Owls face tall task in righting ship, earning bowl bid

Stagnant offense about to encounter UAB’s stout defense

Even Rice’s most experienced players have never been to a bowl, save for sixth-year senior Graysen Schantz.

Still, in the face of a five-game losing streak, Rice’s seniors refuse to be discouraged. They’re challenging their teammates to begin the climb to six wins and bowl placement, even if that path starts with the top team in the Conference USA West Division on Saturday.

“I told those guys if you’re thinking about checking out, don’t show up to practice because we have a lot of football left to play and we can turn the season around starting this week,” cornerback Brandon Douglas-Dotson said.

Douglas-Dotson, who addressed the team along with captain Zach Abercrumbia, emphasized the Owls’ ability to “fix” this season.

Their speeches come after each had what were arguably their best games of the year in a 20-3 loss to UTSA. But in light of the Owls’ offensive regression in recent weeks, coach Mike Bloomgren felt the unit hit their nadir against the Roadrunners.

“There aren’t many teams in America that can turn the ball over four times and win the game,” he said. “Offensively, it was definitely the worst performance we’ve had.”

Again, that offense may need to rely on a stifling defensive performance to keep Rice (1-5, 0-2 in CUSA) in Saturday’s matchup with UAB (4-1, 2-0) at Rice Stadium. After struggling to move the ball against UTSA, the Owls will compete against the second-best pass defense in the country.

“Obviously, it presents a very big challenge for our football team right now, but the biggest thing we’re going have to do is worry about us,” Bloomgren said. “We’re going to have to get us right before we can worry about anybody else.”

Bloomgren expects UAB to have the size advantage in the trenches, particularly on the defensive line where the Blazers feature a pair of players standing at 6-7 and 6-8. It’s a mismatch exacerbated by the Rice offensive line’s in-game inconsistency with assignments.

“It’s very concerning. That (size) and their experience,” the first-year Rice coach said. “So again, older, bigger guys that have some experience. They are a great challenge for our guys up front.”

To help reignite his offense, Bloomgren has explored some changes.

Although he said quarterback Shawn Stankavage has performed well enough in practice to maintain his starting role, redshirt freshman Evan Marshman will challenge Jackson Tyner for the backup job while potentially vying for playing minutes Saturday against UAB.

“We have some guys on offense who are doing their job on a consistent basis, but we don’t have enough guys doing their job,” Bloomgren said. “I would expect Evan to play some in this game. He’s a guy who’s had value to our football team already. He’s been on special teams; he’s gotten his jersey dirty.”

Regardless of who plays at quarterback, running back Austin Walter is hungry for his first bowl trip and isn’t intimidated by facing a defense that ranks second in C-USA.

“It’s tough whenever you look at your record and it’s not what you want it to be, but you just have to keep the faith and keep moving forward,” he said.