Losing streak obscures any signs of Owls’ progress
With skid at 11 games, players hope to find breakthrough in finale
Every week, opposing coaches compliment Rice’s work ethic and determination ahead of that week’s game.
Sure, some of it may be perfunctory. But even going back to last year, it was difficult to deny the Owls’ fight.
This year, they continued to swing, even as Rice (1-11, 0-7 Conference USA) has mounted the longest losing streak — 11 straight— at both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision levels. There have been 21 losses since the last time the Owls defeated an FBS opponent (UTEP) a year ago.
“Their non-league schedule was an 8-3 Houston team, a 9-2 LSU team, and a 5-6 Wake Forest team. Then also in our league UAB who is 9-2, FIU is 8-3, North Texas 8-3, LA Tech 7- 4 and Southern Miss 5-5,” Old Dominion coach Bobby Wilder said, contextualizing Rice’s 2018 campaign in a Monday press conference. “They could end up possibly having lost to nine teams that will play in bowl games. We recognize this is a good football team, they are well-coached, they play hard in all three phases, they are working to develop something there.”
Wilder’s words illustrate Rice’s uphill climb well.
But despite that understanding, the Owls have grown exasperated with a losing streak that’s greatly overshadowed their growth.
“After a season like the last, you look around and talk to players amongst the team and you say, ‘This is rock bottom. There’s nowhere to go but up from here,” captain and defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia said. “When — on paper — you have the same record, you start to say, ‘Was that really rock bottom?’”
Still, for a senior class that hoped to lay the foundation for a winning culture at Rice under first-year coach Mike Bloomgren, they feel their record betrays their strides.
“It’s a little bit hard to see that now obviously with one win, but I think as we start winning games and have a good year next year and the year after, I think we’ll really start to see that, and I’m really proud to be a part of that,” senior punter Jack Fox said. “I think all this losing we’ve done over the last couple years will make that winning sweeter.”
With the finale against Old Dominion (4-7, 2-5) left, the Owls would prefer to get a taste of that sweetness sooner rather than an offseason later. And putting just one more tally in the win column would go a long way in validating their current growth.
“I think winning this football game would mean a lot for this program,” Bloomgren said. “It’s sad that they’re not seeing the fruits of their labors.”
Abercrumbia, a redshirt junior, is confident Rice’s sun is rising.
“That’s why a win this week would be so big, so great for this program. Just to show that, yes, we are making progress and you just have to hold on,” he said.