Defense making big plays, not allowing them
Rice needed 10 games to register at least 30 points and its first win last season.
After two games in 2020, the Owls have scored at least 30points twice, equaling last year’s total. And quarterback Mike Collins already has matched Tom Stewart’s eight passing touchdowns from last year.
Despite that offensive growth, it’s the defense that excites Owls coaches as they seek their second win of the season against UTSA on Saturday.
“It felt good to get a win,” coach Mike Bloomgren said of last weekend’s 30-6 victory over Southern Mississippi. “Going on the road, getting a Conference USA win, that’s just hard to do. We’re never gonna take that for granted. We’re gonna appreciate it every time it happens.”
A defensive unit that featured two first-time starters at safety — true freshman Gabe Taylor and redshirt freshmanChikeAnigbogu — kept Southern Miss out of the end zone after it surrendered 33 points to Middle Tennessee in its opener. Rice’s defense racked up the team’s fourth fumble recovery, fourth sack and first interception on Saturday.
“Week one, I don’t think we played very well defensively in situational football — third down, in two-minute. I think we responded this pastweek. Weweremuch better in those situations when they came up,” defensive coordinator Brian Smith said. “Definitely happy with the jump.”
Rice seemingly resolved its back-end issues last year when it curbed a years-long habit of allowing big pass plays. Those issues resurfaced in the opener, exposed by Middle Tennessee’s Asher O’Hara, a quarterback who can hurt teams through the air and on the ground.
O’Harapickedontrue freshman cornerback Sean Fresch, who started the game. Simultaneously, theOwls playedwithout last year’s starting safeties Naeem Smith (hamstring) and George Nyakwol (shoulder).
What made the Owls’ recent performance more satisfactory was that neither played against Southern Miss. They’re expected to miss the UTSA game as well.
“Defensively, as coach Smith mentioned, didn’t give up a single touchdown, and we only had two plays over 20 yards, and I think that’s a winning formula for our football team,” Bloomgren said. “I thoughtwe did a heckof a jobmaking thingsuncomfortable forwhatever quarterbackwas in the game, and those were the things that I’m really proud of.”
Following last Saturday’s game, Bloomgren cited the adversity he felt his team faced without the defensive starters who did not make the trip toMississippi. He said they missed the game because of illness. On Tuesday, he continued to elude direct answers as towhether those illnesses are COVID-19-related.
On paper, Anigbogu and Taylor replaced Fresch and safety Kirk Lockhart in the lineup.
“So, the illnesses, we still expect to be without those guys,” Bloomgren said. “The good news Iwould tell you is that everybody who played in that (Southern Miss) game on Saturday, they are all trending toward playing in the game Saturday. None of themhave been ruled out.”
Bloomgren had emphasized the importance of growth between the first and second games of the season. In Rice’s third, he’s looking for continued improvement.
“Going into this UTSA week, we’ve got a lot to still improve on, and that’s really our mantra,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, what kind of growthcanwehave?’ Andwekeep telling them that our toughest opponent every week is going to be us.”