What’s up, fellow Knapp Daddy enthusiasts?!???
We’re back yet again, on just 6 days’ rest, for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football home opener on Saturday afternoon against the Rice Owls (not to be confused with barn owls, which I’m only saying as an excuse to link to this tweet).
Our 1-0 Fighting Irish put down the Wisconsin Badgers 41-13 with a spirited 2nd half effort last Sunday after an ugly and too-close 1st half, earning
a one-spot bump in the AP Poll this week to assume the #3 spot behind #1 Ohio State and #2 Georgia. Now, they will play host to an undefeated Rice team hot off a 31-3 shellacking of FCS squad Houston Christian, entering the game as nearly 45-point underdogs and feeling very “we have nothing to lose” about the matchup, especially inspired by past “we have nothing to lose” Group of 6 teams who’ve come to South Bend in Week 2 (Marshall, NIU…shudder).
Anyway, besides gleaning that Rice runs a slightly more modern take on the option offense and knowing they have a rich baseball and academic history and prestige to boast about, I, like many of you, don’t know a ton about this program and what to expect from them this weekend. So, I reached out to recurring OFD Q&A guest Steve Helwick over at Underdog Dynasty, SB Nation’s go-to source for all things related to the Sun Belt, CUSA, and American conferences (along with some great coverage of other FBS and FCS happenings).
Steve was generous enough during a short week (thanks to the long weekend and me being delayed in getting him a list of questions) to answer a bunch of different inquiries about Rice head coach Scott Abell, the Owls’ option offense, what Rice would need to do to be the next NIU, Sammy the Owl being featured in Playboy Magazine, favorite rice dishes, and more.
It’s a great read and will do wonders for your ability to talk shop with your friends and family during the game this weekend, so let’s go ahead and jump into it to see what Steve had to share about this opponent and matchup!
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1. How do Rice fans feel about Scott Abell after a year with him at the helm — can he get the Owls competing for an AAC title over the next few years, considering how tough of a Group of 6 conference it is? What do you expect from Rice this season, in year 2 under Abell?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: Year one of the Scott Abell era was an overwhelming success. Abell had to assemble a staff, deal with multiple transfer portal windows, and install a completely new offense. Yet, he improved Rice’s win total from 2024 and finished 5-8 — getting to participate in a bowl game, thanks to a team that shockingly opted out of the postseason. The Owls went 3-1 in non-conference play, upsetting a 9-win UConn team and taking down a bowl eligible Louisiana on the road. Now, Abell is starting to recruit and acquire players tailor-made for his offense, which is a new development considering last year’s team had many holdovers from the Mike Bloomgren era. That alone should improve the offense, and Rice’s defense has generally been a sound unit over the past few years.
Rice should be better qualitatively this year, but I don’t know if that improvement will be quantified in its record. As mentioned earlier, Rice went 3-1 in non-conference play last year. This year’s non-conference slate features Notre Dame, reigning MAC champion Western Michigan, and a Fresno State team that collected nine wins and returned a ton of starters. I expect a few conference wins, and having a pesky option scheme helps, as that can always catch good teams off-guard. Think of how many American Conference contenders’ seasons have been derailed by Army and Navy in the past decade. As far as contending for the American title, I don’t know if that’s the case this year, but the conference looks much more open after watching Tulane, East Carolina, and South Florida struggle in Week 1.
2. How has the transition to an option offense gone for the Owls? Considering the passing game probably won’t be featured much, who are the key Rice ball carriers ND fans should be aware of come Saturday, and how do you expect the offensive line to hold up against the Irish front seven?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: It’s still a work in progress, as evidenced by the team’s 121st-ranked scoring offense last year. But Week 1 was a very promising sign for the unit. Sure, it was an FCS opponent in Houston Christian, but Rice got whatever it wanted in the run game — to a greater extent than it did in the 2025 FCS matchup. Rice posted 493 yards of offense in the opener and 465 were courtesy of the ground game. The wealth was spread, and five different ball carriers eclipsed 50 yards and three exceeded 75. However, Rice lost its best player in Quinton Jackson, who suffered an injury deemed “significant” by Abell on his second rushing touchdown of the game. That increases the role for true sophomores Tyvonn Byars and D’Andre Hardeman Jr., who are both fresh off career-high performances of 104 and 77 yards, respectively. Byars and Hardeman are bigger, stronger backs than the lightning-quick Jackson. But Rice has all different body types for ball carriers in this offense, ranging from 6’4″, 227-pound mobile quarterback Jacurri Brown to the ‘slots’ like Ben Grice and Max Mosey.
The offensive line — particularly right tackle Luke Miller — was extraordinary in the run blocking game last Saturday. However, going from Houston Christian’s front to Notre Dame’s is quite a contrast. Not many teams were able to move the Fighting Irish’s front last year, and going up against talents like Boubacar Traore and Drayk Bowen will be an arduous task. The Fighting Irish have been especially sound tacklers against option and ground-based teams, notably holding Navy’s No. 1 rushing offense to 10 points last November. It will be a significant challenge for Rice.
3. Defensively, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this Rice team? Which guys could cause some headaches for a Notre Dame offense that looks good but certainly not perfect after one game?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: It’s hard to know as much about this Rice defense considering (a) the lack of returning talent from last year and (b) the caliber of opponent in Week 1. The defense thrived against Houston Christian, pitching a shutout after allowing an opening drive field goal. Early returns suggest the defensive line is the strength of this team. Chibby Nwajuaku had an outstanding spring and fall camp, and that showed in Week 1 with his team-high five tackles and two sacks. The team also has the most experience in the defensive line, returning 2025 starters such as defensive end Joseph Mutombo and defensive tackle Dillan Botts.
