# 2023 Rice Owls football team

The 2023 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University and competed in their first season as members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Mike Bloomgren, who was coaching his sixth season with the team. The Owls played their home games at the Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Rice Owls football team drew an average home attendance of 20,542 in 2023.

## Preseason
### Media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason poll was released on July 25. The Owls were predicted to finish twelfth in the conference.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Tulane | 457 (20) |
| 2 | UTSA | 440 (9) |
| 3 | SMU | 397 (3) |
| 4 | Memphis | 362 (1) |
| 5 | Florida Atlantic | 312 |
| 6 | East Carolina | 303 |
| 7 | North Texas | 261 |
| 8 | UAB | 209 (1) |
| 9 | Navy | 199 |
| 10 | Temple | 182 |
| 11 | Tulsa | 160 |
| 12 | Rice | 138 |
| 13 | South Florida | 86 |
| 14 | Charlotte | 64 |

## Schedule

Rice and the American Athletic Conference (AAC) announced the 2023 football schedule on February 21, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 11 Texas* | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX (rivalry) | Fox | L 10–37 | 98,017 |
| September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | Houston* | Rice StadiumHouston, TX (rivalry) | NFLN | W 43–41 $^{2OT}$ | 23,425 |
| September 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Texas Southern* | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | W 59–7 | 18,103 |
| September 23 | 3:00 p.m. | at South Florida | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPNU | L 29–42 | 29,141 |
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | East Carolina | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 19,598 |
| October 7 | 4:00 p.m. | UConn* | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | L 31–38 | 21,207 |
| October 19 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tulsa | H. A. Chapman StadiumTulsa, OK | ESPN2 | W 42–10 | 18,527 |
| October 28 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 22 Tulane | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN2 | L 28–30 | 20,436 |
| November 4 | 6:30 p.m. | SMU | Rice StadiumHouston, TX (rivalry) | ESPNU | L 31–36 | 21,632 |
| November 11 | 6:30 p.m. | at UTSA | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX | ESPNU | L 14–34 | 28,245 |
| November 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at Charlotte | Jerry Richardson StadiumCharlotte, NC | ESPN+ | W 28–7 | 9,385 |
| November 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | Rice StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | W 24–21 | 19,393 |
| December 26 | 4:30 p.m. | vs. Texas State* | Gerald J. Ford StadiumUniversity Park, TX (First Responder Bowl) | ESPN | L 21–45 | 26,542 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 1) released prior to gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At No. 11 Texas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 11 Longhorns | 7 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 37 |
at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
* Date: September 2
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 99 °F (37 °C)
* Game attendance: 98,017
* Referee: Tutashinda Salaam
* TV announcers (Fox): Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | RICE | TEX |
| First downs | 8 | 24 |
| Total yards | 176 | 458 |
| Rushing yards | 27 | 158 |
| Passing yards | 149 | 300 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 28:24 | 31:36 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 14/26, 149 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 8 rushes, 23 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Braylen Walker | 2 receptions, 47 yards |
| Texas | Passing | Quinn Ewers | 19/30, 260 yards, 3 TD |
| Texas | Rushing | Jaydon Blue | 10 rushes, 55 yards |
| Texas | Receiving | Xavier Worthy | 7 receptions, 90 yards |

### Houston

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Cougars | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 41 |
| Owls | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 43 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 96 °F (36 °C)
* Game attendance: 23,425
* Referee: Derek Anderson
* TV announcers (NFLN): Doug Sherman and Tyoka Jackson
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | HOU | RICE |
| First downs | 27 | 24 |
| Total yards | 443 | 470 |
| Rushing yards | 183 | 69 |
| Passing yards | 260 | 401 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 28:10 | 31:50 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Houston | Passing | Donovan Smith | 24/42, 260 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Houston | Rushing | Tony Mathis Jr. | 8 rushes, 60 yards |
| Houston | Receiving | Samuel Brown | 9 receptions, 138 yards |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 28/42, 401 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 8 rushes, 48 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 7 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TD |

