for Rice Stadium. We talked through it all. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page.

For now, give a listen to Episode 219.

Episode Notes

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Rice Football vs UAB Game Recap and The Gateway Project

  • Rice Offense workmanlike and, for the most part, effective
  • Winning in clutch moments and reproducibility
  • Defense plays some of its best ball of the entire season
  • Assessing how we got here and the trajectory of the program
  • Rice Stadium news

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice Football Holds on for Homecoming win over UAB

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Rice Football trailed at halftime but pitched a shutout against UAB after the break, rallying to secure a crucial Homecoming win over the Blazers.

A close game from wire to wire, Rice football got the stops in needed on defense late to earn its fifth win of the season, defeating UAB 24-17 on Homecoming. The Owls head into a bye week one win away from bowl eligibility. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Offense Gets Into Gear Quickly

Head coach Scott Abell spent all week exhorting his team to start fast, so when the defense forced a three-and-out and the offense took there was palpable tension in Rice Stadium. The offense responded with three plays for negative one yard and a fumble. Quarterback Chase Jenkins looked indecisive and the offense went backwards before turning it over to UAB, which capitalized via a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Rather than let the be a harbinger of woe, Jenkins and the offense took a deep breath and returned to the field ready to play.

“We planned to start out fast and we probably did the exact opposite. I put that on me. I think it was one of the biggest moments from me, coming off adversity,” Jenkins said. “I feel like that’s just a step in growth that we’ve taken. We didn’t let that moment set us back.”

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Jenkins proceeded to lead the offense 62 yards in 10 plays, handing the ball off on nine successive plays until he pulled the ball and tossed it down the right sideline to Tyson Thompson for a 23-yard touchdown strike.

After a quick three-and-out, the offense authored an option offense opus. Taking over in plus territory at the UAB 48-yard line, Rice reeled off a 19-play touchdown drive, burning 9:01 off the clock before D’Andre Hardeman plunged into the endzone from one-yard out for the go-ahead score. The drive was the longest of the season by time and number of plays, outpacing an 18-play, 8:15 drive against Navy that ended with a field goal.

“It’s part of the formula. It’s not always sexy out there, but when the other offense isn’t on the field, that’s really good for our defense,” Abell said. “I thought, for really three quarters, we executed phenomenally.”

Even including the rough start, the Rice offense delivered at least six plays and 30 yards on six of their next seven drives (excluding the one play at the end of the half), including drives of 10, 19, 11, and nine plays. In terms of dictating the game, this was a much-improved performance which could have gone from good to great if they’d been able to finish on offense in the fourth quarter.

Special Teams Provides a Spark

The offense was aided by some strong plays from the special teams. Quinton Jackson had a 32-yard kickoff return. Tyson Thompson had a 12-yard punt return. The biggest swing, though, was the block punt credited to Peyton Stevenson at the end of the first quarter. The tip resulted in a 21-yard kick, which set Rice up inside UAB territory for their lengthy go-ahead scoring drive.

Rice also got a heads-up play from up man David Kasemervisz at the end of the first half. With time expiring, he jumped on a low kick and fell on the ball with one second left. That gave the offense time for a Hail Mary attempt, which Jenkins would end up pulling down to scramble as the clock expired.

There would be more. Blake Boenisch got a hand on a fourth-quarter punt, which resulted in a 10-yard punt and positive field position for the Owls, rather than a drive starting in the shadow of their own endzone. That would prove important after the offense stalled out and punter Alex Bacchetta was able to pin UAB inside their own 10-yard line with a well-placed punt of his own.

Consistency Remains a Work in Progress

At times, the duality of the 2025 Rice football team is hard to comprehend. Removing the long touchdown allowed following the Rice turnover, the defense held UAB to six yards on its first seven plays and held the Blazers to less than one yard per carry in the first half, bowing up in the redzone with three stops inside the five to force a field goal.

On the subsequent drive, they allowed UAB quarterback Ryder Burton to toss a 21-yard touchdown pass on third and goal with three seconds remaining on the clock.

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The Rice offense was similarly hot and cold. As quickly as it heated up and sustained momentum through the third quarter things began to fall apart late. Rice produced one first down in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a personal foul committed by UAB. The totaled two offensive yards.

“We just probably lost our legs a little bit in the fourth quarter,” Abell said. “That probably kept this game from being put away midway through the fourth.”

Fortunately for the Owls, the defense was at its best. UAB was 1-for-3 on third down and did not score in the second half.

