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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Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Five | Rice leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Home 2023, Rice won 24-21

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 47/69 (68.1 percent), 383 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 73 carries, 353 yards (4.8 yards per carry), 2 TD / Jenkins – 69 carries, 248 yards (3.6 yards per carry) – 3 TD / Alexander – 45 carries, 228 yards (5.1 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | Dickmann – 18 receptions, 168 yards (9.3 yds/rec) / Turner – 13 receptions, 76 yards (5.9 yds/rec) / Thompson – 4 receptions, 66 yards (16.5 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Awe – 38 / Morris – 33 / Williams – 24
Pass Breakups | Crump – 6 / Porter, Williams – 3 / Kane, Dailey – 2
Interceptions | Kane, Wyatt – 1

FAU Stat Notables

Passing | Veltkamp – 121/189 (64.0 percent), 1198 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT
Rushing | Sands – 38 carries, 245 yards (6.4 yds/car), 0 TD / Terrell – 34 carries, 92 yards (2.7 yds/car), 1 TD / Veltkamp – 31 carries, 49 yards (1.6 yds/car), 2 TD
Receiving | Messer – 37 receptions, 363 yards (9.8 yds/rec), 1 TD / Platt – 19 receptions, 247 yards (13.0 yds/rec), 1 TD / Waseem – 15 receptions, 184 yards (12.3 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Hart – 24 / Williams – 21 / Keys – 17
Pass Breakups | Reid, Philord – 3 / Williams, McGhee – 2
Interceptions | None

FAU X-Factor | Limit the big play

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.

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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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Rice football heads to Navy with first place in the American Conference standings up for grabs. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Navy was idle this week. Rice football was anything but. The Owls stole the national spotlight on Thursday, cruising to victory over Charlotte on the road on ESPN to improve to 3-1 for the first time as a program in more than 20 years. That sets up a big game with first place in the American Conference standings on the line. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Navy.

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venue | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Annapolis, MD
TV | CBS SN (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the Contenders

Navy was picked to be one of the frontrunners of the American Conference in the preseason media poll. Rice football was not. The Midshipmen are already off to a strong 2-0 start in league play and could get even further ahead by dispatching the upstart Owls from down South.

More: Rice Football Position Grades Through Four Games

On the other hand, Rice might just be able to further legitimize their hopes of a Cinderella run by knocking off one of the conference’s top dogs at their place and wouldn’t be blamed if they did stumble to a quality opponent in a tough road tilt.

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Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 7-6
Last Five | Navy leads, 4-1
Last Meeting | Home 2024, Rice won 24-10

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 35/48 (72.9 percent), 269 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jenkins – 57 carries, 215 yards (3.8 yards per carry) – 3 TD / Jackson – 58 carries, 293 yards (5.1 yards per carry), 2 TD / Alexander – 42 carries, 222 yards (5.3 yards per carry)
Receiving | Dickmann – 15 receptions, 123 yards (8.2 yds/rec) / Turner – 9 receptions, 49 yards (5.4 yds/rec) / Ransom – 6 receptions, 63 yards (10.5 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Awe – 29 / Morris – 28 / Anyanwu, Stevenson, Kane – 15
Pass Breakups | Crump – 6 / Porter, Williams – 3 / Kane, Dailey – 1
Interceptions | Kane – 1

Navy Stat Notables

Passing | Horvath – 18/25 (72.0 percent), 328 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Tecza – 45 carries, 272 yards (6.0 yds/car), 4 TD / Hovarth – 41 carries, 245 yards (6.0 yds/car), 3 TD / Heidenreich – 24 carries, 209 yards (8.7 yds/car), 3 TD
Receiving | Heidenreich – 10 receptions, 126 yards (12.6 yds/rec), 1 TD / Hutchinson – 3 receptions, 70 yards (23.3 yds/rec), 2 TD
Tackles | Parker – 20 / Pirris, Robinson – 19 / Willis – 14
Pass Breakups | Oniha – 3 / Ross, Hamilton – 2 / Willis, Moutome – 1
Interceptions | Ross, Hamilton, Parker – 1

Navy X-Factor | Stand Out on Defense

Much will be made about the level of impact Horvath’s insertion into the offense had on this Navy program and while that certainly was crucial, Navy’s defense was almost equally important in the program’s rise a year ago. The Midshipmen were third in the conference in turnovers forced and have forced five through three games in 2025.

