Spring football is ongoing across the state of Texas now that spring break is over. The 13 FBS programs in the Lone Star State are allowed to participate in 15 on-field practice sessions, including 12 involving contact. Spring games are littered throughout April with most taking place on April 15 or April 22. Houston goes first when the Cougars play their spring game on April 7. 

The 2023 season is one of change. Sam Houston is moving up to Conference USA from the FCS ranks. Houston is now in the Big 12. UTSA, North Texas, and Rice are preparing for their first season in the American Athletic Conference. 

But what is the best and worst case that can happen for each team in 2023? Here’s where we stand on the Rice Owls. 

RICE OWLS 

2022 record: 5-8

2023 schedule 
Sept. 2 at Texas
Sept. 9 Houston
Sept. 16 Texas Southern
Sept. 23 at USF
Sept. 30 East Carolina
Oct. 7 UCONN
Oct. 14 IDLE
Oct. 19 at Tulsa
Oct. 28 Tulane
Nov. 4  SMU
Nov. 11 at UTSA
Nov. 18 at Charlotte
Nov. 25 FAU

Best case: The five wins recorded by the Rice Owls in 2022 were the most by the program since 2015.  The group also reached a bowl game for the first time since 2014. Those are positive and tangible steps for head coach Mike Bloomgren and his band of Owls. And the team has raised its win total by one game for three consecutive years. The best-case for the program in 2023 is to continue that trajectory and reach at least six wins this season. 

The good news for Rice is that the quarterback feels more settled now than it has during the Bloomgren tenure thanks to the transfer of JT Daniels from West Virginia. The duo’s history dates to Bloomgren’s time at Stanford when he recruited the then five-star prospect from the state of California. Daniels has plenty of weapons to target at wide receiver and tight end. The running game should also improve. If Rice can answer a few questions on the defensive side of the ball, a winning record isn’t out of reach. 

Worst case: The schedule is brutal even without adding a move up from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference into the equation. The Owls start 2023 with a trip Austin to face the Texas Longhorns before returning home in Week 2 to host a Houston Cougars program that just moved up to the Big 12. The in-conference schedule isn’t much easier. The Owls must play the three preseason favorites – Tulane, SMU, and UTSA – during their first AAC slate in a three-week span beginning on Oct. 28. A losing season might signal the end for Bloomgren. 

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