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
Seasons ← 2012 2014 →

2013 Conference USA football standings

v t e	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:^[1]

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