DATE | Sept. 19, 2026
TIME | 7:00 PM ET
LOCATION | Houston, Texas
VENUE | Rice Stadium
TV | ESPN+
RADIO | Bronco Media Network
LIVE STATS | RiceOwls.com
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan heads back out on the road, traveling t Houston, Texas, to take on Rice University on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
THE SERIES
- Saturday is just the second all-time meeting between the Broncos and the Owls. It's also the first non-bowl game meeting between the programs.
- The first meeting came back on Dec. 30, 2008 in the Texas Bowl. The game was played in Houston at Reliant Stadium, with the Owls winning 38-14. Rice scored 38 straight points before the Broncos finally broke through late in the fourth quarter.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
- Rice enters Saturday's game 1-1. The Owls opened the season with a 31-3 win over Houston Christian at home. Last week they went on the road to No. 3 Notre Dame, falling 52-0.
RU has a run-first offense, posting 522 yards in the first two games. Redshirt senior quarterback Jacurri Brown leads the team with 130 yards on 29 carries. Sophomore running back Tyvonn Byars has 128 yards and leads the team with 5.60 yards. Brown has completed 11-of-18 passes this season for 82 yards and a touchdown. Last season, the Owls averaged 302.4 yards per game and 19.1 points per game.
Redshirt junior Cooper King leads the team with 13 tackles, while redshirt senior defensive back AJ Brown has 10. Redshirt senior defensive lineman Chibby Nwajuaku has two of the team's three sacks. RU's defense allowed 403.8 yards per game and 32.9 points per game.
LAST WEEK
- Western Michigan earned its first win of the season, dominating Monmouth 49-14. Redshirt junior quarterback
Broc Lowry through for 212 yards and a career-high three touchdown passes, while also leading the team with 40 yards rushing.
Jalen Buckley rushed for three touchdowns on 10 carries, as eight different players rushed the ball for WMU on the night. Sophomore wide receiver had a career-high 101 yards receiving.
- On the defensive side of the ball,
Domanick Moon had a career-high 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a strip sack. Junior college transfer linebacker
Justyce Betts also had a career-high with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
- For the second-straight week and the ninth time since the start of the 2025 season, WMU has held an opponent to 14 points or less.
- Monmouth managed 90 plays on offense against Western Michigan, the most allowed in a victory by the Broncos since a 20-14 win against Toledo on Nov. 25, 2022. That night the Rockets managed to run 82 plays.
PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Western Michigan heads into its showdown with Rice allowing just 13.5 points per game. WMU currently ranks first in the Mid-American Conference and 35th in the nation. Last season, the vaunted Bronco defense allowed 17.5 points per game, ranking second in the MAC and ninth in the nation.
HEADING HOME
WMU defensive lineman is the lone Texas native on the 2026 Broncos team. Tibbs, who transferred from Houston in the offseason, hails from Killeen, a city approximately 200 miles northwest from Houston.
IN THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS
Saturday's game is another program first for Western Michigan. It is the first regular-season game for the Broncos in the state of Texas. WMU has played games in Texas three times in its history, but all have been bowl games.
WMU's first trip to Texas was for the 2008 Texas Bowl against Rice (38-14, loss) in Houston. The second appearance was the 2016 Cotton Bowl against Wisconsin (24-16, loss) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The third game was the 2019 First Responder Bowl in University Park, just outside of Dallas. The Broncos fell 23-20 to Western Kentucky.
Western Michigan is still searching for its first win in the State of Texas.
