Rice football takes on Houston across town this week. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
The battle for the Bayou Bucket is back as both Rice football and crosstown rival Houston look build momentum prior to conference play with a rivalry win. Rice (1-1) dispatched Texas Southern in Week 2 after falling to Sam Houston in Week 1. Houston (0-2) dropped their first home game to UNLV before falling in a close one on the road to Oklahoma in Week 2. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Houston.
Kickoff time | 7:00 PM CT
Venue | TDECU Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Audio / Visual Preview
We’ll preview Rice football vs Houston on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday at 12:00 pm on the Rice Athletics YouTube channel. Look for a recap of the game on the site afterward as well as on The Roost Podcast, which should be released early next week.
Sizing up the contenders
Oddsmakers projected Rice to go 2-1 in their first three games of the season but that assumed a win over Sam Houston and a loss to Houston. If the Owls can upset the Cougars they’ll be back to par on the year with another marquee win under head coach Mike Bloomgren. Rice hasn’t won the Bayou Bucket in consecutive seasons since 2000 and 2001.
Houston had won seven consecutive games in this rivalry before dropping the contest last year, eventually leading to the dismissal of head coach Dana Holgerson. New head coach Willie Fritz will have some time to get his house in order, but an 0-3 start with a loss to a Group of 5 rival would be a tough pill to swallow for even the most faithful supporters.
Series History
All Time | Houston leads, 33-12
Last Five | Houston leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2023, Rice won 43-41 (2OT)
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Rice Football Stat Notables
Passing | Warner – 47/74 (63.5 percent), 416 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Connors – 21 carries, 165 yards (7.9 yards per carry), 4 TD / Atkins – 13 carries, 95 yards (7.3 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | Sykes – 8 receptions, 121 yards (15.1 yds/rec), 1 TD / Walker – 6 receptions, 72 yards (12.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Connors – 13 receptions, 64 yards (4.9 yds/rec)
Tackles | Pearcy/Taylor – 9 / Flowers, Awe, Green, Morris – 8
Pass Breakups | Pearcy/Green/Ahoia/Jean/Fresch – 1 each
Interceptions | Flowers/Williams – 1
Houston Stat Notables
Passing | Smith – 39/58 (67.2 percent), 395 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing | Sneed – 13 carries, 36 yards (2.8 yards per carry) / Sanford II – 11 carries, 33 yards (3.0 yards per carry)
Receiving | Johnson Jr. – 8 receptions, 89 yards (11.1 yds/rec) / Mews – 8 receptions, 80 yards (10.0 yds/rec) / Manjack IV – 6 receptions, 79 yards (13.2 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Haulcy/Batton – 16 / Morris – 12 / Webb – 11
Pass Breakups | Haulcy/McCutchin – 2, McLaurin/Davis – 1
Interceptions | Haulcy/Wilson – 1
Houston X-Factor | Hit the big play
Quarterback Donovan Smith has been up and down so far this season, completing 67.2 percent of his passes but much of that success hasn’t happened down the field. Smith is 76th in the country in yards per attempt, narrowly edging Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei, for reference. Houston ranks outside of the top 100 college football offenses in 30+ yard plays from scrimmage (two) and 10+ yard plays from scrimmage (21).
The level of competition has to be factored into this assessment, but even still, it’s been a slog for this offense. The defense has done its part, holding opponents to just four offensive touchdowns across two games. The Cougars don’t have the capital to assume they can nickel and dime the Rice defense down the field. They need to generate some big plays.
Houston has some playmakers, Joseph Manjack IV chief among them. They’re going to need to get some chunk plays and help their quarterback out otherwise the Cougars’ offense will be in for another long day at the office against a Rice defensive front that looked much more capable last time out.
Rice X-Factor | Win on third down
The single most important factor in the Owls’ upset bid a year ago was their fast start. Rice football led 28-0 before Houston was able to get its feet under them and that large advantage was orchestrated by clinical precision on third down. Rice started the game 5-of-6 on third down, keeping Houston off the field and working the clock. Houston had just four drives in the first half, excluding a kneel-down in the final seconds of regulation.
That’s the script the Owls will try to replicate to earn another Bayou Bucket win. Scoring fast would go a long way to making sure Rice sets itself up in a favorable position to spring the upset, but even if the offense doesn’t come out with a deluge of points, they can keep the game on schedule and force a lackluster Houston offense to trade punches. That’s not something the Cougars have proven themselves capable of doing under Fritz so far.
Houston has a talented roster, but this version of the Cougars isn’t better than the team the Owls beat a year ago. Rice has to enter TDECU with a commitment to setting the tone and playing with the level of physicality they did last Saturday. Being opportunistic on third down would go a long way to demonstrating that on the field.
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One Final Thing
I wrote that Rice football “spent all its goodwill” it accrued this offseason when the Owls lost to Sam Houston in their opening game. That defeat didn’t get more palatable when the Bearkats turned around and lost handily to Central Florida in Week 2. However, a take-care-of-business win against Texas Southern in Week 2 brings Rice to an intriguing crossroads in Week 3: a winnable game against a rival with plenty on the line.
Houston pushed to do away with the later portion of the scheduled games in this rivalry during the offseason. As of now, the 2025 game is the last one on the calendar for these teams for the foreseeable future. Every opportunity to keep that trophy on South Main matters that much more given those circumstances. Likewise, every win is more important when the preseason aspirations for this team suggested they were a squad capable of going toe-to-toe with a rebuilding Houston team that hasn’t done much to dispel those prognostications.
Losing this game doesn’t directly impact the Owls’ quest for a conference championship and Rice football will probably learn a lot more about how realistic those ambitions are in their following game against Army (2-0). But ask any Rice fan you know, this game matters so much more. It’s a rivalry game against a beatable opponent in a year in which Rice is supposed to be cresting, not treading water. It’s a game the Owls need to find a way to win.
Win big. Win ugly. Win in overtime. It doesn’t matter. Just win. Win and we can sort out the how and why later. Win and and nobody will bring up the Sam Houston game again because that will be written off as an early season hiccup on the way to bigger and better things.
