Houston Christian takes confidence from opening win into crosstown test at Rice
Houston Christian University is taking a step up in competition Saturday night.
Coming off an impressive 34-28 Southland Conference road victory against nationally ranked Southeastern Louisiana a week ago, the Huskies go across town to play at Rice.
Don’t expect the Huskies, an FCS member, to be totally overwhelmed playing at Rice Stadium, meeting the Owls of the American Athletic Conference for the first time in football.
Last year, HCU played at Nebraska before a raucous crowd in excess of 86,000. Rice is expecting a good crowd for its 6 p.m. season opener, but nothing like the turnout the Huskies faced at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.
It was a fun experience (playing Nebraska),
“It was a fun experience (playing Nebraska), but our kids as far as that goes, we’ve played in front of 25,000, 28,000 (people),” third year Huskies coach Jason Bachtel said.
“Our kids handled it well. I’m excited to see our kids go out and just play (on Saturday). Everybody has the odds stacked against us, so let’s have fun. I think we’ll be OK.”
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Rice Stadium
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Online at RiceOwls.com
There are close to 35 newcomers playing for HCU, but a good number of players return who played Nebraska. HCU is returning eight starters on both offense and defense. All of the eight offensive starters started against Nebraska. Six of the Huskies’ returning eight defense starters from a year ago played against the Cornhuskers.
Huskies quarterback Cutter Stewart, who engineered the win
Huskies quarterback Cutter Stewart, who engineered the win over SLU, started at UTSA in 2024. He’s back leading the Huskies after spending last season at Cisco Junior College.
The game with Rice is a measuring stick for the Huskies, who did not play their first full season of football until 2014 when former coach Vic Shealy started the program.
“I think it will be similar to our matchup versus UTSA,” Bachtel said. “UTSA was a decent American Conference ball team in 2024 when we played them (a 45-7 loss). I’m excited to go out there and compete.”
Despite playing a game that could go
Despite playing a game that could go a long way in establishing HCU football as an up-and-comer, Rice is not a major focus for the Huskies. Just like the Huskies may not be a top priority for Rice. The Owls visit South Bend, Ind., next Saturday to take on No. 4 Notre Dame.
For HCU, getting ready for Southland Conference play is most important. The Huskies resume league action Sept. 19 at Incarnate Word.
“We got to come out of this (Rice game) healthy, we got to come out of the next two weeks healthy going into our next conference ballgame,” Bachtel said. “The game plan this week is going to look different than it did last week for us.
We are in a situation, is this
“We are in a situation, is this a must-win? No. We got to win conference ballgames and we got to be healthy going into conference ballgames. That’s where it really matters.”
The Huskies’ impressive outing at SLU, has gotten second-year Rice coach Scott Abell’s attention. Against SLU, the Huskies jumped out to a 17-7 halftime advantage and made the plays they needed down the stretch to secure victory.
“They have a big win on the road,” Abell said. “They’ve put a good football team together. They’re coming in with confidence. They have nothing to lose when they get here. To play a crosstown team is always good for everyone, both teams.”
Against SLU, Stewart passed for a pair
Against SLU, Stewart passed for a pair of scores, adding 95 yards rushing over the previously 19th-ranked Lions.
“Offensively, their quarterback jumps out,” Abell said. “He was their quarterback two years ago. He’s a player with more confidence. That showed up (last week). He’s got a game under his belt. He is a concern for us.”
The fact is HCU has played a game and Rice is opening its season. In 2025 in Abell’s debut with Rice, the Owls were 5-8 overall, facing nine eventual bowl teams.
Rice returns 46 players who saw action
Rice returns 46 players who saw action a year ago and combined for 90 starts between offense and defense. The Owls have added 50 new players to the roster – 27 freshmen, 23 transfers.
Central Florida transfer Jacurri Brown, who began his college career at Miami, is expected to start at quarterback for the Owls. Last year’s leading rusher Quinton Jackson with 889 yards has moved from running back to slot receiver.
“The first game, there’s work to be done,” Abell said. “The thing I want to accomplish is continue to build our depth. How are we going to have a deeper roster? Get a fresher team every Saturday. Getting more guys to play. That was a challenge in year one.”
It appears HCU may have a slight advantage
It appears HCU may have a slight advantage over Rice in that the Huskies have that one game played. But there are two ways of looking at it.
“I think we got the advantage as far as being better in game shape,” Bachtel said. “We’ve played a ballgame. The disadvantage is, we don’t know who Rice truly is. We know who they have plugged in to their starting 1s and 2s. But we are searching for (video) to find guys. You’re trying to find old tape from UCF and Miami on the quarterback. You are trying to find film on corners, DBs. You really don’t know who they are, you don’t know how (their newcomers) truly fit into their systems.
“Those guys (Rice) have a full game (of video) on us. The difference is, we had to fire a lot of our good bullets last week to win a conference game. We had to put a lot on tape just to win a ballgame. We don’t know what Rice is going to do, how they are going to approach this game.”
We don’t know how base and vanilla they
“We don’t know how base and vanilla they are going to play or exotic. There are two trains of thought here. One is you don’t see a lot from Rice, knowing they got Notre Dame next week. Or (Rice) puts a lot on tape knowing they got Notre Dame next week. You don’t know.”
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This article originally published at Houston Christian takes confidence from opening win into crosstown test at Rice.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