“I’ve been playing defense a long time and that’s one of the performances I’m probably the most proud of,” defensive end Tony Anyanwu said. “In a critical moment, gotta have it, everyone sold out, gave everything they had for the team. It just shows the brotherhood that we have here. I just love it.”

Back to the Lab

As eager as some might be to get back onto the field after the win, Rice is going to take advantage of this late season bye week with two critical games remaining in their quest for bowl eligibility. A win in either and Rice is bowling in Abell’s first season on campus, no small feat should the Owls achieve it.

“I’m excited about getting our legs fresh. Getting them back underneath us. That gives us time to really dive into what adjustments we can make coming out of the bye week,” Abell said.

“Next time we step on the field it’ll be late November and we’re competing for an opportunity to get win six. I’m really proud of that. I’m proud of our guys. It wasn’t always easy, but I think you learn a lot in these moments. We’re learning how to win. And we’re learning how to win close games. I’m extremely proud of that. I thought this was a great team victory today.”

Digging Deeper

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Clutch Plays — Fourth Down (On Schedule, Third and Shorts)

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Rice Football 2025: UAB Game Week Practice Notes

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Rice Football is assessing all their options this week from personnel to prep as they do all they can on the practice field to prepare for UAB.

Three games remain on the Rice football scheduled and head coach Scott Abell is doing all he can to find a way to earn a fourth chance to play this fall. To reach a bowl game, the Owls are going to have to reach a higher level of consistency or big-play ability than they have so far this season. Both were focal points during practice this week.

Leaning into Variance

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The Roost Podcast | No Treats in Rice Football Halloween loss to Memphis

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Rice Football never came close to scary Memphis on Halloween night. We talk through the loss in this week’s episode of the Roost Podcast.

Any thoughts of an upset were quickly laid to rest on Friday night when Rice football fell behind 21-0 in the early goings against a ranked Memphis squad. There were plenty of things that didn’t go according to plan, making a win a long shot at best before halftime arrived. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 218.

Episode Notes

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Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better. Join our discussion on Discord here.

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Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

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Rice Football vs Memphis Game Recap

  • Talent gap in the trenches poses an early problem
  • Offensive inconsistency explains a lot of the crooked score
  • Defense not fully to blame for the points amassed
  • Penalties and sloppy play marred any chance on an upset
  • A potential bowl chance remains in play?

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice Football 2025: UAB presser quotes and depth chart

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Next up for Rice football, a home game against UAB. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Memphis game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UAB.

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

We’re looking at everything from, what’s our Saturday morning schedule to what is our Friday evening schedule with our guys to what is our pre-game schedule? To what music are we warming up to? We are really tackling every possible thing that we have control over so we can get out the gate a little better. Because that’s been a common theme. I’ve stood here before and said we’ve played some really good football after the first quarter. This is not the first time I’ve said that. Some of that is our opponents and some of it is ourselves. So what can we control? – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on getting the team to start faster

He gives them the ability to expand their running game and still keep the pass game concepts that they’ve worked hard on in place. I think he’s a little more mobile. I think he makes plays with his feet. He improvises. I think that’s a challenge for your defense that maybe you don’t get that full range with the other two guys. I think he gives them a well-rounded picture of being more balanced and getting a run game going because I think they have some talented running backs. I’m not surprised that he got most of the snaps last week. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on UAB quarterback Ryder Burton

We gotta control the line of scrimmage. We gotta start fast. You’ve heard me talk about that a lot these last couple weeks. We gotta find a way that when that clock starts that we’re ready to roll and play our best football and then maintain that. The third thing for me, we’ve got to generate some turnovers and we have to protect the ball. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on keys to victory over UAB

Our mindset is to go 1-0 each week. I feel like if we keep that mindset and block out any external noise, anything like that, just keep our head down and work, we’ll be happy with the result, come Saturday. – Quarterback Chase Jenkins on the team’s mindset right now

They have good athletes all over the place, some really good athletes at receiver. … I think they’ve got some good backs. On the quarterback side, they have two guys that can go in there and get the job done. Like I said before, we can’t take any position, any situation lightly and I think they’ll be ready to come out here and compete. – Safety Marcus Williams on the UAB offense

Full Press Conference

Depth Chart

Rice Football, Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

There weren’t any major changes to the depth chart this week, just one change of any kind, actually. Semaj Pierre has moved in front of Landon Ransom. Any other adjustments will likely be injury related or driven by the subtle schematic shifts the Owls employ for this game. We’ll cover those in depth on this week’s practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be out later this week.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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