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Rice Football 2025: NFL Owls Week 15 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2025 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 15.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

TeamNFL Owl(s)This WeekResultNext Week
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)at GiantsW, 29-21vs Eagles (Sat)
Atlanta FalconsElijah Garcia (DL)vs SeahawksW, 29-28vs Cardinals
Philadelphia EaglesKylen Granson (TE)vs RaidersW, 31-0at Commanders (Sat)
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)at RamsL, 41-34vs Steelers
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		vs Dolphins (MNF)W, 28-15at Lions

Defense

Elijah Garcia – DL, Falcons

Garcia was inactive for the Falcons’ Thursday Night Football game against the Bucs. He made his Atlanta Falcons’ debut a week prior against the Seahawks.

Offense

Kylen Granson – TE, Eagles

Granson played 18 offensive snaps this week, but did not receive a target. He made one tackle on special teams.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted three times in the Lions’ Week 15 loss to the Rams, averaging 50 yards per kick with a long of 62 yards. He pinned one of his kicks inside the 20 yard line.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell did not attempt a field goal in the Steelers’ Monday Night Football win, but did convert all four of his extra point attempts. He is 21-of-24 on field goals this season, including one blocked kick.

Injured Reserve

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Calvin Anderson was placed on injured reserve on December 10.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve with a broken collarbone suffered during the Commanders’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 and is expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Toot, Toot: A New Tradition for Rice Athletics

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Rice Athletics isn’t waiting for a new stadium to introduce new sports traditions. A real-life train horn is the latest addition to the Owls’ game day experience.

Scott Abell has always been the kind of guy who strives to get others involved. He’s a program builder, utilizing what he calls his WE values (Win Everything, Win Everywhere, With Everyone) to generate buy-in with his players and staff. But he hasn’t stopped there. Abell has also worked to add touchpoints with the fanbase everywhere he’s gone. From attending pep rallies to driving around campus in a golf cart, he wants to be present.

In an effort to strength that bond with the fans and generate that engagement, Abell introduced a train horn sound effect while he was at Washington and Lee. The program would play the sound through the stadium loudspeakers on scoring plays, rallying up the crowd with its deafening blast.

Once it started, it stuck. It followed him to Davidson, and from there, Abell had hopes of bringing that tradition to South Main.

“Some people get into a turnover chain, whatever. This is kind of my thing,” Abell said. “Some people have the cannons they shoot off when they score. I was looking for something that we could have that when people came to our place, they’d be like, “God, I hate that horn. We’ve now found that.”

Abell’s initial request was met with some trepidation. Rice Stadium is on the older side as far as facilities go and the sound system wasn’t as robust as some within the Rice Athletic Department might have hoped. Playing the noise over the loudspeakers just wouldn’t have the same effect, they posited.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Rather than settle for good-enough. Rice began exploring. Assistant Athletic Director of Broadcast Services Wayne Gibson, who oversees the tech behind Rice gameday experiences began to ask around. He was met with one rather curious idea. What about getting an actual train horn?

With that, Gibson was off. He reached out to some contacts and before long has acquired a five-bell model salvage from a real-life locomotive. That horn, which is a fully functional device that was formerly mounted to the train engine, was put onto a cart for portability. A new compressor and trigger system was configured, enabling the horn to blow on demand. All that was left was to test it out.

The newly created Rice Athletics train horn sits on a cart so that it can be wheeled around to various sporting events.

Rice debuted the horn for the first time against Houston. It didn’t take long for the limitations to touchdown toots to expand to big offensive plays, turnovers, and even to more rote third down plays, geared toward firing up the crowd. Just a few weeks in, the horn has embedded itself within the gameday experience.

The horn’s impact on campus won’t stop with football. The cart has already been rolled over to soccer games, blaring it’s thunderous note when the Owls score goals. Plans are also underway to utilize the new toy at baseball games and position it in the outfield, although how frequently it gets used remains under discussion.

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Nick Anderson explodes late to lift Rice Basketball past Arkansas State

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Rice Basketball picked up another gut-check win on Saturday, rallying from a 16-point deficit in the second half to stun Arkansas State.

Beginning with a 6-0 run to open the game, Arkansas State controlled their contest with Rice basketball from the tip, maintaining a modest but slim advantage through most of the first half. The box score showed a relatively competitive game, but Rice led for just 29 seconds when the halftime buzzer sounded.

