Houston looking to reclaim the Bayou Bucket in their 47th meeting with Rice. | Emma Christensen/The Cougar
Houston football will face off against Rice in the annual Bayou Bucket Classic on Saturday, Sept. 14. This will be the 46th meeting between these two teams in this historic rivalry. In the last meeting, Rice won in a double overtime shootout when Houston failed to convert on a two-point conversion. The Cougars seek to take the trophy back home by continuing the momentum they found in last week’s 16-12 loss to No. 15 Oklahoma.
Bayou Bucket Classic History
The annual Houston and Rice game was named the Bayou Bucket Classic in 1974 when the Touchdown Club of Houston introduced the Bayou Bucket trophy. Houston is known as the Bayou City because of the several bayous that flow throughout its area, which contributed to the nickname of this historic rivalry.
Houston has dominated this rivalry, with a 33-12 record over the Owls. The Cougars won the first official game against Rice in 1971, 23-21. The rivalry was first referred to as the Bayou Bucket Classic in 1974, along with the creation of the Bayou Bucket trophy.
The trophy is around three feet tall and has the scores from every matchup engraved on it. The winner gets to take the trophy to their university until the next matchup.
The Cougars hold the largest margin of victory in a single game over Rice, with a 64-0 blowout win in 1989. UH holds the longest win streak in the series, with six consecutive wins from 1987 to 1992. In 2023, Houston sought to tie the longest win streak but fell short after a two-point overtime loss to the Owls.
The Bayou Bucket Classic has been played annually since 1971, except for a few interruptions. Despite this rivalry’s challenges, these two teams have made every effort to continue the game. At this time, the 2026 and 2027 Bayou Bucket Classics were canceled, and both teams rescheduled other non-conference opponents.
Last Meeting
The two teams’ most recent meeting occurred at Rice Stadium on Sept. 9, 2023. The Cougars were coming off a big in-state win against a tough UTSA team. Rice sought their first win of the season after suffering a blowout loss to the Texas Longhorns in their season opener.
The Cougars opened the game as only a two-point favorite against Rice and was predicted to be a competitive game.
Rice stormed out to a 28-0 lead led by graduate transfer quarterback J.T. Daniels and redshirt junior wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, the brother of NFL star Christian McCaffrey.
The first half continued to be dominated by Rice until Houston scored its first points due to a ten-yard touchdown reception by sophomore receiver Mathew Golden. UH trailed Rice 28-7 at the half.
The third quarter was a battle and neither team scored. Houston changed that by scoring quickly in the fourth quarter thanks to a one-yard rushing touchdown.
Houston cut the lead to seven with under four minutes left in the game. UH had one last chance to force overtime with 2:34 left on the clock. Junior quarterback Donovan Smith led the offense down the field on an eight-play drive and finished the drive off with a one-yard rushing touchdown, his second rushing touchdown of the game.
Each team scored two touchdowns in overtime, and Houston was forced to go for two. Smith’s pass fell incomplete, giving Rice its first win in this rivalry since 2010.
What to Expect
The Cougars look to avoid going 0-3 for the first time since 2012 and snap a five-game losing streak dating back to Nov. 11.
Rice is 1-1 on the year and is coming off a dominant 69-7 win against Texas Southern University. The Owls are led by junior quarterback E.J. Warner and senior running back Dean Connors.
Rice has plenty of offensive firepower as seen in the seven offensive touchdowns against TSU. Connors rushed for 113 yards and scored three touchdowns. Warner was very efficient in this game and had two touchdown passes. Rice will lean on these two stars against Houston with hopes of winning back-to-back games in this rivalry.
Houston’s head football coach Willie Fritz outlined his expectations against Rice. “We need to continue to do a better job of becoming situational masters, understanding what to do in different situations,” Fritz said. “We had too many pre-snap penalties, and we need to play clean to be competitive.”
The Cougars have had 18 penalties through two games, and Fritz expects his players to cut down on the self-inflicted wounds.
The Cougar’s biggest key for the game against Rice’s will be their defense. UH only allowed 16 points to a preseason top-ten-ranked Sooner offense last week.
“A sign of a good coordinator is putting your guys in a position to be successful, and he’s doing a good job,” Fritz said. Wood was excellent in mixing up coverages and different looks last game and that kept the OU offense off-balance and out of rhythm.
The Cougars seek to recreate that strong defensive effort and reclaim the Bayou Bucket in Saturday’s matchup with Rice.
