UAB 42, Rice 0: The Owls hit rock bottom

It was not exactly a secret that Mike Bloomgren was stepping into a dire situation at Rice. The Owls had won just four of their last 24 games prior to his arrival, and hadn’t had a winning season since 2014. The days of 10-win seasons and conference titles — like in 2013 — seem as familiar as the most recent ice age. The Owls program was on life support, and the Stanford offensive coordinator was tasked with shaking it out of its coma.

It’s going to take time and patience. It was always going to take time and patience. And Saturday’s 42-0 loss to UAB could serve an important purpose in the process — the Owls found rock bottom.