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Enter Now: The Roost’s Bowl Challenge

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Rice Football is postseason-bound, and The Roost wants to play along. Join our free Bowl Mania Challenge. We’ll dish out prizes to the top finishers in January.

We’re running it back again this year with another edition of The Roost’s Bowl Challenge. Join the pool here, it’s completely free. This year’s winner can expect a gift card from our partners at Homefield Apparallel, plus additional prizes for our runners-up.

Join the pool and pop into the discussion on our Discord channel to follow along for the big games and get access to everything you need for Rice football vs Texas State on January 2nd. We’ll have practice updates and more on the site throughout the month, making now the perfect time to subscribe.

Know of someone who needs to get plugged in? You can now gift memberships of any length to The Roost! From one month to a full year, share this perfect stocking stuffer for friends and family now!

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 222 – Rice Football Surprise Bowl!

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The 2025 Rice Football season isn’t done yet. The Owls are going bowling and have drawn a postseason rematch with Texas State in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Good grades have gotten Rice football to the postseason for the second time in four years. The Owls are officially going bowling and will play Texas State in the Armed Forces Bowl on January 2. Carter and Matthew walk through the journey it took to get here and break down the significance of this particular extra game for the Owls in Year 1 under head coach Scott Abell.

We talked through it all. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 222.

Episode Notes

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We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

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Rice Football to play Texas State in Armed Forces Bowl

  • How did we get here?
  • Why a bowl berth matters so much for Rice football this year
  • Texas State rematch
  • More Rice Football!

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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Rice Football to play Texas State in Armed Forces Bowl

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The 2025 Rice Football season isn’t done yet. The Owls are heading to the Armed Forces Bowl to play Texas State.

For the second time in the past four seasons, good grades will work in the favor of Rice football. Although they finished the regular season 5-7 and one win away from securing bowl eligibility, the Owls will accept a bowl bid as the highest-rated program in the Academic Progress Rate that was not already part of the initial field.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Rice football has accepted a bid to play in the Armed Forces Bowl on January 2. This will be the Owls’ second trip to the bowl game, most recently playing in it in 2012. The Owls’ opponent is slated to be Texas State.

“I think any opportunity you have like this in a postseason for your program, especially year one,” head coach Scott Abell said. “The opportunity to go to a ball game, the opportunity to represent Rice. And the possibility of getting Rice its first bowl win since 2014. I’m really excited to take the field with this team one more time, 2025. I’m excited for the experience for our players, our alumni and our fanbase.”

MORE: Scott Abell Inks Tremendous 2026 Rice Football Recruiting Class

Decisions by Kansas State and Iowa State not to play in a bowl game, both of which came on Selection Sunday, opened the door for Rice football to extend its season. This will mark the third bowl game Rice football will play in in the span of four seasons. That’s just the second time the program has achieved that.

Abell made it clear the Owls won’t be content to just show up, though. They want to win.

“I think [a win] would be a great, great way to leave a legacy for these seniors, to wrap up 2025 and really to set the standard for what we want [2026] and the future to look like,” he said. “I think the team will be incredibly proud if they can secure a victory for Rice University and Rice Football and to bring so much joy back to our alumni base who fought so hard to see a better future for our program.”

Rice Football Recent Bowl History

  • 2023 First Responder Bowl: Rice lost to Texas State
  • 2022 Lending Tree Bowl: Rice lost to South Miss
  • 2014 Hawaii Bowl: Rice defeated Freson State
  • 2013 Liberty Bowl: Rice lost to Mississippi State
  • 2012 Armed Forces Bowl: Rice defeated Air Force
  • 2008 Texas Bowl: Rice defeated Western Michigan
  • 2006 New Orleans Bowl: Rice lost to Troy
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The Latest on Rice Football and a Potential Bowl Opportunity

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The 2025 Rice Football season may not be over after all. Here’s what I’m hearing about a potential path for the Owls to play in a bowl game this year.

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Rice Football: APR Path to Bowl Eligibility Unlikely

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Should there be a shortage of six-win teams, Rice football could turn to Academic Progress Rate to reach the postseason. How would that work?

The simplest path to bowl eligibility for Rice football would be a win over South Florida on Saturday. A win over the Bulls would be the Owls’ sixth victory of the season and guarantee them a spot in the postseason field. However, should Rice fail to upset USF, there is still technically a path to a bowl game. Here’s what it would take:

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Subscriber content. Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
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