RICE at CHARLOTTE
Saturday, September 18 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Jerry Richardson Stadium (15,134/FieldTurf)
Charlotte, North Carolina
Television
ESPN
Matt Barrie, Tom Luginbill and Harry Lyles Jr.
Rice Radio
Varsity Network
SiriusXM 380
Charlotte Radio
WZGV-AM 730
THE GAME
Thursday’s game will be the seventh meeting between Rice and Charlotte in a series that began in 2015 … Each team has won three games in the series after the 49ers’ 21-20 victory in Houston last season … Charlotte WR O’Mega Blake had five receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s win
RICE
2-1, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Scott Abell (Longwood ’92)
2-1, first season at Rice
88-54, 13th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Rice improved to 2-1 with an impressive 38-17 win against Prairie View A&M last Saturday in Houston … The Owls churned out 347 rushing yards and 461 total yards while limiting Prairie View A&M to just 251 yards … Rice has averaged 243.3 rushing yards per game in Scott Abell’s shotgun-option offense and has scored all six of its eight touchdowns on the ground in 2025 … RB Quinton Jackson leads the way with 213 yards and two TDs on 46 carries, while RB Daelen Alexander has 149 yards on 32 attempts … QB Chase Jenkins has completed 27 of 37 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns … The defense has been led by LB Ty Morris, who has a team-high 20 tackles with one sack, while DE Michael Daley has 1.5 sacks and two pass breakups.
CHARLOTTE
1-2, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Tim Albin (Northwestern Oklahoma State ’89)
1-2, first season at Charlotte
59-29, eighth season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Charlotte picked up its first win under new head coach Tim Albin after the 49ers scored a 42-35 victory against Monmouth last Saturday at Richardson Stadium … The 49ers opened their season with a 34-11 setback to Appalachian State at Bank of America Stadium and fell 20-3 to North Carolina in Week 2 … Charlotte broke through with 563 yards of offense against the Hawks after averaging 244.5 yards in its first two games … QB Conner Harrell, a transfer from North Carolina has completed 56 of 83 passes for 664 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions … RB C.J. Stokes leads the team with 96 rushing yards on 32 carries … WR Javen Nicholas has a team-high 17 receptions for 177 yards, while WR E.Jai Mason has 16 catches for 284 yards and three touchdowns.