Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 37 GAME PREVIEW: RICE Zinter — who has not played tight end since high school — is listed on Rice's depth chart ahead of re- turning contributor James Falk, who played 310 snaps last year. That means Rice sees something in Zinter, so he's someone to watch when the season begins. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. RICE RUN DEFENSE Rice produced the 98th-ranked run defense in col- lege football last season in terms of yards per carry. In an effort to shore that up, the Owls chose to rely on returners up front and hit the portal hard at the second level to bring in a couple interesting pieces. Jesus Machado Jr. led an 11-1 Tulane team with 98 tackles in 2023, but he has played in only two games since due to multiple injuries. Machado is healthy now, though, and he's set to start at Mike linebacker in his seventh year of college football. AJ Brown will play the Viper position after starting six games at UAB and finishing with 52 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble. The Viper is Rice's twist on the nickel position, but the Owls also prefer a safety-linebacker hybrid who is heavily involved in the run game. The Rice defensive line is comprised of rotational players stepping into starting roles, and this is where Notre Dame should be able to enforce its will. Rice's starting defensive tackles are Dillan Botts (6-1, 286) and Aquantis Clemmons (5-11, 286). Strong-side defensive end Joseph Mutombo (6-5, 271) is bigger, but his Pro Football Focus grades are less than spectacular. Group of Five defenses tend to be aggressive by slanting and shooting gaps against Notre Dame. The Irish typically counter that by burying their smaller linemen into the dirt and creating massive rush lanes. Notre Dame's offensive line should be licking its chops, especially if Sullivan Absher (6-8, 325) wins the starting right guard job. So should running back Aneyas Williams, who av- erages 14 yards per carry (11 for 154) in his career against Group of Five competition. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. RICE PASS DEFENSE Rice's pass defense was abysmal in Abell's first year, ranking 124th nationally with 8.3 opponent yards per attempt. Abell thinks it will be better and told Phil Steele that he "really likes the starting CBs." That won't matter if the Owls can't get to the quarterback, and Steele also wrote that they "did not uncover a pass rusher in the spring." No one on Rice's roster who notched more than 2 sacks has returned for 2026. The only one who reached that mark is rush end Chibby Nwajuaku, who totaled 17 quarterback pressures throughout the year. And if they can't get to the quarterback, the Owls will probably not improve their ability to take the ball away. Only one Football Bowl Subdi- vision team had fewer interceptions last season than Rice's 3. This isn't specific to the run or pass game, but we should also note that the Owls were college foot- ball's worst red-zone defense — finishing as the only FBS team to allow points on each and every one of their opponents' red-zone opportunities, with 31 of 42 trips ending in touchdowns. To fix that, the Owls hammered the portal to pick up cornerbacks Tariq Watson (UAB) and Jamir Benja- min (UCLA) along with safety Koa Akui (Sacramento State). At the Viper spot, Brown will obviously be important for the pass defense as well. All three (four, counting Brown) are promising — Watson allowed the third-lowest catch rate in the American last season — but can they stop Notre Dame? Probably not. With an offensive line that should have zero problems protecting him, CJ Carr should pick the Owls secondary apart. Playing without a true slot corner will hurt the Owls against Jaden Greathouse and Mylan Graham, too. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Rice kicker Enock Gota is coming off a career- best season, making 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards. So, too, is Notre Dame kicker Spencer Porath, who went 15 of 17 (88.2 percent) with a long of 53 yards last year at Purdue. The edge goes to Notre Dame. The Owls have an experienced punter, which is more than the Irish can say. Charlie Durkin punted 49 times at Kent State last season, improving his average from 34.0 to 41.4 yards per boot. Notre Dame punter Jasper Scaife made his debut in Week 1 against Wisconsin, and his fall camp performance in- dicates a strong season is coming from the freshman. Neither side has anything overtly dangerous in the return game, though Jackson took a kickoff all the way for a touchdown in 2024. He averaged 23.9 yards per return entering the 2026 season on 52 attempts. On the Notre Dame side, Jordan Fai- son isn't the most explosive punt returner but he typically sets the Irish up with good field position by making the first man miss. The edge, as it often does, goes to the depth of Notre Dame's roster and its ability to use ex- tremely talented players in the third phase. The Irish also love trickery, and they might want to put something in their back pocket in case they get off to a sluggish start. Advantage: Notre Dame OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 14 Micah Gilbert 6-2 205 Jr. 33 Matt Jeffery 5-11 195 Jr. WR 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 Sr. or 3 Mylan Graham 6-1 195 Jr. LT 74 Will Black 6-7 316 So. 68 Charlie Thom 6-7 295 Fr. or 65 Grayson McKeogh 6-7 303 Fr. LG 54 Anthonie Knapp 6-5 305 Jr. 57 Cam Herron 6-2 297 So. C 70 Ashton Craig 6-5 315 5th 64 Joe Otting 6-4 309 Sr. RG 75 Sullivan Absher 6-7 320 Sr. or 71 Styles Prescod 6-6 304 Jr. RT 76 Guerby Lambert 6-7 325 Jr. 78 Owen Strebig 6-8 318 So. TE 87 Cooper Flanagan 6-6 255 Sr. or 88 James Flanigan 6-6 253 So. WR 6 Jordan Faison 5-11 185 Sr. 17 Elijah Burress 6-1 190 So. or 8 Jerome Bettis Jr. 6-2 207 So. QB 13 CJ Carr 6-2 215 Jr. 10 Noah Grubbs 6-4 210 Fr. or 9 Teddy Jarrard 6-4 210 Fr. RB 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. 2 Nolan James Jr. 5-10 215 So. or 21 Kedren Young 5-11 234 Jr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 5 Boubacar Traore 6-5 253 Sr. 10 Loghan Thomas 6-3 221 Jr. DT 88 Armel Mukam 6-3 300 Sr. 7 Francis Brewu 6-1 285 Jr. NT 47 Jason Onye 6-5 295 6th 0 Tionne Gray 6-5 320 Jr. DE 95 Bryce Young 6-6 260 Jr. 11 Keon Keeley 6-5 275 Sr. WLB 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-1 226 Sr. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-1 227 5th MLB 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 Sr. 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 234 Jr. or 19 Madden Faraimo 6-2 235 So. NB 29 Christian Gray 6-0 196 Sr. 1 Dallas Golden 6-0 195 So. or 12 Jayden Sanders 6-0 195 So. CB 15 Leonard Moore 6-2 197 Jr. 24 Mark Zackery IV 5-10 190 So. BOUND 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 205 Sr. 20 Joey O'Brien 6-5 200 Fr. FIELD 9 Brauntae Johnson 6-2 200 Jr. 28 Luke Talich 6-4 222 Sr. CB 2 DJ McKinney 6-1 190 5th or 12 Jayden Sanders 6-0 195 So. NOTRE DAME TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 35 Spencer Porath 6-0 200 Jr. 36 Micah Drescher 6-5 196 Fr. KO 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 211 So. P 39 Jasper Scaife 6-6 222 Fr. 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 211 So. LS 96 Joseph Vinci 6-4 233 Jr. 49 Andrew Kros 6-4 227 Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 39 Jasper Scaife 6-6 222 Fr. PR 6 Jordan Faison 5-11 185 Sr. 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 Sr. or 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. KR 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. or 2 Nolan James Jr. 5-10 215 So. SPECIAL TEAMS