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Rice University Athletics
Saturday, September 12
South Bend, Ind.
2:30 p.m.
Rice University
at
Notre Dame
Photo by: Karen Warren | Rice Athletics
Owls Open Road Slate at #3 Notre Dame
9/11/2026 8:33:00 PM | Football
2:30 kickoff on NBC
Game #2 Rice (1-0) @ #3 Notre Dame (1-0) 2:30 p.m. CT
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
Television: NBC/Peacock Dan Hicks (Play by Play), Jason Garrett (Analyst), Caroline Pineda (Sideline)
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), Luke Mauro (Sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series Information: Sixth Meeting (Notre Dame 5-0)
2026 Rice Football Fact Book
Series Notes
•This is the sixth meeting between the schools and the fourth in South Bend, with Notre Dame winning each of the previous five games.
•Notre Dame won the initial meeting 55-2 in 1915, at West End Field in Houston.
•The Irish blanked Rice 28-0 in 1973 in future College Football Hall of Famer Tommy Kramer's first career start.
•The following year, the Owls took a 3-0 lead in their first appearance in Notre Dame Stadium, and the game was tied until late in the fourth quarter when the 6th-ranked Irish mounted a 20-play drive that consumed 9:45 to take the lead with 3:05 left in the game.
•Top-ranked Notre Dame won 54-11 in 1988… O.J. Brigance led Rice with 13 tackles while defensive back Bill Stone became the first D1 defender to return a blocked kick for two points after Nigel Codrington blocked Notre Dame's final PAT attempt (his second blocked kick of the day).
•In the most recent meeting, Rice fell 48-17 in South Bend to open the 2014 season… Driphus Jackson connected with Zack Wright on a 26-yard touchdown for the Owls' first touchdown in the series to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter, but the Irish answered with a 75-yard TD pass on their next play from scrimmage.
NBC
•This will be Rice's sixth appearance on NBC (1-3-1)
•The Owls made their national television debut on NBC in the 1954 Cotton Bowl with Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange in the booth when they defeated Alabama 28-6 in a game made infamous when Bama's Tommy Lewis came off the bench to tackle Rice's Dicky Maegle who was credited with a 95-yard TD run.
•Nelson and Grange called the Owls' next two appearances on NBC, a 26-6 loss at #1 LSU in 1959 and the 1961 Sugar Bowl, where the Owls fell to #2 Ole Miss 14-6.
•Bill Fleming and Lou Boda called the network's lone broadcast of a game at Rice Stadium, a 6-6 tie with Texas Tech in 1964.
•Dan Hicks, Mike Mayock, Doug Flutie, and Kathryn Tappen handled the broadcast in the Owls' most recent appearance on the network, a 48-17 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend to open the 2014 season.
Notable
Next Up:
Rice returns to Rice Stadium next Saturday to host Western Michigan at 6 p.m.
Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium
Television: NBC/Peacock Dan Hicks (Play by Play), Jason Garrett (Analyst), Caroline Pineda (Sideline)
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), Luke Mauro (Sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series Information: Sixth Meeting (Notre Dame 5-0)
2026 Rice Football Fact Book
Series Notes
•This is the sixth meeting between the schools and the fourth in South Bend, with Notre Dame winning each of the previous five games.
•Notre Dame won the initial meeting 55-2 in 1915, at West End Field in Houston.
•The Irish blanked Rice 28-0 in 1973 in future College Football Hall of Famer Tommy Kramer's first career start.
•The following year, the Owls took a 3-0 lead in their first appearance in Notre Dame Stadium, and the game was tied until late in the fourth quarter when the 6th-ranked Irish mounted a 20-play drive that consumed 9:45 to take the lead with 3:05 left in the game.
•Top-ranked Notre Dame won 54-11 in 1988… O.J. Brigance led Rice with 13 tackles while defensive back Bill Stone became the first D1 defender to return a blocked kick for two points after Nigel Codrington blocked Notre Dame's final PAT attempt (his second blocked kick of the day).
•In the most recent meeting, Rice fell 48-17 in South Bend to open the 2014 season… Driphus Jackson connected with Zack Wright on a 26-yard touchdown for the Owls' first touchdown in the series to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter, but the Irish answered with a 75-yard TD pass on their next play from scrimmage.
NBC
•This will be Rice's sixth appearance on NBC (1-3-1)
•The Owls made their national television debut on NBC in the 1954 Cotton Bowl with Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange in the booth when they defeated Alabama 28-6 in a game made infamous when Bama's Tommy Lewis came off the bench to tackle Rice's Dicky Maegle who was credited with a 95-yard TD run.
•Nelson and Grange called the Owls' next two appearances on NBC, a 26-6 loss at #1 LSU in 1959 and the 1961 Sugar Bowl, where the Owls fell to #2 Ole Miss 14-6.
•Bill Fleming and Lou Boda called the network's lone broadcast of a game at Rice Stadium, a 6-6 tie with Texas Tech in 1964.
•Dan Hicks, Mike Mayock, Doug Flutie, and Kathryn Tappen handled the broadcast in the Owls' most recent appearance on the network, a 48-17 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend to open the 2014 season.
Notable
- Rice has dropped its last five games vs. ranked opponents since shutting out #17 Marshall 17-0 on the road in 2020.
- The Owls' last three matchups against ranked opponents have come at home and all been in American Conference games (#22 Tulane in 2024, #25 Memphis & #25 North Texas last season).
- Saturday's game will mark the first time Rice has faced an opponent ranked in the top 5 in the polls since the Owls lost at #5 Baylor 70-17 in 2015.
- Rice's last win over a Top 5 team was a 20-17 win over #5 Texas in Austin in 1965, and the Owls' last win over a Top 10 team came in 1991 to #8 Baylor in Waco by the same score.
- Rice's 493 total yards in the opener vs. HCU were the most since recording 550 against South Florida on Nov. 30, 2024.
- Rice's 458 rushing yards were the most since rushing for 496 against SMU on Oct. 9, 2004.
Next Up:
Rice returns to Rice Stadium next Saturday to host Western Michigan at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 09
Saturday, December 04
Thursday, December 02