2022 Rice Owls football team

2022 Rice Owls football
LendingTree Bowl, L 24–38 vs. Southern Miss
Conference	Conference USA
Record	5–8 (3–5 C-USA)
Head coach	Mike Bloomgren (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Marques Tuiasosopo (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Brian Smith (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple 3–4
Home stadium	Rice Stadium
Seasons ←  2021 2023  →

2022 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
UTSA y$		8	–	0					11	–	3
North Texas y		6	–	2					7	–	7
Western Kentucky		6	–	2					9	–	5
Middle Tennessee		4	–	4					8	–	5
UAB		4	–	4					7	–	6
Florida Atlantic		4	–	4					5	–	7
Rice		3	–	5					5	–	8
UTEP		3	–	5					5	–	7
FIU		2	–	6					4	–	8
Charlotte		2	–	6					3	–	9
Louisiana Tech		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: UTSA 48, North Texas 27
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2022 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Mike Bloomgren, who was coaching his fifth season with the team. The Owls played their home games at the Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.

In October 2021, Rice accepted the invitation to join the American Athletic Conference (AAC), scheduled to become a full-member on July 1, 2023. ^{[1] [2]} The 2022 season was expected to be the program's last season as a member of Conference USA.

The Owls finished their regular season with a 5–7 record, and became bowl eligible due to having the highest APR among FBS teams with 5–7 records. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Preseason

C-USA media day

The Conference USA media day was held on July 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Owls were predicted to finish tenth in the conference's preseason poll. ^[6]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	UTSA
2	UAB
3	WKU
4	Florida Atlantic
5	North Texas
6	UTEP
7	Charlotte
8	Middle Tennessee
9	Louisiana Tech
10	Rice
11	FIU

Roster

2022 Rice Owls football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 0 Dean Connors So RB 1 Cameron Montgomery  Sr WR 2 Bradley Rozner  Sr QB 3 Jovoni Johnson  So WR 4 Cedric Patterson III GS QB 5 Wiley Green  Jr WR 6 Isaiah Esdale GS QB 7 T. J. McMahon Jr RB 8 Juma Otoviano  Jr WR 9 Sam Crawford GS WR 10 Luke McCaffrey  So WR 11 Tyson Thompson So QB 12 A. J. Padgett Fr QB 13 Christian Edgar Fr TE 14 Nate Kamper  Fr QB 15 Shawqi Itraish  Fr WR 17 Kobie Campbell So WR 19 Peyton Stevenson  Fr WR 20 Uriah West GS WR 22 Ryan Guillo Fr RB 26 Christian Francisco  Fr RB 30 Ari Broussard  Jr FB 32 Jerry Johnson III  So RB 35 Michael Amico Fr FB 49 Micah Barnett Fr OL 52 Braedon Nutter So OL 53 Mike Leone  Fr OL 54 Isaac Klarkowski  So C 56 Stefan Gustafson Fr OL 58 Shea Baker  Sr OL 61 Trace Norfleet Fr OL 62 Faae Pepe So OL 63 Noah Robertson  So OL 69 Payton Lovell  So OL 70 Isaiah Gonzalez So OL 71 Clay Servin  Jr OL 72 Trey Phillippi  Fr OL 74 Brad Baur Fr OL 75 Miguel Cedeno Fr OL 76 John Long  Fr OL 77 John Hughes GS OL 78 Ethan Onianwa  Fr OL 79 Weston Kropp So WR 80 Rawson MacNeill Fr WR 81 Braylen Walker Fr TE 82 Gavin Reinwald GS TE 83 Alex Scherle Fr WR 84 Bennett Mecom  So TE 85 Boden Groen Fr TE 86 Connor Welsh  Fr TE 87 Jack Bradley Jr TE 88 Jaggar Hebeisen  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 0 Ajavon Litchfeld GS CB 1 Sean Fresch So CB 2 Tre'shon Devones  So CB 4 Jordan Dunbar So S 4 Marcus Williams  Fr S 5 Chike Anigbogu  Jr LB 6 D. J. Arkansas  Fr DE 7 Trey Schuman  Sr LB 8 Treshawn Chamberlain  Jr S 9 Kirk Lockhart Jr DE 10 Kenneth Orji  Sr LB 11 Chris Conti Jr OLB 12 Josh Pearcy  So CB 13 Lamont Narcisse So S 14 Joshua Williams  Fr DL 16 Chibby Nwajuaku Fr S 19 Ichmael Joseph Fr S 20 George Nyakwol GS OLB 21 Garrett Braden  Fr CB 22 Jonathan Jean  Fr CB 23 Jeremiah Williams Fr CB 24 Miles McCord Sr S 25 Daveon Hook Fr DB 26 Gabe Taylor So LB 27 Andrew Awe  So OLB 28 Shepherd Bowling  Fr DL 30 Elroyal Morris III  Fr S 31 Tyson Flowers Fr LB 33 Myron Morrison  So LB 40 Kenny Seymour Jr.  Fr S 41 Plae Wyatt So LB 44 Geron Hargon  Fr LB 44 Aidan Siano  So DL 45 Demone Green Fr DL 50 Izeya Floyd  So DL 52 Jalen Hargrove  Fr DL 55 De'Braylon Carroll  So DL 75 Blake Boenisch  Fr CB 89 Cemarion Chambliss Fr DE 91 Ikenna Enechukwu  Jr DL 92 Quent Titre GS DL 95 Caleb James So DL 97 Cal Varner III  Fr DL 98 Van Heitmann So DL 99 Davion Carter Fr DL 99 Cole Latos  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 15 Tim Horn  So ATH 16 Quinton Jackson Fr P 18 Conor Hunt Jr K 28 Enoch Gota Fr K, P 31 Christian Vansickle GS K, P 38 Zach Adams  Fr LS 46 Jacob Wilson GS DS 47 Thomas Tholen II  So DS 55 Landon Mitchell Fr P 99 Charlie Mendes So	Head coach Mike Bloomgren Coordinators/assistant coaches Marques Tuiasosopo (Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks) Brian Smith (Defensive coordinator / linebackers) Chris Monfiletto (special teams coordinator) C. J. Anderson (running backs) Cedric Calhoun (defensive line) Sanders Davis (offensive line) Jim Jackson (Tight ends) Mike Kershaw (wide receivers) Colin Spencer (safeties) Gerard Wilcher (cornerbacks) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: June 28, 2022

