In the culinary world, many dishes involving rice are best complemented by a bowl. The same theme holds in the realm of college football.
The Rice Owls football program had been starved of a bowl game for quite some time heading into the 2022 season. For the first time since 2014, that objective finally came to fruition as the Owls participated in the LendingTree Bowl against former CUSA foe Southern Miss.
However, Rice entered bowl season with a unique stipulation. Due to the lack of 6-win teams available to satisfy every bowl slot, the Owls qualified with a 5-7 record due to their supreme academic progress rating (APR) when compared to the other 5-7 programs.