It’s not just turnovers, though. Navy is third in the conference in sacks per game (3.0) — Rice leads the league at 3.5. The Midshipmen have also forced a decent clip of negative plays. That must be the focal point as they prepare to face off against the Owls’ option attack this week.

Getting Rice behind schedule, whether by disciplined gap assignment or a key big play or two in the right moments will help Navy force the game flow to conform to how they’d like to to progress. That would put them in the driver’s seat and put the visitors in trouble.

Rice X-Factor | Limit Horvath’s Legs

If there’s been a weak spot in what has largely been an impressive season for the Rice defense, it’s been their ability to limit the quarterback run game. Louisiana’s Walker Howard carried the ball for nine times for 47 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and scoring once on the ground. Prairie View A&M’s Tevin Carter ran 15 times for 65 yards and score. Even Houston’s Connor Weigman tallied a rushing touchdown.

Rice was able to neutralize Charlotte’s quarterback run game, but a backup quarterback was under center for most of that contest.

None of those quarterback’s hold a candle to Navy’s Blake Horvath who led the American last year with 7.1 yards per carry, racking up 1246 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns on the ground. Horvath hasn’t been quite as dynamic this year, but Navy really hasn’t needed him to be with the rest of the offense rising to challenge. If things get close, Navy is going to lean on his legs. Rice has to have an answer.

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One Final Thing

A down-and-out Rice football program, playing with an interim head coach, soundly mopped the floor with Navy last season when the Midshipmen had conference championship aspirations. That same Navy program returned some key pieces on offense and head coach Brian Newberry but did see a good amount of turnover on defense.

Rice looks a lot different than it did the last time these team’s met, but they’ve nearly matched their win total from a season ago and appear to be playing with a great level of energy and focus under the new leadership of Scott Abell. The Owls are trying to find their place in the American Conference food chain and haven’t been eaten by any of the conference’s bigger fish quite yet.

Already playing with house money, Saturday’s tilt with Navy offers a very real touchstone to compare what the old regime was able to do at its best with the infancy stages of the Owls’ new leadership which is only scratching the surface of where they believe this program is heading. It’s a perfect example of a program with very little to lose facing one with expectations and a long memory.

Rice football has already won as a double-digit underdog on the road this season — they haven’t lost away from home under Abell yet, in fact — and will come ready to play. Navy had better be ready.

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Rice football is looking to kick off conference play with a win against Charlotte. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and Charlotte played FCS opponents last week and trailed in the first quarter against their respective foes. The Owls caught fire and rolled to a comfortable victory over Prairie View A&M. The 49ers had to hang on for dear life, narrowly escaping with a victory over Monmouth. That sets up an important conference debut for both squads. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Charlotte.

Kickoff time | 6:30 PM CT
Venue | Jerry Richardson Stadium – Charlotte, NC
TV | ESPN (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the Contenders

The road only gets tougher for Charlotte. After the Rice game, they only face two other opponent projected to finish in the bottom half of the conference in the preseason media poll: Temple and North Texas, which hold a combined 5-1 record to this point. Wins might be hard to come by, particularly if they can’t find a way to tame an upstart Rice squad in the early days of their installation of a new scheme.

Rice has a tough schedule the rest of the way, too, but the Owls look to be steadily making strides on offense and have the advantage of a unique offensive philosophy that will make it challenging for opponents. A win in this game could make the dreams of a potential bowl berth tangible in a way that seemed unlikely just three weeks ago.

