Rice Football had some moments in 2020, can the Owls put it all together and get back to a bowl game in 2021?
Rice Football had the first four games of their 2021 season canceled and it was unknown how much football the Owls were going to be able to play. In total, Rice had six games on its schedule get canceled and that would usually mean that it is a giant question mark heading into the season. However, in Owls’ five games played last season, there was a lot of optimism that you can take from the season.
In the first game the Owls were able to play, they fell in a double overtime game to MTSU, but then rebounded and took care of business vs Southern Miss. After their biggest loss of the season to North Texas, Rice pulled off the signature moment thus far in the Mike Bloomgreen era and knocked off undefeated and ranked opponent Marshall. Rice not only knocked off Marshall, but they shut them out and that showed the progress that the defense has made during Bloomgren’s time with the program. Rice finished the season coming within five points of upsetting eventual C-USA champion UAB.
Those last two games of the season are what’s giving fans of this program some hope that they are not far away from being able to compete for a conference title.
The defense should once again be very solid under Bloomgren and the offense should look a lot more modern with the hiring of former Washington Huskies quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo.
Rice football is going to be throwing the ball down the field a lot more often than they have in the past and that will make them a more complete football team. Every team in Conference USA better be on notice when playing the Rice Owls.
New offensive coordinator and quarterback are the headlines for Rice on offense
Rice has been struggling on the offensive side of the ball for the last few seasons and that meant that it was time to shake things up. Mike Bloomgren hired Marques Tuiasosopo to go to a more NFL style and down field throwing attack, which should open up the offense.
At quarterback, things were looking pretty bleak for the Owls heading into the season until recently when former Nebraska and Louisville quarterback Luke McCaffrey decided to take his talents to Houston. McCaffrey still has a lot to prove to becoming a more complete quarterback, but he has athleticism and is a talented runner. If McCaffrey were to not win the starting job, look for Wiley Green or Weber State transfer Jake Constantine to take the job.
The running game is going to once again be led by Khalan Griffin, who rushed for 249 yards last season, but did not score any touchdowns. Griffin could be a breakout candidate for the team and he is going to be counted on to bring a spark to one of the worst rushing attacks in the conference.
At receiver, the Owls have the weapons to be a much better passing attack and the hiring of Tuiasosopo should help with that. Bradley Rozner and Jake Bailey form one of the top duos at receiver in C-USA. Rozner is the better receiver, but Bailey is one of the better all purpose players that you have probably never heard of. At tight end, they have a nice combo of Jordan Myers and Jack Bradley that are a tough cover.
The offensive line was not much of a strength last season, but it does return four of the five starters and that could be big for improvement. This offense has talent and if McCaffrey can bring more versatility to the offense, this could be the best Rice offense in a long time.
Nine starters return on what could be best defense in program history
Teams in the C-USA got a glimpse at how good the Owls could be on defense when they shut out Marshall and their high powered offense. They not only shut out the Thundering Herd, but held them to 3.9 yards per play and picked off Grant Wells five times. The majority of the defense returns and are looking to keep that momentum rolling heading into this season.
Up front, the Owls are bringing back all three starters and they are al expected to be even better in 2021 than they were last season. Trey Schuman, Elijah Garcia and Ikenna Enechukwu form one of the better D-lines in the conference and helped lead the way to the 40th ranked run defense.
The linebacker unit is where the playmakers on this defense will reside. Treshawn Chamberlain and Antonio Montero are back to lead the defense and they are primed to have huge seasons in 2021. Kenneth Orji and Myron Morrison are going to be the other starters at the position and they bring more talent to the table. The only guy this unit will be missing is last years starting linebacker Blaze Alldredge, who decided to transfer to Missouri.
The secondary is very talented and deep heading into the season. Standout corner Miles McCord is going to lead the secondary and is a very good playmaker. The other corner, Tre’shon Devones, is going to start opposite of McCord and he is looking to take a step forward. At safety, Kirk Lockhart is returning and he will be joined by George Nyakwol. This defense is going to be very good and tough to go against every week.
Tough early schedule could set the tone for the Owls
Rice does not have the country’s hardest schedule, but the Owls’ toughest games come right at the start of the season. If Rice can survive that early onslaught of games with the confidence intact, then the finish to the season could be massive.
- Game 1: At Arkansas (L)- Arkansas is still rebuilding, but will be able to take care of the Owls at home.
- Game 2: Houston (L)- I think Rice could win this one, but I also think Houston is primed for a pretty big bounce back season.
- Game 3: At Texas (L)- This will probably be a game to forget for the Owls and hopefully they can move on quickly.
- Game 4: Texas Southern (W)- This should be a big win for Rice at home.
- Game 5: Southern Miss (W)- Expect a close game here, but I will give the edge to the better defense in Rice.
- Game 6: At UTSA (L)- If the Owls want to win the west division, they are going to need to take down the Roadrunners and I don’t think they will have enough to win.
- Game 7: At UAB (L)- Rice gets some bad luck playing the top two teams in the division on the road in back to back games and that is tough to ask of a team.
- Game 8: North Texas (W)- Another tossup game for the Owls, their defense will be able to slow down the Mean Green.
- Game 9: At Charlotte (W)- Charlotte is going to be better this season, but I like the Owls on the road here.
- Game 10: Western Kentucky (W)- I think this will be a low scoring game and in those games, I lean towards the better defense.
- Game 11: At UTEP (W)- This should be one of the easier games on the schedule for the Owls and they will win comfortably.
- Game 12: Louisiana Tech (W)- I think Rice is going to end the season on a hot streak and their offense should be clicking by this point.
Final Record: 7-5, 6-2 C-USA
I think that if the offense can get going and the Owls can survive that early onslaught of games, this team can get to a bowl game. Their defense is more than good enough and I think their offense has to be better than in recent years. It is by no means a given, but I think this team could be in for a nice season.