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College Football: 2020 season schedule and first kickoff dates

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The 2020 college football season kicks off this weekend. Here’s the most up to date schedule after many previously scheduled games were postponed.

The carousel of college football schedules has gone round and round over the past several weeks. Who was playing who has seemed like a make-believe exercise at times, with games coming and going within days. Now things are getting real.

The first college football game of the season is scheduled to kick off this Saturday when Central Arkansas takes on Austin Peay at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The first FBS matchup of the season is scheduled to follow five days later when Central Arkansas visits UAB for their second game of the season.

With real football mere days away instead of weeks, it’s time we familiarized ourselves with which teams are going to be playing in real games on television. As things stand, here’s what’s on the schedule over the course of the next week and a half. This includes all games featuring FBS and/or FCS teams.

*Conference USA teams in bold

Saturday, Aug. 29

  • Austin Peay vs. Central Arkansas – 8 p.m. CST, ESPN

Thursday, Sept. 3

  • Central Arkansas at UAB – 7 p.m CST, ESPN3
  • South Alabama at Southern Miss – 7 p.m. CST, CBSSN

Saturday, Sept. 5

  • Arkansas State at Memphis – 6 p.m. CST, ESPN
  • Eastern Kentucky at Marshall – 12 p.m. CST, ESPN
  • Houston Baptist at North Texas – 6:30 p.m. CST, ESPN3
  • Middle Tennessee at Army
  • SMU at Texas State –  3:30 pm. CST, ESPN
  • Stephen F. Austin at UTEP – 8 p.m. CST, ESPN3

Monday, Sept. 7

  • BYU at Navy – 7 p.m. CST, ESPN

Learn more about every C-USA team including players to watch, roster analysis and pressing questions in The Roost’s 2020 Conference USA Season Preview, available now for $5.

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Conference USA Football: Reaction and “Snubs” from All-Conference team

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The 2020 Conference USA Football Coaches All-Conference teams are out. Which players should have had their names mentioned?

Before we really get going, let’s all agree that all-conference lists are inherently subjective. The 2020 Conference USA Football Coaches Preseason Teams was never going to make every fan base happy. And frankly, it wasn’t supposed to achieve those ends.

It was meant to recognize athletes who have proven themselves to be the best their conference has to offer. With that as the ground rules, there are a few “snubs” that deserved recognition on this list of C-USA’s best in some form or another.

Asher O’Hara – QB, Middle Tennesse

If I were building a team from scratch with Conference USA quarterbacks, Chris Robison from FAU would have been my first pick, judging by on-field ability alone. He’s no longer on the Owls’ roster. Asher O’Hara would have been my second.

O’Hara carried the Middle Tennesee offense on his back last season, willing an injury-plagued team within a few unfortunate bounces of bowl eligibility. He’s dangerous with his legs and his arms, and he’s still getting better. His 1,058 rushing yards were more than five times any other player on his team.

Instead, Jack Abraham gets the nod. The Southern Miss quarterback has shown flashes of being a top-notch player, but his abundance of elite pass catchers and inconsistencies make it hard for me to anoint him the best quarterback in the conference. Top 5? Sure. No. 1? That’s a tough sell. Charlotte’s Chris Reynolds has an argument to be made for him, too.

Victor Tucker – WR, Charlotte

If the conference included an all-purpose slot or one more nomination for a receiver, Tucker would have been the next name mentioned. All three of the guys mentioned in front of him are equally as deserving, but Tucker isn’t far behind by much, if at all.

Tucker has already secured a place among the best receivers in Charlotte football history. He’s the second leading returning receiver in the conference entering 2020, trailing only UAB’s Austin Watkins. He’s a home run threat that will continue to be a key cog in the 49ers’ offense in 2020.

Brontae Harris – CB, UAB

Harris not making the cut for the preseason list is explainable. He missed the entirety of his junior season with a foot injury. It’s hard for players to stay on these lists when they miss that many games, to some extent it really is “out of sight, out of mind”. So perhaps Harris being omitted isn’t quite a “snub”, but he’s worthy of the honor.

Pro Football Focus graded Harris as the highest-rated corner during his redshirt sophomore season, his last healthy year. Entering 2019 he was named to the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list, just as he was this season. He’s an elite corner who won’t be overlooked if he gets in a full season in 2020.

You can get all our conference preseason team picks in The Roost’s 2020 Conference USA Season Preview, available now for $5.

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Rice Football: Outlook on 2020 schedule

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The 2020 Rice Football schedule remains in flux with the season scheduled to begin sometime over the course of the next several weeks.

Last week, Rice Football was slated to begin its 2020 season against Lamar. On Friday that game was canceled. The Rice game was the only remaining opponent on Lamar’s fall athletic calendar, adding to the pressure to cancel on Lamar’s side of things.

Rice had the chance to postpone or cancel the game two weeks ago when they delayed the start of their season. At that time, they chose not to. Aligning their start date with the SEC and allowing for more time was a strategic decision. Rice will have the benefit of watching other conferences go first and seeing how their seasons progress.

How the rest of the schedule plays out remains to be seen. Rice was earnest in their desire to reschedule both of their postponed games, including a contest against Army and the Bayou Bucket against Houston.