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Series History

All Time | Tied, 3-3
Last Five | Charlotte leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Home 2024, Charlotte won 21-20

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 27/37 (73.0 percent), 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jenkins – 47 carries, 144 yards (3.1 yards per carry) – 2 TD / Jackson – 46 carries, 213 yards (4.6 yards per carry), 2 TD / Alexander – 32 carries, 149 yards (4.7 yards per carry)
Receiving | Dickmann – 11 receptions, 84 yards (7.6 yds/rec) / Turner – 7 receptions, 33 yards (4.7 yds/rec) / Ransom – 4 receptions, 57 yards (14.3 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Morris – 20 / Awe – 18 / Kane – 15
Pass Breakups | Crump – 4 / Porter, Daley – 2 / Kane – 1
Interceptions | Kane – 1

Charlotte Stat Notables

Passing | Harrell – 56/83 (67.5 percent), 365 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Stokes – 32 carries, 96 yards (3.0 yds/car), Gainey – 23 carries, 94 yards (3.6 yds/car), 1 TD
Receiving | Jai Mason – 16 receptions, 284 yards (17.8 yds/rec), 3 TD / Nicholas – 17 receptions, 177 yards (10.4 yds/rec) / Burris – 6 receptions, 72 yards (12.0 yds/rec)
Tackles | Conley – 20 / Taylor – 19 / Solomon – 14
Pass Breakups | Seven each tied with one
Interceptions | None

Charlotte X-Factor | Don’t Make It Harder On Yourself

The 49ers’ proclivity toward self-inflicted wounds played a pivotal role in their near-upset at the hands of Monmouth. They committed 11 penalties for 103 yards, a mark among the worst in the nation last week. And it wasn’t a one-off mistake. Charlotte enters Week 4 ranked 12th in the American Conference with 7.7 penalties per game, averaging 66.7 penalty yards against them through three games.

For a program with a new coaching staff already facing an uphill battle, making the situation harder than it has to be is something that must be avoided. Getting first downs and getting off the field on defense are things that are hard enough without adding yardage and giving opponents extra chances.

Rice X-Factor | Limit the Big Play

Even without accounting for the challenging opponents Rice football has faced in its first three games, the Owls rank fourth in the American in total defense, allowing just 294 yards per game. On a down-to-down basis, they’ve been one of the most reliable units in the league. However, the big play has been their demise on more than one occassion.

Houston broke that game open with three long scoring plays, relegated Rice in a tie for tenth in the American with four plays of 40+ yards allowed this season. FAU, UTSA and UAB are the teams keeping Rice company at the bottom of the standings in that metric. All rank in the bottom half of the league in total defense.

Lastly, Charlotte won this game a year ago thanks to two big shot play touchdowns to receiver O’Mega Blake, spoiling an otherwise stingy defensive effort. If Rice can keep the lid on this one, they should have plenty of other avenues to pull out a road win.

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One Final Thing

By virtue of a 2-1 and the recent history of games between these two programs, Thursday’s matchup carries more pressure for the visiting team than might have initially been expected. The added strain on the 49ers, who have to prepare for an option offense on a short week, should tilt things even further in favor of the Owls, who have already proven they can win big games on the road this season.

Oddsmakers have released early lines that list the Owls as somewhere between 4.5 to 5.5 point favorites on the road. While a loss wouldn’t entirely erode the goodwill this program has built up in a few short weeks, it’s undeniable the earned expectation entering this game is a win and a potential 3-1 start for a team Vegas pegged as a 3.5 win squad coming into the season.

That’s a high bar for a program that hasn’t fully clicked on offense and is much thinner in the secondary than they’d hoped to be at this point in the season.

Still, the expectations are the expectations and Rice fans expect this game to be another win. If the team can deliver on that front and return to Houston with a winning record, it would be hard to evaluate the start of the Scott Abell era as anything other than a tremendous success. That might still be true at 2-2, but it’s impossible to understate the opportunity at hand.

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• The Roost Podcast | Ep 214 – Rice Football sunk by Navy
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Rice football is looking for their first home win of the 2025 season when they host Prairie View A&M. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Both Rice football and Prairie View A&M are coming off in-state losses suffered on their home turf. The Owls dropped a rivalry game to Houston, ceding the Bayou Bucket to the team across town. Prairie View lost to upstart UT Rio Grande Valley, playing in their first ever game against a Division 1 opponent. Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Prairie View A&M.

