Owls Open AAC Play at Army West Point

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at Navy

Sep 27

2:30 PM

Annapolis, Md.

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vs Florida Atlantic

Oct 4

TBA

Rice Stadium

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at UTSA

Oct 11

TBA

San Antonio, TX

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vs UCONN

Oct 25

TBA

Rice Stadium

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vs Memphis

Oct 31

6 PM

Rice Stadium

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vs UAB

Nov 8

TBA

Rice Stadium

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vs North Texas

Nov 22

TBA

Rice Stadium

Game #4
Who: Rice (1-2.0-0) @Army West Point (2-0/0-0)
When: Saturday 11:00 a.m. CT
Where: West Point, New York
Stadium: Michie Stadium
Television CBS SN Dave Ryan (PXP); Adam Breneman (Analyst); Tina Cervasio (Sidelines)
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), Jason Metko (sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Rice Game Day App, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm
Digital Game Program: Game 4 Rice @Army West Point
Series Information: The series is tied 4-4-1

Full Game Notes
Series Notes

This is the 10th meeting between Rice and Army, with the series tied 4-4-1.
This game was initially scheduled at Rice Stadium as a non-conference game, but the location flipped when Army joined the AAC.
Rice is 12-15-1 all-time vs. service academies (2-5 vs. Air Force, 6-6 vs. Navy) and was 2-3 during WWII when facing teams from bases located in Texas, splitting two games with Corpus Christi Navy in 1942 & 1945, dropping two games to Randolph Field in 1943 & 1944, and defeating Galveston Army Airfield in 1944.
The meetings with Randolph Field and Galveston Army Field in 1944 were the first time Rice faced two teams with military affiliations in the same year. Both teams were Army Air Corps bases and Randolph Field ended the season ranked 3rd in the final AP poll.
Rice split non-conference games with Navy and Air Force in 1992.
The two schools first met in 1958 at Rice Stadium and again in 1997 at West Point. The two returned to action in 2006 and have met seven times in the last 19 years (a game scheduled in 2020 was canceled due to the pandemic).
The 1958 game at Rice Stadium featured three future College Football Hall of Famers (Pete Dawkins & Bill Carpenter of the Army, Buddy Dial of Rice).
Rice's first win in the series came in 2006, 48-14 which was also the first win in the Owls' march to their first bowl game since 1961.
Rice won the next three games (2008, 2014 & 2015) before Army posted wins in the last three contests (2016, 2017 & 2019).

AAC Year Two

Saturday's game opens Rice's second season in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls were 4-4 in their inaugural campaign in the AAC and were one of six conference schools to represent the conference in bowl action.
They will open AAC play on the road for the second time in as many years in the league, dropping a 42-29 decision at USF in their first AAC game on 9/23/23 and for the third consecutive year overall. Rice opened its final season in Conference USA with a 28-24 win in Birmingham over UAB on 10/1.
Mike Bloomgren is 2-4 in conference openers, including wins in two of the last three (2021 & 2022).
Saturday's game is also the first for the Owls outside the Houston city limits. They opened with home games vs. Sam Houston and Texas Southern and stayed in town to face Houston at TDECU Stadium last Saturday.
This will be the first conference game played between the schools and this season will be the first time Rice will face Army and Navy in the same season as the Owls will host Navy on November 2.

Catching On
Dean Connors led the Owls with a career-best nine receptions vs. Sam Houston and he leads all FBS running backs with 18 through the first three weeks. Desmond Reid of Pitt is second with 13. Connors had 42 receptions last season, the most for a Rice running back since Austin Walter had 44 in 2018 and now has 69 in his career which ranks sixth among Rice running backs since 1956. He is the eighth Owl to reach 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in his career.
Up Next
Rice opens its 2024 AAC home schedule by hosting Charlotte at 6 p.m. next Saturday at Rice Stadium.

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Dean Connors

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