Notre Dame vs. Rice Preview

Notre Dame football enters its 2026 home opener against Rice as a massive favorite, but Saturday is about more than simply beating the Owls: the Irish have an opportunity to dominate an overmatched opponent, develop their young players, expand the defensive rotation, establish the wide receivers and continue building an offensive line that took a major step forward against Wisconsin. Locked On Irish host Tyler Wojciak sets the stage for Notre Dame vs. Rice before breaking down Scott Abell’s unique gun-choice rushing attack and how the Irish defense can shut it down, then examines a vulnerable Rice defense and why CJ Carr, Mylan Graham, Jaden Greathouse and the Notre Dame passing game should attack downfield before finishing with special teams keys, players to watch and his final score prediction for Saturday’s game at Notre Dame Stadium.