The Rice Owls have added future football games against the Duke Blue Devils and Houston Christian Huskies, it was officially announced Tuesday evening by Rice University.
Rice and Duke will begin a home-and-home series at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2027. The two-game series will conclude three seasons later when the Owls travel to face the Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2030.
The Rice vs. Duke football series is a relatively limited rivalry, with the two teams meeting infrequently due to their different conferences and geographic regions. Duke leads the overall series 5-1, which began in 1957. The most recent matchup was on Sept. 13, 2003, when Duke defeated Rice 27-24 in Durham.
With the addition of Duke, Rice has completed its non-conference football schedule for the 2027 season. After opening the season vs. Duke, Rice will then host back-to-back games versus the Fresno State Bulldogs on Sept. 11 and the Lamar Cardinals on Sept. 18.
A road trip to face the Western Michigan Broncos on Sept. 25 rounds out the 2027 non-conference schedule for Rice.
Rice has also added a future home contest against the Houston Christian (HCU) Huskies of the Southland Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Owls will host the Huskies at Rice Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2029.
Rice is also scheduled to host Houston Christian to open the 2026 season on Sept. 5, which was previously announced.
The addition of Houston Christian in 2029 completes the non-league schedule for the Owls that season. Other opponents include the Toledo Rockets on Sept. 8 and the LSU Tigers on Sept. 29, both on the road, and a home tilt against the Northwestern Wildcats on a date to be determined (previously announced as Sept. 8).
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“We Choose Go to The Moon”
Famous JFK speech that took place at Rice Stadium.