NOTRE DAME PREVIEW VS. RICE
Saturday afternoon will mark the sixth time the Owls and Irish have faced off against each other.
The Irish and the Owls both roll into week two with a 1-0 record. Rice defeated Houston Christian 31-3. Notre Dame was victorious against Wisconsin 41-13 at Lambeau Field.
Notre Dame is 5-0 all-time against Rice and 3-0 at Notre Dame Stadium.
The last meeting between the Owls and the Irish came in 2014 when Rice traveled to Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish were the 17th team in the country at the time. Notre Dame won 48-17. Irish quarterback Everett Golson had 295 yards and two touchdowns. Will Fuller led the Irish receivers in yards with 85 while also scoring a touchdown.
Golson had one of the most productive performances for an Irish quarterback against Rice in 2014, ranking seventh all-time for passing yards per completion against an opponent with an average of 21.1 yards on 14 completions.
Rice’s assistant offensive line coach is Clay Davie, son of Bob Davie, who was the head coach of Notre Dame from 1997-2001. Davie was the first coach after Lou Holtz.
Kerry Cooks, who is the safeties coach at Rice, has spent two stints at Notre Dame as a coach. Cooks was on staff at Notre Dame from 2010-2014 and then again in 2020 and 2021.
Notre Dame graduate and former linebacker from 2023-2025, Preston Zinter is a member of the Rice Owls. Zinter has moved positions and now plays tight end for the Owls.
Rice is a member of the American Conference. Notre Dame is 141-23-5 all-time against opponents from the American.
The Irish have faced seven of the 14 members of the American Conference.
Notre Dame’s most common American Conference opponent is Navy, against whom the Irish have an 84-13-1 advantage.
The Irish’s most recent American Conference opponent besides Navy was Army in the 2024 Shamrock Series game, in which Notre Dame defeated the Black Knights 49-14 at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame’s most recent non-service academy American Conference opponent was USF in 2020, when Notre Dame won 52-0.
NOTRE DAME STADIUM NOTES
Notre Dame Stadium has been the home of Irish football since 1930. The Irish are in their 98th season at Notre Dame Stadium in 2026.
Notre Dame holds a 534-133-13 record at home all time.
Seating capacity is listed as 77,622 while the playing surface is artificial field turf.
All seven home games of the 2025 season were sold out: the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th sell-outs of the Marcus Freeman era. The last 20 games in a row, dating back to the start of the 2023 season, have been sold out. Rice has already been announced as sold out, with another capacity crowd expected this Saturday.
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