Rice Football and Tulane will now kick off at 3:30 pm on Saturday after the Green Wave were impacted by the FAA ground stop.
Shortly after 3:00 pm CT on Friday afternoon, the FAA grounded all planes with no guidance as to when a potential all-clear might occur. That left many college football programs in a lurch, including Tulane who was scheduled to face Rice football on Saturday in Houston at 1:00 p.m. That kick will be delayed until 3:30 pm to account for Tulane’s delayed departure time.
Originally planning to fly into Houston, the Tulane football team had to make alternate plans when the shutdown lasted from mid-afternoon into the evening. Eventually, the team secured buses and the Green Wave left campus for Houston around 8:00 p.m. local time. Given the five-to-six-hour commute time for the trip, that would put their anticipated arrival in Houston sometime around 1:00 to 2:00 am local time.
Rather than face a kickoff in less than 12 hours upon arrival to Houston, sources confirm to The Roost that the game has been moved to 3:30 p.m.
Rice is no stranger to kickoff delays. The Owls were delayed in their season opener against Houston Christian by roughly 30 minutes. Rice was also part of what is believed to be one of the longest game day delays in the history of the sport, defeating Navy in Houston in 2024 following a delay of more than five hours because of inclement weather.