The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football 2025: NFL Owls Week 3 Roundup

By

Rice Football is well represented on 2025 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 3.

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 RaidersW, 41-24at Falcons
Philadelphia EaglesKylen Granson (TE)vs RamsW, 33-26at Bucs
New York GiantsElijah Garcia (DL)vs Chiefs (SNF)L, 22-9vs Chargers
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)at Ravens (MNF)W, 38-30vs Browns
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		at PatriotsW, 21-14vs Vikings

Defense

Elijah Garcia – DL, Giants

Garcia notched two tackles on Sunday Night Football against the Chiefs this week, in addition to his work on special teams.

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson was active but did not play in the Steelers’ Week 3 game against the Patriots.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey caught three passes for 56 yards on Sunday, finishing second on the team in receiving yards. More importantly, he took this long 43-yard reception all the way for his first NFL touchdown.

Kylen Granson – TE, Eagles

Granson saw just two snaps with the Eagles’ offense in Week 3 but played a core role on special tams, registering a tackle for his third consecutive week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted three times in the Lions’ Week 3 game against the Ravens, averaging a stout 48.7 yards per kick with a long of 53 yards.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell wasn’t called upon for any field goal duty this weekend but did fulfill his duties on extra points on the three occasions he was summoned from the sideline. He remains a perfect 5-of-5 on field goals this season.

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

The Roost Podcast | Ep 213 – Rice Football rolls past Charlotte

By

The first conference win of the Scott Abell era concluded on Thursday night with Rice Football cruising past Charlotte on the road. Here are our reactions to the win.

With the nation watching in Prime Time on Thursday night, Rice football was clearly the better team in their controlled takedown of Charlotte on the road. The Owls improved to 3-1 for the first time to start a season since 2001 and this year’s squad showed improvement in multiple phases of the game from last week to this week. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 213.

Episode Notes

Patreon

Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better. Join our discussion on Discord here.

Become a Patron!

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

Rice Football vs Charlotte Game Recap

  • Start to finish, Rice football controlled a conference game
  • The offense is showing growth each and every week
  • Scott Abell and the Owls play aggressive, and it’s working
  • The defense is physical, and that’s okay
  • Another banner week for the Owls’

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2025 Game Preview: Navy

By

Rice football heads to Navy with first place in the American Conference standings up for grabs. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Navy was idle this week. Rice football was anything but. The Owls stole the national spotlight on Thursday, cruising to victory over Charlotte on the road on ESPN to improve to 3-1 for the first time as a program in more than 20 years. That sets up a big game with first place in the American Conference standings on the line. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Navy.

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Annapolis, MD
TV | CBS SN (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the Contenders

Navy was picked to be one of the frontrunners of the American Conference in the preseason media poll. Rice football was not. The Midshipmen are already off to a strong 2-0 start in league play and could get even further ahead by dispatching the upstart Owls from down South.

More: Rice Football Position Grades Through Four Games

On the other hand, Rice might just be able to further legitimize their hopes of a Cinderella run by knocking off one of the conference’s top dogs at their place and wouldn’t be blamed if they did stumble to a quality opponent in a tough road tilt.

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Become a Patron!

Already a Patron and not part of our Discord channel? Follow these instructions to link your account.

Last Time Out

Make sure you check out The Roost Podcast every week this season as we review the Owls’ most recent game, breaking down the key moments, decisions and their impact on the outlook of the program moving forward.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 7-6
Last Five | Navy leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2024, Rice won 24-10

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 35/48 (72.9 percent), 269 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jenkins – 57 carries, 215 yards (3.8 yards per carry) – 3 TD / Jackson – 58 carries, 293 yards (5.1 yards per carry), 2 TD / Alexander – 42 carries, 222 yards (5.3 yards per carry)
Receiving | Dickmann – 15 receptions, 123 yards (8.2 yds/rec) / Turner – 9 receptions, 49 yards (5.4 yds/rec) / Ransom – 6 receptions, 63 yards (10.5 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Awe – 29 / Morris – 28 / Anyanwu, Stevenson, Kane – 15
Pass Breakups | Crump – 6 / Porter, Williams – 3 / Kane, Daley – 1
Interceptions | Kane – 1

