HCU Huskies (1-0, 1-0 SLC) at Rice Owls (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 5 – 6 p.m.
Rice Stadium – Houston, Texas
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HOUSTON – HCU football, fresh off a Week 0 upset win over No. 19/20 Southeastern Louisiana and receiving votes in both major FCS polls, will make the short trek to Rice Stadium on Saturday for the Huskies' first of two FBS matchups this season at 6:00 p.m.
HCU (1-0) pulled off a big 34-28 upset win on the road over the Lions, taking advantage of three forced turnovers that the Huskies turned into 17 points while building a 34-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. A number of Huskies turned in quality performances, led by linebacker
Jayven Anderson who stood out to the tune of Stats Perform National Defensive Player of the Week and Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Anderson finished the game with nine tackles, six tackles for a loss, with one sack, one forced fumble and one blocked field goal.
Additionally, quarterback
Cutter Stewart was named SLC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in his first game back with the Huskies. Stewart completed 10-of-18 passing for 173 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a career-high 95 yards on 15 carries.
Lukasz Smolen connected on 2-of-2 field goal attempts, 4-of-4 PATs and also had a pair of punts that averaged 44.5 yards per punt.
HCU forced the Lions into three turnovers, turning those into 17 points. The Huskies' defense caused six SLU fumbles over the course of the game.
The Owls (0-0) are opening their second season under guidance of head coach Scott Abell who guided Rice to a 5-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in American Athletic Conference play in 2025.
Rice's offense will be led by transfer quarterback Jacurri Brown who previously spent two years at Miami (FL) and Central Florida. In four years, Brown has played in 21 games and rushed for 821 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 85-of-148 passing attempts for 906 yards with six touchdowns and nine interceptions. Quinton Jackson returns after leading Rice with 1,225 all-purpose yards last season, including 889 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Chibby Nwajuaku is the team's top returning pass rusher, finishing 2025 with a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss. Jo Chavez is the team's leading returning tackler after totaling 40 tackles last year.
Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between the Owls and Huskies on the gridiron.
The Huskies play their first home game of the season next Saturday, Sept. 12, at 6:00 p.m. against Arkansas Baptist.
