Observations and adjustments after Rice football falls to Charlotte
Rice football led for more than 53 minutes during Saturday’s conference battle with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but it wasn’t enough. The Owls surrendered a touchdown with 47 seconds remaining and missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired, falling to Charlotte, 21-20.
“These guys are hurting bad,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said postgame. “These guys fought for us today with everything they had.”
As Rice enters its bye week at 1-4, it becomes necessary to explore what went right for the Owls on Saturday, what went wrong and which areas should be emphasized during an extra week of practice.
The good: Depth players step up
As the Owls continue to deal with injuries on both sides of the ball, they have needed depth players to step up and take on expanded roles.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Joseph Mutombo saw increased opportunities with redshirt junior Blake Boenisch sidelined by an injury he suffered in Week 4.
Mutombo, who missed all but one game as a true freshman in 2023, recorded his first career interception and first career sack on Saturday. Despite not starting the game, he finished with a career-high 27 snaps and four tackles, including two for a loss of yards.
Pro Football Focus, a company that analyzes individual and team performances among collegiate and professional football leagues, issued Mutombo a 90.3 defense grade in Week 5. With this grade, he ranked 17th among more than 2,500 qualified defenders in Division I.
“[Mutombo] came up and had a great day,” Josh Pearcy, Rice senior captain and linebacker, said. “Getting that pick, that was awesome, and getting out of the stack, making plays on the sideline as a big guy — that’s just a guy that wants it, a guy that works hard. Having guys like that on the field makes everyone’s job easier.”
Senior tight end Boden Groen also didn’t play on Saturday, but graduate tight end Elijah Mojarro stepped up in his absence. Mojarro caught four passes for 73 yards (both career highs), headlined by a 41-yard catch and run on which he broke three tackles and scored his first career touchdown.
Mojarro was also recognized by PFF for his effort. Among 187 qualified FBS tight ends, he ranked second in receiving grade (90.8) and sixth in offense grade (85.7).
Rice will look to get its core players healthy during the bye week but can find comfort in its depth players stepping up when needed.
The bad: Big play susceptibility, special teams woes
Rice ultimately lost, despite trailing for only three minutes and 39 seconds — or 6.1% of the game. Charlotte made a quarterback change at halftime that seemingly flipped a switch. Three big pass plays by their new quarterback served as a catalyst for Charlotte to come back and win.
Those three plays were 32-, 45- and 66-yard gains for Charlotte through the air. The first two were touchdowns while the third completion positioned them inside the red zone with 90 seconds left.
These defensive lapses are nothing new for the Owls, who have demonstrated a susceptibility to big plays this season. Ten of the 18 touchdowns they have allowed so far came on gains of at least 30 yards.
Inconsistent special teams play has also cost Rice in numerous scenarios. This week, concerns were attributed to the kicking game. Redshirt sophomore kicker Enock Gota did not convert the potential game-winning 40-yard field goal on Saturday, missing just wide left.
Gota finished Saturday’s game 2-for-3 on field goal attempts. Rice’s two kickers, Gota and redshirt senior Tim Horn, are 12-for-19 on field goals dating back to the start of the 2023 season.
Looking forward: Rice gets another AAC foe after bye week
Entering their bye week, Rice should address the defense’s tendency to surrender big plays. Amidst injuries, the Owls must adapt and find ways to limit these plays by their opponents, even if that means getting creative with their defensive schemes and play-calling.
It will also be important for Rice’s offense and special teams to set the tone early in their next game against the University of Texas at San Antonio Oct. 12. The defense’s bye week improvements will be moot if the passing attack stalls early or the special teams unit commits a costly error.
“There’s a lot of things we can fix and a lot of things we will fix, but it’s going to take a deep dive, that’s for sure,” Bloomgren said after the team’s loss to Charlotte.
The Owls can still turn their season around, but the clock is ticking. Rice needs to win at least five of their final seven games to finish 6-6 and qualify for a third consecutive bowl game.
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