SOUTH BEND — Home openers for Notre Dame football have been a dicey proposition in the Marcus Freeman era.
The Irish are 1-3 in such spots since 2022 with losses to Marshall (2022), Northern Illinois (2024) and Texas A&M (2025). The lone win was a 56-3 laugher against HBCU Tennessee State in 2023.
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They hope to change the narrative on home openers against Rice, a member of the American Conference, is 1-0 after a 31-3 win over Houston Baptist on Sept. 5. The Owls haven’t had a winning season since 2014, but they have made three bowl appearances in the past four years.
We’ll update this story throughout the week with the latest injury news, coach comments, line movement and plenty more. Whether you’re looking for kickoff information, key matchups or score predictions, this guide has everything you need to know before the Irish take the field against the Owls.
Brauntae Johnson and Jason Onye will be out for a few weeks with their respective injuries.
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Here is our story breaking the news on Johnson’s surgery: Notre Dame safety Brauntae Johnson gets positive news on injured foot
Starting safety Brauntae Johnson and sixth-year defensive tackle Jason Onye both left Lambeau Field with walking boots on their left legs Sunday night Sept. 6.
In addition, linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (ACL surgery in November) did not suit up after being listed as questionable during the week.
∎ Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
∎ Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
∎ Location: Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, IN)
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∎ TV: NBC
∎ Streaming: Peacock
∎ Local radio affiliates: 960 WSBT-AM/101.5 WNSN-FM
Dan Hicks and Jason Garrett will be in the TV booth with Caroline Pineda as the sideline reporter. Tony Simeone is the radio play-by-play voice with Mike Golic Sr. as the analyst.
Odds from BetMGM
Point spread: Notre Dame, -44.5
Over/under: 54.5
Moneyline: Rice +8000, Notre Dame N/A
This will be updated later in the week.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Your guide to Notre Dame football vs Rice | Odds, predictions and key storylines
