Rice Owls (1-0) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0)
September 12, 2026 3:30 pm EDT
The Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -44.5; Over/Under: 54.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Rice Owls and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet Saturday in college football action from Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame. Here’s a Notre Dame vs Rice prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Notre Dame vs Rice pick.
Rice Owls Betting Preview
The Owls had a pretty sketchy year in 2025. Rice would end up going 5-8 overall with a 2-6 stretch in American Conference games. Rice finished ahead of only UAB, Tulsa and Charlotte with that effort. Still, the Owls did make a bowl game: the Armed Forces Bowl versus Texas State. Rice lost that one in a blowout 41-10, though.
Rice played Houston Christian in their opener this year. In that one the Owls held a 17-3 lead by halftime and ended up winning 31-3. QB Jacurri Brown was 2-for-5 for 11 yards alongside 98 rush yards on 13 carries. Quinton Jackson bagged two rush scores while Tyvonn Byars had 16 carries for 104 yards.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Preview
Over on the Notre Dame side, they had some higher expectations last season. The Irish posted a nice 10-2 run overall as an independent. Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll and outscored opponents by a total of 504-211. Their season finished on a 10-game win streak after falling to Miami and Texas A&M in the first two matchups.
Matched up against Wisconsin on Sunday the Irish put up points in every quarter (including double-digits in three of four) during a pretty routine 41-13 win. QB CJ Carr was 19-of-29 for 239 yards and two scores. Aneyas Williams added 20 carries for 90 yards and two scores of his own as the top rusher on the team.
Rice Owls @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Trends: Week 2
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 2, Cooper Flanagan ranks T1st amongst qualified players for catch rate (100.0%) this season.
Rice Owls Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 2, Chibby Nwajuaku ranks T10th amongst FBS players for sacks (2.0) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- Notre Dame ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q4 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
- Notre Dame has won the first quarter in each of its last five games – longest active streak in the FBS.
- Rice ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q2 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
- Rice ranks T1st among FBS teams for Q3 opponent points per game this season (0.0).
Notre Dame vs Rice Prediction
I’ll stay with Notre Dame I suppose. The Irish rolled right through Wisconsin in their big win last weekend, notching 350 yards, 5.7 yards per play, 20 first downs and no turnovers. If there’s a gripe it’s the flaccid 3-of-9 on third downs. The defense surrendered just 67 rush yards, 16 first downs and 5-of-13 on third-down tries alongside a pair of takeaways. Notre Dame outscored the Badgers 28-3 in the second half.
As for Rice, they didn’t even bother passing (28 yards) in their win over Houston Christian—but they didn’t need to. The Owls notched a whopping 465 rush yards, 6.2 yards per play, 27 first downs and a nice 11-of-17 success rate on third-down tries during their blowout. The defense helped on 244 yards allowed (96 passing and a 4-of-13 rate on third downs. This will obviously be a big uptick in competition however, and it won’t be close. Rice’s one-dimensional style could get them into trouble early.
