The string of postponements is over. Rice football has returned to practice with the intention of playing games this fall.
Rice football fans can smile today. After months of uncertainty, a plan has been put in place for Rice to play football this fall. The Owls have been given the green light to return to practice. If everything goes according to plan, Rice will kickoff their 2020 season on October 24 at Rice Stadium against Middle Tennessee.
The Owls’ first practice took place on Thursday. They’ll scrimmage on Saturday and continue through the next several weeks leading up to the first game.
Listen Now: The Roost Podcast: Carter and Matthew breakdown the Owls’ return to practice
This news comes in the wake of an uncertain path forward for the program. While others sought to replace postponed or canceled games on their schedule, Rice opted to delay the start of its season on multiple occasions.
Prior to this news, Rice had lost or postponed games against Houston, Army, LSU, Lamar, Marshall and UAB. The likelihood of the more than one of those games being rescheduled this year is minimal, with the only plausible options being their conference games against either UAB or Marshall. Assuming currently scheduled games are played as planned, penciling a game against UAB the weekend of Dec. 5 seems likely.
There were times when the outlook looked bleak, but it would appear Rice has successfully threaded the needle. They’ve minimized any potential risk to their campus and their athletes while still finding a way for the football team to compete for a conference title.
The future will undoubtedly hold its twists and turns, but for now, football is on the horizon. If you haven’t yet, grab a copy of the 2020 Rice Football season preview. Then subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
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