Army is open on Sept. 26, but the Black Knights released an updated 11-game schedule on Monday without the Owls on it. If a game between the two schools were to be announced, that would have been the time to do so.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our 2020 Rice Football offense and defense previews

The omission of Rice from that schedule along with other conversations I’ve had over the past week indicates Rice won’t replace the open date from the Lamar cancellation with Army. Instead, Rice will plan to start its season on Oct. 3, adding another week of buffer to the front end of the schedule.

From there, it’s possible things could change further still.

Rice is slated to play Marshall on Oct. 3, but there remains some optimism Conference USA could assist in scheduling should more flexibility be needed.

If this were a traditional year, Conference USA would have released their television schedule months ago. The conference still hasn’t announced tv dates, in part, to preserve some wiggle room should it be required. The hope on that front would be that Rice could find a time and get Houston back on the schedule this year.

The Cougars play BYU during the Owls current bye week, but could be slotted into another should the right opportunities arrive.

The situation remains fluid. At this time, Rice has eight conference games on their schedule. There is a small chance schedules will align to allow Rice to play Houston in 2020. A game against Army doesn’t appear to be in the cards, at least not as the Owls opener. Playing the remaining eight games as-is would be the most likely scenario. Of course, that’s assuming any football is played this fall at all.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 47 – 2020 Rice Football Season Outlook and COVID-19 updates

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The 2020 Rice Football season has been pushed back. This week’s edition of The Roost Podcast focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on the sport as a whole.

It seemed like no sooner had we hit stop on the Rice Football Offense and Defense Preview shows than did something change. The Owls lost a projected starter in the secondary to the Transfer Portal this week. Carter and Matthew walked through the impact that will have on the team this season before opening things up for a more far-reaching discussion concerning the state of college football.

Conferences are beginning to draw up plans for a spring season. The Big Ten is fighting through PR disasters and the NCAA is working to clear up eligibility questions for athletes, some of which are scheduled to compete in the next few weeks.

The duo wrapped everything up with a Rice football-inspired game.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 47.

Episode 47 Notes

  • Housekeeping — We hit on some takeaways from spring practice in this episode. You can find previous (and future) practice reports and all our recruiting updates on our Premium page, reserved for our Patreon subscribers. Make sure you hit the button and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s happening behind the scenes. As always, thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference.

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  • Rice/COVID-19 Updates
    • Starting corner Tyrae Thornton entered the Transfer Portal: How does that impact the Owls and what can Rice expect in the secondary without him?
    • SWAC puts out a spring schedule: Big Ten making plans for a possible January start.
    • NCAA weighing eligibility ruling: Proposition would allow all athletes an extra year of eligibility regardless of how many games they play in the 2020-2021 academic year.
  • Looking ahead at the future of Rice football game
    • Carter and Matthew debated the future of the program in a fun game
    • The rules were simple: What’s more likely to happen?
Blaze Alldredge wins C-USA Defensive MVP Rice has the No. 1 run defense in C-USA
Mike Collins has multiple 300yd passing games Someone other than Juma leads team in rushing TDs
Two Rice WRs surpass 1,000 yards Rice finishes +10 in turnover margin
Rice makes the C-USA title game Rice goes below .500 in Conference play
Rice signs the No. 1 recruiting class in C-USA Rice beats a P5 non-conference opponent
Rice wins a conference title in football first Rice wins a conference title in baseball first
Rice finds a multi-year starter at QB Rice has a player Drafted in Top 3 rounds of NFL Draft

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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BREAKING: Rice Football vs Lamar canceled

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Rice football won’t open its season against Lamar after all. The two programs have agreed to cancel their game.

The Southland Conference announced the cancelation of its 2020 fall football season last week, leaving the possibility for non-conference play up to each member institution. At that time, Rice was the only remaining opponent on the Lamar schedule. That game has since been canceled.

In a release from the university, Lamar announced the decision: “Lamar University and Rice have agreed to cancel their football game, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, in Houston.”

On July 30, Rice football lost its first game. The SEC’s decision to move to a conference-only scheduled put an end to a scheduled matchup with LSU. Rice then made the move to delay games against Houston and Army, buying themselves three more weeks of runway before their season began.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

The cancellation of the Lamar contest leaves Rice without any non-conference games on their schedule. Rice Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard indicated the door was still open for Rice to add a non-conference game to their schedule if the logistics made sense. That additional opponent would almost certainly be Army or Houston.

Rice currently has an open date on October 17. Army’s previously scheduled game against Eastern Michigan was canceled, making the Black Knights available that weekend. Houston is scheduled to take on BYU in Provo, UT on that Friday, October 16th.

There’s plenty of time between now and October. Rice has football games to play before they have to act on the possibility of filling that open week. For the time being, Rice has eight conference games on the schedule and that’s it.

Rice football is now tentatively set to open the 2020 season on the road at Marshall on October 3. The Owls’ home opener would be the week later against UAB on October 10.

Whether there is football this fall or not, there’s going to be plenty to process as everyone works to find a new equilibrium in college sports. Stay current on those updates and following the always-active recruiting cycle by subscribing to The Roost on Patreon today.

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