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Rice Women’s Basketball edges Houston on the road

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Rice Women’s basketball secured its first win of the season in a hard-fought defensive struggle against rival Houston on the road.

Looking to rebound from an opening game loss to South Dakota State, Rice women’s basketball came out ready to play in their return to the city, albeit across town against rival Houston. The Owls opened the scoring on a 7-0 burst, taking an immediate lead which they would never relinquish.

Ahead by four points after the first quarter, Hailey Adams gave the team some breathing room with seven consecutive points of her own, part of a 10-0 Rice run that put the visiting Owls ahead by 14. Houston wasn’t going to fade the easily, though. The Cougars muscled themselves to the free throw line, clawing back from their double-digit deficit, entering halftime behind by just five points.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Margins remained tight for a while from that point with Rice women’s basketball never truly being able to take a deep breath until freshman Jordin Blackmon hit one of the team’s few threes to get the Owls back in front by double-digits with under nine minutes to play in regulation. Victoria Flores finished a sterling 16-for-16 from the free throw line, all in the second half, to help Rice secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 70, Houston 56

Key takeaway | Bested on the Boards

Points were at a premium on Tuesday night with neither side shooting the ball effectively. Both squads were below 35 percent shooting from the floor, further emphasizing the importance of each possession. A flurry of turnovers didn’t help, but the biggest pain point was the Owls’ frustrating night on the boards.

Houston out-rebounded Rice 50-39 and racked up a staggering 21 offensive boards. That made it all but impossible for Rice to pull away or give themselves any semblance of breathing room. It was a humbling performance against a program playing in its first games with a new head coach which looked very much so up for the challenge against the Owls, preseason picks to contend for the American Conference Championship.

Up Next: vs MTSU (Nov. 15 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Football 2025: NFL Owls Week 10 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 10.

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)vs LionsL, 44-22at Dolphins
Philadelphia EaglesKylen Granson (TE)at Packers (MNF)W, 10-7vs Lions (SNF)
Jacksonville JaguarsAustin Trammell (WR)at TexansL, 36-29vs Chargers
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)at CommandersW, 44-22at Eagles (SNF)
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		at Chargers (SNF)L, 25-10vs Bengals

Offense

Austin Trammell – WR, Jaguars

Trammell caught his first passes of the season on Sunday, hauling in a pair of receptions against the Texans for 33 yards.

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson saw action in his sixth game of the season this weekend, playing on special teams in the Steelers’ Week 10 game against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Kylen Granson – TE, Eagles

Granson did a little bit of everything for the Eagles this week, reprising his usual role on special team as well as playing roughly a quarter of the team’s offensive snaps. He also picked up two tackles.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox more or less had the weekend off, traveling with the team to Washington but punting zero times.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell’s streak of 16 consecutive field goals came to an end on Sunday with a missed 45-yard attempt, one kick removed from a 59-yard make, his 50th career field goal of at least 50 yards. He made. He is 17-of-20on field goals this season, including one blocked kick.

Injured Reserve

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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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 219 – Rice Football Edges UAB and Stadium News

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Rice Football takes down UAB on homecoming to improve to 5-5 days following the massive renovation new for Rice Stadium.

It was a wonderful Homecoming weekend on South Main. Rice Football triumphed over UAB in what was a rather workmanlike effort and the university announced some rather significant renovation plans for Rice Stadium. We talked through it all. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page.

For now, give a listen to Episode 219.

