2021 Football Schedule Revealed
1/27/2021 1:29:00 PM | Football
C-USA schedule released on Wednesday
Rice Football has finalized its list of opponents for 2021 with Conference USA's release of its 168-game conference schedule on Wednesday. After opening with four non-conference games, the Owls will kick off their 17th season of C-USA football on October 2 when they host Southern Miss at Rice Stadium.
The 2021 season opens for the Owls with three games against longtime rivals dating back to the days of the Southwest Conference. They kick off the campaign on September 4 with their first road game at Arkansas since 1991, followed by their home opener against Houston (September 11) and a road game at Texas on September 18.
Rice closes out the 2021 non-conference slate on September 25 with its first meeting with Texas Southern in football before turning attention to C-USA action.
For the third consecutive season, the Owls will play their entire non-conference slate before opening C-USA action. They will play five consecutive weeks before a bye week following the conference opener with the Golden Eagles and end with contests over the final seven weeks of the regular season.
Dunlevie Family Head Football Coach Mike Bloomgren's Owls open the final seven weeks of C-USA play with road games at UTSA (October 16) and defending conference champion UAB (October 23) before returning home to host North Texas on October 30.
The Owls cross over to C-USA's East Division the following two weeks, taking on Charlotte on the road (November 6) and hosting WKU on November 13. The regular season campaign wraps up with a road game at UTEP on November 20 and a Senior Day finale with LA Tech on November 27.
Season tickets renewals for Rice Football will be available in the coming months and new season tickets will go on sale in April. Any fans interested in getting first and priority access to new season tickets can sign up now.
The conference is in the fifth year of a rotation between cross-division opponents that will rotate every two years until 2024, when each school has played every opponent in the opposite division once home and away.
All Conference USA games are subject to date changes and some dates are expected to move in the coming weeks in order to accommodate national television. A schedule of televised games will be released at a later date.
Conference USA's 17th annual Championship game, pitting the champions of the East and West Divisions, is scheduled for Saturday, December 4.
The 2021 season opens for the Owls with three games against longtime rivals dating back to the days of the Southwest Conference. They kick off the campaign on September 4 with their first road game at Arkansas since 1991, followed by their home opener against Houston (September 11) and a road game at Texas on September 18.
Rice closes out the 2021 non-conference slate on September 25 with its first meeting with Texas Southern in football before turning attention to C-USA action.
For the third consecutive season, the Owls will play their entire non-conference slate before opening C-USA action. They will play five consecutive weeks before a bye week following the conference opener with the Golden Eagles and end with contests over the final seven weeks of the regular season.
Dunlevie Family Head Football Coach Mike Bloomgren's Owls open the final seven weeks of C-USA play with road games at UTSA (October 16) and defending conference champion UAB (October 23) before returning home to host North Texas on October 30.
The Owls cross over to C-USA's East Division the following two weeks, taking on Charlotte on the road (November 6) and hosting WKU on November 13. The regular season campaign wraps up with a road game at UTEP on November 20 and a Senior Day finale with LA Tech on November 27.
Season tickets renewals for Rice Football will be available in the coming months and new season tickets will go on sale in April. Any fans interested in getting first and priority access to new season tickets can sign up now.
The conference is in the fifth year of a rotation between cross-division opponents that will rotate every two years until 2024, when each school has played every opponent in the opposite division once home and away.
All Conference USA games are subject to date changes and some dates are expected to move in the coming weeks in order to accommodate national television. A schedule of televised games will be released at a later date.
Conference USA's 17th annual Championship game, pitting the champions of the East and West Divisions, is scheduled for Saturday, December 4.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time |
| September 4 | @Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | TBA |
| September 11 | Houston | Rice Stadium | TBA |
| September 18 | @Texas | Austin, TX | TBA |
| September 25 | Texas Southern | Rice Stadium | TBA |
| October 2 | Southern Miss | Rice Stadium | TBA |
| October 16 | @UTSA | San Antonio, TX | TBA |
| October 23 | @UAB | Birmingham, AL | TBA |
| October 30 | North Texas | Rice Stadium | TBA |
| November 6 | @Charlotte | Charlotte, NC | TBA |
| November 13 | WKU | Rice Stadium | TBA |
| November 20 | @UTEP | El Paso, TX | TBA |
| November 27 | LA Tech | Rice Stadium | TBA |
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