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.

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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.

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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 211 – 2025 Rice Football falls to Houston
• Rice Football 2025 Game Preview: Prairie View A&M
• American Conference Football 2025: Week 2 Roundup
• Rice Football Falls to Houston in Home Opener

Rice football kicks off its first game of the 2025 season this week as the Owls travel to Louisiana. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

Following months of anticipation, the Scott Abell era of Rice football arrives in earnest this week with the Owls’ season opening matchup against Louisiana. Can the new-look option attack surprise the Ragin’ Cajuns on the road? Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup between Rice and Louisiana.

Kickoff time | 7:00 PM CT
Venue | Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium – Lafayette, LA
TV | ESPN+ (Viewing Guide)
Radio | Varsity Radio App (Online)

Sizing up the contenders

This season opening game features two programs in very different places than they were when they last met in 2022. Rice football is hitting the reset button with a new coach and a new scheme. Louisiana, on the other hand, is a few years ahead of the Owls in that process. The Ragin’ Cajuns were in the hunt for the Group of 5 Playoff berth when the calendar turned to November a season ago and retain high expectations heading into 2025.

Series History

All Time | Tied, 3-3
Last Five | Louisiana leads, 3-2
Last Meeting | Home 2022, Rice won 33-21

Rice Football Career Stat Notables

Passing | Jenkins – 13/19 (68.4 percent), 100 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Jackson – 58 carries, 315 yards (5.4 yards per carry), 1 TD / Jenkins – 15 carries, 84 yards (5.6 yards per carry), 1 TD
Receiving | Walker – 39 receptions, 541 yards (13.9 yds/rec), 4 TD / Turner (UConn/Cincinnati) – 106 receptions, 933 yards (8.8 yds/rec), 5 TD / Jackson – 11 receptions, 69 yards (6.3 yds/rec), 1 TD
Tackles | Boenisch – 97, Awe – 94, Morris – 66
Pass Breakups | Crump – 11, Wyatt – 7, Hook -5
Interceptions | Crump – 3, Kane – 2

Louisiana Career Stat Notables

Passing | Howard (LSU/Ole Miss) – 5/10 (50.0 percent), 63 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing | Davis – 199 carries, 985 yards (4.9 yards per carry), 12 TD
Receiving | Williams – 57 receptions, 675 yards (11.8 yds/rec), 3 TD
Tackles | Skipper – 128, Whitfield – 93, Tomlinson (Richmond) – 90
Pass Breakups | Tomlinson (Richmond) – 14, Skipper – 6, Jackson – 3
Interceptions | Jackson – 3, Tomlinson/Skipper – 1

Louisiana X-Factor | Learning on the job

This is a vastly different Louisiana team from the one that Rice football met in Houston two seasons ago and even still quite different than the Cajuns’ team that had College Football Playoff hopes last fall. New starting quarterback Walker Howard has yet to see meaningful collegiate action. Ditto for key receiver Shelton Sampson, also an SEC transfer.

The defense is more of the same, with seven new starters on that side of the ball and their top tacklers from 2024 nowhere to be seen. Continuity with the coaching staff will help, but the reality is this is a team with a significant amount of new pieces that will be working together in the heat of battle for the first time.

Many of those learning curves will be smoothed out by the time Louisiana gets a few games under its belt, but in Week 1, much of that new-season jitters could still be in play.

Rice X-Factor | Protect the Football

Fumbles are momentum killers for any offense, but they are particularly crippling for option attacks. When the option is running smoothly, all parties involved are in sync, exchanges are seamless and the ball matriculates down the field with uneventful ease. Issues arise when everyone isn’t on the same page, wires are crossed and the ball ends up on the ground.

Repping this offense throughout the spring and into the fall camp was a good start, but there’s nothing that can completely replicate the rigor and strain of live action, full-tackle football against a quality opponent. The Owls are going to find out rather quickly just how regimented they have become in their reads and whether or not they can perform them with regularity when the lights come on.

Some hiccups along the way are to be expected, particularly with everyone on the offense being so new to this scheme. However, there isn’t a grace period when it comes to this season and the Owls aren’t opening against a lower-level cupcake. Too many mistakes on Saturday could result in an underwhelming beginning to this campaign.

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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One Final Thing

It hasn’t quite all been sunshine and rainbows since Rice football head coach Scott Abell was hired in December, but it would be hard to describe the last nine months as anything other than a honeymoon period. New gifts were exchanged in the form of an exciting offensive scheme and intriguing transfer portal additions, but no games have been played to this point. That changes on Saturday.

On Saturday, there will be a play call that doesn’t work a decision that draws a “what if” and something that goes against the Owls’ favor. Suddenly, the first bad news will arrive and all those good intentions and months of preparation will be held to the fire to be tested on the road against what appears to be a quality opponent.

It’s a long season and all of us must avoid the tendency to overreact to this one data point in a week’s time. However, there’s a good deal at stake in a contest that will put this gun option offense on display against an FBS opponent for the first time. No matter how the chips fall, this is a huge weekend for the program.

Recent Posts

• The Roost Podcast | Ep 211 – 2025 Rice Football falls to Houston
• Rice Football 2025 Game Preview: Prairie View A&M
• American Conference Football 2025: Week 2 Roundup
• Rice Football Falls to Houston in Home Opener