The source for Rice sports news

2018 Rice Football Schedule: How to watch, tv channels and broadcast info

By

The 2018 Rice football schedule spans a variety of networks with different programming restrictions. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Owls.

All 13 of Rice football’s 2018 games will be available over the radio and either via tv or an online streaming service. You don’t need to worry about which games are on which channels and where to go. That’s what this guide is for.

Radio

  • Sports Map 94.1 (FM)
  • Stretch Internet (Online)

TV Schedule

  • 8/25 – Prairie View A&M: ESPN+
  • 9/1 – Houston: CBS SN
  • 9/8 – Hawai’i: Stadium (Streaming only)
  • 9/22 – Southern Miss: ESPN+
  • 9/ 29 – Wake Forest: ACCN
  • 10/6 – UTSA: ESPN3
  • 10/13 – UAB: ESPN+
  • 10/20 – FIU: ESPN+
  • 10/27 – North Texas: ESPN+
  • 11/3 – UTEP: ESPN3
  • 11/10 – Louisiana Tech: ESPN+
  • 11/17 – LSU: TBD*
  • 11/24 – Old Dominion: ESPN+

How to watch

CBS SN (DirecTv Channel 221, Dish 158, Uverse, 643, Xfinity 106). This is different than CBS and may require a premium cable subscription beyond the basic tier of channels. Check with your provider for more information.

ESPN3 is available with all major cable providers. The ACC Network is available on this service. Access the streaming service here.

ESPN+ is available as a stand-alone streaming service from ESPN. This is different from ESPN3 and is not included in a basic cable subscription. You can subscribe to ESPN+ here. They also offered seven day free trials at any time.

Stadium stream live games right here. No providers, no cable, no hassle. The Hawaaii game will be available on their app (in both Android and Apple app stores)

* LSU games is listed as TBD right now but will be updated with TV information as it is available. This will come no later than 12 days before kickoff. More than likely it will be available through ESPN in some fashion.

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

Recent Posts

2018 UAB Blazers Season Preview

By

Rice football meets the UAB Blazers, a relatively new foe in the middle of the 2018 season. What can the Owls expect from the newly reformed team?

Three years ago UAB football ceased to exist. The university decided it was in its best interested to shut down the football program. That left head coach Bill Clark without a job and a multitude of the Blazers’ fans extremely disgruntled. That frustration turned into action, and soon enough the football program was reinstated.

After a two-season hiatus, UAB returned to action in 2017. In Year One of the new era, UAB shocked many. They finished the year 8-5 (6-2 CUSA) with both conference losses by a combined four points. It’s safe to say that nobody is writing off the Blazers as newbies this year, including Rice.

Rice fell at home to UAB 52-21 last season. The loss dropped the all-time series record even at 3-3, setting up an interesting rubber game for the two teams at Legion Field this season. Here’s how the Blazers will look this 2018:

Offense

AJ Erdely will once again lead the offense in 2018. The Blazers’ quarterback made Conference USA history last season against the Owls, completing 20-of-21 passes, a 95 percent completion percentage. His season average of 60.7 percent was right in the middle of the pack in CUSA as were his 16 touchdowns and 2,331 passing yards. Erdely’s mobility should be a plus for the Blazers as well. Last year, excluding sacks, he picked up 539 yards on the ground and added 13 rushing touchdowns.

Complementing Erdely on the ground will be one of the most productive running backs in school history. Sophomore Spencer Brown ran wild last season, racking up 1,329 yards on the ground as he shattered Jordan Howard‘s freshman rushing record of 881 yards. Spelling him will be Fresno State transfer James Noble (54 carries last season compared to Brown’s 250).

In front of them returns one of the more experienced offensive lines in Conference USA. Outside of the loss of Chris Schleuger at left guard, the rest of the line is intact.

Wide receiver should be another area of strength for the Blazers. Leading wideout Andre Wilson should be in line for another big year, assuming he can transition smoothly to new offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent. Vincent joins the team for a second time after spending two years at South Alabama during UAB’s hiatus from football.

Behind Wilson, Collin Lisa and JUCO transfer Austin Watkins will be in the mix for sizable roles with several contributors from last season returning as well. On paper, this is one of the deepest offenses in the conference. UAB was the No. 5 scoring offense in CUSA last season and has the potential to take another step forward in 2018.

Defense

If the someone can step up and fill the void left by Tevin Crews the Blazers defense could be as powerful as their offense in 2018. The senior linebacker led the team with 102 tackles, led the team with two forced fumbles and tied for the team lead with three sacks. They also lose Shaq Jones who also had three sacks and led the team with 13 tackles for a loss.

