Notre Dame vs Rice Prediction: Odds, expert picks, team and player news, betting trends, and stats

Notre Dame (1-0) hosts Rice (1-0) for the Fighting Irish's 2026 home opener. Notre Dame whacked Wisconsin in Week 1, 41-13, outscoring the Badgers 28-3 in the second half. Rice was at home versus Houston Christian (FCS) and won 35-3.

The Fighting Irish lost two defensive starters in the win over Wisconsin, DB Brauntae Johnson and DL Jason Onye. Luckily, Notre Dame has plenty of depth and it won't impact them much against Rice. The Irish's rush defense was strong (2.2 ypc), but it was all about the Notre Dame's rushing attack. All eyes were on the running back committee due to losing both Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL. Aneyas Williams came out of the backfield the clear cut winner with 20 attempts, 90 yards, and two touchdowns. Nolan James Jr. and Kedren Young combined for 10 carries and 27 rushing yards, but James had four receptions for 67 yards and a score. Notre Dame could become one-dimensional if Williams or this running back stable isn't producing weekly on the ground, but I think CJ Carr (239 yards, 2 TDs) is ready for that.

Rice runs an untraditional triple option offense out of the shotgun or pistol formations, which led to 465 rushing yards and four TDs on 70 carries in Week 1! Granted, that was against an FCS team, Rice still ran the ball 70 times versus 10 pass attempts in a 35-3 win. The Owls ranked 25th in the country last season with 192.8 rushing yards per game and the fourth-most rushing attempts per game (48.9). However, in Rice's only ranked matchup last year, the Owls ran for 112 yards on 46 carries versus Memphis, their lowest total in the regular season and second-fewest overall (Texas State).

Let’s dive into the schools on both sides of the ball, look at a few key players, and see where the numbers take us.

Game Details and How to Watch Notre Dame vs Rice

• Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
• Time: 3:30 PM Eastern
• Site: Notre Dame Stadium
• City: Notre Dame, IN
• TV/Streaming: NBC | Peacock

Game Odds for Notre Dame vs Rice

The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: Notre Dame (N/A), Rice (N/A)
• Spread: Notre Dame -44.5 (-118)
• Total: 55.5 points

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Head Coach: Marcus Freeman
2026 Record: 1-0
Offensive Points Per Game: 41 (T-18th)
Defensive Points Per Game: 13 (T-20th)
2026 Strength of Schedule: 48th

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Offense:

CJ Carr led a Notre Dame offense that looked much more fluid in the second half than the first. Notre Dame entered the half up 13-10 and left with a 41-13 victory. Carr tossed two touchdowns and 239 yards on 19-of-29 (65.5%). The Irish outgained the Badgers in yards, 350-284, didn't turn the ball over once, and recorded four penalties on a neutral field. There were a lot of positives to take away from the Irish despite the negatives about this team circulating the media.

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Offense: RB Aneyas Williams

The Notre Dame backfield was the biggest question mark going into the 2026 season. While Aneyas Williams may not be able to produce at last year's rate, he certainly answered some of the questions we had this offseason. Wisconsin has a good rush defense, but primarily the front seven is nasty. Despite that, Williams ran the rock 20 times for 90 yards and two second-half touchdowns. In Williams' limited role as the third running back in 2025, Williams had 24 carries for 224 yards and five touchdowns — all in blowouts. It's good to see someone stepping up for the Irish and Rice could be another confidence booster for Williams ahead of Michigan State on the 19th.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defense:

The Notre Dame defense is down two starters, S Brauntae Johnson and DL Jason Onye. The two are future NFL players, so the losses certainly hurt, but both are expected to sit for a few games. Without them, the Irish held Wisconsin to three points in the second half and stuffed everything the Badgers wanted to do on the ground. Notre Dame held Wisconsin to 67 rushing yards on 31 carries (2.2 ypc) and won the turnover battle 2-0. Wisconsin was able to move the ball somewhat with 16 first downs to Notre Dame's 20, but the Badgers were stopped eight times on third downs!

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Defense: DL Boubacar Traore

In the season opener, Boubacar Traore had himself a day. Versus Wisconsin, Traore had three tackles, two tackles for a loss, and one sack. Last year, he had 6.5 sacks, which led Notre Dame, and his 37 tackles were sixth on the team. With Rice being such a run heavy offense (triple option), Traore will have an opportunistic day ahead of him and could rack up multiple tackles for loss…again.

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Rice Owls

Head Coach: Scott Abel
2026 Record: 1-0 (0-0)
Offensive Points Per Game: 31.0 (NR)
Defensive Points Per Game: 3.0 (NR)
2026 Strength of Schedule: 75th

The Rice Owls Offense:

Runs, runs, and more runs are what you should expect to see from the Owls. After posting the fourth-most rushing attempts last year (48.9), Rice took things to another level with 70 rush attempts in Week 1. It resulted in 465 yards and four touchdowns, so not too shabby, granted it was against an FCS opponent, Houston Christian. However, Notre Dame poses as a top 10 rush defense and Rice will attempt to try and exploit that through their triple option offense and multiple ball carriers. Against Memphis and State, two of Rice's toughest opponents, the Owls were held to their season-lows in rushing (112, 101).

Rice Player to Watch on Offense: QB Jaccuri Brown

Jaccuri Brown ran the ball 13 times for 98 yards (7.5 ypc), both ranking second against Houston Christian. Five players carried the ball at least seven times in the blowout win and the Owls other quarterback, Gael Ochoa, ran four times for 34 yards and a score. Neither quarterback threw much, but Brown did throw a touchdown and completed 3-of-6 passes for 18 yards. Edging out Ochoa who went 2-of-5 for 17 yards.

The Rice Owls Defense:

We don't know much about the Rice defense, but we'll learn a ton this Saturday. Rice limited Houston Christian to 98 passing yards and an interception on 8-of-23 (34.7%) through the air, but allowed 148 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry. Last year, Houston ran for 204 yards and three touchdowns on Rice in Week 2. Notre Dame will likely attempt to establish their ground game more and Rice is another good opponent for that.

Rice Player to Watch on Defense: DL Chibby Nwajuaku

In the 2026 opener, Chibby Nwajuaku had a monster game of five tackles, two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and one forced fumble. Last year, he had two sacks all season, so he's already matched and set career-highs one game into the season. Nwajuaku will have the opportunity to get a large pay day next year if he has a great game against Notre Dame's offensive line.

Notre Dame and Rice State Team Stats, Betting Trends

• Notre Dame and Rice are 1-0 ATS this season
• Notre Dame is 1-0 to the Over
• Rice is 1-0 to the Under
• Notre Dame is 14-8-1 ATS at home with Marcus Freeman since 2022
• Notre Dame is 28-16-1 ATS as a favorite with Marcus Freeman since 2022
• Notre Dame is 33-21 to the Over with Marcus Freeman since 2022
• Rice is 6-8 ATS with Scott Abel
• Rice is 4-6 ATS as an underdog and 2-2 as a road underdog last season
• The Owls were 7-6 to the Over last season
• The Irish were 7-5 to the Over last season

Rotoworld Best Bets

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Under 55.5:

"I see both teams running, running and running, which normally points toward the Under. Rice ran the ball 70 times last week and while they will have to throw a little more against Notre Dame, it won't work out well. The Owls will be overmatched and getting to 100 rushing yards will be a struggle, similar to how Houston, Memphis and Texas State handled Rice in 2025. Notre Dame will likely want to continue to explore the duo of Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr. at running back, so I see tons of bleeding clock. I lean the Under 55.5."

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