Episode Notes

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Rice Football vs UAB Game Recap and The Gateway Project

  • Rice Offense workmanlike and, for the most part, effective
  • Winning in clutch moments and reproducibility
  • Defense plays some of its best ball of the entire season
  • Assessing how we got here and the trajectory of the program
  • Rice Stadium news

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s College Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner. If it’s happening in college football in Texas, we’re talking about it. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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American Conference Football 2025: Week 11 Roundup

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American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army5-4 (3-3)vs TempleW, 14-13— OFF —
Charlotte1-8 (0-6)at ECUL, 48-22vs UTSA
ECU6-3 (4-1)vs CharlotteW, 48-22vs Memphis
FAU4-5 (3-3)vs TulsaW, 40-21at Tulane
Memphis8-2 (4-2)at Tulane (FRI)L, 38-32at ECU
Navy7-2 (5-2)at Notre DameL, 49-10vs USF
North Texas8-1 (4-1)— OFF — —at UAB
Rice5-5 (2-4)vs UABW, 24-17— OFF —
Temple5-5 (3-3)at ArmyL, 14-13— OFF —
Tulane7-2 (4-1)at Memphis (FRI)W, 38-32vs FAU
Tulsa2-7 (0-6)at FAUL, 40-21vs Oregon St
UAB3-6 (1-4)at RiceL, 24-17vs North Texas
USF7-2 (4-1)vs UTSA (THR)W, 55-23at Navy
UTSA4-5 (2-3)at USF (THR)L, 55-23at Charlotte

Storylines // Standings // Preseason Poll

Roadrunners Routed

A largely disappointing season for UTSA continued this week when the Roadrunners resumed their hot and cold rotation with another dismal performance away from the Alamodome. USF showcased themselves as a true conference title contender while UTSA is suddenly in danger of missing out on a bowl game should they stumble more than once the rest of the way.

Memphis Knocked Out of Title Contention

With so many teams remaining with just one loss, Memphis might be on the outside looking in once again with a crushing loss to Tulane which was nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Green Wave lead 35-17 at half, claiming the win behind a huge day from quarterback Jake Retzlaff who threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, also adding a score on the ground.

Owls in Postseason Contention?

It’s been a tough slog for first year head coach’s in the American outside of ECU’s Blake Harrell, who only somewhat counts since he was an interim promoted from the existing staff. The lone exceptions to the new coach woes? Rice football (Scott Abell) and Temple (K.C. Keeler). Rice won this weekend, getting to five wins while Temple dropped a close one to Army.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

East Carolina Has Their Shot

A few non-conference losses knocked them out of the spotlight, but East Carolina is very much still alive in the conference title race and could further cement themselves as usurpers should they beat Memphis next weekend. If the Pirates beat the Tigers, things could get interesting. They finish with winnable games against UTSA and Florida Atlantic.

Midshipmen and Bulls Meet in Possible Elimination Game

The only matchup of one-loss teams in the conference next weekend, the loser of this likely joins the ranks with Memphis of good teams that won’t have a chance to play for a championship. North Texas has the luxury of coming off a bye while Navy just endured a slugfest with Notre Dame.

Last Chance for Charlotte

If the 49ers are going to win a conference game this season, this is probably their last real opportunity. The 49ers host a hot-and-could UTSA squad before finishing their season at Georgia and at Tulane. A one win campaign is very much on the table, making even the faintest glimmers of hope that could be garnished from an upset over UTSA all that more enticing.

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Rice Football Holds on for Homecoming win over UAB

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Rice Football trailed at halftime but pitched a shutout against UAB after the break, rallying to secure a crucial Homecoming win over the Blazers.

A close game from wire to wire, Rice football got the stops in needed on defense late to earn its fifth win of the season, defeating UAB 24-17 on Homecoming. The Owls head into a bye week one win away from bowl eligibility. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Offense Gets Into Gear Quickly

Head coach Scott Abell spent all week exhorting his team to start fast, so when the defense forced a three-and-out and the offense took there was palpable tension in Rice Stadium. The offense responded with three plays for negative one yard and a fumble. Quarterback Chase Jenkins looked indecisive and the offense went backwards before turning it over to UAB, which capitalized via a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Rather than let the be a harbinger of woe, Jenkins and the offense took a deep breath and returned to the field ready to play.

“We planned to start out fast and we probably did the exact opposite. I put that on me. I think it was one of the biggest moments from me, coming off adversity,” Jenkins said. “I feel like that’s just a step in growth that we’ve taken. We didn’t let that moment set us back.”