Kickoff time | 6:00 PM CT
Venue | Rice Stadium – Houston, TX
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the contenders

Finally taking on a program that won’t be a multi-touchdown favorite against them, Rice needs this upcoming contest against Prairie View to be their get-right game as the ready themselves for conference play the following weekend. For the Panthers, head coach Tremaine Jackson would love to show some competitiveness after his team beat Texas Southern in their opener before falling at home Saturday.

Get the Inside Scoop

Get access to practice reports, analysis and special features during the week when you subscribe to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon today. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to attack this week’s opponent, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. Don’t miss out! Join now!

Series History

All Time | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Five | Rice leads, 2-0
Last Meeting | Home 2018, Rice won 31-28

Rice Football Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 17/21 (81.0 percent), 95 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 37 carries, 171 yards (4.6 yards per carry), 1 TD / Alexander – 25 carries, 129 yards (5.2 yards per carry)
Receiving | Dickmann – 7 receptions, 52 yards (7.4 yds/rec), Turner – 5 receptions, 27 yards (5.4 yds/rec)
Tackles | Morris – 18, Kane – 13 , Awe – 12
Pass Breakups | Crump, Porter, Daley – 2, Kane – 1
Interceptions | Kane – 1

PVAMU Stat Notables

Passing | Peters – 32/56 (57.1 percent), 365 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Bingmon – 31 carries, 171 yards (5.5 yds/car), Peters – 21 carries, 76 yards (3.6 yds/car)
Receiving | Rockwell – 15 receptions, 186 yards (12.4 yds/rec), 0 TD, Ojo – 8 receptions, 116 yards (14.5 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Roberts – 16, Parker – 13, Ojiaku – 12
Pass Breakups | Starling, Davis, Moore each tied with one
Interceptions | None

PVAMU X-Factor | Limit the Explosive Plays

Prairie View is allowing 24 points per game through their first two contest. And while the defense has been serviceable, their propensity to surrender the big play, particularly on the ground could be their Achille’s heel against the Owls. Four different ball carries have notched a carry of 20+ yards against the Panthers who allowed UTRGV’s Nathan Denney to eclipse the century mark.

An option running attack is designed to exploit those very miscues and turn missed run fits into big plays. Through two weeks, the Rice football offense hasn’t fully taken off and gotten into a groove on the ground. That’s exactly what Prairie View has to avoid if they want to be competitive in this game.

Rice X-Factor | Win the Line of Scrimmage

Much of the energy this week will be focused on engineering a breakout performance on offense, combining two weeks of game film with the easiest opponent on the schedule to date. And while get the option going would undoubtedly be the most encouraging thing the Owls could take away from this game, winning the matchup has to start up front.

Rice football has already showcased what a dominant effort in the trenches looks like this season, holding a talented Louisiana team to one touchdown across four quarters largely because quarterback Walker Howard never had a free moment to operate. The potential for disruption should be amplified this week against an FCS opponent. Likewise, the offensive line should expect more push. Win on both fronts, and this game should go in favor of the Blue and Gray.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

Rice football hasn’t really played an opponent on their caliber quite yet and that will remain true this weekend when they take on Prairie View. It’s been encouraging to see this team hang with rosters with more talent and bodies with more size and speed. Now it should be the Owls’ turn to do the same to somebody else.

Physical domination should be enough to secure a win and get this team to 2-1, already ahead of schedule according to consensus from the oddsmakers’ expectations. But this game is the perfect opportunity to refine the option attack, master additional concepts and work on building the level of complexity and execution necessary to employ it effectively against conference foes.

This game is about more than just finding a way to win. It’s about setting the program up with its best chance to find success in the weeks to come.

Recent Posts

• The Roost Podcast | Ep 214 – Rice Football sunk by Navy
• American Conference Football 2025: Week 5 Roundup
• Rice Football comes up short against Navy
• Know Your Foe: Rice Football vs Navy