Earlier Rice University fired their head football coach Mike Bloomgren after six plus years at the helm of the Owls. During Bloomgren's tenure, the Owls were 24 and 52.
Mike Bloomgren was the head football coach at Rice for six
seasons plus eight games this season. Here is a
look at the Rice Owls football team since 2008
(the year
in which the data I use to model FBS production starts). Other than
head football coach Mike Bloomgren (2018-2024*), the only other head football
coach was David Bailiff (2007-2017). As you will
notice, Rice was below average during Bloomgren's tenure.
Below is the Rice Owls production rank (total, offense, defense) since 2008 using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com. More details about
the program under Bloomgren is
provided below.
Mike Bloomgren [2018-2024*]
2018
Rice finished the regular season at 2-11,while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Rice's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation from the "league" SOS. The Owl's best win
was against #108 ranked Old Dominion by a
score of (27-13) and their worst loss was to #126 ranked UTSA by a
score of (3-20). Rice was the #128 ranked team overall, with the #126 ranked
offense and the #125 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2019
The Owls finished the regular season at 3-9, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Rice's
best win
was against #54 ranked Middle Tennessee State by a
score of (31-28) and their worst loss was to #117 ranked UTSA by a
score of (27-31). Rice was the #105 ranked team overall, with the #117 ranked
offense and the #53 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2020
The Owls finished the COVID shortened regular season at 2-3, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Rice's
best win
was against #14 ranked Marshall by a
score of (20-0) and their worst loss was to #106 ranked Middle Tennessee State by a
score of (34-01). Rice was the #81 ranked team overall, with the #118 ranked
offense and the #10 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
Rice finished the regular season at 4-8,while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). The Owls' best win
was against #63 ranked UAB by a
score of (30-24) and their worst loss was to #107 ranked Charlotte by a
score of (24-31). Rice was the #108 ranked team overall, with the #102 ranked
offense and the #116 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2022
The Owls finished the regular season at 5-7, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), but were able to secure a post-season bowl berth because there were not enough teams with six wins, and Rice had the highest Academic Progress Rate. Their post-season bowl
game resulted in a defeat to #117 Southern Mississippi by a score of (24-38) to finish the season overall at 5-8. Rice's
best win
was against #41 ranked UAB by a
score of (28-24) and their worst loss was to #125 ranked Charlotte by a
score of (23-56). Rice was the #117 ranked team overall, with the #102 ranked
offense and the #119 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2023
The Owls finished the regular season at 6-6, while playing against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). In their post-season bowl game, Rice was defeated by #47 ranked Texas State by a score of 921-45) to finish at 6-7 overall. Rice's
best win
was against #86 ranked Florida Atlantice by a
score of (24-21) and their worst loss was to #120 ranked Connecticut by a
score of (31-38). Rice was the #66 ranked team overall, with the #68 ranked
offense and the #70 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2024*
Head
coach Bloomgren was fired after the eighth game of the season and the Owls had a 2-6 record at that time. The Owls played
against an “average”
strength
of schedule (SOS); meaning that Rice's SOS was plus
or
minus one
standard deviation from the "leagues" average SOS through week 7 of the
season. At this point in the season, Rice's best win
was against #105 ranked UTSA by a score of (29-27) and their
worst loss was to #115 ranked Charlotte (24-49). At the end of week 9, Rice was the #93 ranked team overall, with the #102 ranked
offense and the #83 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2024 FBS Head Coach Changes