Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SEPT. 12, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: RICE COACHING Abell has a strong reputation in the coach- ing community. One opposing American Conference coach told Athlon Sports, "Sche- matically, they do good stuff on offense that challenges people, just because it's so hard to see with that triple option," and also, "Yeah, Abell is gonna do a really good job." Whether he fixes a Rice program that hasn't finished above .500 since 2014 re- mains to be seen. It's worth noting that Abell brought in respected defensive line coach Eli Rasheed, who spent the past 10 seasons at Iowa State and coached 26 All-Big 12 defensive linemen during that time. The issue for Abell and company is that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman tends to over-prepare for the triple option. So much so that the Irish have defeated Navy in their last three matchups by an average of 41 points. Their 49-14 victory over Army in 2024 wasn't much closer. This is nothing new for Notre Dame's coaching staff, which means it's nothing new for its players. Moreover, the Irish return all three coordinators, which should help paper over any early season doldrums they might face. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Strange, but true: Freeman is 0-3 as head coach at Notre Dame in home openers against FBS teams. And in 2021, when he was the defensive coordinator, the Irish needed a last-minute drive to survive against Toledo. As a result, home openers have been an adventure for the Irish regardless of the oppo- nent. The thing about being a great team with championship aspirations is when you lose, it's almost always crushing. But one could make the case that the three most crushing regular-season losses of the Freeman era were Marshall, Northern Illinois and Texas A&M. For a coach who emphasizes "keep the pain," you can bet Freeman will make it ab- solutely clear that Notre Dame fans deserve better for their first Saturday back in South Bend. Between that dynamic and no marquee game to look forward to until mid-October, underestimating Rice shouldn't be an issue. What might be an issue is the short week, especially when preparing for the option. The Irish opened on a Sunday last year, but they followed it up with a Week 2 bye. In a one-bye season, they likely thought it wasn't worth us- ing it this early. That's smart, but it's still a fac- tor against a Rice team with nothing to lose. However, it's been two years since the NIU disaster and the Irish have consistently destroyed the teams they should destroy, especially at home. I trust Freeman and company to keep that trend going. Advantage: Notre Dame Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 45, Rice 3 Given that Rice hasn't enjoyed a winning season since 2014 and Notre Dame enters its first home game of the season as about a five-touchdown favorite, there should be nothing to worry about, right? Yet, given that Marcus Freeman has won only once in his first four Game 2s during his career as Irish head coach — including unthinkable upsets at home in this spot to Marshall in 2022 and Northern Illinois in 2024 — Notre Dame can't look past its overmatched opponent in this one. But with a veteran team, Notre Dame will cure its early season ills and win this one big time. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 52, Rice 0 Nothing can be taken for granted, especially considering Notre Dame's recent history in September, but there is a massive disparity in talent in favor of the Fighting Irish. Head coach Marcus Freeman said a more efficient fall camp had his team better prepared to get off to a good start this season, and I am inclined to believe him. The Owls underwent a roster overhaul with 53 new players joining head coach Scott Abell's program, but oddsmakers list their win total over/under at just 3.5. Abell's signature scheme is a creative, modern option hybrid featuring extensive wingback and shotgun triple-option looks, but that and the talent infusion won't be enough to keep the Owls competitive with the Irish. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 44, Rice 3 Having opened on a Sunday night — and with a night game on the road, at that — the Irish lose a day of prep time and then some in getting ready for their sixth-ever meeting with Rice, this one at Notre Dame Stadium. Rice's modern- ized version of the triple-option could be a bit of a schematic curveball with a short week of practices. Then again, Rice — with the same scheme but a different QB — only man- aged to be the No. 124 team in the FBS last season in total offense and 119th in scoring offense (out of 134). Notre Dame has always had answers in the Freeman era for all variations of triple-option antics. The Rice defense will have very few for what the Irish roll out on offense themselves. Tyler James: Notre Dame 56, Rice 6 Rice welcomed more new players (53) to its 2026 roster than it returned (51) from last season. Head coach Scott Abell might be steering the Owls in the right direction, but he doesn't have a talented enough team to compete with Notre Dame. The Irish should have plenty of opportunities to play reserve players in blowout victories this season. Maybe Rice can scout the back end of Notre Dame's roster for future transfer portal targets. Expect Notre Dame to soar against the Owls with a dynamic offense and dominant defense. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 42, Rice 0 Of 134 FBS teams last season, Rice finished 119th in scoring offense, muster- ing only 19.1 points per game. Improving that total against the Notre Dame defense won't be easy. So, I'm going bold and predicting an Irish shutout. If the Owls do put points on the board in Notre Dame Stadium, I bet it is against the backups. By the way, Rice's scoring defense was even worse, finishing 122nd by sur- rendering 32.9 points per game. The Irish should have no trouble scoring on offense. Notre Dame wins big. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 42, Rice 10 The Fighting Irish have stumbled in these games in recent memory. NIU and Marshall both came to South Bend and won. Ball State and Toledo gave Notre Dame a run for its money, too. But this Fighting Irish team won't let that hap- pen. I like Notre Dame to win comfortably in this matchup. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 49, Rice 7 "Group of Five team visits for home opener" will evoke memories of Marshall and Northern Illinois, but A.) this Rice team is worse than both and B.) Notre Dame has well and truly learned its lesson. The Owls might pull off a score or two with their gun-option offense, but the Irish are used to defending the op- tion and should have no problem scoring on their own. Expect to see both Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard in this one if Notre Dame plays up to its standard in the first half. Fifth-year safety Daveon Hook was tabbed as a preseason second-team All-American Conference selection by both Athlon and Phil Steele. PHOTO COURTESY RICE ATHLETICS Staff Predictions