### Texas Southern

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Owls | 28 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 59 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 16
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 18,103
* Referee: Steven Anderson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Richard Cross and Taylor McHargue
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | TXSO | RICE |
| First downs | 10 | 23 |
| Total yards | 185 | 485 |
| Rushing yards | 81 | 231 |
| Passing yards | 104 | 254 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 24:26 | 35:34 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas Southern | Passing | Jace Wilson | 9/19, 104 yards, TD |
| Texas Southern | Rushing | Ladarius Owens | 11 rushes, 48 yards |
| Texas Southern | Receiving | Jace Johnson | 4 receptions, 49 yards, TD |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 11/17, 255 yards, 4 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 8 rushes, 66 yards, TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Kobie Campbell | 1 reception, 70 yards, TD |

### At South Florida

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| Bulls | 3 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 42 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT/4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)
* Game attendance: 29,141
* Referee: Edwin Lee
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Jay Alter and Rene Ingoglia
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | RICE | USF |
| First downs | 19 | 25 |
| Total yards | 492 | 597 |
| Rushing yards | 1 | 162 |
| Passing yards | 491 | 435 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 32:27 | 27:33 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 27/40, 432 yards, 3 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Juma Otoviano | 4 rushes, 12 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 9 receptions, 199 yards |
| South Florida | Passing | Byrum Brown | 22/29, 435 yards, 2 TD |
| South Florida | Rushing | Byrum Brown | 14 rushes, 82 yards, TD |
| South Florida | Receiving | Naiem Simmons | 8 receptions, 272 yards, TD |

### East Carolina

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 3 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 17 |
| Owls | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: September 30
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 91 °F (33 °C) • Wind: SE at 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
* Game attendance: 19,598
* Referee: Nate Black
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Richard Cross (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst), Smacker Miles (sideline reporter)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | ECU | RICE |
| First downs | 25 | 14 |
| Total yards | 391 | 277 |
| Rushing yards | 145 | 37 |
| Passing yards | 246 | 240 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 34:58 | 25:02 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Alex Flinn | 21/44, 246 yards, INT |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Javious Bond | 7 rushes, 72 yards |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Chase Sowell | 7 receptions, 88 yards |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 18/32, 232 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Chase Jenkins | 4 rushes, 27 yards, TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Landon Ransom-Goelz | 2 receptions, 54 yards, TD |

### UConn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 38 |
| Owls | 14 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: October 7
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 21,207
* Referee: Kevin Randall
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Shawn Kenney, LaDarrin McLane, and Smacker Miles
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | CONN | RICE |
| First downs | 12 | 26 |
| Total yards | 319 | 474 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 112 |
| Passing yards | 215 | 362 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 29:03 | 30:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UConn | Passing | Ta'Quan Roberson | 15/19, 215 yards, 2 TD |
| UConn | Rushing | Victor Rosa | 18 rushes, 89 yards |
| UConn | Receiving | Justin Joly | 7 receptions, 96 yards, TD |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 33/49, 362 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Juma Otoviano | 6 rushes, 51 yards, 2 TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 7 receptions, 100 yards, 2 TD |

### At Tulsa

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Golden Hurricane | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at H. A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Oklahoma
* Date: October 19
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear, 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 18,527
* Referee: Darryl DeBerry
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Jay Alter, Rene Ingoglia, and Lericia Harris
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | RICE | TLSA |
| First downs | 24 | 14 |
| Total yards | 512 | 294 |
| Rushing yards | 170 | 156 |
| Passing yards | 342 | 138 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 33:48 | 26:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 24/37, 342 yards, 2 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 9 rushes, 120 yards, 3 TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 6 receptions, 99 yards, TD |
| Tulsa | Passing | Cardell Williams | 7/14, 101 yards, TD |
| Tulsa | Rushing | Braylon Braxton | 12 rushes, 89 yards |
| Tulsa | Receiving | Kamdyn Benjamin | 3 receptions, 48 yards, TD |

