Bloomgren, players apologetic after football’s upset loss

By Andersen Pickard     9/3/24 11:22pm

Junior quarterback E.J. Warner throws a pass during the Aug. 31 football game against Sam Houston State at Rice Stadium. The game against SHSU was Warner’s first at Rice after transferring from Temple University.

As the Rice football team put on their helmets for their first home contest of the season, three white letters adorned the back: ARA. The letters were the initials of Rice junior Andrea Rodriguez Avila, who was found shot at Jones College on the first day of classes.

“Our football team is hurting,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said in an Aug. 27 press conference. “We’re trying to make sense of a situation that simply doesn’t make sense. I truly believe we will come out the other side of this grief tighter than ever.”

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As for the 17,295 fans who braved the evening heat for Rice football’s season opener against Sam Houston State University on Aug. 31, there was a pregame moment of silence. Viewers watching on ESPN+ also saw Avila’s photo with a brief tribute.

After the moment of silence, the team proceeded with their home opener. Rice entered the game as 9.5-point favorites but instead fell to Sam Houston, 34-14, dropping their 14th season-opening contest in the last 16 years.

“This is a team butt-whooping. They took us out to the woodshed and beat the heck out of us. We’ve got to respond. We can’t put that kind of product on the field ever again,” Bloomgren said.

The game began with a pair of three-and-outs from Rice’s offense, led by junior transfer quarterback E.J. Warner, and Sam Houston responded with a 67-yard touchdown strike. Senior cornerback Sean Fresch’s missed assignment allowed the Bearkats’ receiver to take off for the end zone untouched.

On the Owls’ next play from scrimmage, Warner threw a pick-six. He was targeting redshirt sophomore wide receiver Braylen Walker, but a miscommunication between the two of them allowed a Sam Houston cornerback to intercept the pass and score a touchdown. Within one minute and two seconds, Sam Houston had put 14 points on the board.

“That’s not what you want,” Bloomgren said. “We had a missed assignment on defense, and you want your offense to go and respond. Unfortunately, it went the other way.”

The Owls found some momentum on the final drive of the first quarter, crossing into the red zone as the clock hit zero. An opportunity for points at the start of the second quarter was wasted as redshirt senior kicker Tim Horn missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. Rice’s kicking woes are nothing new; Horn made just eight of 12 field goal attempts last year, ranking 20th-worst among all FBS kickers with at least 10 attempts.

On their next drive, the Owls added seven points when Warner connected with senior wide receiver Kobie Campbell breaking free near the goal line. He crossed into the end zone for Rice’s first touchdown of the year.

Sam Houston added a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter, taking a 24-7 lead into halftime.

The two sides exchanged touchdowns to open the second half, with Rice’s points coming on a 15-yard run from senior running back Dean Connors. He ultimately led the team in both rushes and receptions, finishing the day with 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown on the ground, plus nine catches for 30 yards through the air.

Sam Houston added one more touchdown to go ahead 34-14, and that score would hold for the remainder of the game after neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

Warner finished the day 27-for-44 with 227 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He took two sacks, including one enormous hit on the Owls’ second-to-last drive. He was slow to get up but ultimately did return for the final drive.

“E.J. is a dude,” Connors said. “He’s tough as nails.”

Bloomgren noted both Warner and Connors faced heavy pressure, but he believed that the offensive line wasn’t the only group that deserved blame. 

“Protection falls on everybody,” Bloomgren said. “There’s running backs involved, there’s the quarterback’s timing, there’s receivers that frankly have to get open.”

Senior tight end Boden Groen was also banged up, exiting the game twice with apparent injuries. He caught five passes for 43 yards.

Warner’s favorite target appeared to be graduate wide receiver Matt Sykes as the two connected six times for 74 yards. With this one performance, Sykes has already tied his single-season personal best for receptions. He caught six passes as a member of the University of California Los Angeles football team in 2022.

The defense flashed some good and some bad, with the top story being their seven sacks, including 1.5 from graduate defensive lineman Charlie Looes. On the other hand, the Owls allowed several big gains through the air and were also exposed by the Sam Houston rushing attack, which tallied 178 yards on the ground.

“Their ability to run the football on our defense is not something I thought would happen,” Bloomgren said. He also praised Sam Houston’s coaching staff, adding that “they outphysicaled us, outplayed us, outcoached us in every way.”

Bloomgren promised improvement, starting with an important week of film study and practice.

“You guys are going to want answers for why it happened, and I don’t know that I’m going to have them right now, but we’re going to get better,” Bloomgren said.

The Owls will have one week to right the ship. Football returns to Rice Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Texas Southern University for another non-conference matchup. The game will air on ESPN+.

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