Something must give as losing streaks vie
Owls, UTEP hope end is near for skids of 8 and 20 games
Rice and UTEP sport a combined 28-game losing streak.
Granted, the Miners account for 20 consecutive losses. On Saturday, Rice will try to length UTEP’s skid to 21.
“I can’t underscore this enough. It’s a huge game for our football team, huge game for our program, and we’re working as such,” Owls coach Mike Bloomgren said.
In a battle between two of the lowest-rated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, Rice will strive to end its own eight-game losing streak and to formally stamp its improvement over last season by adding a second victory to its 1-8 season.
To do that, the Owls will face a team with eerily close similarities.
Like Rice, the Miners have a new coach who’s intent on ushering in growth from the previous year while trying to utilize a physical ground attack to grind away at opponents. And after enduring injuries at quarterback, UTEP may start their third-string QB, potentially using wildcat formations to offset those injuries.
“Coach (Dana) Dimel and his staff, they’re doing a great job rebuilding that thing,” Bloomgren said. “You look at the toughness they’re instilling in their guys and you look at how hard they play, it’s different than watching the film from last year. They are a much better team than the one that played Rice last year.”
For the Owls to win, Bloomgren wants to see a fast start from his offense. But he’s also hoping that’s not a prerequisite for his team to produce — as has been the case in one-sided contests this season. After 10 hits last weekend on North Texas quarterback Mason Fine, including three sacks by linebacker Anthony Ekpe, the coach would like to see his defensive front build on the pressure they applied.
“We put a lot on the defensive line last week,” Bloomgren said. “We said ‘This is on you,’ we’re sick of the secondary getting blamed.”
For safety George Nyakwol, that pressure took a weight off of a secondary that has borne the brunt of blame for Rice’s defensive struggles. It also was a change seeing teammates celebrating sacks and turnovers instead of hanging their heads after surrendering scores.
“(Defensive coordinator Brian) Smith always says we don’t need the offense to win the game, the defense should be able to do it on our own,” Nyakwol said.
But in a matchup between two teams in a similar situation, Rice may still need all of its units pulling equal weight. And if it’s close, the Owls will be pushed to do something they have struggled to do all season: finish.
“We played really well for three quarters, we’ve got to figure out a way to get that fourth quarter,” quarterback Wiley Green said of the North Texas game in which the Owls were outscored 21-0 in the final quarter. “In a close game, we need to make sure we put our foots down and are able to finish.”