With National Signing Day in the rearview mirror, we are evaluating the state of each Texas FBS program. Rice is next on our list after a significantly COVID-shortened season. 

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Rice Owls

2020 Record: 2-3, 2-3 Conference USA

Head Coach: Mike Bloomgren (7-23 in three seasons)

Returning Production Ranking (O/D): 89 / 32

Key Returners: DL Elijah Garcia (28 tackles, 3 QBHs), WR Bradley Rozner (55 catches, 770 yards, 5 TDs in 2019), DB Treshawn Chamberlain (27 tackles, TFL, INT)

Key Losses: QB Mike Collins, WR Austin Trammell, LB Blaze Alldredge

Key Additions: QB Jake Constantine (Weber State), WR Cedric Patterson (New Mexico), LB DJ Arkansas (Denton Ryan)

Final 2020 Ranking: 7

Way-Too-Early 2021 Ranking: 9

What went wrong: COVID limited Rice’s growth

With so much returning production last season, there was hope that 2020 could be a breakout year of sorts for the Owls. We saw some of that happen, but COVID ultimately limited what could have been an exciting season. 

Rice didn’t play a game until Oct. 24. A quadruple doink cost the Owls the game against Middle Tennessee in double-overtime, and it’s hard to imagine Rice would have lost the game if it had a few tune-up games. We saw what the offense could do against Southern Miss and the defense against Marshall. We just didn’t get to see it enough. 

In fact, Rice only played three games where it had played live football within the last two weeks prior. Those games included a shellacking of Southern Miss, crushing No. 21 Marshall and playing C-USA champion UAB to within five points. The bad losses against Middle Tennessee and North Texas came in the season opener and after three weeks respectively. That’s not a coincidence. 

And now, quarterback Mike Collins, wide receiver Austin Trammell and linebacker Blaze Alldredge are gone. Rice has to find stars all over again. 

What went right: Rice has a truly signature win

The Owls have steadily shown signs of growth over the past few seasons, but Rice had not beaten an FBS team with a winning record – until December. Finally, the Owls had an opportunity to show a real proof-of-concept. 

Marshall was undefeated and ranked No. 21 in the country heading into the matchup. Every win was by double-digits, including a strong 17-7 win over Appalachian State early in the year. However, Rice did what Mike Bloomgren built them to do – attacked Marshall with its pure physicality. 

The Owls limited the game to just 123 total plays, held the ball for more than 36 minutes and put together three drives of at least 10 plays. Marshall turned over the ball on downs three times and reached just 245 total yards. Rice running backs Ari Broussard and Khalan Griffin combined for just 3.3 yards per carry, but just kept moving the ball against a fearsome Marshall defense. 

Granted, Marshall QB Grant Wells threw an absurd five interceptions – more than half of his yearly total. Still, Rice held Marshall to just 3.9 yards per play, a full two yards below its season average. 

This wasn’t a fluke. This was Intellectual Brutality. 

Rice is finding its groove on the recruiting trail

Evaluating and acquiring talent is difficult at Rice. The Owls have to find talent to fit its unique Intellectual Brutality attack, and has to find players that can fit into the university’s rigorous academic standards. 

Over the past year, the Owls have started really finding its stride. The Owls ended up with a top-five class in Conference USA, ahead of stalwarts like UAB, Louisiana Tech and Marshall. The Owls took a slightly bigger class, but the quality of recruit has still improved dramatically over the past several seasons. 

Denton Ryan linebacker DJ Arkansas, Katy defender Cal Varner and Katy Cinco Ranch guard Ethan Onianwa are the kinds of people you want to build a program around. Adding transfer QB Jake Constantine and WR Cedric Patterson will help give the program depth. Bloomgren recruits are already panning out in the form of De’Braylon Carroll, Antonio Montero and Jake Bailey. 

The passing game is a real question mark

Perhaps the greatest on-field tragedy for Rice of 2020 was losing what could have been a really special passing game. 

Quarterback Mike Collins showed major potential, completing 61 percent of his passes for 802 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception in just three games. Receiver Austin Trammell averaged 111.7 yards and two touchdowns per game. It could have been even better if Bradley Rozner didn’t opt out of the 2020 season. 

Now, Rice will be without both Trammell and Collins after both were left off of the 2021 spring roster. Rozner gives the Owls a go-to receiver and tight end Jordan Myers will be a safety blanket. But under center and around those two, what will it look like? 

Primary backup Jovoni Johnson is a presumptive starter after completing 73 percent of his passes in a pair of starts, but must improve his downfield passing after only completing four of his 27 completions beyond 10 yards downfield. He will compete with WIley Green and Weber State transfer Jake Constantine for the starting job. 

Rice has a run-based offense, but spreading the field with a pinpoint passing game was always at the forefront of Stanford’s success with Bloomgren in the driver’s seat. 

Now what? 

When Mike Bloomgren took over the program, he preached building a culture of Intellectual Brutality. Culture doesn’t happen overnight and growing pains were to be expected. But despite frustration from a COVID-shortened season, Rice is in a great position. 

The roster continues to get more talented and talent development should only continue to pay off as Bloomgren heads into year four. The culture is also in a strong place. The last piece really is as simple as performing consistently on the football field. Unfortunately, that’s the hardest part. 

The bad news? Rice opens with likely losses against Arkansas, Houston and Texas to open the year. After that, it gets a little more manageable. The home games are against Southern Miss, North Texas, Western Kentucky (#ZappeGang) and Louisiana Tech, all of which are winnable. Road trips to UTEP and Charlotte are manageable. 

Rice has not played in a bowl game since the 2014 Hawaii Bowl. It would be real nice to see that change in 2021. More than that, it would be confirmation that Rice is headed in a real, sustainable direction.