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Jenkins proceeded to lead the offense 62 yards in 10 plays, handing the ball off on nine successive plays until he pulled the ball and tossed it down the right sideline to Tyson Thompson for a 23-yard touchdown strike.

After a quick three-and-out, the offense authored an option offense opus. Taking over in plus territory at the UAB 48-yard line, Rice reeled off a 19-play touchdown drive, burning 9:01 off the clock before D’Andre Hardeman plunged into the endzone from one-yard out for the go-ahead score. The drive was the longest of the season by time and number of plays, outpacing an 18-play, 8:15 drive against Navy that ended with a field goal.

“It’s part of the formula. It’s not always sexy out there, but when the other offense isn’t on the field, that’s really good for our defense,” Abell said. “I thought, for really three quarters, we executed phenomenally.”

Even including the rough start, the Rice offense delivered at least six plays and 30 yards on six of their next seven drives (excluding the one play at the end of the half), including drives of 10, 19, 11, and nine plays. In terms of dictating the game, this was a much-improved performance which could have gone from good to great if they’d been able to finish on offense in the fourth quarter.

Special Teams Provides a Spark

The offense was aided by some strong plays from the special teams. Quinton Jackson had a 32-yard kickoff return. Tyson Thompson had a 12-yard punt return. The biggest swing, though, was the block punt credited to Peyton Stevenson at the end of the first quarter. The tip resulted in a 21-yard kick, which set Rice up inside UAB territory for their lengthy go-ahead scoring drive.

Rice also got a heads-up play from up man David Kasemervisz at the end of the first half. With time expiring, he jumped on a low kick and fell on the ball with one second left. That gave the offense time for a Hail Mary attempt, which Jenkins would end up pulling down to scramble as the clock expired.

There would be more. Blake Boenisch got a hand on a fourth-quarter punt, which resulted in a 10-yard punt and positive field position for the Owls, rather than a drive starting in the shadow of their own endzone. That would prove important after the offense stalled out and punter Alex Bacchetta was able to pin UAB inside their own 10-yard line with a well-placed punt of his own.

Consistency Remains a Work in Progress

At times, the duality of the 2025 Rice football team is hard to comprehend. Removing the long touchdown allowed following the Rice turnover, the defense held UAB to six yards on its first seven plays and held the Blazers to less than one yard per carry in the first half, bowing up in the redzone with three stops inside the five to force a field goal.

On the subsequent drive, they allowed UAB quarterback Ryder Burton to toss a 21-yard touchdown pass on third and goal with three seconds remaining on the clock.

More: Stay Tuned for the Recap on The Roost Podcast

The Rice offense was similarly hot and cold. As quickly as it heated up and sustained momentum through the third quarter things began to fall apart late. Rice produced one first down in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a personal foul committed by UAB. The totaled two offensive yards.

“We just probably lost our legs a little bit in the fourth quarter,” Abell said. “That probably kept this game from being put away midway through the fourth.”

Fortunately for the Owls, the defense was at its best. UAB was 1-for-3 on third down and did not score in the second half.

“I’ve been playing defense a long time and that’s one of the performances I’m probably the most proud of,” defensive end Tony Anyanwu said. “In a critical moment, gotta have it, everyone sold out, gave everything they had for the team. It just shows the brotherhood that we have here. I just love it.”

Back to the Lab

As eager as some might be to get back onto the field after the win, Rice is going to take advantage of this late season bye week with two critical games remaining in their quest for bowl eligibility. A win in either and Rice is bowling in Abell’s first season on campus, no small feat should the Owls achieve it.

“I’m excited about getting our legs fresh. Getting them back underneath us. That gives us time to really dive into what adjustments we can make coming out of the bye week,” Abell said.

“Next time we step on the field it’ll be late November and we’re competing for an opportunity to get win six. I’m really proud of that. I’m proud of our guys. It wasn’t always easy, but I think you learn a lot in these moments. We’re learning how to win. And we’re learning how to win close games. I’m extremely proud of that. I thought this was a great team victory today.”

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