Game #10
Who: Rice (4-5/1-4) vs. UAB (3-5/1-3) 1:00 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Rice Stadium
Television: ESPN+ Shawn Kenney (Play by Play), Forrest Conoly (Analyst) Smacker Miles (Sidelines)
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), Jason Metko (Sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Rice Game Day App, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm
Digital Game Program: Game 10 UAB
Series Information: UAB leads 7-5
2025 Rice Football Fact Book
Full Game Notes
Series Notes
•This will be the 13th meeting between the two schools (UAB leads 7-5), the sixth at Rice Stadium (UAB leads 4-2), and the second at Protective Field (Rice leads 1-0).
•All five of Rice’s wins in the series were by less than seven points and the average margin of victory is 3.8 points.
•Three of Rice’s five wins in the series have come at the end of each game (44 seconds in 2010, 3.5 seconds in 2006, and on the last play of overtime in 2013).
•Chase Clement hit Jarett Dillard with a 9-yard scoring pass with 3.5 seconds left in 2006 to give Rice a 34-33 win at Rice Stadium.
•Jeremy Eddington’s 22-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds left gave the Owls a 28-23 win on Senior Day in 2010.
•Luke Turner’s one-yard run gave Rice a 37-34 win in overtime in 2013, setting the stage for a 17-13 win over Tulane one week later to earn a berth in the C-USA Championship game.
•Rice trailed 17-7 at halftime in the last game at Rice Stadium (2022) and UAB took a 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter… •The Owls moved in front with nine minutes left and ended the Blazers’ last hopes with three consecutive sacks to end the game after UAB had moved to the Rice 35.
Rice is…
•196-222-7 all-time at Rice Stadium.
•47-53-3 in Homecoming games
•10-8 vs. FBS schools in Alabama (Alabama 3-0; Auburn 2-0; UAB 5-7; Troy 0-1).
•5-5 in American Conference games at Rice Stadium (going 2-2 in 2023 and 3-1 last year) and has won three of its last five conference home games as well as four of its last seven American games on home turf, dating back to a 24-21 win over Florida Atlantic to end the 2023 season.
•In the middle of a three-game homestand vs. American Conference teams after opening with three of the first four on the road.
•4-3 this year when the opponent scores first, 0-2 when scoring first.
Homecoming #105
Rice will hold its 105th Homecoming game on Saturday as part of the annual Alumni Weekend. While it began playing football in 1912, the tradition of Homecoming did not make its first appearance at Rice until 1919, when the Owls trounced Arkansas 40-7 to cap the first eight-win season in school history (8-1). The first ten Homecoming games were held on Thanksgiving Day. After not designating one in 1930 as Homecoming, an Owls’ football game has served as the centerpiece of the annual alumni gathering over the next 90 succeeding Autumns until 2020, when the event was held virtually due to the pandemic. The Owls have posted a 48-53-3 record in Homecoming games, including a 24-10 win over Navy last year.
Notable
•As part of this year’s Homecoming activities, each Rice player will wear his Rice college crest on one side of his helmet.
•Scott Abell needs one win to match Al Conover and Ken Hatfield for the third most wins by a Rice football head coach in his first season.
•The Owls have rushed for 1,920 yards this season, their most since they finished 2017 with 2,244.
•True freshmen Cole Principe and Payton Matthews made their first collegiate starts last Saturday, becoming the 16th and 17th Owls to make their first collegiate starts this year. Rice is tied with UTSA and Old Dominion for sixth nationally in first-time starters in 2025.
•Principe became the first true freshman to start for Rice on the offensive line since Issac Klarkowski started the last two games of the 2019 season.
•Alex Bacchetta’s 12 punts of at least 50 yards are a career high and the most by an Owl since All-Pro punter Jack Fox had 26 in 2018.
•Tyvonn Byars’ 43-yard dash on his first career reception gave Rice its fifth player this season to have one play from scrimmage of at least 40 years (Quinton Jackson, 3; Daelen Alexander, Byars, Drayden Dickmann, Aaron Turner, 1 each).
•The Owls also had five players with a play of at least 40 last season, with Dean Connors (4), Kobie Campbell, Quinton Jackson, Elijah Mojarro and Braylen Walker (1 each) combining for nine.
Up Next
The Owls will take next Saturday off before concluding their 2025 home schedule by hosting North Texas on November 22. The game time and broadcast assignment will be announced by the American Conference on Monday.