### No. 22 Tulane

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 22 Green Wave | 10 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
| Owls | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 86 °F (30 °C) • Wind: SE 14 mph
* Game attendance: 20,436
* Referee: Edwin Lee
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Drew Carter (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst), Kayla Burton (sideline)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | TULN | RICE |
| First downs | 24 | 15 |
| Total yards | 457 | 271 |
| Rushing yards | 194 | 82 |
| Passing yards | 263 | 189 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 36:05 | 23:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 22/30, 263 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Tulane | Rushing | Makhi Hughes | 23 rushes, 153 yards |
| Tulane | Receiving | Chris Brazzell II | 5 receptions, 75 yards |
| Rice | Passing | JT Daniels | 18/29, 189 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Juma Otoviano | 9 rushes, 38 yards, 2 TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 5 receptions, 79 yards, TD |

### SMU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 14 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 36 |
| Owls | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 75 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 21,632
* Referee: Scott Hardin
* TV announcers (ESPNU): John Schriffen, Charles Arbuckle, and Dawn Davenport
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SMU | RICE |
| First downs | 28 | 13 |
| Total yards | 477 | 290 |
| Rushing yards | 223 | 124 |
| Passing yards | 254 | 166 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 31:31 | 28:29 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SMU | Passing | Preston Stone | 15/28, 217 yards, 2 TD |
| SMU | Rushing | Preston Stone | 8 rushes, 81 yards, TD |
| SMU | Receiving | Jake Bailey | 4 receptions, 73 yards |
| Rice | Passing | Chase Jenkins | 10/16, 85 yards, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 7 rushes, 77 yards, TD |
| Rice | Receiving | Rawson MacNeill | 2 receptions, 68 yards |

### At UTSA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Roadrunners | 3 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 34 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
* Date: November 11
* Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 28,245
* Referee: Tim Rich
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Drew Carter and Dustin Fox
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | RICE | UTSA |
| First downs | 17 | 23 |
| Total yards | 229 | 381 |
| Rushing yards | 47 | 199 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 182 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 29:49 | 30:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | A. J. Padgett | 17/28, 182 yards, 2 TD |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 8 rushes, 34 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 6 receptions, 68 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Passing | Frank Harris | 15/24, 175 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Rushing | Rocko Griffin | 12 rushes, 81 yards, TD |
| UTSA | Receiving | Joshua Cephus | 5 receptions, 53 yards, TD |

### At Charlotte

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 49ers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Sunny, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 9,385
* Referee: Edwin Lee
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Noah Reed and Reggie Walker
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | RICE | CLT |
| First downs | 16 | 11 |
| Total yards | 380 | 158 |
| Rushing yards | 240 | 84 |
| Passing yards | 140 | 74 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 33:41 | 26:19 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Rice | Passing | A. J. Padgett | 13/21, 140 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 19 rushes, 184 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 5 receptions, 54 yards, TD |
| Charlotte | Passing | Trexler Ivey | 8/19, 51 yards |
| Charlotte | Rushing | Hashaun Watson | 14 rushes, 47 yards |
| Charlotte | Receiving | Randy Fields Jr. | 2 receptions, 18 yards |

### Florida Atlantic

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida Atlantic | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Rice | 7 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: November 25
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 19,393
* Referee: Kevin Randall
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | FAU | RICE |
| First downs | 14 | 32 |
| Total yards | 279 | 465 |
| Rushing yards | 151 | 211 |
| Passing yards | 128 | 254 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 20:18 | 39:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Florida Atlantic | Passing | Daniel Richardson | 8/9, 93 yards, TD |
| Florida Atlantic | Rushing | Kobe Lewis | 7 rushes, 82 yards, TD |
| Florida Atlantic | Receiving | Tony Johnson | 2 receptions, 49 yards, TD |
| Rice | Passing | A. J. Padgett | 24/37, 255 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| Rice | Rushing | Dean Connors | 14 rushes, 75 yards |
| Rice | Receiving | Luke McCaffrey | 12 receptions, 141 yards, TD |