(11-11-2023 10:45 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(11-11-2023 10:43 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Actually, considering that the last two years' scores versus UTSA were 0-45 and 7-41, this may actually represent improvement.

Not when this is supposed to be Bloomgren’s best team in his 6 years at Rice.

It probably is, which does not augur well for keeping him. The best this team can be is now 6-6, and when that's your high water mark, you're not very good.

Finally the ref crew gets a call right.

(11-11-2023 10:43 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Actually, considering that the last two years' scores versus UTSA were 0-45 and 7-41, this may actually represent improvement.

So it is written, so it shall be done...extensions all around..."derserves" another season...

47 rush yards tonight

Barney is right - that was not a horsecollar, and it would have been our ball (I'm sure we would have gone backwards, but still) on the 30 down 10-7. Unless a light tug on the letters is a horsecollar.
The color guy was awful - for someone who had to jabber between every play, it's amazing that he was wrong with just about everything he muttered.
Jenkins didn't play to save his redshirt (I assume). I guess next year is more important than trying to make a bowl game this year. Overall we were never going to beat this team without JT.
BTW the final score was 14-34 in case someone doesn't know.

At least Tommy was on the sidelines watching this mess. Reggie was at the alumni happy hour as well, so I assume he also attended the game.

The fact that either Sanders Davis or Pete Alamar have a job at this instant is beyond the pale. What a complete joke of a second half in Year 6 of our idiot head coach.

Any misgivings I might have had about firing Bloom in light of the team’s performance over the past two weeks are gone after the performance of this squad in the second half. We are long overdue for a coaching change and it should be clearly evident to all who witnessed this massacre. Remember the Alamo Dome! Fire Bloomgren!

He knows he's done

Welp, this loss officially put me on the fire Bloomgren train. We needed at least one win between the last three games. Can't wait to win the next two by 30 each so I'm back in a state of optimistic confusion about Bloomgren

Bloom gave up at the end of the 3Q. We were down by 3 scores with 15:22 to go and he let the clock run out in the 3rd quarter. Then he punts on 4th and 3 with 8:30 to go. How can you expect your team to fight when you’ve obviously given up?

(11-11-2023 11:20 PM)wrysal Wrote:  Barney is right - that was not a horsecollar, and it would have been our ball (I'm sure we would have gone backwards, but still) on the 30 down 10-7. Unless a light tug on the letters is a horsecollar.

The grab was very close to collar and the QB jumped to throw right after it happened. The reaction of his body made it look like a horsecollar so not surprised it was called.

(11-12-2023 12:20 AM)Ourland Wrote:  He knows he's done

Most coaches in his shoes know. Back before million dollar contracts, coaches would do the right thing and move on, realizing it just didn’t work. Time to get an AD job or coordinator job and restart. Now they get fired and live on payoff.

So it looks like Pearcy and Jean were back, but no Conti, Taylor (and Daniels). Daniels is the one we need back obviously.

(11-12-2023 07:09 AM)ETx Owl Wrote:  

(11-12-2023 12:20 AM)Ourland Wrote:  He knows he's done

Most coaches in his shoes know. Back before million dollar contracts, coaches would do the right thing and move on, realizing it just didn’t work. Time to get an AD job or coordinator job and restart. Now they get fired and live on payoff.

He should have done the right thing and resigned last year

(11-12-2023 05:48 AM)DFW Owl Wrote:  

(11-11-2023 11:20 PM)wrysal Wrote:  Barney is right - that was not a horsecollar, and it would have been our ball (I'm sure we would have gone backwards, but still) on the 30 down 10-7. Unless a light tug on the letters is a horsecollar.

The grab was very close to collar and the QB jumped to throw right after it happened. The reaction of his body made it look like a horsecollar so not surprised it was called.

I learned today that it has been illegal since 2017 to tackle a ball carrier by grabbing the jersey in the in the collar or name plate area (even without reaching inside) and dragging down. So technically the correct call? Even then questionable because the pull was backward and not down and very bang-bang catch and release. But either way, what an awful awful rule. The dangers of real horse collar tackles are overstated enough as it is.

It was doubly-frustrating in the stadium because the call was roughing the passer even though the contact was in bounds while Harris still had the ball, and then the announcement of "horse-collar" was inaudible, but he made the wrong signal- using the indicator for targeting instead, which would have been an even worse call, but of course it could not have been that since there was no review

(11-12-2023 11:43 AM)That Guy 2012 Wrote:  

(11-12-2023 05:48 AM)DFW Owl Wrote:  

(11-11-2023 11:20 PM)wrysal Wrote:  Barney is right - that was not a horsecollar, and it would have been our ball (I'm sure we would have gone backwards, but still) on the 30 down 10-7. Unless a light tug on the letters is a horsecollar.

The grab was very close to collar and the QB jumped to throw right after it happened. The reaction of his body made it look like a horsecollar so not surprised it was called.

I learned today that it has been illegal since 2017 to tackle a ball carrier by grabbing the jersey in the in the collar or name plate area (even without reaching inside) and dragging down. So technically the correct call? Even then questionable because the pull was backward and not down and very bang-bang catch and release. But either way, what an awful awful rule. The dangers of real horse collar tackles are overstated enough as it is.

It was doubly-frustrating in the stadium because the call was roughing the passer even though the contact was in bounds while Harris still had the ball, and then the announcement of "horse-collar" was inaudible, but he made the wrong signal- using the indicator for targeting instead, which would have been an even worse call, but of course it could not have been that since there was no review

The officiating crew had a heck of a night.

I’m still annoyed the play that got Daniels hurt wasn’t called targeting. Or at the very least, a PF.

Rice vs UTSA, 11 November 2023 - Announced attendance: 28,245

The Alamodome says that it seats 60,000 for American football.

Because they have a roof from which to hang things, they don't have to use tarps to cover seats to create the illusion of a capacity crowd.
Tarps are pretty obvious.
In the darkness of the upper reaches of the Alamodome they use black curtains.
The curtains are almost invisible.
Those black curtains covered all but the home side of the upper level seats.

I'm not fond of the lighting.
The light on the field is TV-broadcast bright, but the general feel that I get is the darkest of all of the roofed places I've visited.
It's a cave.

The view from where The MOB was seated (first four rows of section 138) was not great.
The parents of the team were seated behind us.
This is pretty much standard fare for the visiting team and the visiting band these days.
Play at the other end of the field was only really watchable on one of the big screens, on the upper corner across from us.
Section 138 is the last full rectangular section where the seats parallel the sidelines.
We were "south" of the goal line (north, in reality, but staring straight ahead we're looking into the end zone).

Here's an image from the C-USA championship game in 2022.
Attendance: 41,412
Looks full - but there are still over 18,500 empty seats.

The curtains are effective. It's a lot better than thousands of empty seats.