Sliding in behind those are Stacy Keely and rising sophomore Thomas Johnson. Johnson made waves when he spurned Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson and LSU when he committed to UAB in 2017. After playing sparingly in the deep unit a season ago, he’ll be trusted with the starting weakside linebacker spot moving forward.

The linebacker position is the most inexperienced on the team, which bodes well for the rest of the defense as a whole. Three starters return on the defensive line, led by 6-foot-5, 340-pound tackle Anthony Rush. The road grader tallied nine tackles for a loss last year and added an interception at the line as well.

Rush will ease the pressure on a secondary that finished second in CUSA in pass defense a year ago. Replacing strong safety Jordan Petty won’t go unnoticed, but the mostly intact unit should pick up right where they left off. UAB never allowed more than 270 passing yards in any game last season and had a five game stretch in which they registered eight interceptions.

Schedule

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

Recent Posts

Quarterback position still a mystery, practice notes (8/23)

By

Rice football opens their 2018 season against Prairie View A&M and head coach Mike Bloomgren has kept the quarterback situation completely under wraps.

More: 2018 Prairie View A&M season preview

Rice has one practice remaining before their first game of the 2018 season. The Owls will take on Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 6 p.m., for now they’re putting the finishing touches on their gameplan and ironing out details before the opener. Here are a few things that stuck out from Thursday’s practice.

Excitement continues to build for Game 1

Mike Bloomgren has made several stops along his coaching journey. He’s been everywhere from Alabama to Delta State, but he’s never been a head coach. Not until now. That gives Saturday added significance for him, and he can’t shake a smile on his face whenever he asked about what it’s going to be like to finally be on the field as the head coach at Rice.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited,” he grinned, “For me it’s going to be another game, I’m going to be on the sideline doing what I love with guys I love.” Against Prairie View, and throughout the season, Bloomgren plans to be “very involved” with the offense in real time. He’ll work directly with offensive coordinator Jerry Mack who will share play-calling duties with Bloomgren.

Building strength on the second team defense

If things go the right way on Saturday the Owls will have some time to spare to play some of their guys beyond the first line of their depth chart. The quarterback position is an obvious point of contention, but several other positions should see a parade of players get their first taste of live-game action on Saturday.

Antonio Montero and Blaze Alldredge have been two players that have drawn the attention of the coaching staff this fall. They’re behind veteran starters Dylan Silcox and Martin Nwakamma on the depth chart, but have shown enough effort and discipline to earn themselves meaningful playing time against Prairie View.

In the secondary, Boomgren pointed to redshirt freshman Tyrae Thornton, backing p junior corner Justin Bickham. Whether its special teams or later in the game, Bloomgren expects to get Thornton some minutes.

Watch out for No. 33

On the offensive side of the ball, Bloomgren continues to champion running back Emmanuel Esupka. He’s been kept fresh in fall practices, avoiding contact all throughout camp. Bloomgren maintains he has the chance to “make national noise” if the Owls can pave the way for him to run.

Quarterback

Neither Jackson Tyner nor Shawn Stankavage had been given any insight on what the gameplan for Saturday is going to look like. Bloomgren hasn’t informed either of them who’s taking the first snap of the game, how many drives they’ll play or what any potential rotation might look like. He’s kept this secret close to the vest, and didn’t divulge much more this week.

“If somebody can tip the scales we’d love to have a quarterback,” Bloomgren said as he continued to maintain an open mind regarding the competition. “If not,” he added, “we’ll have a two-headed monster and we’ll try to be very specific with which plays we give each of them as a coaching staff to give them there best opportunity to give us our best opportunity.”

Jackson Tyner didn’t seem to care that he hadn’t yet been made privy to the details quite yet. His mindset entering Saturday was fairly simple. “I’m just going to go out on Saturday and play football,” he said candidly, “I’m just going to go out and do my job.”

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football vs Prairie View A&M: 3 things to know

By

Rice football opens their 2018 season against the Panthers of Prairie View A&M. Here are a few things to know before the game.

The 2018 season is finally here and the first objective for the new-look Owls is matching last season’s win total out of the gate. Rice holds a perfect 1-0 record all-time against PVAMU, defeating the Panthers 65-44 at Rice Stadium in 2016. Here are three important things to know about the Panthers before the game.

1. Not just another FCS squad

FCS teams typically represent a step down from their FBS counterparts. While it’s true the talent gap tends to be fairly wide, Rice would be well to respect their opponent – and in more than just a coach-speak fashion.

Prairie View is second in the SWAC in wins since 2007. That includes seven winning seasons including three-straight above .500 campaigns entering 2018. Their offense has been prolific. This year four different Panthers were named to the All-SWAC first or second team: running back Dawonya Tucker, offensive lineman Roderick Smith, wide receiver Markcus Hardy and tight end Zarrian Holcombe.

