San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Blazers burn Owls in 2nd half
UTSA kept out of C-USA title game against Marshall
HOUSTON — UTSA will not be playing for the Conference USA championship this year, as UAB defeated Rice 21-16 on Saturday at Rice Stadium to secure the West Division title for the third straight season.
The Blazers finish 3-1 in league games, edging out the 5-2 Roadrunners on winning percentage to advance to face Marshall for the CUSA title on Friday.
UTSA (7-4 overall) now awaits word on a bowl invitation, with the most likely destinations appearing to be the Frisco Bowl on Dec. 19, the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 24 in Frisco, the First Responder’s Bowl on Dec. 26 in Dallas, or the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 31 in Fort Worth.
An announcement could come as soon as Sunday.
Saturday’s meeting between Rice and UAB was the final game of the Conference USA regular season, and Owls coach Mike Bloomgren was thankful his even took the field.
“2020 maybe 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. “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 overall) 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, if we had won one or two of those games.”
UAB’s propensity for the effective deep pass early in the third quarter squashed Rice’s momentum. 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.
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.
“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 1-yard line. Rice starting quarterback JoVoni 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.”
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.”