Wk 2 · 2026
Rice Owls at Notre Dame Fighting Irish — Sat, Sep 12
Sat, Sep 12 ·
Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
· NBC FINAL
Weather
No forecast yet. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
at
3:30pET
ND -44.5 · total 54.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential ND by 42.1
What is at stake
A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race. Notre Dame is ranked #3 (AP Top 25 · 2026-10-04).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so
the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a
longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the
good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so
neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats · 2026 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2026 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
Rice form
L 12-28at ECUL 14-16vs UTSAL 24-38at FRESL 21-28vs WMUL 0-52at ND
2026 season
Notre Dame form
W 58-7vs STANW 37-26at UNCW 49-10at PURW 27-10vs MSUW 52-0vs RICE
2026 season
Rice this season
Straight up1-5 · 17% (6 games)
Against the spread3-3 · 50% (6 games)
Over / under2-4 · 33% (6 games)
Notre Dame this season
Straight up6-0 · 100% (6 games)
Against the spread4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Over / under4-2 · 67% (6 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 0
These teams share no opponents on the 2026 schedule.
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Notre Dame leads 2–0 · Notre Dame has won the last 2
2 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
41.5 points toward Notre Dame
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2026-09-12 | Rice 0 — 52 Notre Dame | at ND | Notre Dame |
| 2014 | 2014-08-30 | Rice 17 — 48 Notre Dame | at ND | Notre Dame |
Rice leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Jacurri Brown QB #11 | 36/67, 410 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT |
| Gael Ochoa QB #4 | 2/5, 17 YDS | |
| Rushing | Jacurri Brown QB #11 | 88 CAR, 495 YDS, 4 TD |
| Tyvonn Byars RB #26 | 52 CAR, 208 YDS, 1 TD | |
| DAndre Hardeman Jr. RB #28 | 52 CAR, 200 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Barry Jackson Jr. WR #7 | 7 REC, 102 YDS, 1 TD |
| Jordan Clark WR #19 | 11 REC, 102 YDS | |
| Ben Grice WR #6 | 6 REC, 64 YDS | |
| Max Mosey WR #13 | 2 REC, 45 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | AJ Brown DE #7 | 36 |
| Austin Harnetiaux LB #54 | 32 | |
| Stone Combs LB #33 | 28 | |
| Sacks | Chibby Nwajuaku DL #16 | 2 |
| Matthew Aribisala DL #15 | 1 | |
| Aquantis Clemmons DL #57 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Daveon Hook S #0 | 1 |
| Jerrick Harper CB #5 | 1 |
Notre Dame leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | CJ Carr QB #13 | 88/124, 1197 YDS, 13 TD, 1 INT |
| Noah Grubbs QB #10 | 9/15, 108 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | Aneyas Williams RB #22 | 60 CAR, 266 YDS, 4 TD |
| Nolan James Jr. RB #2 | 55 CAR, 262 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Jonaz Walton RB #20 | 39 CAR, 228 YDS | |
| Receiving | Jordan Faison WR #6 | 25 REC, 371 YDS, 4 TD |
| Micah Gilbert WR #14 | 18 REC, 368 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Jaden Greathouse WR #1 | 8 REC, 108 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Nolan James Jr. RB #2 | 10 REC, 87 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Drayk Bowen LB #34 | 24 |
| Adon Shuler S #8 | 21 | |
| Jaylen Sneed LB #3 | 20 | |
| Sacks | Bryce Young DL #95 | 3 |
| Boubacar Traore DL #5 | 2.5 | |
| Loghan Thomas DL #10 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | Luke Talich S #28 | 2 |
| DJ McKinney CB #2 | 1 | |
| Adon Shuler S #8 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.