Matchups: Notre Dame Football Keeps the Fryer on High for Rice

Their performance started off slowly, but the Irish left no doubt as to who the superior team was at Lambeau Field on Sunday night as Notre Dame defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 41-13. The win also increased Marcus Freeman’s September winning percentage as head coach for Notre Dame. He’ll now look to lead his team to yet another win this weekend against the Rice Owls.

Week 2 2024 vs. Week 2 2026

Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M during week 1 in 2024 similarly to their week 1 win over Wisconsin last week. The Irish subsequently lost the following week to Northern Illinois. During Tuesday’s weekly press conference, the memory of his team not improving from week 1 to week 2 in 2024 was something Freeman admitted he was well aware of.

Those thoughts also altered this week’s practice schedule. Freeman said following Sunday night’s physical game with Wisconsin, he considered having a lighter practice on Tuesday that didn’t require shoulder pads, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized his team needed to have what he called a “bloody Tuesday”. They needed to keep their physicality up because of the gritty type of opponent they’ll face on Saturday. Edge: Week 2 2026

Rice Rushing Offense vs. Notre Dame Rushing Defense

After racking up 465 rushing yards during week 1 against Houston Chrisitan, Rice finds itself ranked #3 in the nation in rushing offense. Owls’ running back, Tyvonn Byars carried the ball 16 times for 104 yards including a long run of 31 yards. Collectively, Rice ran the ball 70 times while averaging 6.6 YPC including three touchdowns.

Byars and company will see an entirely different breed this weekend, however. They’ll be facing an Irish defense that just held Wisconsin to 67 yards on the ground at 2.2 yards per carry. That performance has the Notre Dame rushing defense ranked 37th in the land. Although Rice’s “gun triple offense” is unique to any other offense the Irish will face this season, it shouldn’t matter on Saturday afternoon. The Notre Dame defense will have too much size, speed, and athleticism for Rice to contend. Edge: Notre Dame

Gael Ochoa vs. Leonard Moore

Rice is not known for slinging the football around. Last weekend, Rice quarterback, Gael Ochoa completed two passes on five attempts for 17 yards. Rice’s other quarterback, Jacurri Brown, went 3-of-6 for 18 yards and a touchdown. That kind of void in the passing game should not be much different this weekend in South Bend. In fact, the Owls may not complete a pass against Notre Dame’s secondary.

If they do, then it will likely not come against Irish cornerback, Leonard Moore. Wisconsin tried to test Moore. Sort of. The Badgers recorded 33 coverage snaps and targeted Moore’s receiver four times. Moore finished the game having allowed just two completions for 16 yards, five tackles, one pass-breakup and zero touchdowns allowed. Edge: Leonard Moore

Rice Defense vs. Notre Dame Running Backs

Rice limited its opponent to just three points last weekend. A big reason for that was because the Owls controlled the ball for over 39 minutes. With that said, during Houston Christian’s limited time of possession, they were able to find some success on the ground. The Huskies finished the game with 148 yards rushing while averaging 4.2 yards per carry.

It’s safe to say they’ll be forced to defend a much more dynamic backfield versus Notre Dame. On Sunday against Wisconsin, the Notre Dame running backs showed off their skills running and catching. Aneyas Williams carried the ball 20 times for 90 yards including 4.5 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Nolan James paired that nicely with four catches for 67 yards and one score. Rice doesn’t have enough troops to defend that kind of attack. Edge: Notre Dame

Enock Gota vs. Spencer Porath

Kicker is a position that’s often overlooked until the game is on the line and pending the outcome of the kick, the kicker immediately becomes the hero or the villain. This weekend’s game will likely not be decided by a field goal, but that shouldn’t diminish the importance of the position or matchup.

During week 1 against Houston Christian, Rice kicker, Enock Gota was successful on one of two field goal attempts and completed all four of his extra points. Gota might have an opportunity to score a field goal for the first time at Notre Dame. Coincidentally, Notre Dame’s kicker, Spencer Porath will have a chance to make history as well.

He’ll have the opportunity to make his first kick inside of Notre Dame Stadium as a member of the Irish on Saturday. Porath, a Purdue transfer, faced Notre Dame last season when the Boilermakers traveled to South Bend where he was perfect, connecting on all three field goal attempts as well as three extra points.

Last weekend, Porath made both of his field goal tries including a long of 52 yards. He also made all five extra points. Edge: Porath