Navy Stat Notables

Passing | Horvath – 18/25 (72.0 percent), 328 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Tecza – 45 carries, 272 yards (6.0 yds/car), 4 TD / Hovarth – 41 carries, 245 yards (6.0 yds/car), 3 TD / Heidenreich – 24 carries, 209 yards (8.7 yds/car), 3 TD
Receiving | Heidenreich – 10 receptions, 126 yards (12.6 yds/rec), 1 TD / Hutchinson – 3 receptions, 70 yards (23.3 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Parker – 20 / Pirris, Robinson – 19 / Willis – 14
Pass Breakups | Oniha – 3 / Ross, Hamilton – 2 / Willis, Moutome – 1
Interceptions | Ross, Hamilton, Parker – 1

Navy X-Factor | Stand Out on Defense

Much will be made about the level of impact Horvath’s insertion into the offense had on this Navy program and while that certainly was crucial, Navy’s defense was almost equally important in the program’s rise a year ago. The Midshipmen were third in the conference in turnovers forced and have forced five through three games in 2025.

It’s not just turnovers, though. Navy is third in the conference in sacks per game (3.0) — Rice leads the league at 3.5. The Midshipmen have also forced a decent clip of negative plays. That must be the focal point as they prepare to face off against the Owls’ option attack this week.

Getting Rice behind schedule, whether by disciplined gap assignment or a key big play or two in the right moments will help Navy force the game flow to conform to how they’d like to to progress. That would put them in the driver’s seat and put the visitors in trouble.

Rice X-Factor | Limit Horvath’s Legs

If there’s been a weak spot in what has largely been an impressive season for the Rice defense, it’s been their ability to limit the quarterback run game. Louisiana’s Walker Howard carried the ball for nine times for 47 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and scoring once on the ground. Prairie View A&M’s Tevin Carter ran 15 times for 65 yards and score. Even Houston’s Connor Weigman tallied a rushing touchdown.

Rice was able to neutralize Charlotte’s quarterback run game, but a backup quarterback was under center for most of that contest.

None of those quarterback’s hold a candle to Navy’s Blake Horvath who led the American last year with 7.1 yards per carry, racking up 1246 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on the ground. Horvath hasn’t been quite as dynamic this year, but Navy really hasn’t needed him to be with the rest of the offense rising to challenge. If things get close, Navy is going to lean on his legs. Rice has to have an answer.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?

One Final Thing

A down-and-out Rice football program, playing with an interim head coach, soundly mopped the floor with Navy last season when the Midshipmen had conference championship aspirations. That same Navy program returned some key pieces on offense and head coach Brian Newberry but did see a good amount of turnover on defense.

Rice looks a lot different than it did the last time these team’s met, but they’ve nearly matched their win total from a season ago and appear to be playing with a great level of energy and focus under the new leadership of Scott Abell. The Owls are trying to find their place in the American Conference food chain and haven’t been eaten by any of the conference’s bigger fish quite yet.

Already playing with house money, Saturday’s tilt with Navy offers a very real touchstone to compare what the old regime was able to do at its best with the infancy stages of the Owls’ new leadership which is only scratching the surface of where they believe this program is heading. It’s a perfect example of a program with very little to lose facing one with expectations and a long memory.

