2015 Rice Owls football team

The 2015 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the West Division of Conference USA. They were led by ninth year head coach David Bailiff and played their home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. They finished the season 5–7, 3–5 in C-USA play to finish in a three way tie for third place in the West Division.

2015 Rice Owls football
Conference	Conference USA
Division	West Division
2015 record	5–7 (3–5 C-USA)
Head coach	David Bailiff (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Edmondson and Billy Lynch
Defensive coordinator	Chris Thurmond
Home stadium	Rice Stadium (Capacity: 47,000)

2015 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 24 Western Kentucky x$		8	–	0					12	–	2
Middle Tennessee		6	–	2					7	–	6
Marshall		6	–	2					10	–	3
FIU		3	–	5					5	–	7
Old Dominion		3	–	5					5	–	7
Florida Atlantic		3	–	5					3	–	9
Charlotte*		0	–	8					2	–	10
West Division
Southern Miss x		7	–	1					9	–	5
Louisiana Tech		6	–	2					9	–	4
UTSA		3	–	5					3	–	9
UTEP		3	–	5					5	–	7
Rice		3	–	5					5	–	7
North Texas		1	–	7					1	–	11
Championship: Western Kentucky 45, Southern Miss 28
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ineligible for postseason bowl due to transition from FCS As of January 12, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Rice announced their 2015 football schedule on February 2, 2015. The 2015 schedule consisted of six home and away games in the regular season. The Owls hosted CUSA foes Charlotte, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, and Western Kentucky (WKU), and traveled to Florida Atlantic, North Texas, UTEP, and UTSA.[1]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	2:30 PM	Wagner*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ASN	W 56–16	18,296
September 12	7:00 PM	at Texas*	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (Rivalry)	LHN	L 28–42	86,458
September 19	1:30 PM	at North Texas	Apogee Stadium Denton, TX (rivalry)	FCS Central	W 38–24	19,602
September 26	2:00 PM	at No. 5 Baylor*	McLane Stadium Waco, TX (Rivalry)	FSN/FCS Central	L 17–70	43,619
October 3	2:30 PM	WKU	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	FSN	L 10–49	20,124
October 10	1:30 PM	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	FCS	W 27–26	13,191
October 24	11:00 AM	Army*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	FSN	W 38–31	24,409
October 30	7:00 PM	Louisiana Tech	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	FS1	L 17–42	18,010
November 6	7:00 PM	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	CBSSN	L 21–24	23,031
November 14	2:30 PM	Southern Miss	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ASN	L 10–65	18,656
November 21	6:00 PM	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ASN	L 24–34	20,437
November 28	2:30 PM	Charlotte	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	ASN	W 27–7	16,539
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule source:[2]

Game summaries

Wagner

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	3	0	6	7	16
Owls	14	21	7	14	56

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	14	0	14	28
Longhorns	21	0	21	0	42

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–71–1	2011	TEX, 34–9

at North Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	17	21	0	38
Mean Green	3	7	7	7	24

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–2	2014	RICE, 41–21

at Baylor

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	10	0	7	0	17
#5 Bears	21	21	21	7	70

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
30–47–2	2011	BAYLOR, 56–31

WKU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	21	14	0	14	49
Owls	3	7	0	0	10

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rice Owls	14	0	0	13	27
FAU Owls	7	7	6	6	26

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2013	RICE, 18–14

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Black Knights	0	14	7	10	31
Owls	14	10	0	14	38

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–1–1	2014	RICE, 41–21

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	14	14	7	7	42
Owls	7	0	3	7	17

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–4	2014	LT, 76–31

at UTEP

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	0	14	7	0	21
Miners	0	14	7	3	24

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
12–6	2014	RICE, 31–7

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	7	35	10	13	65
Owls	0	0	0	10	10

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–1	2014	RICE, 41–23

at UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Owls	10	7	7	0	24
Roadrunners	7	21	6	0	34

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2014	RICE, 17–7

Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	0	0	7	7
Owls	0	0	10	17	27

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

References

1. "Owls Announce Completed 2015 Football Schedule" (Press release). Rice University Department of Athletics. February 2, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
2. "2015 Rice Owls Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 20, 2015.