Just saw this....I don't know wheteher to be comforted or, or what...

Quote:Five toughest nonconference schedules (G5)

Kent State -- at Washington, at Oklahoma, Long Island, at Georgia

ULM -- at Texas, Nicholls State, at Alabama, at Army West Point

Rice -- at USC, McNeese State, Louisiana, at Houston

Navy -- Delaware, at Air Force, Notre Dame, Army West Point

Central Michigan -- at Oklahoma State, South Alabama, Bucknell, at Penn State

They separated the AAC out this year, so here's:

Toughest AAC schedule -- Navy: The Midshipmen have three locked in nonconference opponents every year -- Air Force, Army and Notre Dame. All three of those games are away from home this season.

Weakest AAC schedule -- Temple: You can hardly blame the Owls for trying to get some wins. They will face Duke on the road followed by home tilts against Louisiana, Rutgers and UMass.

and to round it out, Dukie might get to a who cares? bowl game this year:

Weakest AAC schedule -- Duke: Even with two road games against Power Five opponents, the Blue Devils have managed to put together the weakest nonconference slate in the ACC. Duke will travel to Northwestern and Kansas, and it will face Temple and North Carolina A&T at home.

link: https://www.cbssports.com/college-footba...ll-season/


Bloom goes 3-9 and signs a 4-year extension from his buddy for his "progress"....sounds about rice..., oh heck, maybe 4-8...wouldn't that be swell!

What do you all think about Zach Arnett (Miss St DC) as a replacement for Bloom?

He's a master DC with an unconventional scheme (3-3-5/3-5-3) and has the contacts to pick an OC off the Mike Leach coaching tree. He's pretty close to the second coming of Alex Grinch, who is way out of our price range now. He's got two small kids and swears that he wants to raise them in a small town like Stark Vegas, but I don't now how much of that is real and how much is show.

(08-23-2022 03:28 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  What do you all think about Zach Arnett (Miss St DC) as a replacement for Bloom?

He's a master DC with an unconventional scheme (3-3-5/3-5-3) and has the contacts to pick an OC off the Mike Leach coaching tree. He's pretty close to the second coming of Alex Grinch, who is way out of our price range now. He's got two small kids and swears that e wants to raise them in a small town like Stark Vegas, but I don't now how much of that is real and how much is show.

Is that really a positive? 76th-ranked defense at OU last year, 40th the year before, 34th the year before that.

(08-23-2022 05:08 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(08-23-2022 03:28 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  What do you all think about Zach Arnett (Miss St DC) as a replacement for Bloom?
He's a master DC with an unconventional scheme (3-3-5/3-5-3) and has the contacts to pick an OC off the Mike Leach coaching tree. He's pretty close to the second coming of Alex Grinch, who is way out of our price range now. He's got two small kids and swears that e wants to raise them in a small town like Stark Vegas, but I don't now how much of that is real and how much is show.

Is that really a positive? 76th-ranked defense at OU last year, 40th the year before, 34th the year before that.

I know Lincoln Riley took him to SC as soon as he got the job (they may have even gone out on the same plane). Building a defense for an offensively-minded coach is a special challenge. Grinch did it with Leach at Wazzu and with Riley at OU. Both have been much better on that side of the ball under Grinch than before.

just a few days until one of the greatest upsets in college football his....no, no, I just cain't!

Mike Bloomgren is on the cover of the Chronicle sports section today in a Brian Smith story that continues over two more pages. Really good stuff, but apparently behind the subscriber paywall. Karlgaard and DesRoches are part of the story (with photos) which also touches on NIL and the move to the AAC, plus the inevitable comparisons to other former SWC members.

Thank you!

Great article about Gabe Taylor, and trying to live up to his brother's legacy, on SI.com.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/09/02/sean-g...aily-cover

(09-01-2022 11:19 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  just a few days until one of the greatest upsets in college football his....no, no, I just cain't!

Thanks for the jinx....lol

Quote:"It's not Year 1 anymore," brand new USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley joked in the media room after destroying Rice.

Quote:"It got real today," USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. "You can only do so much in practice, and it's critical. No one will talk about practice more than me. But ultimately, you got to go out there on the stage."

We might not get their calibur of players, but it would be nice to get that kind of attitude from the coaching staff again someday on South Main.

(09-02-2022 12:36 PM)gsloth Wrote:  Great article about Gabe Taylor, and trying to live up to his brother's legacy, on SI.com.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/09/02/sean-g...aily-cover

Thanks for posting. Nice read.

(09-05-2022 09:12 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

Quote:"It's not Year 1 anymore," brand new USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley joked in the media room after destroying Rice.

Quote:"It got real today," USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. "You can only do so much in practice, and it's critical. No one will talk about practice more than me. But ultimately, you got to go out there on the stage."

We might not get their caliber of players, but it would be nice to get that kind of attitude from the coaching staff again someday on South Main.

Grinch was my choice to replace Bailiff in 2015 or 2016. He was DC at Wazzu under the Pirate at the time. Anybody who could build a solid defense working for so heavily offense-minded a coach as Leach obviously has some significant ability, and he would have had the contacts to pick an OC off the Leach or Chip Kelly (with whom he coached at New Hampshire) coaching trees. He has since moved up the coaching ladder significantly and now is well beyond Rice's price range. He will probably get a P5 head coaching job in the next 3-5 years.

The guy that I think comes closest today to where Grinch was back then is Zach Arnett. Like Grinch he is coordinating Leach's defense, now at Mississippi State. And like Grinch, anybody who can build a defense working for Leach is doing something special. Arnett runs a contrarian scheme, 3-3-5, and like Grinch, he should be able to pick an OC off the Leach coaching tree.

My heart still says RUOwls, but I just don't think Rice would ever go that unconventional.

I have always liked Grinch's approach and comments, and I feel the same way about Arnett.

(09-05-2022 09:12 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

Quote:"It's not Year 1 anymore," brand new USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley joked in the media room after destroying Rice.

Quote:"It got real today," USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. "You can only do so much in practice, and it's critical. No one will talk about practice more than me. But ultimately, you got to go out there on the stage."

We might not get their calibur of players, but it would be nice to get that kind of attitude from the coaching staff again someday on South Main.

I'm not following. This seems like standard coach-speak to me. The difference Saturday was TALENT. We need more of it and they have it 2-deep.

We played okay early but couldn't overcome mistakes/ poor calls/ big plays. Despite the score I thought in most areas we held up fairly well. The one major exception was pass rush/ pressure on the QB. That was beyond poor and I don't think the talent disparity between our DL and their OL totally explains it.

Love the look of these so much, I had to post for the first time in years: https://twitter.com/ricefootball/status/...n64k_04IAA

Considering the content of JFK's speech ("Why does Rice play Texas," "not because they are easy, but because they are hard," etc.), there is great humor to be found in the fact that we are playing FCS McNeese in our space day game.

But agree, love the uniforms.

But why, some say, D1? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to play any D1 opponent. We choose to play any D1 opponent... We choose to play the next D1 opponent in this year and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept[.]

Kind of sad when we seemingly have to substitute playing just about any D1 football opponent with going to the Moon.

The space Uniforms are awesome!

https://www.facebook.com/RiceFootball/

More on the Artemis 1 uniforms.

So far, the space themed uniforms are far and away the most positive thing about 2022 Rice football.

(08-23-2022 09:13 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Bloom goes 3-9 and signs a 4-year extension from his buddy for his "progress"....sounds about rice..., oh heck, maybe 4-8...wouldn't that be swell!

Got to find 3 wins first. Or maybe 4.