Rice football is looking for their first home win of the 2025 season when they host Prairie View A&M. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
Both Rice football and Prairie View A&M are coming off in-state losses suffered on their home turf. The Owls dropped a rivalry game to Houston, ceding the Bayou Bucket to the team across town. Prairie View lost to upstart UT Rio Grande Valley, playing in their first ever game against a Division 1 opponent. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Prairie View A&M.
Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Sizing up the contenders
Finally taking on a program that won’t be a multi-touchdown favorite against them, Rice needs this upcoming contest against Prairie View to be their get-right game as the ready themselves for conference play the following weekend. For the Panthers, head coach Tremaine Jackson would love to show some competitiveness after his team beat Texas Southern in their opener before falling at home Saturday.
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Last Time Out
Make sure you check out The Roost Podcast every week this season as we review the Owls’ most recent game, breaking down the key moments, decisions and their impact on the outlook of the program moving forward.
Series History
All Time | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Meeting | Home 2018, Rice won 31-28
Rice Football Stat Notables
Passing | Jenkins – 17/21 (81.0 percent), 95 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 37 carries, 171 yards (4.6 yards per carry), 1 TD / Alexander – 25 carries, 129 yards (5.2 yards per carry)
Receiving | Dickmann – 7 receptions, 52 yards (7.4 yds/rec), Turner – 5 receptions, 27 yards (5.4 yds/rec)
Tackles | Morris – 18, Kane – 13 , Awe – 12
Pass Breakups | Crump, Porter, Daley – 2, Kane – 1
Interceptions | Kane – 1
PVAMU Stat Notables
Passing | Peters – 32/56 (57.1 percent), 365 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Bingmon – 31 carries, 171 yards (5.5 yds/car), Peters – 21 carries, 76 yards (3.6 yds/car)
Receiving | Rockwell – 15 receptions, 186 yards (12.4 yds/rec), 0 TD, Ojo – 8 receptions, 116 yards (14.5 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Roberts – 16, Parker – 13, Ojiaku – 12
Pass Breakups | Starling, Davis, Moore each tied with one
Interceptions | None
PVAMU X-Factor | Limit the Explosive Plays
Prairie View is allowing 24 points per game through their first two contest. And while the defense has been serviceable, their propensity to surrender the big play, particularly on the ground could be their Achille’s heel against the Owls. Four different ball carries have notched a carry of 20+ yards against the Panthers who allowed UTRGV’s Nathan Denney to eclipse the century mark.
An option running attack is designed to exploit those very miscues and turn missed run fits into big plays. Through two weeks, the Rice football offense hasn’t fully taken off and gotten into a groove on the ground. That’s exactly what Prairie View has to avoid if they want to be competitive in this game.
Rice X-Factor | Win the Line of Scrimmage
Much of the energy this week will be focused on engineering a breakout performance on offense, combining two weeks of game film with the easiest opponent on the schedule to date. And while get the option going would undoubtedly be the most encouraging thing the Owls could take away from this game, winning the matchup has to start up front.
Rice football has already showcased what a dominant effort in the trenches looks like this season, holding a talented Louisiana team to one touchdown across four quarters largely because quarterback Walker Howard never had a free moment to operate. The potential for disruption should be amplified this week against an FCS opponent. Likewise, the offensive line should expect more push. Win on both fronts, and this game should go in favor of the Blue and Gray.
Injury Report (Subscribers only)
One Final Thing
Rice football hasn’t really played an opponent on their caliber quite yet and that will remain true this weekend when they take on Prairie View. It’s been encouraging to see this team hang with rosters with more talent and bodies with more size and speed. Now it should be the Owls’ turn to do the same to somebody else.
Physical domination should be enough to secure a win and get this team to 2-1, already ahead of schedule according to consensus from the oddsmakers’ expectations. But this game is the perfect opportunity to refine the option attack, master additional concepts and work on building the level of complexity and execution necessary to employ it effectively against conference foes.
This game is about more than just finding a way to win. It’s about setting the program up with its best chance to find success in the weeks to come.
