Rice football returns home this week to take on Charlotte before a bye. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

A pair of 1-3 teams meet in Houston this week, looking for their first FBS win of the season. Rice football fell to Army at West Point last Saturday while Charlotte faired no better at Indiana. Who can climb out of the AAC basement and get themselves back in the win column in Week 5? Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Charlotte.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Charlotte on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday 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

Biff Poggi talked a big game this offseason, but there wasn’t much in the way of expectations for this Charlotte squad. They were picked to finish near the bottom of the league standings and haven’t done much to prove anyone wrong just yet, needing to rally in the fourth quarter to beat their only FCS opponent. 

Rice, on the other hand, was projected to finish in the middle of the pack and even whispered as a dark horse to contend for the conference title. That seems like ages ago after a disastrous start including three blowout losses, one of which came in their some opener against Sam Houston. This is as close to a must-win game as could have been conceived entering the season.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Five | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2023, Rice won 28-7

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Warner – 87/138 (63.0 percent), 701 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT
Rushing | Connors – 41 carries, 248 yards (6.0 yards per carry), 5 TD / Atkins – 18 carries, 188 yards (6.6 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | Sykes – 16 receptions, 209 yards (13.1 yds/rec), 2 TD / Groen – 12 receptions, 94 yards (7.8 yds/rec) / Connors – 26 receptions, 112 yards (4.3 yds/rec)
Tackles | Morris – 20, Fresch/Looes/Tita – 19, Taylor – 17
Pass Breakups | Fresech – 3, Pearcy/Green/Ahoia/Jean/Fresch – 1
Interceptions | Flowers/Williams – 1

Charlotte Stat Notables

Passing | Brown – 30/57 (59.7 percent), 368 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Wilson – 27 carries, 136 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 1 TD / Norton – 32 carries, 102 yards (3.2 yards per carry)
Receiving | Weber – 14 receptions, 143 yards (10.2 yds/rec) / Brown – 13 receptions, 159 yards (12.2 yds/rec), 1 TD / Kennon – 12 receptions, 122 yards (10.2 yds/rec), 1 TD  
Tackles | Ali – 21, Williford – 20, McGee- 19 
Pass Breakups | Ali/Balfour/Jackson/Booker – 2
Interceptions | Ali – 2, Balfour/Kelly/Neal – 1

Charlotte X-Factor | Protect the quarteback

In their FBS games, Charlotte is averaging 312 yards of total offense. Although all of those outings have come in losing efforts, the 49ers have been able to move the football at times. Scoring has been the challenge, but part of that is to be expected against a brutal opening schedule that featured James Madison, North Carolina, and Indiana. Some ill-timed turnovers haven’t helped, but their biggest problem has been negative plays. 

The 49ers rank dead last in the AAC in tackles for loss allowed (31.0) and are tied for 12th in sacks allowed (11.0). It’s been those drive-killing plays that have stymied this offense and put the pressure back on the defense which hasn’t gone so well. There are some pieces here for Charlotte to be productive if they could only tighten things up a little bit and avoid these kinds of costly mistakes.

If Charlotte wants to win on Saturday they need to play clean football. Don’t allow your quarterback to be sacked and stay on schedule as much as possible. Let Rice make the mistakes — this has been a problem that has plagued the Owls so far this season — and take care of business when you have the ball. If you’re going to win on the road in conference play, that’s priority number one.

Rice X-Factor | Throw the first punch

If it wasn’t readily apparent thus far, Rice football is not a team engineered to play from behind. For whatever reason the Owls have yet to show they can effectively move the football until it’s too little too late. Rice trailed Sam Houston 17-0, Houston 33-0 and Army 30-0. By the time the Owls got on the board, the game was effectively over. 

Whether that’s mixing it up and taking the ball to start the game or finding ways to generate home run plays, something has to change to get this team back on track. Playing from behind is not doing any favors to quarterback EJ Warner or the Owls’ offensive line. 

Sustained drives would be a great place to start. Three-and-outs, particularly early in the game, have absolutely torpedoed the Owls offense so far this season. Avoiding those, taking a lead and allowing the defense to pin their ears back and set loose one of the nation’s best pass rushes has to be the plan on Saturday.

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One Final Thing

If it wasn’t abundantly clear already, Rice football has entered the worst-case-scenario timeline of the 2024 season which began with lofty expectations and so much promise. The year is far from over, but the uncompetitive nature of the Owls’ first trio of FBS games has been as damaging to the psyche of this fanbase as one could imagine. The burden on the coaching staff to stave off that downward spiral and get this team off the mat has to be exponentially more onerous. 

Rice football hasn’t played a normal football game this season. Execution issues, unforced errors and dumb mistakes have turned what might have been competitive contests into routes before the halftime whistle sounded. For that to be happening with such a veteran roster is aggravating, but there’s nothing they can do about that now.

