Rice football kicks off conference play this week against UTSA on Families Weekend. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
Points were scored last week, both by Rice football and their upcoming opponent, UTSA. The Roadrunners put up 59 against Colorado State, winning a shootout in the Alamodome against a Pac-12 foe. The Owls were less fortunate, falling 38-24 to Fresno State on the road. That sets up an important matchup between the two Texas teams in Week 5. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and UTSA.
Kickoff time | 6:00 PM
Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Gameday cartoon illustrated by Hong Lin Tsai.
Sizing up the Contenders
The Rice football offense has looked as effective and explosive this season as it has since head coach Scott Abel took control of the program last season. However, the Owls are 1-3 and face a grueling conference slate ahead. It’s hard to call any October game a must-win, but a victory certainly would go a long way towards providing some stability in what has been a turbulent start to the season for the program.
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On the other side of the field, UTSA has to sense some level of opportunity in a wide-open American Conference landscape. South Florida is the only unbeaten squad, and they snuck by Bowling Green last weekend. The Roadrunners have as good a shot as anyone to make a run at a conference title, but starting 0-1 would hamper those aspirations.
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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 | UTSA leads, 9-4
Last Five | UTSA leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Away 2025, UTSA won 61-13
Rice Football Stat Notables
Passing | Brown – 30/53 (56.6 percent), 322 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Brown – 71 carries, 399 yards (5.6 yds/car), 2 TD / Byars – 41 carries, 196 yards (4.8 yds/car), 1 TD / Hardeman Jr. – 40 carries, 172 yards (4.3 yds/car), 1 TD
Receiving | Jackson Jr. – 6 receptions, 89 yards (14.8 yds/rec), 1 TD / Clark – 8 receptions, 76 yards (9.5 yds/rec)
Tackles | Brown – 27 / Harnetiaux – 23 / King, Benjamin – 20
Pass Breakups | Brown, Benjamin, Amey – 2 / Akui, Ogbor, Clarke – 1
Interceptions | Harper – 1
UTSA Stat Notables
Passing | McCown – 84/122 (68.9 percent), 862 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Henderson III – 47 carries, 308 yards (6.6 yds/car), 2 TD / High Jr. – 35 carries, 184 yards (5.3 yds/car), 2 TD
Receiving | Allen – 15 receptions, 242 yards (16.1 yds/rec), 2 TD / Wilson – 15 receptions, 195 yards (13.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Anderson – 16 receptions, 185 yards (11.6 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Tucker – 37 / White – 27 / Pewee – 19
Pass Breakups | Chapman – 3 / Tucker, White, Grays – 2
Interceptions | Morris, Robinson Jr., Rogers, Upshaw Jr., Chapman – 1
UTSA X-Factor | Break Serve
UTSA ranks dead last in the American Conference in total defense, allowing 450 yards per game. And it’s not just a paycheck game against Texas skewing those numbers; the Longhorns only put up 400 yards of offense against the Roadrunners in Week 3.
Despite a rather porous defense, UTSA is 3-1 in large part because of its turnover prowess. UTSA has given the ball away just once this season and garnered six takeaways, which is good for a +5 margin. No other program in the conference is better than +3. When the offense is as effective as it has been, stealing a possession can put the Roadrunners’ opponents in catch-up mode quickly, something the Owls aren’t built to do.
Much like a broken serve in tennis can turn a match on its head and make a comeback difficult, if not impossible, a stolen possession or two could be all UTSA needs to put Rice behind the eight ball and out of the game.
Rice X-Factor | Control the Clock
Rice football lost the time of possession last week against Fresno State. While that stat isn’t paramount in itself, Abell routinely references it as a barometer for offensive success. For an option offense, it’s a signal that the game script is playing out according to plan.
The Owls’ offense was productive against the Bulldogs, but that included a six-second scoring drive, no possession with double-digit plays and just one drive that spanned more than four and a half minutes. That meant ample opportunities for Fresno State to possess the ball and a larger load for the Rice defense to carry. The results were not favorable.
The Rice defense was tremendous in the opening quarter, showing that a fresh version of that side of the ball can be effective, even in its injury-laden state. The offense can give it an assist by limiting the possessions the defense has to face and ensuring they come on the Owls’ terms.
Outside of the Houston Christian game, Rice hasn’t really been able to dictate the pace of its nonconference games to the degree it would have liked to do so. Setting the tone and sticking to it through a ball-control offense will help this program in all phases.
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One Final Thing
There’s no denying it’s been a discouraging start to the 2026 Rice Football season. Year 2 was supposed to be a step forward from a 5-8 campaign. And while that’s still possible, getting to at least six wins will require the Owls to post a winning record in conference play for the first time as members of the American. Rice hasn’t won five games in any conference since 2014.
This isn’t an attempted diversion from that harsh reality. However, it is a gentle reminder for all of us to take things one game at a time and let the chips fall where they may.
Quarterback Jacurri Brown has proven himself to be one of the most effective signal callers this university has relied on in quite some time. The offense has taken strides, improving to 5.3 yards per play this year from 4.3 last year, against a schedule that has been significantly more challenging. Owls’ fans have seen 1-3 starts that looked much bleaker than this one, and one doesn’t have to turn time back that far to find them.
The task won’t get any easier with a rivalry game against a UTSA squad that has given Rice football its fair share of embarrassment, but this program remains in a better place right now than it was at this point a year ago. The next step is finding a way to win these games.