Next up for Rice football, a road trip to Notre Dame. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Houston Christian game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Notre Dame.
More: Rice Football vs Notre Dame Game Preview
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
I think if you do your job correctly, every program that you line up against each and every week, gets the same focus, the level same level attention, the same respect. Our guys did that last week with Houston Christian. Now, as a head coach, I don’t necessarily have to worry about that same level of respect for Notre Dame. I don’t have to walk into a meeting room and help them see why they need to respect such a program; that happens naturally…
If we do our job right as coaches and as leaders of the program, every week it’s the same amount of detail, the same amount of focus and the same level of respect, so we are prepared to be the best version of us, and I think that’s the way to approach it, whether you’re playing the number one team in the country or you’re playing a team that is not that. – Rice Football on play an opponent the caliber of Notre Dame
He’s probably coming into the season, if not the leading candidate for the Heisman, he’s in every conversation. I you see a very polished older quarterback in college football. I think you see a guy who sees the game incredibly well. He’s got a system that fits him, and he’s got really complementary weapons around him. As advertised, as you can imagine. And having all the reps in the system that he’s in that he’s had that doesn’t happen all the time now in college football. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the QB CJ Carr and the Notre Dame offense
They know exactly who they are. They play fast. They are incredibly talented at every level. I think the thing that’s not schematic — they’re excited to play defense. If you watch the Wisconsin game, they’re excited to play together… I don’t think it’s overly complicated. They can do some complicated things on defense, but I think that their goal is to play fast and be very assignment-sound and disciplined, and that’s who they are. No matter what film I pop on, whether it’s Wisconsin or whether it’s Navy, whether it’s Army, whether it’s Miami of Ohio, you see all the same characteristics. It’s not overly complicated. They play incredibly hard. They’re well coached and they’re incredibly disciplined. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the Notre Dame defense
This isn’t the first game I’ve been in where they thought we were going to lose. That’s just life. We talk about resiliency. We talk about toughness. This is a game for us, for sure, but it’s more or less like the program, The WE, what matters to us and we go in and go fight, no matter the score, no matter what happens; we’re going to be expected to fight. I think all the guys in the locker room aren’t just going to go in there and roll over just because they’re supposed to beat us. That’s why we get to play the game… We see that challenge and it’s not going to be the first time this year where that’s going to be the case. So why not us? – Quarterback Jacurri Brown on being underdogs against Notre Dame
I feel like we did. There’s certain clips that just pop up in my head when I think of us being physical last week. I feel like there’s always more room. There’s always more meat on the bone to go get, but in terms of just answering the call and being physical, I feel like we were, especially up front. They had a heck of a day. They knew it was gonna be their day to eat, and they definitely. – Safety Jo Chavez on the physicality of the Rice defense against Notre Dame
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
Quinton Jackson is the most notable name not listed on this edition of the depth chart. Abell shared on Tuesday that the star slot experienced a “pretty significant injury” and was expected to undergo further testing. Those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon should be on the lookout for more details later this week in the practice notes, assuming that process progresses as expected.
Notre Dame transfer Preston Zinter and returning safety Daveon Hook, both of whom missed the Houston Christian game, are not listed on this depth chart either. That doesn’t mean they’ve been officially ruled out, but their chances of playing certainly take a significant hit. The rest of the depth chart looks as expected.