American Conference Matchups

Rice vs Northwestern

Rice Owls vs Northwestern Wildcats

Who wins Rice vs Northwestern?

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Head-to-head on record

Rice vs Northwestern series
TeamWinsSeries
Rice Owls4Rice leads
Northwestern Wildcats3

Meetings since 1967: 7. Source: CollegeFootballData game log.

The series in numbers

Northwestern has won the last 3 meetings.

4-3 Regular season
4-3 Last 7
27-20 Avg score
4 Longest Rice win run

Biggest Rice win 50-6 in 1967, a 44-point margin.

Biggest Rice loss 6-28 in 2011, a 22-point margin.

Every Rice vs Northwestern meeting

Rice Owls vs Northwestern Wildcats, every meeting on record
SeasonResultSiteScore
2011 Northwestern win Evanston 6-28
2010 Northwestern win Houston 13-30
1998 Northwestern win Houston 14-23
1997 Rice win Evanston 40-34
1991 Rice win Evanston 36-7
1990 Rice win Houston 31-14
1967 Rice win Houston 50-6

Scores from the Rice perspective. Source: CollegeFootballData game log, since 1967.

Matchup stats

Last five games

NorthwesternProvided by big10.co

DateOppResult
10-02 vsPSU W 34-13
09-25 atIU L 23-29
09-19 vsCOLO W 41-7
09-05 vsSOU W 34-18
12-26 vsCMU W 34-7

RiceProvided by americanconference.co

DateOppResult
10-03 vsUTSA L 14-16
09-26 atFRES L 24-38
09-19 vsWMU L 21-28
09-12 atND L 0-52
09-05 vsHCU W 31-3

Completed results from CollegeFootballData via the CFB Data Hub

2026 standings

Big TenProvided by big10.co

TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Indiana 500 1.00022154
Nebraska 500 1.00021871
UCLA 400 1.00017975
USC 510 .833224153
Ohio State 410 .80021163
Iowa 410 .80014563
Wisconsin 410 .80015883
Minnesota 410 .80016090
Oregon 310 .75019093
Northwestern 310 .75013267
Penn State 320 .60016080
Washington 320 .60013392
Michigan 320 .60011579
Illinois 230 .400153130
Maryland 230 .400152151
Purdue 230 .400152175
Michigan State 230 .40091116
Rutgers 140 .200150161

American AthleticProvided by americanconference.co

TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Memphis 410 .800193112
South Florida 410 .80013373
Florida Atlantic 410 .800186133
UTSA 410 .800157131
North Texas 320 .600203165
Tulsa 320 .600139106
UAB 320 .600120117
Army 220 .50013379
East Carolina 220 .50096101
Tulane 220 .5007593
Temple 230 .400129124
Navy 130 .25010191
Rice 140 .20090137
Charlotte 050 .00086203

Records computed from completed games this season

Rice Owls lead the series since 1967, 4-3. Here is the series on record and how to watch when Rice and Northwestern meet.

How to watch Rice vs Northwestern

When Rice and Northwestern are scheduled, here is how to find the game.

  1. National TV National windows are set by Set weekly by the conference TV partners (ESPN, ABC, FOX, FS1).
  2. Streaming ESPN+ and the FOX Sports app stream the national windows.
  3. Radio Listen on the Rice radio network.
  4. Confirm kickoff Kickoff and the exact channel are set by the networks before game week. Check the match center for the Rice vs Northwestern time and line.

The live time, line and how-to-watch details land on the match center and how to watch pages once the game is scheduled.

The Rice this season

Follow Rice in the title race on the American Conference standings, and model the finish with the title race calculator. For the conference series that define the year, see the American Conference rivalry pages, or browse every American Conference matchup.

About the author and reviewer

Written by

The AMERICANCONFERENCE.CO Desk

Conference Newsroom · Independent American Conference coverage since 2026

The house desk of AMERICANCONFERENCE.CO - independent researchers tracking every American Conference game, stat and storyline.

Fact-checked by

AMERICANCONFERENCE.CO Coverage Review

Fact & Data Review · Primary-source verification

Every stat and historical claim on data pages is checked against official box scores and the live feed before publication.

Independence: AMERICANCONFERENCE.CO was not paid by any school, network or sportsbook for this page. Corrections are logged in our editorial policy.

Rice vs Northwestern: the essentials

Rice Owls vs Northwestern Wildcats is a non-conference matchup that sets the American Conference against the Big Ten (Power 4). Rice Owls lead the series since 1967, 4-3. Across 7 meetings on record the series is one-sided so far, and whenever the two programs are scheduled this page carries the Rice vs Northwestern head-to-head record, the matchup numbers for both sides, and how to watch on TV and streaming. It sits alongside the Rice Owls team hub, the American Conference this week round-up and the live conference standings. For Northwestern against the whole conference, see Northwestern vs the American Conference.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the all-time record between Rice and Northwestern?

Rice Owls lead the series since 1967, 4-3. The two programs have met 7 times on record.

How can I watch Rice vs Northwestern?

National windows are set by Set weekly by the conference TV partners (ESPN, ABC, FOX, FS1). Kickoff time and the exact channel are set by the networks before game week.

Are Rice and Northwestern in the same conference?

No. Rice plays in the American Conference. Northwestern plays in the Big Ten (Power 4). This is a non-conference game.