Schedule

Rice and Conference USA announced the 2022 football schedule on March 30, 2022. ^[7]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	5:00 p.m.	at No. 14 USC *	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	P12N	L 14–66	60,113
September 10	6:30 p.m.	McNeese State *	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN3	W 52–10	18,629
September 17	6:30 p.m.	Louisiana *	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN+	W 33–21	18,746
September 24	5:00 p.m.	at Houston *	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	ESPN+	L 27–34	26,377
October 1	6:30 p.m.	UAB	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN+	W 28–24	21,926
October 15	5:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	ESPN+	L 14–17	21,465
October 22	2:00 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN+	W 42–41 OT	18,300
October 29	1:00 p.m.	Charlotte	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN3	L 23–56	18,187
November 3	6:00 p.m.	UTEP	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	CBSSN	W 37–30	18,326
November 12	1:00 p.m.	at Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 10–45	10,127
November 19	12:00 p.m.	UTSA	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN+	L 7–41	18,249
November 26	1:00 p.m.	at North Texas	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX	ESPN+	L 17–21	15,688
December 17	4:45 p.m.	vs. Southern Miss *	Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, AL (LendingTree Bowl)	ESPN	L 24–38	20,512
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

At No.14 USC Trojans

See also: 2022 USC Trojans football team

Rice Owls (0-0) vs No. 14 USC Trojans (0-0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	7	7	0	0	14
No. 14 Trojans	7	24	28	7	66

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA

• Date: September 3rd
• Game time: 3:00 P.M PST
• Game attendance: 60,113
• Referee: Jim Wharrie
• TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson (play by play), Yogi Roth (analyst)

Statistics	Rice	No. 14 USC
First downs	14	27
Plays–yards	62–280	58–538
Rushes–yards	34–146	28–208
Passing yards	134	330
Passing: comp–att–int	14–28–4	25–30–0
Time of possession	32:39	27:21

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rice	Passing	Wiley Green	8/13, 69 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Cameron Montgomery	6 carries, 99 yards
	Receiving	Luke McCaffrey	5 receptions, 51 yards
No. 14 USC	Passing	Caleb Williams	19/22, 249yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Austin Jones	4 carries, 48 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jordan Addison	5 receptions, 54 yards, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Rice No. 14 USC 1st 12:06 7 75 3:42 USC Jordan Addison (#3) 5-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams (#13), Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 0 7 1st 3:12 16 74 8:09 Rice Ari Broussard (#30) 1-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 7 7 2nd 15:00 9 84 3:56 USC Austin Jones (#6) 4-yard touchdown run, Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 7 14 2nd 11:45 4 70 1:54 USC Raleek Brown (#14) 14-yard touchdown run, Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 7 21 2nd 9:14 1 93 - USC Interception returned 93 yards for touchdown by Calen Bullock (#7), Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 7 28 2nd 2:20 10 75 6:30 Rice Ari Broussard (#30) 2-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 14 28 2nd 0:00 11 67 1:35 USC 25-yard field goal by Denis Lynch (#46) 14 31 3rd 14:22 1 40 - USC Interception returned 40 yards for touchdown by Shane Lee (#53), Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 14 38 3rd 13:06 1 31 - USC Interception returned 31 yards for touchdown by Ralen Goforth (#10), Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 14 45 3rd 9:12 4 34 2:12 USC Jordan Addison (#3) 3-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams (#13), Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 14 52 3rd 2:22 8 85 5:16 USC Austin Jones (#6) 28-yard touchdown run, Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 14 59 4th 7:05 5 72 3:13 USC Darwin Barlow (#22) 2-yard touchdown run, Denis Lynch (#46) kick good 14 66 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 66

