Notre Dame hosts Rice at Notre Dame Stadium on September 12, 2026, continuing a rare and historically spaced series between the two programs. The matchup brings the Owls to South Bend for just the sixth meeting all-time and reflects Notre Dame’s long-standing approach to building a nationally diverse schedule as an independent. While the two schools have crossed paths only occasionally, their meetings span more than a century of college football history.

Notre Dame enters the game holding a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series. The programs first met in 1915, and their most recent matchup came in 2014, when the Irish earned a 48-17 victory in South Bend.