2013 Rice Owls football team

The 2013 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach David Bailiff and played its home games at Rice Stadium. The team was a member of the West Division of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 10–4 overall, 7–1 in C-USA play, which was good for first place in the West Division. They won the C-USA championship by beating Marshall, the first-place team in the East Division, 41–24 in the C-USA conference championship game. They were invited to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, where they lost to Mississippi State, 44–7.

2013 Rice Owls football
C-USA champion C-USA West Division champion
C-USA Championship Game, W 41–24 vs. Marshall
Liberty Bowl, L 7–44 vs. Mississippi State
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
Record	10–4 (7–1 C-USA)
Head coach	David Bailiff (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	John Reagan (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Chris Thurmond (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Rice Stadium

2013 Conference USA football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall x		7	–	1					10	–	4
East Carolina		6	–	2					10	–	3
Middle Tennessee		6	–	2					8	–	5
Florida Atlantic		4	–	4					6	–	6
UAB		1	–	7					2	–	10
Southern Miss		1	–	7					1	–	11
FIU		1	–	7					1	–	11
West Division
Rice x$		7	–	1					10	–	4
UTSA		6	–	2					7	–	5
North Texas		6	–	2					9	–	4
Tulane		5	–	3					7	–	6
Louisiana Tech		3	–	5					4	–	8
Tulsa		2	–	6					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Rice 41, Marshall 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	12:00 pm	at No. 7 Texas A&M*	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPN	L 31–52	86,686
September 14	6:30 pm	Kansas*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	CBSSN	W 23–14	22,974
September 21	2:00 pm	vs. Houston*	Reliant Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)	FSN	L 26–31	34,831
September 28	6:00 pm	Florida Atlantic	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	FCS	W 18–14	14,380
October 5	2:30 pm	at Tulsa	Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	CBSSN	W 30–27 OT	20,014
October 12	3:00 pm	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	TWCS	W 27–21	25,272
October 19	7:00 pm	at New Mexico State*	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	CSNH+	W 45–19	16,164
October 26	2:30 pm	UTEP	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	CSS	W 45–7	15,355
October 31	6:30 pm	at North Texas	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX	FS1	L 16–28	22,835
November 16	6:00 pm	Louisiana Tech	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	CBSSN	W 52–14	19,707
November 21	6:30 pm	at UAB	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	FS1	W 37–34 OT	5,831
November 30	2:00 pm	Tulane	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	FCS	W 17–13	20,048
December 7	11:00 am	Marshall	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (C-USA Championship)	ESPN2	W 41–24	20,247
December 31	3:00 pm	vs. Mississippi State*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–44	57,846
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:

Game summaries

Texas A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice	14	7	0	10	31
#7 Texas A&M	7	21	10	14	52

See also: 2013 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Rankings

See also: 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—
Harris	Not released							—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	Not released
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released