Tulsa provides many parallels
Sporting identical records (3-3, 1-1), Rice and Tulsa are in a similar spot and will be meeting on the football field for the first time since 2013 when both were members of Conference USA. This is the third straight game of the series to be played in Oklahoma. As with Tulsa, Rice is coming off a week of not playing a game and both the Golden Hurricane and Owls let a win slip away in their respective previous game. Tulsa will complete a run of three games in a row against teams called Owls.
Tulsa has the lowest FBS enrollment with 3,777 students. Rice, a first-year member of the American Athletic Conference, has an enrollment of 8,200.
Here are five things to watch as the back half of the Owls’ season kicks off on Thursday.
Effect of open date
Rice lost an early 14-point lead before suffering a crushing 38-31 defeat to Connecticut in the Owls’ final nonconference game of 2023 on Oct. 7. Tulsa fell at Florida Atlantic 20-17 on the same day. Both teams have had to sit on a loss for nearly two weeks.
“We all know how bad we want this (win),” sixthyear Rice coach Mike Bloomgren said. “One of the great things about college football is usually you never have to wait more than seven days after you don’t perform well. We had to wait 12 days to get that taste out of our mouth.”
Extra time between games is also an opportunity to get injured players back on the field. The primary player the Owls will have back in the rotation is Jonathan Jean in the secondary. If backup quarterback A.J. Padgett does not play against Tulsa, he is expected to be available next week against Tulane.
Relying on the pass
As much as Bloomgren would like to get the run game going, the Owls have flourished passing the ball with protection from a large offensive line. J.T. Daniels has thrown for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns on a lot of spacing routes with quick throws.
One of the best offenses in the American, the Owls are fourth in scoring (32.7). Rice has shown to be an efficient offense with the capability to be explosive. The Owls got production out of the run game early against UConn, but for the season are averaging less than 80 rushing yards per game, last in the AAC.
Luke McCaffrey has been Daniels’ main target, catching 30 passes for 514 yards and six scores.
Platooning QBs
Because of injuries, three Tulsa quarterbacks have started at least one game this season. Leading passer Cardell Williams, a redshirt freshman from Westfield, and Braylon Braxton are expected to see time against Rice. Williams, who has thrown for 955 yards and eight touchdowns, started against Washington, Northern Illinois, Temple and Florida Atlantic. At FAU, Braxton saw game action for the first time since the opener, throwing a late touchdown pass. Both Williams and Braxton are athletic and will be involved in the run game. Containing the quarterbacks in the pocket will be crucial for the Owls’ defense to be successful.
Tulsa is balanced offensively, passing for 193.5 yards per game and rushing at a clip of 192 yards, which is 25th nationally. The Golden Hurricane are trying to improve their passing game. But firstyear coach Kevin Williams said he does not want his quarterbacks looking over their shoulder and being fearful that they will be pulled from the game after making a mistake.
Tulsa time
Tulsa likes to play up tempo, a trademark of Wilson, who was part of the Northwestern staff that played at a fast pace. Tulsa likes to pound the ball as well. Tulsa’s tempo is similar what the Owls faced at South Florida in a game 4 loss (42-29), but not as high a rate.
“It’s not as fast as USF,” Rice linebacker Josh Pearcy said. “For USF, it’s like their identity. It’s nothing that we are worried about.”
Knowing the defense
Tulsa defensively has a scheme referred to as a traditional Iowa defense, playing hard and to their technique. The Golden Hurricane will bring pressure from different positions.
“It’s very Iowaesque in that regard,” Bloomgren said.
While Iowa leans heavily on cornerback coverage, Tulsa is doing more man and masked-type coverage than in the past. Tulsa has more variation than an Iowa defense.
A Nebraska transfer, Rice starting left guard Brant Banks competed against the Iowa defense. He sees similarities and differences between the Tulsa-style defense and that of the Big Ten school.
“I’ve seen some of the things they do just by being at Nebraska,” Banks said.
“I would not say (Tulsa) is exactly like any other team (we’ve played this season), but we’ve seen things that they do and other teams do the same thing.”
Oklahoma State transfer Ben Kopenski wreaks havoc from the line position, totaling 4.5 sacks for Tulsa.
Out of Brenham, safety Kendarin Ray has made 32 career starts.