Owls aren’t planning to take winless UConn lightly
This week’s Rice football opponent — a UConn team winless in its first five games — might not strike fear in opponents’ hearts. Coach Jim Mora’s Huskies are near the statistical bottom offensively and defensively in FBS rankings.
Last weekend, however, the Huskies had their best offensive showing of the season (473 yards) and almost won. After they scored with 40 seconds remaining, they had their attempt at a game-tying extra point blocked, giving Utah State a 34-33 decision.
Despite UConn’s 0-5 start, strong safety Marcus Williams said the Owls are not overlooking the team that will visit Rice Stadium on Saturday.
“Definitely a team that we cannot take lightly, and we’ve got to take our same preparation as we do every week,” Williams said. “We have to be ready to go. You’ve got to treat all teams the same.
“It really doesn’t mean much about the record, whatever it may be. We want to go 1-0 each week, so we can’t look at UConn for what their record is or what they have done in the past. This is a new week.”
Rice, which is looking to go 4-2 on the season, and UConn will kick off at 4 p.m.
This has the makings of a trap game. While the Huskies are playing on the road as an underdog, this is the first meeting between the schools in football, so there is no familiarity between the teams.
“Their record does not reflect the team that they are,” Rice coach Mike Bloomgren said. “They are a talented football team. They are a well-coached football team. They have many players on both sides of the ball that would be very good players in the American Conference.”
AAC title hopes stay alive with victory
The importance of Rice’s 24-17 victory over East Carolina last Saturday cannot be overstated. Had the Owls (3-2, 1-1 in the 14team AAC) been beaten, they would have a losing record overall and be winless in the league. As it stands, Rice is still in AAC contention.
“The (record) in the conference might be the biggest one,” Bloomgren said. “It doesn’t look like there has ever been two undefeated teams in the American Conference championship game. Everything we’ve talked about is still right there. It’s in the palm of our hands.
“There has been a two-loss team make the championship and a three-loss team. We don’t want to slack off. We would much rather find a way to go 1-0 every week.”
Defensive stands prove to be pivotal
On Saturday, Williams was part of a defensive unit that forced East Carolina to turn the ball over on downs four times in as many attempts in the second half. Three of the stops came in the final four minutes.
“All that is fun,” Williams said.
“Not only do you get to watch your teammates make plays, you get to see the excitement from the sidelines. You get to see your brothers make plays, and that makes you feel even better, and you want to make some plays for yourself. Everybody’s hyping you up. You’ve got the crowd hyping you up.”
In each of the past two weeks, Rice held a one-point lead at halftime. At South Florida, the Owls were outscored 29-15 over the second half in absorbing a 42-29 defeat. Against ECU, the Owls held a 14-8 scoring advantage over the final two quarters.
“We didn’t want to have that (losing) feeling again,” Williams said. “We regrouped on what we wanted for the season and what we really want to come out of this season. We got every minor detail fixed (at halftime) and played a much better game, and there’s still much to improve on.”
Rice ranks 27th nationally and fourth in the AAC in fourth-down defense, allowing only five conversions in 14 attempts. The nine stops on fourth down match the most in a season by a Bloomgren team in his six years at Rice.
MacNeill finds place within the offense
When wide receiver Rawson MacNeill was playing high school football in Marietta, Ga., he was quite familiar with J.T. Daniels, who started multiple games for Georgia in 2020.
So when MacNeill first heard that the former Southern Cal, Georgia, and West Virginia quarterback was coming to Rice, he was thrilled he would potentially be on the receiving end of some of Daniels’ passes.
“At first, I definitely had to double-check it. It was something crazy, something we didn’t expect,”
MacNeill said. “When I found out it was real, I was excited for the opportunity it brought to me and to all the receiving corps.”
Over the past two games, MacNeill has found where he fits in Rice’s pro-style offense, catching 10 balls for 124 yards and two touchdowns in that span. The 6-5 193-pound redshirt freshman set a career high with six catches for 73 yards and his first career score at South Florida. Against ECU, MacNeill averaged nearly 13 yards on four receptions, scoring on a 4-yard pass from Daniels, who on the season has passed for 1,469 yards and 13 touchdowns.
For MacNeill, it was an easy offseason transition getting accustomed to Daniels’ throws. That, combined with game reps, has strengthened their chemistry.
“As you see on a weekly basis, pretty much every pass is a catchable ball,” MacNeill said.
Odds and ends
Former Rice righthanded pitcher J.T. Chargois is on the Miami Marlins’ wild-card series roster. … For the second straight week, senior libero Nia McCardell has been selected AAC volleyball Player of the Week. … Baseball begins fall camp Thursday. … The men’s and women’s basketball teams began practice last week.