Last year’s weakness was a passing defense that ranked 106th nationally in yards allowed, while surrendering 25 touchdowns and securing just three interceptions. Progress was shown in Week 1 with a transfer laden secondary, but once again, it was an FCS team. New cornerbacks Kyren Condoll and Jamir Benjamin will have their first major tests Saturday, hoping to stop the CJ Carr and Jordan Faison-led passing game in South Bend.
4. If Rice wanted to be this year’s Northern Illinois and take down ND in a shocking home opener upset, what will they need to do and what would need to bounce their way to make that happen?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: Consume nearly 40 minutes of time of possession. Rice isn’t winning this game if it enters shootout territory. The only pathway to victory would be an NIU-like score of 16-14. The Owls will need to rely on defensive stops and turnover fortune, while sustaining possessions through its ground attack. They controlled the ball for approximately 40 minutes in the opener, and they need to shorten this game as much as possible. Getting 4-5 yards on first downs will go a long way, because Rice hasn’t shown the ability to pass if it faces third-and-mediums or third-and-longs.
5. On Rice mascot Sammy the Owl’s Wikipedia page, it offers up the following two bullets in the “Notable Events” section:
– 1917 — Canvas depiction of Rice Owl stolen by students from Texas A&M. Mascot is recovered and given name Sammy.
– 2004 — Sammy the Owl is featured in Playboy Magazine‘s story on College Mascots”
What was Sammy up to during the 87 years in between those two events, and what exactly did a Playboy Magazine story on college mascots entail???
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: Sammy the Owl helped inspire Rice to go 3-0 against Alabama during that 87-year timeframe, so I’ll go with that. Because I’m definitely gonna pass on Googling that one.
6. FAN QUESTION:
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: Orange chicken. Yard House has one particularly good orange chicken/rice dish that comes to mind. Really any chicken dish works, especially one with pineapple in it.
7. Power rank the following Rice alumni/former students in whatever way you want, and feel free to explain your rankings or leave it a mystery why you ranked them the way you did:
– Dr. Joy Browne (host of popular syndicated radio and television call-in therapy shows)
– Howard Hughes (filmmaker known for Hell’s Angel’s and Scarface; life and career served as the basis for the 2004 film The Aviator)
– He Jiankui (widely condemned geneticist who claimed to have created the world’s first genome edited babies, Nana and Lulu)
– Candace Bushnell (author of Sex and the City)
– Lance Berkman (six-time All-Star Major League baseball player)
– Brian Armstrong (founder and CEO of Coinbase)
– Peggy Whitson (astronaut who accumulated a total of 695 days in space, more than any other American or woman)
– Larry McMurtry (Pulitzer Prize-winning author, known for Lonesome Dove, The Last Picture Show, and Terms of Endearment; won Oscar for Brokeback Mountain screenplay)
– George P. Bush (son of Jeb Bush)
– L. Patrick Gray (acting director of the FBI during the initial investigation into the burglaries that sparked Watergate; resigned after admitting to destroying documents that had come from convicted Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt’s safe)
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: I’ll be honest. Lance Berkman is the only one of these alumni I’m familiar with, so he’ll take the top spot. I actually own his jersey thanks to a random giveaway the Houston Astros did during a Friday night game against the Twins in 2021.
8. To quote Mr. Owl, how many licks DOES it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? And is it more or less than the number of passes Rice’s offense will attempt in 2026?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty: This was recently a bar trivia question I encountered, and I learned the proper answer is 3, according to Mr. Owl. But I do not trust Mr. Owl’s intel, because I think, logically, it would take at least 200?
Rice is a prestigious research university. They have the means to conduct a proper experiment, and I’d imagine we’d reject the null hypothesis of n = 3.
9. Alright, let’s get down to it: who wins, what’s the final score, and what’s your reasoning?
Steve Helwick, Underdog Dynasty:
Notre Dame 42, Rice 7
Notre Dame finally ends its Week 2 home opener woes. This matchup is not an advantageous one for Rice, given the physicality of Notre Dame’s defense and the Fighting Irish’s ability to stop the run. However, while the spread is 44.5 points in favor of Notre Dame, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fighting Irish don’t reach that total because this will be a quick game, hovering at or below the 3-hour mark. The Irish will want to test their Love-less and Price-less run game after it didn’t produce the best results against Wisconsin, and Rice, of course, is going to run as much as possible. There should be a lack of possessions. Rice might break off an explosive run or notch a touchdown in garbage time, but scoring opportunities will be limited against one of the best defenses in the country — one that has thrived against option attacks over the years.
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Okay folks, I want to first and foremost offer a huge shout-out to Steve for his excellent insights and analysis, as well as for being a good sport with some weirder questions about mascots posing for Playboy.
He’s a gentleman and a scholar, and I HIGHLY recommend you frequent the work of Steve and his team at Underdog Dynasty not only for this game, but all season long — they do a great job covering a lot of the smaller programs who make this sport great and plenty of teams who we could see earning a spot in the Playoff come December.
Furthermore, I suggest you give both Steve and Underdog Dynasty some follows on Twitter for the very same reason — instant, funny, quick analysis on anything G6 will be at your fingertips and make this season way more fun than just following ND accounts.
Otherwise, that’s it for this week — as always, GO IRISH, BEAT OWLS!!!!!