Vs. McNeese State

See also: 2022 McNeese State Cowboys football team

McNeese State Cowboys (0–1) vs. Rice Owls (0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	10	0	10
Owls	10	21	14	7	52

at Rice Stadium • Houston, TX

• Date: September 10th
• Game time: 6:30 P.M CST
• Game attendance: 18,629
• Referee: Ed Ardito
• TV: ESPN3

Statistics	McNeese State	Rice
First downs	14	26
Plays–yards	51–263	74–487
Rushes–yards	30–172	43–209
Passing yards	91	278
Passing: comp–att–int	8–21–2	21–31–0
Time of possession	21:48	38:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese State	Passing	Know Kadum	5/12, 65 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deonta McMahon	5 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Mason Pierce	3 receptions, 37 yards
Rice	Passing	TJ McMahon	20/29, 274 yards, 4 TD
	Rushing	Ari Broussard	17 carries, 71 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Bradley Rozner	3 receptions, 101 yards, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP McNeese State Rice 1st 7:23 4 -1 0:57 Rice 28-yard field goal by Christian VanSickle (#31) 0 3 1st 4:38 4 35 1:35 Rice Bradley Rozner (#2) 13-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 0 10 2nd 10:17 11 70 7:07 Rice TJ McMahon (#7) 9-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 0 17 2nd 6:59 1 91 - Rice Interception returned 91 yards for touchdown by Gabe Taylor (#26), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 0 24 2nd 3:26 5 20 2:05 Rice Ari Broussard (#30) 2-yard touchdown run, Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 0 31 3rd 14:31 2 77 0:23 McNeese State Deonta McMahon (#20) 62-yard touchdown run, Garrison Smith (#37) kick good 7 31 3rd 14:20 1 75 0:11 Rice Bradley Rozner (#2) 75-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 7 38 3rd 9:35 6 80 2:57 Rice Jack Bradley (#87) 17-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 7 45 3rd 3:10 7 60 1:41 McNeese State 23-yard field goal by Garrison Smith (#37) 10 45 4th 13:14 11 75 4:56 Rice Juma Otoviano (#8) 15-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 10 52 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 52

Vs. Louisiana

See also: 2022 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (2–0) vs. Rice Owls (1–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ragin' Cajuns	7	7	0	7	21
Owls	3	10	6	14	33

at Rice Stadium • Houston, TX

• Date: September 17th
• Game time: 6:30 P.M CST
• Game weather: 87 °F (31 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SE 10 MPH
• Game attendance: 18,746
• Referee: Scott Hardin
• TV announcers (ESPN+): David Saltzman (play-by-play), Chris Mycoskie (analyst)

Statistics	Louisiana	Rice
First downs	9	26
Plays–yards	43–175	80–449
Rushes–yards	15–61	44–146
Passing yards	114	303
Passing: comp–att–int	13–28–1	25–36–3
Time of possession	18:09	41:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisiana	Passing	Ben Wooldridge	6/14, 76 yards
	Rushing	Chris Smith	6 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Michael Jefferson	5 receptions, 53 yards
Rice	Passing	TJ McMahon	25/36, 303 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Ari Broussard	19 carries, 49 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Luke McCaffrey	10 receptions, 105 yards, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Louisiana Rice 1st 7:17 7 33 2:42 Rice 23-yard field goal by Christian VanSickle (#31) 0 3 1st 2:47 1 54 - Louisiana Interception returned 54 yards for touchdown by Caleb Anderson (#11), Preston Stafford (#37) kick good 7 3 2nd 5:20 13 83 7:56 Rice Luke McCaffrey (#10) 8-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), Christian VanSickle (#31) kick good 7 10 2nd 1:24 3 17 1:28 Louisiana Terrence Williams (#23) 11-yard touchdown reception from Chandler Fields (#18), Preston Stafford (#37) kick good 14 10 2nd 0:01 9 60 1:19 Rice 31-yard field goal by Christian VanSickle (#31) 14 13 3rd 10:20 11 75 4:40 Rice Bradley Rozner (#2) 12-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), 2-point pass incomplete 14 19 4th 11:25 10 65 6:07 Rice Luke McCaffrey (#10) 6-yard touchdown reception from TJ McMahon (#7), 2-point pass good 14 27 4th 9:17 7 75 2:08 Louisiana Chris Smith (#13) 22-yard touchdown run, Preston Stafford (#37) kick good 21 27 4th 2:59 11 70 6:14 Rice Ari Broussard (#30) 2-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 21 33 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 33

