Next up for Rice football, a road trip to Navy. 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 Charlotte game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Navy.
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 unique part of this would be I know their staff. I know coach [Brian] Newberry well. We’ve crossed paths many times in our life as friends, as coaches, comparing notes. There’s certainly some things we all don’t know about each other, but there’s probably a lot we do know about each other’s programs that makes this probably a little more unique. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on his relationship with Navy head coach Brian Newberry
I think it’s incredibly special… I’m honored to be part of such a game and I’m honored to be playing there. There’s a lot of history there. What are men and women do in service, I’ve talked about this before in my interviews, I’m incredibly grateful. It’s people like that that allow all of us to do the things we dearly love to do. I am grateful I’m honored to be in this game and this rivalry. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the meaning of playing against the Naval Academy
It’s going to give me an opportunity to talk about two things. One, an offense I incredibly respect. I think they’re talented. I think they’re coached incredibly well, in all phases. Offense, defense, and as a team. They have a very veteran group on offense. You have a senior quarterback that’s probably able to make adjustments as quick as his offensive coordinator. He’s incredibly intelligent, and he’s really athletic. He doesn’t get enough credit for the type of athlete, the type of quarterback he is. People see him in that system, they think, oh, he’s a good athlete. He’s a triple option guy. I think he’s a really good quarterback. He’s a kid I remember watching coming out of high school. I had my eye on him from Davidson, obviously he went bigger. I think they’ll give us a lot to defend. There’s a lot in there. They’re older. They’ve been in their system now some time and they’re comfortable.–Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the Navy offense and quarterback Blake Horvath
I see the progression every single day. At practice, we’re ready to work. We have high energy. One thing we need to work at is being consistent and finishing drives. It’s really hard coming in, learning a new offense. But once we learn how to finish drive and be consistent, I think we’ll be a really dangerous offense. I see improvement every single day. People are willing to learn and just like coach mentioned, the next man up mentality. Everybody from ones, to twos to threes, everybody’s working on trying to improve on their craft. I think we’re improving every single day. – Running back Quinton Jackson on the progression of the offense
There are very high expectations. I feel like there’s definitely still room to improve; there’s always going to be room for that. I feel like we’ve gotten off to a good start, but like coach [Jon] Kay always says, there’s always things we can do better, little things we can do better, really just focusing on the minor details of our defense. No complacency around here. We’re continuing to focus on getting better every week.- Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch on the play of the defense to this point
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There were two notable changes to the depth chart this week, both injury related. Landon Ransom, who left the Charlotte game with an injury is not listed. Neither is safety Jack Kane, who also did not finish the game on Thursday. I’ve have updates on their timetables in the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published shortly.
Outside of those injuries, there was some shuffling in the secondary as a result. Peyton Stevenson, who had been listed at viper has moved back to free safety with Jo Chavez taking his spot and elevating Plae Wyatt onto the two-deep for the first time this season.
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McCaffrey caught three passes for 56 yards on Sunday, finishing second on the team in receiving yards. More importantly, he took this long 43-yard reception all the way for his first NFL touchdown.
Granson saw just two snaps with the Eagles’ offense in Week 3 but played a core role on special tams, registering a tackle for his third consecutive week.
Boswell wasn’t called upon for any field goal duty this weekend but did fulfill his duties on extra points on the three occasions he was summoned from the sideline. He remains a perfect 5-of-5 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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The first conference win of the Scott Abell era concluded on Thursday night with Rice Football cruising past Charlotte on the road. Here are our reactions to the win.
With the nation watching in Prime Time on Thursday night, Rice football was clearly the better team in their controlled takedown of Charlotte on the road. The Owls improved to 3-1 for the first time to start a season since 2001 and this year’s squad showed improvement in multiple phases of the game from last week to this week. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 213.
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Rice Football vs Charlotte Game Recap
Start to finish, Rice football controlled a conference game
The offense is showing growth each and every week
Scott Abell and the Owls play aggressive, and it’s working
The defense is physical, and that’s okay
Another banner week for the Owls’
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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.
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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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, 7-6 Last Five | Navy leads, 4-1 Last Meeting | Home 2024, Rice won 24-10
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.
Injury Report (Subscribers only)
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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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Here’s our Rice football report card for every position group through four games, doing our best to provide an honest assessment of the Owls so far.
A Thursday night tilt against Charlotte gives Rice football a chance to catch it’s collective breath on Saturday and rest up before a suddenly pivotal game against Navy this coming weekend. It’s also marks the completion of the first third of the season’s game, providing a natural check-in point on the program as head coach Scott Abell works to rebuild it in his image.
From the starting quarterback to the secondary, here’s our evaluation of where things stand through four games and one standout at each position who deserves some extra recognition.
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