Yes, Rice has the edge in talent. But too many first-game jitters will give the Panthers a chance. FCS or not, this is not a team the Owls want to let hang around.

2. Make an educated guess

Like Rice, Prairie View A&M will also field a first-year head coach. Eric Dooley brings an impressive resume to his new post, most recently serving as the offensive coordinator at Grambling State. His time with Tigers was fruitful. Grambling ranked as high as fourth in the nation in scoring during his tenure, topping out at a jaw-dropping 65 touchdowns and averaging 470 yards per game in 2015.

But that was Grambling State, not Prairie View. It’s reasonable to assume that the Panthers will incorporate much of the same principles that made Dooley’s offenses so successful at Grambling, but the Owls don’t have any live-action evidence to back up that assumption. To some extent, Rice is flying blind. Thankfully, so is Prairie View.

3. Not-so-new Jalen Morton

Morton played sparingly at quarterback last season, attempting 17 passes. He was pushed out to wide receiver (three catches, 21 yards), thanks to the emergence of Neiko Hollins, who claimed the starting quarterback role midway through last season and did not let go. With Hollins out of the picture after transferring this summer, the door is open once again for Morton to take the reigns.

It was Morton who started for Panthers in their 2016 meeting with the Owls, the only other game between these two schools. He threw for 278 yards on 18-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also picked up 47 yards on the ground, including a 39-yard touchdown run.

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

Recent Posts

2018 Old Dominion Monarchs Season Preview

By

Rice football will experience many firsts in the first year of the Mike Bloomgren era. They’re hoping one such first is their first win over the Old Dominion Monarchs.

Old Dominion has been a sneaky strong team since joining the FBS in 2014. The Monarchs came one win shy of a bowl berth last season, finishing 5-7. They hold  26-23 record in three seasons in Conference USA, headlined by a 10-win campaign in 2016. Several of those pieces remain on the team, although many have been supplanted with fresh talent.

Head coach Bobby Wilder enters his 10th season in Norvolk, Virginia having spanned the FCS and FBS eras of the school. During his tenure, the Monarchs are 22-9 at home and 11-18 away. That could suggest a strong finish; ODU has three-straight home games before ending their regular season on Nov. 24 against Rice on the road.

Rice and Old Dominion have met two times with the Monarchs holding a perfect 2-0 advantage in series history. Both games so far have been close, each ending in three-point victories for ODU. Here’s how the Monarchs will stack up entering 2018:

Offense

The Monarchs return the vast majority of their skill players from a year ago. Outside of former starting running back Ray Lawry and receiver Melvin Vaughn, the team is more or less intact from a year ago. That should be a good sign for ODU, but much of the burden of offensive improvement will rest on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback Steven Williams.

Reasons for optimism on that front are abundant. Williams was thrust into the fray midway through last season and had to learn on the fly. He started slow (0-6, 49.4 percent completions, four touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first six games before ending with a bang (3-1, 68.1 percent completions, two touchdowns and no interceptions).

A step forward for Williams should push the receiving corps forward as well. Four of the Monarchs’ five leading receivers return this season and four of them averaged at least 11 yards per reception. Moving the ball downfield should be an area this offensive improves this season. Five returning starters on the offensive line should help to that end.

At running back senior Jeremy Cox should be next in line. He registered more rushing attempts that Lawry last year but wasn’t nearly as productive, averaging 4.2 yards per carry to Lawry’s 5.6 He does bring a more versatile skillset to the team, though. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound back moonlighted as an adequate pass catcher last season, catching 20 passes for 176 yards.

Defense

The defense also brings back a good amount of experience, starting up front on the defensive line. ODU was fourth in Conference USA with 31 sacks last season and lost just 5.5 of those sacks this offseason. The Monarchs have a pair of All-CUSA first team standouts on the line: defensive tackle Miles Fox and end Oshane Ximines.

If that line can generate pressure up front they’ll make things a lot easier for a secondary that had its issues a season ago. The Monarchs finished in the middle of the conference in passing yards allowed but registered only five interceptions while surrendering 18 touchdowns through the air. A veteran group led by strong safety Justin Noye and Justice Davila will be tasked with being more aggressive against the pass.

That leaves the linebackers. Marvin Branch and Jordan Young anchored the ODU defense in the middle last season, accounting for 96 and 85 tackles, respectively. They were also active against the pass, registering seven combined passes defensed.

If the defense can stay healthy, which was a problem for them at times last season, this could become one of the most improved units in Conference USA. Depth concerns prevent sky-high expectations, but the talent is definitely there for ODU in 2018.

Schedule

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

Recent Posts