Rice could not have entered Birmingham coming off a worse performance. The Owls spent a week of practice marinating in the feeling of a 45-0 gut punch from UTSA. The team generated just 102 yards of offense, punted 10 times, and failed to cross the UTSA 47-yard line in the disastrous showing, which marked the second time the Owls were shut out in 2021. The program displayed resiliency after the first shutout — a 58-0 shellacking from Texas — by responding with a 48-point outburst against Texas Southern of the FCS.
But after the UTSA result, Rice wasn’t returning home to battle an FCS foe.