It looked as if the Owls had regrouped well when Trae Broadnax hit a layup to even the score right out of the break, but a thunderous 16-0 Arkansas State run put the home team in dire straights. Seven consecutive missed field goals contributed to that tilt and the game slowly began to work back into balance when the Owls started seeing those shots fall.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Body Howell was the one who gave them the initial spark but it was Nick Anderson, who had been shut out entirely in the first half, who took over when Rice needed someone to seize the moment. Anderson scored 14 points, all in the final 5:01, turning a double-digit deficit — Rice led by as many as 16 points — into a stunning Rice lead.

Anderson’s final three-pointer put Rice in front by one. Cam Carroll knocked down a pair of free throws to put Rice in front by three. Then the Owls had to make one final defensive stand following a jump ball to secure the comeback win.

Rice Basketball improves to 5-6 with the win. The Owls are 4-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 77, Arkansas State 76

What They’re Saying

“I’m really proud of the guys. It was a game where things weren’t going our way in the second half. We finished the first half strong. We started the second half tying the game and had a chance to take the lead, but we just couldn’t get stops. It didn’t look good. I told the guys before the year that I wanted us to go undefeated, in the sense that we don’t have a defeatist attitude. That when things aren’t going our way, we stay in the fight. Tonight, we learned that lesson, and I think it’s the best way to learn that lesson. Even though I wouldn’t have drawn it up like this. We’ve had our fair share of wins like this, and those are the most gratifying.” – Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Next Man Up

Rice basketball knows it can count on Trae Broadnax and Jalen Smith in big moments. Nick Anderson has become part of that trusted veteran corps, too. But what separates teams that can win occasional games and teams that regularly win the tough ones is how impactful that next wave of players can be.

The Owls are thin on proven depth, but those up-and-coming players have already started to shine this season. Carroll has been stupendous, but a season-high 11-points from Body Howell and 10 more from Eternity Eguagie were massive in this one-point win. Rice basketball won’t have to count on them every night, but if one or two players like that can step up, they’re going to start winning more of these coin flip contests.

Up Next: vs Southwestern Christian (Wed, Dec. 17 at 11:15 am)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Surges Past UT-Arlington

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A close game at halftime turned into a blowout midway through the third quarter as Rice women’s basketball posted another home win, this time over UT-Arlington.

In front of stands of chattering youngsters at Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday morning, Rice women’s basketball notched yet another win. The Owls made things interesting in the early moments, missing their first six field goals and allowing UT-Arlington to go ahead 6-0, despite the Owls holding the Mavericks to a 3-for-17 start from the field.

That defense would pay off, though. Rice quickly retook the lead and kept the margin at a couple of possessions through the second quarter and into halftime. Aniah Alexis contributed 13 of the Owls’ first-half points, playing all 20 minutes as she paced the team on both ends of the court.

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

When the second half arrived, Rice women’s basketball took over. Shelby Hayes helped spark a decisive Rice run to put the home team up by double-digits. The lead would only grow from there. A jumper from Hayes in the early moments of the fourth quarter put Rice up by 21, allowing the Owls to empty the benches and cruise to a comfortable victory.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 8-3 on the season and 5-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 75, UT Arlington 54

Key takeaway | Toughness Wins

This isn’t the first runaway win Rice women’s basketball has posted this season, but each victory has had its own unique flavor. Against UT-Arlington, Rice was able to use its physicality to dictate the game, wearing their opponent down through the course of the game and getting to the line 30 times, just the third time this season they’ve had at least that many free throw attempts.

But it’s those extra foul shots combined with a double-digit advantage in the rebounding department that turned this game into a rout. Rice has only had a rebounding margin this large on one other instance this season, against Illinois State, a game they won.

So much focus has been given to the developing offense this year, and rightly so, but this team already has the tools to get to the line and win under the basket. Becoming even more consistent on that front could make this squad truly lethal on days the offense is firing on all cylindars, too.

Up Next: vs UT Arlington (Fri. Dec. 12 at 11:15 am)

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2025 Rice Football Recruiting Winter Transfer Portal Tracker

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The 2025 Rice Football regular season is over, and the Transfer Portal opens in January. Here’s the latest on who’s coming and going from South Main.

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