2018 Rice Owls season

2018 Rice Owls
Heart of Dallas Bowl, L 31-41 vs. Washington State
Conference	Conference USA West Division
2018 record	9-5 (8-0 C-USA)
Head coach	Bubada (3rd year)
Offensive scheme	Pro Style
Base defense	3-4
MVP	Koren Donahue
Captain	Victor Harvey, QB Brayden Whitten, DE Koren Donahue,FS
Home stadium	Rice Stadium (Capacity: 47,000)
Seasons « 2017 2019 »

2018 C-USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x		7	–	0					9	–	5
Charlotte		5	–	2					5	–	7
Western Kentucky		5	–	2					6	–	7
Old Dominion		3	–	4					3	–	9
Florida International		2	–	5					2	–	10
Florida Atlantic		2	–	5					2	–	10
Middle Tennessee		0	–	7					0	–	12
West Division
Rice x†		7	–	0					9	–	5
UTEP		5	–	2					6	–	6
UAB		5	–	2					5	–	7
Southern Miss		4	–	3					5	–	7
North Texas		3	–	4					3	–	9
Louisiana Tech		1	–	6					2	–	10
UTSA		0	–	7					1	–	11
Championship: Rice 28, Marshall 14
† – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of Postpoll=AP Poll; Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Regular Season

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result
1	TNF	at Oregon State*		Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR	W 31-20
3	Sat. Afternoon	Iowa*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 63-21
4	Sat. Afternoon	Michigan State*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 10-21
6	Sat. Afternoon	Georgia*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 16-24
7	FNF	FAU		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 44-0
9	TNF	at UAB		Blazer Stadium • Birmingham, AL	W 28-7
10	TNF	Southern Miss		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 28-3
11	Sat. Afternoon	at UTEP		Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX	W 31-7
12	FNF	UTSA		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 23-7
13	FNF	Louisiana Tech*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 30-0
15	Sat. Evening	TCU*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 31-6
16	TNF	at North Texas		Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX	W 24-13
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game.

Post-season

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result
Conf Champ		vs. Marshall		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	W 28-14
Heart of Dallas Bowl		vs. Washington State*		Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX	L 41-31
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game.

Personnel

Key Personnel

Name	Position	Season at Rice	Season in current role
Bubada	Head Coach	3rd	3rd
Brayden Whitten	Defensive End	1st	1st
Koren Donahue	Free Safety	2nd	2nd

Depth chart

Defense FS Koren Donahue Yakov Canfield WLB ILB ILB SLB Carl Hahn Jermaine Epps Lucas Giles Aiden Proctor Miguel Lindsey Rey Lujan Kevin Phillips Nathan Atkins SS William Willis Larry Blalock CB Randy Watkins Andrew Thompson DE NT DE Brayden Whitten Christopher Ortiz Juan Hampton Aidan McLeod Agustin Jacoby Aidan McLeod CB Thomas Marino Don Taylor Offense WR Clarence Terrell Jamir Irving LT LG C RG RT Benjamin Sander Dante Vick-Schaeffer James Himes Christopher Hunter Timmy Herrington Christopher Proctor Brody Foss Alberto Negrete Byron Miranda Christopher Proctor TE Tanielu Mulinu'u Edward Wells WR Jerry Buchanan Noel Jilliumz QB Victor Harvey Jabari Jackson RB Nate Wooten Earl Cassidy FB Chad Miles Ahmed Dudley Special Teams PK Raymond Kauffman P Tim Condon KR Jerry Buchanan PR Jerry Buchanan LS Alberto Negrete H Jabari Jackson

Recruiting

High School

Only 4.0+ potential recruits listed:

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Raphael Brannon OG	Roma, TX	Roma HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	334 lb (151 kg)	TBD
	Skill:   Potential:
Hunter Borden FB	Sallisaw, OK	Sallisaw HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	246 lb (112 kg)	TBD
	Skill:   Potential:
Jasiah Braxton RB	Duncan, OK	Empire HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	233 lb (106 kg)	TBD
	Skill:   Potential:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Junior College Transfers

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jaylen Collins FB	Cicero, IL	Morton College	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	249 lb (113 kg)
	Skill:   Potential:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.