If there’s any respite from the painful beginning, and this is a big if, it’s that this team is flush with veteran leaders who know how to lead and have (unfortunately) been here before. There was little hope for the early Bloomgren-era teams to right the ship. This one has the components to do so, but it’s getting exhausting waiting for that rebound to happen. So please, Owls. Please find a way to win this weekend. 

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Rice football leaves the state this week for the first time this season to take on Army. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

The first AAC game can’t get here soon enough for Rice football which wrapped up the bulk of its nonconference action this past weekend with a 33-6 loss to crosstown rival Houston. Army was idle, completing their first bye week of the season after a 2-0 start to the year. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Army.

Kickoff time | 11:00 PM CT
Venue | Michie Stadium – West Point, NY
TV | CBS SN (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Army on this week’s episode of the Blue and Gray Preview Show, kicking off live on Wednesday 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

The losses are already beginning to stack up for Rice football and head coach Mike Bloomgren who have suffered two painful defeats to begin what was meant to be a breakthrough season. While a road loss at West Point would be far from the most painful defeat, the Owls need to start putting numbers in the win column before things spiral further. As for Army, the Black Knights view themselves as AAC contenders and already own a conference win, taking down FAU in Week 2. A 2-0 start in a new league would put them among the leaders from the jump.

Series History

All Time | Tied, 4-4-1
Last Five | Army leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Away 2019, Army won 14-7

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!

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Warner – 59/95 (62.1 percent), 466 yards, 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing | Connors – 32 carries, 197 yards (6.2 yards per carry), 5 TD / Atkins – 17 carries, 115 yards (6.8 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | Sykes – 10 receptions, 127 yards (12.7 yds/rec), 1 TD / Groen – 10 receptions, 63 yards (6.3 yds/rec) / Connors – 18 receptions, 81 yards (4.5 yds/rec)
Tackles | Pearcy/Fresch – 14, Morris/Taylor – 13, Boenisch – 11
Pass Breakups | Fresech – 3, Green/Ahoia/Jean/Fresch – 1 each
Interceptions | Flowers/Williams – 1

Army Stat Notables

Passing | Daily – 4/10 (40.0 percent), 79 yards, 1 TD
Rushing | Daily – 35 carries, 195 yards (5.6 yards per carry), 2 TD / Udoh – 29 carries, 143 yards (5.0 yards per carry), 3 TD / Noah Short – 19 carries, 243 yards (12.8 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Reynolds – 2 receptions, 66 yards (33.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Schurr – 2 receptions, 22 yards (11.0 yds/rec)
Tackles | Fortner – 12, DiDomenico – 10, Thomas – 9 
Pass Breakups | Shields – 2, DiDomenico/Modozie/Williams – 1
Interceptions | DiDomenico/Mayes/Platt – 1

Army X-Factor | Don’t get cute

A year ago Army head coach Jeff Monken dabbled in modernizing the Army scheme, moving away from the traditional option and taking to the air more often. That lasted about half a season before returning to what the Black Knights have always done best, running the ball. To that end, Army completed one pass in their thorough drubbing of Florida Atlantic in their first AAC game.

When it comes to taking on one of the conference’s other Owls, Army shouldn’t have to overthink it. Rice struggled to contain the quarterback run game against SHSU and while the Owls were better against Houston, they still were prone to give up an explosive play on the ground here and there. Against a team like Army which will stress the Owls’ schematic soundness time and time again, it might only take a few opportunities to take control of this game.

Rice X-Factor | Fix the offense, stat

Bloomgren said it best in the aftermath of the Houston defeat. “The worst thing you can do in the world against any of the academies is to go three and out because you put your defense in such a tough situation. So we’ve got to make sure we’re moving the sticks offensively, doing our part,” he said. “Also, the thing that comes with that is knowing that every offensive possession is like gold because they’re going to be minimized so much. You’re talking about getting eight nine or ten possessions in a game against an academy instead of 11 or 12. Everything’s magnified.”

That’s the reality Rice football is facing. How they go about addressing it remains to be seen. Bloomgren had some theories as to the root cause of the offensive issues so far this season, a topic addressed in detail here, but no matter the cause, an answer is essential. Rice might only get a few cracks at putting up points this weekend. They can’t afford to continue to walk away empty-handed. 

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One Final Thing

The last time this staff went to West Point they handled the option extremely well. Army won that 2019 game 14-7 and had it not been for a failed fourth down conversion and a relatively young, unproven quarterback, Rice might have walked away with a victory. The result of that game is less important to this one as was the Owls’ discipline and ability to stay fundamentally sound on defense. The 2024 version of the Rice defense is faster and more athletic which, on paper, bodes well for the Owls’ chances of rebounding this weekend.

But as any Rice football fan is painfully aware of right now, games aren’t played on paper. If they were, Rice wouldn’t have been blown off the field last weekend in their rivalry game and wouldn’t be entering conference play with a losing record. There’s evidence this team is capable of neutralizing Army’s biggest advantage, but they’re going to have to prove they can do it again before anyone feels comfortable asserting they’ve got this one in the bag.

