Rice defeated Houston Christian 31-3 on Saturday at Rice Stadium in their first meeting. The Owls’ ground game dominated, with 465 rushing yards. Scott Abell secured his first season-opening win as Rice’s head coach since 1989.
The Owls opened their 2026 season with a decisive victory over Houston Christian, an FCS institution from the Southland Conference. After falling behind 3-0 early, Rice responded with 31 unanswered points. The Huskies, coming off a 34-28 upset victory over Southeastern Louisiana, were unable to contain Rice’s rushing attack.
Rice’s offense focused heavily on running the ball, accumulating 487 total yards with only 28 passing yards. Tyvonn Byars led the Owls’ ground game with 16 carries for 104 yards. Jacurri Brown added 98 yards on 13 carries, and D’Andre Hardeman contributed 77 yards. Quinton Jackson scored two touchdowns on runs of 7 and 12 yards, while Hardeman scored the first touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run. Enock Gota added a 26-yard field goal and missed a 51-yard attempt.
Lukasz Smolen’s 42-yard field goal in the first quarter was the only score for Houston Christian. The game was delayed 20 minutes due to lightning. Jacurri Brown became the ninth different Rice player to start a season opener at quarterback in the last 11 seasons. Chase Jenkins started at quarterback for the Owls’ 2025 opener. Scott Abell became the eighth Owls head coach to win his first two season openers, the first since Fred Goldsmith in 1989.
Individual rushing statistics for Houston Christian included Dozier with 86 yards, Middleton with 29, and Harris with 17. For Rice, in addition to the aforementioned players, Morgan ran for 54 yards, Ochoa for 34, and Mosey for 24.
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