Next up for Rice football, a home tilt against FAU. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Navy game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Florida Atlantic.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
I think the takeaway this week from the group was we expected to win at Navy. We expected to go toe-to-toe with a preseason favorite and you love that mentality. Now, I don’t know if we handled it really well there midway through the first half, so now you gotta learn how to handle that. I want that expectation. We should expect to win those games, but if it doesn’t go your way early, you gotta handle it better. Now, we did regroup at halftime. I thought that was important to see your team do that. All that’s a learning opportunity. The key is, you gotta learn. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on his takeaways from the Navy game
He’s the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year coming out of Western Kentucky. Very talented. Got great size. He can see the whole field. The challenge is real for our secondary.. There’s a lot of catch and throw. He doesn’t hold it long. He’s getting it out of his hand [fast]. To me, we gotta force him to drive the field. He’s going to have some completions. We’ve got to rally and tackle well. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp and the FAU passing offense
They’re really athletic. They have good size. They want to lock you down. They’re gonna play man, they don’t hide from it. Most people play some type of man courage against us. We expect to see an aggressive defense. That’s what Navy was against us, Charlotte at times. The formulas are similar. People are going to be aggressive, they’re going to leave us some one-on-one situations in space and we got to make some plays.–Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on what he expects from the FAU defense
In terms of playing my last year of football, I wanted to come to a place where I could use my eligibility and feel like I’m making a difference, contributing on the field and in the locker room and, obviously, getting a valuable education. – Offensive lineman Sean Sullivan on his decision to come to Rice
I’m just glad that my opportunity is here… My journey hadn’t been the most smooth, but I’ve stayed the course and done what I needed to do and now my opportunity is here and I’m just doing my best to make the most of it.- Safety Marcus Williams on his opportunity after battling injuries in prior seasons
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
The only changes to the depth chart this week are reflective of adjustments from last week’s injury updates. Luke Needham, who missed the Navy game, has been taken off the two-deep for the first time this year with an injury, Peyton Farmer is listed in his place. Also on offense, Braylen Walker makes his first appearance on a regular season depth chart following his return to the field against Navy.
Walker did leave the Navy game early. Stay tuned for the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published later this week for news on his availability as well as the status of other players who have missed some extended time. Among those, defensive lineman Ejike Adele is the only change on the defensive two-deep after missing last week.
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McCaffrey did not find the endzone during his rookie year, but now has reached paydirt on back-to-back Sundays, hauling in a touchdown reception against the Falcons this weekend. He’s also become a mainstay on special teams, totaling 285 return yards on nine kickoff returns so far this season.
Mariota throws a dart to Luke McCaffrey to get @Commanders on the board
Banks saw his second bout of action this week, playing a few snaps on special teams in the Packers’ Week 4 marathon tie against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
Fox punted five times in the Lions’ Week 4 victory over the Browns, averaging a 44.2 yards per kick with a long of 53 yards. He pinned all five of his kicks inside the 20 yard line.
Boswell is no longer perfect on field goal attempts this year after having one kick blocked against the Vikings on Sunday. He is 6-of-7 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.
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Rice football looks to rebound at home this week when they host Florida Atlantic. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.
Both Rice Football and their Week 6 opponent head to Houston following a loss. Rice fells in Annapolis, MD to Navy while Florida Atlantic dropped their most recent game at home against Memphis. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and FAU.
Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT Venue | Historic Rice Stadium – Houston, TX TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide) Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)
Sizing up the Contenders
To this point, Rice football has losses to a power conference team and one of the American’s preseason frontrunners. They’ve accrued plenty of good will with their 3-2 start under their new head coach, Scott Abell. The other others of Florida Atlantic are less fortunate. Entering the game at 1-3 with a loss to rival FIU, there’s some pressure to get things going. Both programs have a lot to gain with a win, especially with schedules that get more difficult as the year progresses.
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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, 3-2 Last Five | Rice leads, 3-2 Last Meeting | Home 2023, Rice won 24-21
Florida Atlantic is a far cry from the elite defenses in the conference, but the Owls have been mostly good enough on that side of the ball with one glaring exception: the big play and, specifically, the big play on the ground. They entered their Week 4 game against Memphis dead last in the American in explosive runs allowed.
The Owls might have had the makings of an upset brewing before they allowed a 90-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter. From there, the rout was on. That could be extremely problematic when facing a team as committed to running the football as Rice will be.
Florida Atlantic ranks in the middle of the conference in yards per carry allowed and rush defense. Outside of the big breakdowns, this defense has been serviceable against the ground game. If they want to win this one, they’ll need to show they can be more disciplined and avoid the busts that swing this game against them.
