Rice football takes on Texas Southern at home this week. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
Both Texas Southern and Rice football hosted nearby foes in Week 1 with very different results. The Tigers went on the road and beat Prairie View A&M while the Owls fell at home to Sam Houston. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Texas Souhern.
Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Audio / Visual Preview
We’ll preview Rice football vs Texas Southern on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday at 12:00 pm on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.
Sizing up the contenders
Texas Southern is now 1-0 over new head coach Cris Dishman and the Tigers looked much improved in their first appearance under their new head man, snapping a nine-game losing string to PVAMU in the process.
On the other end of this matchup, Rice football laid an egg in their seventh season opener under Mike Bloomgren and cannot afford an 0-2 start in non-conference play with a rivalry matchup with Houston looming. There’s suddenly a lot more pressure on a seemingly innocuous Week 2 nonconference game than were was just a few short days ago.
Series History
All Time | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Meeting | Home 2023, Rice won 59-7
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Rice Football Stat Notables
Passing | Warner – 27/44 (61.4 percent), 227 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Connors – 12 carries, 52 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 1 TD / Atkins – 2 carries, 4 yards (2.0 yards per carry)
Receiving | Connors – 9 receptions, 30 yards (3.3 yds/rec) / Sykes – 6 receptions, 74 yards (12.3 yds/rec) / Groen – 5 receptions, 43 yards (8.6 yds/rec)
Tackles | Pearcy – 8 / Ahoia, Green – 6 / Four tied with 5
Pass Breakups | Jean, Fresch – 1 each
Interceptions | n/a
TXSO Stat Notables
Passing | Cooper – 19/29 (65.5 percent), 126 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Green – 15 carries, 81 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 2 TD / Cooper – 6 carries, 52 yards (8.7 yards per carry)
Receiving | Johnson – 4 receptions, 49 yards (12.3 yds/rec) / Bennett – 3 receptions, 43 yards (14.3 yds/rec)
Tackles | No defensive stats available
Pass Breakups | No defensive stats available
Interceptions | No defensive stats available
TXSO X-Factor | If it ain’t broke
Did Sam Houston provide Texas Southern with the blueprint to beat Rice? It’s on the visiting Tigers to find out. Sam Houston was able to find a good amount of success running the football, particularly with their quarterback. Texas Southern’s quarterback KJ Cooper is a threat in the run game, too.
“There ability to run the football on our defense is not something I thought would happen and not something I was prepared to happen,” Bloomgren said of Sam Houston’s prowess on the ground. It’s on him to get that sorted out this week, but Texas Southern needs to start there, regardless.
Not only is an exposed weakness the Owls have already put on film, but if everything goes according to plan it should shorten the game and take opportunities away from the Rice offense, which proved itself to be potent when they could string a few plays together.
Rice X-Factor | Block somebody
Head coach Mike Bloomgren said it best on Saturday night. “I couldn’t tell you really what phase of the game we played like I thought we would and what I think we’re capable of,” he admitted. In short, there’s a long list of things for Rice football to fix in the six days they have between their loss to Sam Houston and a suddenly extremely important meeting with Texas Southern. To keep this section digestible, we’re going to start with one must-do: fix the offensive line.
The offensive line had a strong camp and was largely able to hold its own against a Rice pass rush that tallied seven sacks on Saturday night. As I wrote postgame, the degree to which the unit struggled seemed to suggest a scheme mismatch more than a talent deficit. That’s not something that will magically get fixed by reinserting Chad Lindberg into the line if that’s possible, but it shouldn’t take a new face. It should just require better planning and execution.
Rice football needs the line to play like its capable of playing. Competent line play will free up the offense for a quarterback who played well despite having to fear for his life in a shriveling pocket. That will enable more sustained drives and give the defense a much-needed breather. There’s more to fix, but getting this right should be something that’s both doable and will yield results beyond just its singular schematic function.
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One Final Thing
For better or worse, this is not the first time Rice football has found itself in this situation. Days removed from a crushing defeat, they have to take the field again.
In 2023, Rice was upset by UConn. They followed it up by dismantling Tulsa 42-10.
In 2022, Rice was throttled by Charlotte who just dismissed their coach. They turned around and beat UTEP the next week.
In 2021, Rice was shut out by UTSA 45-0. They upset UAB on the road 30-24 the following Saturday.
In 2020, Rice lost to an injury-riddle North Texas. Next week they blanked No. 15 Marshall on the road, 20-0.
There’s something to be said for why this program has to pick itself up off the mat at least once every single season, but it’s hard to deny the evidence of what happens when they’re forced to take that hard look in the mirror. They might not have it all together every Saturday, but they’ve proven they have an uncanny ability to flush it and move on.
“It’s never easy, but like honestly, I feel like we have the guys to do it,” Pearcy said of the long road ahead of the team this week. “We have all the talent in the world to do it, it’s just going to come down to execution.”
