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Notre Dame is fresh off of a 28-point victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in this year's installment of the Shamrock Series. This Saturday, they kick off their season inside of Notre Dame Stadium when hosting the Rice Owls who also took care of business this past weekend against Houston Christian. The Irish haven't fared well under head coach Marcus Freeman in home openers but has the opportunity to right the ship 

Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.) 
Date: Saturday – September 12
Time: 3:30 PM ET
TV: NBC/Peacock
Line: Notre Dame -43.5; O/U 55.5 

Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Rice Owls

HEAD COACH –  SCOTT ABELL

Record At Rice: 6-8

Owls head coach Scott Abell is headed into his second year at the helm and is looking to build off of their 5-8 season in 2025. Despite finishing the regular season 5-7, they got a bid to play in the Armed Forces Bowl against Texas State and dropped that game 41-10. This season, Abell has very few returners on offense and defense and will be relying on a heavy influx of portal players including a dynamic runner at quarterback in Jacurri Brown. 

Rice plays in one of the more competitive G6 leagues in the country, the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and will have to improve upon their 5-7 record from last fall while playing teams like UTSA, Army, Tulane and East Carolina with one of their out of conference games being this Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame. Abell picked up win No. 1 of the season this past weekend against Houston Christian in a game where the Owls rushed for 465 yards, but they're gearing up to face one of the best rush defenses in the country. 

Offensive Coordinator: Vince Munch (2nd season) 
Defensive Coordinator: Jon Kay (2nd season) 

RICE 2026 SCHEDULE 

2026 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing: RB Tyvonn Byars – 16 att., 104 yards, 6.5 YPC; QB Jaccuri Brown – 13 att., 98 yards, 7.5 YPC; RB D'Andre Hardeman – 11 att., 77 yards, 7.0 YPC, 1 TD; RB Quinton Jackson – 10 att., 61 yards, 6.1 YPC, 2 TD; RB Carson Morgan – 7 att., 54 yards, 7.7 YPC; QB Gael Ochoa – 4 att., 34 yards, 8.5 YPC, 1 TD

Passing: QB Gael Ochoa – 2-5, 40%, 17 yards, 3.4 YPA, 68.6 Rating; QB Jaccuri Brown – 2-5, 40%, 11 yards, 2.2 YPA, 58.5 Rating 

Receiving: WR Davis Lane – 2 rec., 11 yards, 5.5 YPC; WR Jordan Clark – 1 rec., 11 yards, 11.0 YPC, RB Quinton Jackson – 1 rec., 6 yards, 6.0 YPC

Tackles: LB Beau Barton – 5; DL Chibby Nwajuaku – 5; VYPER Caden VerMaas – 4; LB Cooper King – 3; LB Stone Combs – 3; S Ahran Ogbor; DL Matthew Aribisala – 3; S Koa Akui – 3; DE Aquiantis Clemmons – 3

Tackles For Loss: DL Chibby Nwajuaku – 2.0; DL Tyler Lavallier – 1.0; DL Christopher Clark-Jolivet – 1.0; VYPER Caden VerMaas

Interceptions: N/A

RICE OVERVIEW

Rice is one of the few G6 teams that runs a variation of the triple option, a style of offensive play that bodes well at that level. They brought in Brown, a transfer quarterback who's a dynamic athlete but leaves a lot to be desired as a passer. Thankfully, in Rice's offense, he won't be asked to push the ball down the field much. They had an extremely veteran team from last season but most of those players have left. 

They'll be relying on returners Quinton Jackson at running back, Luke Miller at left tackle and Dillan Botts at defensive tackle to be the foundation for this team that's relying on a heavy influx of portal players. This past cycle, Abell and his staff brought in 20 new faces while losing 22 players to the portal over the winter. 

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