[11] The Rice Owls, representing Conference USA (C–USA), began Mike Bloomgren's fifth year as head coach with a road trip to Los Angeles and a game at No.
[14] They were defeated by crosstown rivals Houston by a touchdown to conclude their non-conference schedule,[15] and began C–USA play on October 1 with a home victory against UAB.
[17] A one-point overtime win over Louisiana Tech[18] and a poor showing against Charlotte, resulting in a 33-point loss, took Rice into November with a 4–4 record.
Under normal circumstances, this means that Rice would not be eligible for a bowl; however, due to an insufficient number of standard bowl-eligible teams, Academic Progress Rate (APR) is used as a tiebreaker.
[29] They earned their first win of the season with a dominant showing against FCS Northwestern State,[30] and defeated Tulane on the road with the help of a fourth quarter pick-six the next week.
[35] November started much worse for the Golden Eagles, however, as they dropped a home game to Georgia State[36] before a road trip to Coastal Carolina ended in a three-point loss.
[39] The game's officiating crew, representing the Mid-American Conference, was led by referee David Siegle and umpire Ryan McClellan.