Rice football heads to South Bend this weekend with hopes of upsetting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
The season got off on the right foot for Rice football, who dispatched Houston Christian at home in Week 1 by way of what head coach Scott Abell called a “dominating” effort and a 31-3 score. Abell remained perfect in season openers with the victory. A day later, Notre Dame handled Wisconsin, beating the Badgers 41-13 in a Sunday night, prime time event. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Notre Dame.
Kickoff time | 2:30 PM
Venue | Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, IN
TV | NBC (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Gameday cartoon illustrated by Hong Lin Tsai.
Sizing up the Contenders
Rice football begins its season with two extremes. They cruised past an overmatched opponent in Week 1 and now face a College Football Playoff contender as a heavy underdog in Week 2. The bulk of the slate will feature opponents somewhere in between. A loss here doesn’t hinder any of the Owls’ goals, but an upset would go down as one of the preeminent wins of the Abell era.
Rice Football Preseason Preview: Get prepared for the season here.
With no conference title to play for, every week takes on just a bit more importance for Notre Dame in their quest to reach the playoff. 10 wins wasn’t enough a season ago, so the Irish should be wary of every opponent they face. They came out a bit slow against Wisconsin before getting it into gear, but shouldn’t be expected to sleepwalk against anyone.
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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 | Notre Dame leads, 5-0
Last Five | Notre Dame leads, 5-0
Last Meeting | Away 2014, Notre Dame won 48-17
Rice Football Stat Notables
Passing | Brown – 2/5 (40.0 percent), 11 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Byars – 16 carries, 104 yards (6.5 yds/car) / Brown – 13 carries, 98 yards (7.5 yds/car) / Hardeman – 11 carries, 77 yards (7.0 yds/car), 1 TD / Jackson – 10 carries, 61 yards (6.1 yds/car), 2 TD
Receiving | Lane Jr. – 2 receptions, 11 yards (5.5 yds/rec) / Clark – 1 reception, 11 yards (11.0 yds/rec)
Tackles | Barton – 5 / Nwajuaku – 5 / VerMaas – 4
Pass Breakups | Amey – 2 / Benjamin – 1
Interceptions | Harper – 1
Notre Dame Stat Notables
Passing | Carr – 19/29 (65.5 percent), 239 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Williams – 20 carries, 90 yards (4.5 yds/car), 2 TD / James Jr. – 7 carries, 19 yards (2.7 yds/car)
Receiving | Faison – 4 receptions, 81 yards (20.3 yds/rec) / James Jr. – 4 receptions, 67 yards (16.8 yds/rec) / Gilbert – 3 receptions, 34 yards (11.3 yds/rec)
Tackles | Bowen – 9 / Shuler, Ausberry – 7 / Moore – 5
Pass Breakups | Sanders – 2 / Moore, Johnson, McKinney – 1
Interceptions | McKinney – 1
Notre Dame X-Factor | Get the Running Game Going
The Irish were able to ride a balanced attack against Wisconsin to great success, getting scoring contributions from quarterback CJ Carr and running back Aneyas Williams, as well as defense and special teams. Against an option offense, it will be paramount to be able to fight fire with fire and do what they can to keep the Owls from getting into rhythm.
Williams is taking over for a pair of first-round running backs in Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price and while he might not be on that caliber just yet, he was productive in his 2026 debut, averaging a respectable 4.5 yards per carry and scoring twice.
Notre Dame has proven they can build a productive offensive ecosystem and Williams is plenty talented. If he can get in a groove and help the Irish sustain drives it will be ever harder for the Owls to mount a counter offensive and require the visitors to be near perfect when they do.
Rice X-Factor | No Margin for Error
Rice football had 10 possessions against Houston Christian, eight of which came before the third and fourth string players were inserted in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Owls ended four of those drives with touchdowns, two with field goal attempts and two with fourth down attempts which came up short.
The high rate of scoring opportunities was directly tied to the very few number of mistakes the Owls had throughout the contest. Rice committed just three penalties — one of those was a holding penalty which Rice was able to overcome — and limited other missteps. A muffed snap was the most costly, turning a second-and-two in the redzone into a failed fourth down conversion two plays later.
This offense is predicated on staying on schedule. For the most part, they were able to keep pace in their opener with no three-and-outs. Every drive picked up at least one first down or ended up in points. That’s a formula for success the Owls must replicate against the Irish. The option is meant to be an equalizer. Rice has to be meticulous in their execution with it this week.
Injury Report (Subscribers only)
One Final Thing
This is a house money game. Above all else, Rice football needs to walk away from Saturday healthy and ready to compete with their remaining schedule which features teams with much more comparable talent levels. That doesn’t mean the Owls will throw in the towel — far from it. This will be a test of the very principles of the option scheme the program has embraced.
Because of the scheme and in light of past struggles Notre Dame has showcased against fellow G6 opponents in recent history, there is a path for a remarkable upset. It’s a narrow road and will require Rice to do just about everything right while Notre Dame does a few things wrong. No matter the result, though, if the offense can remain productive while the defense executes at a high level, it’ll be proof that Rice is headed in the right direction.
A 1-1 start was always the most likely outcome, but 2-0 is within the realm of possibility because the Owls took care of business against Houston Christian. Nobody is unbeatable. That’s why they play the game.