2018 Rice Owls football team

The 2018 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played their home games at the Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the West Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by first-year head coach Mike Bloomgren. They finished the season 2–11, 1–7 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the West Division.

2018 Rice Owls football
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionWest Division
Record2–11 (1–7 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJerry Mack (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorBrian Smith (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple 3–4
Home stadiumRice Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Middle Tennessee x   7 1     8 6  
Marshall   6 2     9 4  
FIU   6 2     9 4  
Charlotte   4 4     5 7  
Florida Atlantic   3 5     5 7  
Old Dominion   2 6     4 8  
Western Kentucky   2 6     3 9  
West Division
UAB x$   7 1     11 3  
North Texas   5 3     9 4  
Louisiana Tech   5 3     8 5  
Southern Miss   5 3     6 5  
UTSA   2 6     3 9  
UTEP   1 7     1 11  
Rice   1 7     2 11  
Championship: UAB 27, Middle Tennessee 25
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Preseason

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Preseason All-CUSA team

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Conference USA released their preseason all-CUSA team on July 16, 2018, with the Owls having one player selected.[1]

Special teams

Jack Fox – P

Preseason media poll

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Conference USA released their preseason media poll on July 17, 2018, with the Owls predicted to finish in a tie for sixth place in the West Division.[2]

West Division
Predicted finish Team
1 North Texas
2 Louisiana Tech
3 UAB
4 Southern Miss
5 UTSA
T–6 Rice
T–6 UTEP

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 256:00 p.m.Prairie View A&M*ESPN+W 31–2820,050
September 111:00 a.m.Houston*
CBSSNL 27–4526,390
September 811:00 p.m.at Hawaii*StadiumL 29–4323,112
September 226:00 p.m.at Southern MissESPN+L 22–4020,159
September 292:30 p.m.at Wake Forest*ACCRSNL 24–5624,519
October 66:00 p.m.UTSA
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPN3L 3–2019,170
October 1312:00 p.m.UAB
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPN+L 0–4218,916
October 206:30 p.m.at FIUESPN+L 17–3613,741
October 273:00 p.m.at North TexasESPN+L 17–4125,375
November 32:30 p.m.UTEP
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPN3L 26–3418,420
November 106:00 p.m.at Louisiana TechESPN+L 13–2815,283
November 176:30 p.m.at No. 10 LSU*ESPNUL 10–42100,323
November 2412:00 p.m.Old Dominion
  • Rice Stadium
  • Houston, TX
ESPN+W 27–1318,083
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
Schedule Source:[3]

Game summaries

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Prairie View A&M

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1 2 3 4 Total
Panthers 0 21 7 0 28
Owls 13 6 0 12 31

Houston

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cougars 3 14 14 14 45
Owls 7 17 3 0 27

At Hawaii

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 7 3 3 16 29
Rainbow Warriors 14 7 7 15 43

At Southern Miss

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 8 7 0 7 22
Golden Eagles 10 14 10 6 40

At Wake Forest

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 0 3 14 7 24
Demon Deacons 21 21 14 0 56

UTSA

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1 2 3 4 Total
Roadrunners 3 10 0 7 20
Owls 0 0 3 0 3
1 2 3 4 Total
Blazers 14 14 14 0 42
Owls 0 0 0 0 0

At FIU

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 7 3 7 0 17
Panthers 0 16 10 10 36

At North Texas

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 7 3 7 0 17
Mean Green 10 7 3 21 41

UTEP

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miners 7 20 7 0 34
Owls 0 3 7 16 26

At Louisiana Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 0 3 7 3 13
Bulldogs 0 7 14 7 28

At LSU

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1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 0 3 0 7 10
No. 10 Tigers 14 14 7 7 42

Old Dominion

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1 2 3 4 Total
Monarchs 3 3 7 0 13
Owls 6 7 7 7 27

References

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  1. ^ "FB: 2018 Preseason Awards".
  2. ^ "FB: Preseason Media Poll".
  3. ^ "2018 Rice Owls Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 5, 2018.