Rice X-Factor | Start Faster
Rice has scored first once in five games, that coming in a loss to Houston. Prior to their defeat at Navy, Rice had been 3-0 when their opponent scored first. While that’s a compliment to their resiliency, it’s an equally concerning reality for an offense that hasn’t really started fast this season.
The Owls are averaging 1.8 points in the first quarter against FBS opponents this season. They’re scored just once in the first frame against FBS foes, an opening drive touchdown against Charlotte two weeks ago. Other than that, Rice hasn’t really gotten things in gear until the middle of the second quarter, where Rice has scored 41 of its 102 points (40 percent).
Outside of being stopped on the one-yard line against Louisiana, Rice has scored at least a touchdown in every fourth quarter they’ve played this season. The offense usually picks things up by the end. But goodness, Rice could really separate themselves against an FAU defense which ranks near the bottom of the league in scoring with a few early game points on Saturday.
Injury Report (Subscribers only)
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One Final Thing
To this point, the Rice football losses under head coach Scott Abell have been explainable, if not understandable. Houston had more talent and a power conference NIL fund. Navy had experience and a veteran quarterback at the helm. Neither have lost a game this season.
FAU doesn’t fit that mold. The Owls are, at best, one-sided and at their worst, a flawed football team. The defense has been exploited by all of their FBS opponents and the offense, while productive, will have a Rice defense that has been one of the better units in the conference to this point.
It’s hard to say this is a game Rice football should expect to win, given where they are in the state of their rebuilding process, yet it does have the potential to chart the course for what kind of season the remainder of 2025 will be. A win against FAU lifts Rice football to four wins in six tries, already matching their total from a year ago. It validates aspirations of a bowl berth and the potential to be a disruptor in the conference.
A loss doesn’t prevent the Owls from achieving those things, but the schedule isn’t very forgiving down the stretch and beating an incomplete FAU team at home should, in theory, be easier than taking down conference heavyweights such as Memphis and USF. Either way, we will learn a lot about the program this weekend.
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Navy handed Rice football its first conference loss, winning in both trenches and controlling the game. Jason Metko joins us to react to the loss.
Rice football fell to 3-2 with a road loss against Navy. The game was rather one-sided, serving as an education for this program on just how far they have to go to reach the standard for option football as its being played in the FBS right now. Still, there were some encouraging nuggets to salvage from the defeat. Sideline analyst Jason Metko joins the show to help us dig into all of it. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 214.
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Rice Football vs Navy Game Recap
Crisis Averted: Owls avoid what could have been a blowout
Offense has some growing up to do, and that’s probably okay
Chase Jenkins could probably learn a lot from Blake Horvath
Defense has been great, in spite of their third down woes
A turnover check? And Plae Wyatt’s big moment
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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September is over and North Texas and Navy have yet to see the loss column and while the Mean Green did have a scare a few weeks ago against Western Michigan, both of these teams have largely looked the part through the first month of the season. Both handled potentially troublesome opponents with relative ease this week.
Memphis has to work for it
Memphis trailed Florida Atlantic midway through the second quarter and never truly had a comfortable advantage until the midpoint of the fourth quarter when Cortez Braham Jr. hauled in a 73-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Lewis. An onslaught of later scores made the final score appear more one-sided than this game actually was. Nevertheless, 5-0 is 5-0.
Army’s struggles compound
The same cannot be said for Army, which looks to be falling fast from their perch atop the American Conference standings they held at the conclusion of last season. It looked for a moment as if they would rebound from their defeat against an FCS opponent with an upset win over Kansas State, but they’re completely one-sided loss at East Carolina proves there are more systemic problems at hand.
Looking ahead – Key storylines
First Conference Test
Some quirky scheduling have left three American Conference teams without a conference game under their belts entering Week 6: South Florida, UTSA and Temple. The Bulls have established some street-cred with impressive non-conference wins, but the Roadrunners and Owls are less proven. Naturally they taken on each other to open conference play.
Armed Forces, Defenders of Rivalry Games
With so many rivalries going by the wayside with conference realignment, it’s refreshing to take in the ones that have stuck around. Air Force had been riding a four-game winning streak before Navy snapped that streak last season. Can the Midshipmen remain undefeated a make a bid for their second consecutive claim to the Commander in Chief Trophy?
Dilfer Watch Continues
As previously established, Army isn’t quite the same team they were a year ago. They’re mortal, in every sense. That’s what makes their trip to Birmingham next weekend intriguing. UAB head coach Trent Dilfer needs to start stacking wins to save his job. And while a down-on-their-luck Army team seems beatable, a poor performance could serve as just another strike against his ledger.
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