Rice Football kept it close for a half before Texas State prevailed in the Armed Forces Bowl, riding explosive plays and turnovers to a lopsided final score.

More than a month removed from their final regular season game, Rice football came out of the gate with some gusto against Texas State. Without their starting quarterback, the Owls leaned on their defense, reaching halftime with three points of the traditionally high-scoring Bobcats. Turnovers pushed the game out of reach in the second half. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Defense Bounces Back

It was a tough end to the regular season for the Rice football defense which saw a significant drop in effectiveness in the second half of the year. They were expected to have their hands full against a Texas State offense that was one of the most explosive units in the nation during the regular season and brought its full complement of skill players with it to the Armed Forces Bowl.

Rice pitched a first quarter shut out. Stonewalling the Bobcats on fourth down before Andrew Awe delivered a crucial third down sack to end the next drive. Texas State broke through on their third possession, which came following a Rice turnover. Even still, they needed a fourth down conversion and a defensive holding penalty in the redzone to make it to the endzone.

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Rather uncommon penalties for running into an official on the sideline and defensive blocking below the waist buoyed a Texas State field goal drive and a missed tackle resulting in a breakaway touchdown reception, but otherwise, it was tough sledding for the Texas State offense, at least for a half.

Texas State’s 144 first half yards were their second fewest in a first half this year, roughly half of the 267.3 yards they average in first halves this season. The Bobcats would finish with 436 yards, just below the 475.8 yards they averaged during the season. A handful of late breakaway touchdowns accounted for most of that second half bump.

The big touchdown plays still count, but down to down, the defense faired well, especially considering the short fields they were handed after turnovers and the lack of support from their counterparts on offense.

QB Debuts

Quarterback Chase Jenkins started every regular season game for Rice football in 2025 before opting out of the bowl game after Christmas break. That meant the Owls were going to have a new QB1 for the bowl game and, perhaps, longer.

Lucas Scheerhorn got the start and played two drives before ceding to Patrick Crayton Jr, who had his two drives before the ball rotated back to Scheerhorn. Neither quarterback had seen much action this season, with much of it coming in emergency relief in the blowout loss at UTSA.

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The offense remained stuck in neutral for much of the first half before Crayton helped jumpstart it with a 68-second scoring drive at the end of the second quarter, tossing this field-flipping deep ball to fellow freshman Payton Matthews:

Crayton would finish as the Owls’ leading passer with that heave, but no Rice passer tallied more than six completions. The passing game proved an afterthought after consecutive Rice drives ended in fumbles, with a few more balls put on the deck which the Owls managed to recover.

Although the product was messy, head coach Scott Abell said his team was still thankful for the opportunity, particularly so that those young quarterbacks could get that experience.

“I’d say yes again [to the bowl invite],” he said. “The three weeks off practice. “I can’t replicate that moment out there on the field today for Lucas [Scheerhorn] or PJ [Crayton], and that was part of the problem. You can’t replicate that in practice. When are you going to get that kind of look for young quarterbacks so you can help them grow whether its good, bad or indifferent.

Abell declined to offer a path forward at the position in his postgame remarks, but the Owls will undoubtedly exhaust all options to ensure they’re in the best position possible at that crucial quarterback position in 2026, whether that means turning to Scheerhorn, Crayton, or someone else.

Pushed Around Up Front

Given several weeks to prepare for the Owls’ unique offensive approach, the Texas State front was ready come game day, swarming the Rice line and closing running lanes with haste. Aaron Turner was able to get off tackle and burst ahead for a 30 yard gain in the first quarter, cutting back through the middle of the defense, but that was about it for Rice when it came to explosive plays on the ground.

Tyvonn Byars delivered a powerful run to move the chains on fourth and two, but that was about it when it came to big moments from the running game. There didn’t seem to be much running room for any of the Owls’ backs.

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The same was true in the passing game. Rice quarterbacks were sacked three times on the game, not counting several plays with forced scrambles or misfired throws driven by a collapsing pocket. “We struggled to protect in any conventional pass set,” Abell said, bluntly.

The second series of the third quarter summed it up acutely. On second down, pressure off the edge forced a high pitch which was fumbled and recovered by Rice. On third down the pressure got to Crayton, knocking the ball out of his hands. Texas State recovered.

The line had its moments, finding enough success to get the offense up and down the field a handful of times, but if this team is going to have the consistency it desires, they’re going to half to be more productive in the trenches.

Searching for that Next Step in the Postseason

Friday’s appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl marked the second time in program history in which Rice had been to three bowl games in a four season span. That they managed to do so this year in the first year of a new coaching staff was notable, but the Owls’ most recent bowl run looks starkly different than the last time Rice was a regular in the postseason.

From 2012 to 2013, Rice went to three consecutive bowl games, finishing the season above .500 with two wins in those three extra contests. Those teams finished the regular season with momentum and carried it over into bowl victories, earning some hardware for the Brian Patterson Center foyer along the way.

Rice football is now riding a three-game losing streak in bowl games and has been largely uncompetitive in those contests. They snuck into two of those games as a five-win team, expected underdogs by oddsmakers. Altogether, that’s 11 consecutive seasons without a bowl win, a long time for a program with eyes on regular postseason attendance.

Taking that next step and turning what Abell would go on to call a “frustrating” season into a bright future remains the North Star for the Owls’ undaunted head coach and the program.

“It’s kind of what I’m built for. It’s what I’ve done in my career,” Abell said. “This is not foreign land to me. I’ve been here. This is why I was brought to Rice.”

That work begins immediately. The Transfer Portal opened at midnight before the Owls’ bowl game. Members of the coaching staff were already departing the stadium to catch flights back home to Houston to continue building for that future. The bowl result wasn’t what they wanted, but this staff remains confident they’re on the right track on South Main.

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