A late-season non-conference matchup between the Rice Owls and No. 7 LSU Tigers sizes up as a bowl game for one side and a tune-up game on the way to 10 wins for the other come Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Life has not been easy for first-year Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren in Houston. But, despite the difficulties, the Owls (1-10, 0-7 C-USA) continue to compete against Conference USA opponents. In the last two outings, Rice scrapped with Louisiana Tech before falling 34-26 and kept the contest a one-score game into the fourth against Louisiana Tech before a J’Mar Smith 10-yard touchdown pushed the final tally to 28-13.