Rice
Rice is 1-8 and No. 120 of 138 in the machine's ratings, 13.6 points below an average FBS team. Last game: lost 52-23 at North Texas in Week 10.
Week 11: vs Tulane, Saturday, Nov 14: the matchup, unit by unit
Why Rice is No. 120
- Rice's rating is −13.6: the machine's estimate that Rice is 13.6 points worse than an average FBS team on a neutral field. That is No. 120 of 138. For scale, 0 is an average FBS team: right now the closest to it is No. 68 Arizona State (0.2).
- It started the season at −13.4, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index from July. Its results since have moved it down 0.2.
- The biggest weekly moves: −2.8 after Week 7 (L 17-38 vs Tulsa) and +0.8 after Week 8 (L 49-51 at Florida Atlantic).
- Its record is 1-8. The 8 losses were to No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 62 North Texas, No. 72 Fresno State, No. 77 UTSA, No. 78 Western Michigan, No. 81 Tulsa, No. 90 East Carolina, No. 101 Florida Atlantic, by 17.9 points on average. The win came by 28 points. The rating weighs how much a team won or lost by and against whom, not just the win-loss count.
- Its FBS opponents so far average No. 71 in the machine's ratings.
- Just above is No. 119 Marshall (−13.6); just below is No. 121 New Mexico State (−13.8).
The rating, week by week
Strengths and weak spots
Head coach
Scott Abell is in his 2nd season at Rice (since 2025). This season: 1-8. At Rice overall: 6-16, counting this season.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Team stats
Season totals and averages over 9 games, each with its national rank among 138 FBS teams (No. 1 = best). The game-by-game story is in the season, week by week.
Passing
| Completions-attempts | 57-117 |
|---|---|
| Passing yards | 832 |
| Touchdowns-interceptions | 4-3 |
| Yards per attempt* | 7.1No. 90 of 138 |
| Explosive pass rate | 10.0%No. 81 of 138 |
| Sacks allowed (rate) | 10.0%No. 133 of 138 |
Rushing
| Carries-yards | 444-2439 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 5.5No. 7 of 138 |
| 10-plus-yard runs (rate) | 13.6%No. 75 of 138 |
| Stuffed at or behind the line (rate) | 16.9%No. 64 of 138 |
Scoring
| Points per game | 21.2No. 113 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play | 5.95No. 55 of 138 |
| Third-down rate | 31.8%No. 128 of 138 |
| Red-zone TD rate | 50.0%No. 115 of 138 |
| Giveaways | 13No. 100 of 138 |
Defense
| Points allowed per game | 34.0No. 128 of 138 |
|---|---|
| Yards per play allowed | 5.93No. 101 of 138 |
| Yards per pass attempt allowed | 7.3No. 83 of 138 |
| Yards per carry allowed | 4.7No. 106 of 138 |
| Sack rate | 3.9%No. 118 of 138 |
| Takeaways | 5No. 137 of 138 |
| Third-down rate allowed | 44.6%No. 123 of 138 |
Totals are the official box score. * Yards per attempt and the rates come from the play-by-play, where passing yards count on completions only, so they can differ from the box score by a play or two.
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Player leaders
The top 3 in each category over the same games. Passing yards count every completion (official box score).
Passing
- Jacurri Brown39-82, 471 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Gael Ochoa16-29, 332 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Patrick Crayton Jr.2-6, 29 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
Rushing
- Jacurri Brown124 carries, 685 yds, 6 TD
- Tyvonn Byars105 carries, 497 yds, 3 TD
- DAndre Hardeman Jr.81 carries, 330 yds, 2 TD
Receiving
- Jordan Clark20 catches, 257 yds, 0 TD
- Braylen Walker6 catches, 111 yds, 1 TD
- Barry Jackson Jr.7 catches, 102 yds, 1 TD
Tackles
- AJ Brown66
- Stone Combs57
- Austin Harnetiaux56
Sacks
- Chibby Nwajuaku2
- Dillan Botts2
- Koa Akui2
Interceptions
- Daveon Hook1
- Jerrick Harper1
- Kyren Condoll1
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
Who's playing
Based on who has actually played this season, from the box scores, not the team's published depth chart. Each bar is that player's share of the team's attempts, carries (quarterbacks left out), catches or tackles. The box score lists no positions, so there is no offensive line here.
Throwing
- Jacurri Brown7 games82 attempts70%
- Gael OchoaMost passes in the last game5 games29 attempts25%
- Patrick Crayton Jr.2 games6 attempts5%
Carrying
- Tyvonn Byars9 games105 carries38%
- DAndre Hardeman Jr.8 games81 carries29%
- Max Mosey8 games23 carries8%
- Carson Morgan2 games12 carries4%
Catching
- Jordan Clark8 games20 catches35%
- Barry Jackson Jr.4 games7 catches12%
- Ben Grice4 games6 catches11%
- Braylen Walker5 games6 catches11%
Tackling
- AJ Brown9 games66 tackles11%
- Stone Combs9 games57 tackles9%
- Austin Harnetiaux9 games56 tackles9%
- Koa Akui9 games49 tackles8%
Data provided by CollegeFootballData.com.
The season, week by week
- Week 1 W 31–3 vs Houston Christian. Houston Christian is an FCS team, so there is no FBS baseline to grade this one against.
- Week 2 L 0–52 at Notre Dame. The pass defense gave ground: Notre Dame got 10.9 yards an attempt, 3.0 over what it usually gains. Lost the turnover battle by 4.
- Week 3 L 21–28 vs Western Michigan. The run game was the strength: 4.8 yards a carry, 1.1 more than Western Michigan usually allows.
- Week 4 L 24–38 at Fresno State. The run game was the strength: 7.5 yards a carry, 3.7 more than Fresno State usually allows. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 5 L 14–16 vs UTSA. The run game struggled: 3.1 yards a carry, 2.2 less than UTSA usually allows.
- Week 6 L 12–28 at East Carolina. The passing game struggled: 4.9 yards an attempt, 2.5 less than East Carolina usually allows. Lost the turnover battle by 2.
- Week 7 L 17–38 vs Tulsa. The pass defense gave ground: Tulsa got 9.2 yards an attempt, 2.4 over what it usually gains. The machine had Rice by 0.3 (51%), so this was a loss it did not see coming.
- Week 8 L 49–51 at Florida Atlantic. The run game was the strength: 9.8 yards a carry, 4.1 more than Florida Atlantic usually allows. Its most yards a carry of the season.
- Week 10 L 23–52 at North Texas. The passing game was the strength: 10.1 yards an attempt, 1.7 more than North Texas usually allows. Lost the turnover battle by 2.