Rice has a home game against Charlotte looming and the chance to get to their first bye week with a winning record. This team can’t afford to look past anyone, but the optics of a rebound are within the range of possibility. That all starts with getting the offense moving and finding a way to get revenge on the troops from that loss at West Point a few years back. 

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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)

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!

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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. 

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Rice football takes on Texas Southern at home this week. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Texas Southern and Rice football hosted nearby foes in Week 1 with very different results. The Tigers went on the road and beat Prairie View A&M while the Owls fell at home to Sam Houston. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Texas Souhern.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Audio / Visual Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Texas Southern 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

Texas Southern is now 1-0 over new head coach Cris Dishman and the Tigers looked much improved in their first appearance under their new head man, snapping a nine-game losing string to PVAMU in the process.

On the other end of this matchup, Rice football laid an egg in their seventh season opener under Mike Bloomgren and cannot afford an 0-2 start in non-conference play with a rivalry matchup with Houston looming. There’s suddenly a lot more pressure on a seemingly innocuous Week 2 nonconference game than were was just a few short days ago.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Meeting | Home 2023, Rice won 59-7

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!

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Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Warner – 27/44 (61.4 percent), 227 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Connors – 12 carries, 52 yards (4.3 yards per carry), 1 TD / Atkins – 2 carries, 4 yards (2.0 yards per carry)
Receiving | Connors – 9 receptions, 30 yards (3.3 yds/rec) / Sykes – 6 receptions, 74 yards (12.3 yds/rec) / Groen – 5 receptions, 43 yards (8.6 yds/rec)
Tackles | Pearcy – 8 / Ahoia, Green – 6 / Four tied with 5
Pass Breakups | Jean, Fresch – 1 each
Interceptions | n/a

TXSO Stat Notables

Passing | Cooper – 19/29 (65.5 percent), 126 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Green – 15 carries, 81 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 2 TD / Cooper – 6 carries, 52 yards (8.7 yards per carry)
Receiving | Johnson – 4 receptions, 49 yards (12.3 yds/rec) / Bennett – 3 receptions, 43 yards (14.3 yds/rec)
Tackles | No defensive stats available
Pass Breakups | No defensive stats available
Interceptions | No defensive stats available

TXSO X-Factor | If it ain’t broke

Did Sam Houston provide Texas Southern with the blueprint to beat Rice? It’s on the visiting Tigers to find out. Sam Houston was able to find a good amount of success running the football, particularly with their quarterback. Texas Southern’s quarterback KJ Cooper is a threat in the run game, too. 

“There ability to run the football on our defense is not something I thought would happen and not something I was prepared to happen,” Bloomgren said of Sam Houston’s prowess on the ground. It’s on him to get that sorted out this week, but Texas Southern needs to start there, regardless.

Not only is an exposed weakness the Owls have already put on film, but if everything goes according to plan it should shorten the game and take opportunities away from the Rice offense, which proved itself to be potent when they could string a few plays together. 

Rice X-Factor | Block somebody

Head coach Mike Bloomgren said it best on Saturday night. “I couldn’t tell you really what phase of the game we played like I thought we would and what I think we’re capable of,” he admitted. In short, there’s a long list of things for Rice football to fix in the six days they have between their loss to Sam Houston and a suddenly extremely important meeting with Texas Southern. To keep this section digestible, we’re going to start with one must-do: fix the offensive line.

The offensive line had a strong camp and was largely able to hold its own against a Rice pass rush that tallied seven sacks on Saturday night. As I wrote postgame, the degree to which the unit struggled seemed to suggest a scheme mismatch more than a talent deficit. That’s not something that will magically get fixed by reinserting Chad Lindberg into the line if that’s possible, but it shouldn’t take a new face. It should just require better planning and execution.

Rice football needs the line to play like its capable of playing. Competent line play will free up the offense for a quarterback who played well despite having to fear for his life in a shriveling pocket. That will enable more sustained drives and give the defense a much-needed breather. There’s more to fix, but getting this right should be something that’s both doable and will yield results beyond just its singular schematic function.

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One Final Thing

For better or worse, this is not the first time Rice football has found itself in this situation. Days removed from a crushing defeat, they have to take the field again.

In 2023, Rice was upset by UConn. They followed it up by dismantling Tulsa 42-10.

In 2022, Rice was throttled by Charlotte who just dismissed their coach. They turned around and beat UTEP the next week.

In 2021, Rice was shut out by UTSA 45-0. They upset UAB on the road 30-24 the following Saturday.

In 2020, Rice lost to an injury-riddle North Texas. Next week they blanked No. 15 Marshall on the road, 20-0.

There’s something to be said for why this program has to pick itself up off the mat at least once every single season, but it’s hard to deny the evidence of what happens when they’re forced to take that hard look in the mirror. They might not have it all together every Saturday, but they’ve proven they have an uncanny ability to flush it and move on.

“It’s never easy, but like honestly, I feel like we have the guys to do it,” Pearcy said of the long road ahead of the team this week. “We have all the talent in the world to do it, it’s just going to come down to execution.”

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