Owls fall just short of winning record
Momentum from upset atMarshall fades in final game
After anovercastday suddenly turned to sunshineon Saturday afternoon, coach Mike Bloomgrenwas thankful his Rice Owls even played a final game this season in Rice Stadium.
“2020maybe checked us in terms of what’s really important in our life and made us appreciate those things we maybe took for granted,” a reflective Bloomgren said following the Owls’ 2116 loss to Alabama-Birmingham. “We just assume every August that football is going to arrive with camp, we just assume that games on a football schedule are going to be played.
“Nothing was at it seemed at times.”
In that sense, Bloomgren was proud the Owls (2-3, 2-3 C-USA) and Blazers (5-3, 3-1) hit helmets for 60 minutes — but he also knew how excruciatingly close Rice came to its first winning record in the regular season since 2014.
“At the end of the day, (UAB) made more plays than we did, not a lot more plays … we’ll keep working,” Bloomgren said, citing Saturday’s five-point loss and a double-overtime setback at Middle Tennessee to start the season on Oct. 24. “We’ve got to find a way to win those things. … Think about how different we’d feel about our season right now, and how jubilant everybody would be, ifwe had won one or two of those games.”
But UAB’s propensity for the effective deep pass early in the third quarter squashed Rice’s momentum from a big win theweek prior. Blazers quarterback Tyler Johnston III fired touchdown passes of 63 and 42 yards in the first five minutes of the second half to wipe out Rice’s 13-7 halftime lead, giving the Owls’ defense its two big hiccups on the afternoon.
Bloomgren said trying to slow the Blazers’ powerful rush attack meant “leaving our cornerbacks out an island sometimes” by bringing more defenders closer to the line.
“Somebody always has a tough play in the game of football,” Bloomgren said.
“… We’ve been our best on defense when we’ve kept the ball in front of us, but that’s easy to say and so hard to do.”
The Owls wrapped up their third regular season under Bloomgren hoping to advance to a bowl if they finished with a winning record in this pandemic-shortened schedule. Rice was coming off a 20-0 upset at then-No. 21 Marshall, its first shutout of a ranked team since defeating Texas 7-0 60 years ago.
Meantime the Blazers won their third consecutive C-USA West Division title and will compete in the CUSA title game on Friday against Marshall.
“Watching it slip through your hands is tough,” Rice tight end Jordan Myers said of the Owls nearly pulling off the victory in their final home game of the season.
The contest ended on an interception by the Blazers on a Hail Mary heave by Rice backup quarterback Wiley Green to the UAB 1yard line. Rice starting quarterback Jo Voni Johnson, playing for the injured Mike Collins, hurt his knee six minutes into the fourth quarter on Saturday and did not return.
“You never want to see injuries like that.… Looking over and seeing your brother hurt is never a good feeling,” Myers said. “But our quarterbacks stepped up when their number was called.”
Rice had marched the ball to the UAB 43-yard line as the clock wound down for a final couple of heaves into the end zone, but Green was sacked for an 8yard loss, pushing the Owls just out of reach for a Hail Mary into the end zone.
“We have to do a better job when everybody in the stadium knows we’re going to pass, we’ve got to protect (the quarterback) better,” Bloomgren said.
Bloomgren admitted that following the upset at Marshall, he didn’t anticipate Saturday’s outcome — and he’s champing for spring drills to start.
“I was ill-prepared for this to go the way it did today,” Bloomgren said. “I wanted to keep playing with this football team — I wanted to earn another opportunity to play.”