At Houston (Bayou Bucket Classic)

Rice at Houston

1 2 3 4 Total Owls 0 14 10 3 27 •Cougars 7 3 14 10 34 Date: September 24, 2022 Location: TDECU Stadium (Houston, TX) Game start: 5:02 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 28 minutes Game attendance: 26,377 Game weather: 94 °F (34 °C) • Weather: Sunny Referee: Rodney Burnette TV announcers (ESPN+): Ted Emrich (play-by-play) and Taylor McHargue (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 (, , ) ( , , ) 2 (, , ) ( , , ) 3 ( , , ) ( , , ) 4 ( , , ) ( , , ) OT ( , , )

See also: 2022 Houston Cougars football team and Houston–Rice rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under
HOU –17.5	52

Statistics	Rice	Houston
First downs	22	19
Plays–yards	65–424	58–427
Rushes–yards	25–90	32–178
Passing yards	334	249
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–40–1	19–26–1
Time of possession	29:55	30:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rice	Passing	T. J. McMahon	25/39, 334 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kobie Campbell	1 carry, 34 yards
	Receiving	Bradley Rozner	5 receptions, 123 yards
Houston	Passing	Clayton Tune	19/26, 249 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Ta'Zhawn Henry	17 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tank Dell	7 receptions, 134 yards, 1 TD

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	10	7	0	24
Owls	7	0	14	7	28

See also: 2022 UAB Blazers football team

At Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice Owls	14	0	0	0	14
FAU Owls	0	7	3	7	17

See also: 2022 Florida Atlantic Owls football team

At Louisiana Tech

See also: 2022 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Owls	0	7	14	14	7	42
Bulldogs	10	0	17	8	6	41

Statistics	RICE	LT
First downs	24	19
Total yards	487	373
Rushing yards	279	144
Passing yards	208	229
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	33:22	26:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rice	Passing	T. J. McMahon	16/27, 208 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Cameron Montgomery	14 rushes, 87 yards
	Receiving	Luke McCaffrey	10 receptions, 171 yards, 2 TD
Louisiana Tech	Passing	Matthew Downing	12/24, 159 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Marquis Crosby	14 rushes, 87 yards
	Receiving	Tre Harris	8 receptions, 92 yards, 3 TD

Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	7	21	21	7	56
Owls	14	3	0	6	23

See also: 2022 Charlotte 49ers football team

UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	7	10	3	10	30
Owls	10	10	7	10	37

See also: 2022 UTEP Miners football team

At Western Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	7	3	0	10
Hilltoppers	7	17	7	14	45

See also: 2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Roadrunners	21	7	13	0	41
Owls	0	0	0	7	7

See also: 2022 UTSA Roadrunners football team

At North Texas

See also: 2022 North Texas Mean Green football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	14	0	3	17
Mean Green	7	7	0	7	21

Statistics	RICE	UNT
First downs	19	16
Total yards	415	362
Rushing yards	186	159
Passing yards	229	203
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	35:43	24:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Rice	Passing	AJ Padgett	13/22, 229 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Juma Otoviano	14 rushes, 94 yards
	Receiving	Braylen Walker	4 receptions, 77 yards, TD
North Texas	Passing	Austin Aune	16/29, 203 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Ikaika Ragsdale	17 rushes, 122 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ikaika Ragsdale	5 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Vs. Southern Miss (LendingTree Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	3	21	0	24
Golden Eagles	7	10	7	14	38

See also: 2022 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team and 2022 LendingTree Bowl

References

1. Joseph Duarte (October 21, 2021). "Rice's move to American Athletic Conference part of long-term vision". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
2. Ralph D. Russo (October 21, 2021). "Rice ...joining American Athletic Conference". KPRC-TV. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
3. "Old C-USA foes Rice, Southern Miss meet in Lending Tree Bowl". Yahoo! Sports . Field Level Media. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
4. Palm, Jerry (December 3, 2022). "College Football Bowl Projections: Team Eligibility Tracker by Conference with 2022–23 Bowl Games Finalizing". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
5. "NCAA Academic Progress Rate Football Rankings 1–130: Which 5–7 Teams Might Go Bowling?". College Football News. November 27, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
6. "C-USA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish for 2022". Conference USA. July 25, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
7. Nick Bromberg (March 30, 2022). "Conference USA releases revised 2022 football schedule without teams leaving for Sun Belt". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 4, 2022.