Rice football has already won as a double-digit underdog on the road this season — they haven’t lost away from home under Abell yet, in fact — and will come ready to play. Navy had better be ready.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

American Conference Football 2025: Week 4 Roundup

By

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
Army1-2 (0-1)vs North TexasL, 45-38 (OT)at ECU (Thrs)
Charlotte1-3 (0-1)vs Rice (Thr)L, 28-17— OFF —
ECU2-2 (0-0)vs BYUL, 34-13vs Army (Thrs)
FAU1-2 (0-0)— OFF — —vs Memphis
Memphis4-0 (0-0)vs ArkansasW, 32-31at FAU
Navy3-0 (2-0)— OFF — —vs Rice
North Texas4-0 (0-0)at ArmyW, 45-38 (OT)vs So Alabama
Rice3-1 (1-0)at Charlotte (Thr)W, 28-17at Navy
Temple2-2 (0-0)at Georgia TechL, 45-24— OFF —
Tulane3-1 (0-0)at Ole MissL, 45-10at Tulsa
Tulsa2-2 (0-1)at Oklahoma St (Fri)W, 19-12vs Tulane
UAB1-2 (0-1)at TennesseeL, 56-24— OFF —
USF2-2 (0-0)vs South Carolina StW, 63-14— OFF —
UTSA2-2 (0-0)at Colorado StW, 17-16— OFF —

Storylines // Standings // Preseason Poll

American On Top

The American Conference has put the nation on notice in the opening weeks of the 2025 season. The conference already holds six victories over Power Conference teams:

  • Army (def. Kansas State, Week 2)
  • Memphis (def. Arkansas, Week 4)
  • South Florida (def. Florida, Week 2)
  • Tulane (def. Northwestern, Week 1; def. Duke, Week 3)
  • Tulsa (def. Oklahoma State, Week 4)

That doesn’t include South Florida’s Week 1 win over a ranked Boise State team and a handful of other impressive non-conference wins. This week, Tulsa took center stage with a Friday national spotlight game in which they took down Oklahoma State for their first win in Stillwater since 1951. Meanwhile, Memphis has been playing so well that their come-from-behind win over Arkansas barely registers as an upset.

Mean Green Ace First American Conference Test

Don’t look now, but North Texas might be dangerous. The defense, if not legitimately good, is definitely better and the offense continues to hang points in bunches. They made things interesting on Saturday by allowing Army to come back and force overtime, but they finished the job to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2018.

New Look Owls

Another American team turning back the clock, Rice football reached 3-1 for the first time since 2001 with a suffocating win over Charlotte in head coach Scott Abell’s conference debut. The Owls’ new offense was the center of attention in the college football world on Thursday night and put up 28 points, their most against an FBS foe so far this season.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

So You Want to be First Place?

The winner of this coming weekend’s matchup between Rice Football and Navy will find themselves atop the American Conference Standings. For Navy, that’s old hat. The Midshipmen spent a good chunk of last season at least sharing the best record in the league. But Rice is in the first year of a new coaching regime and wasn’t supposed to be quite this good this early.

Shaky Ground

On the other hand, East Carolina and Army both entered the year with moderately high expectations and while a conference title might not have been expected, falling down the standings and picking up a third loss by Week 5 certainly wasn’t where either of these programs hoped to be. Both need a bounce back win, but only one will get it.

Can Tulsa do it again?

The story on Friday night in Stillwater was just as much a funeral dirge for Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State as it was trumpeting Tulsa’s arrival. The Golden Hurricane could earn some additional respect if they can prove they’re no one-hit wonder. They host Tulane in what has the potential to be one of the bigger games for the program in recent memory.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: First Third of the Season Grades

By

Here’s our Rice football report card for every position group through four games, doing our best to provide an honest assessment of the Owls so far.

A Thursday night tilt against Charlotte gives Rice football a chance to catch it’s collective breath on Saturday and rest up before a suddenly pivotal game against Navy this coming weekend. It’s also marks the completion of the first third of the season’s game, providing a natural check-in point on the program as head coach Scott Abell works to rebuild it in his image.

From the starting quarterback to the secondary, here’s our evaluation of where things stand through four games and one standout at each position who deserves some extra recognition.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Subscriber content. Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts