Instate foes Rice and Texas State to meet in Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

The 23rd edition of the Armed Forces Bowl will be played Friday, Jan. 2, at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium. Kickoff is noon (CT). Tickets are available at ArmedForcesBowl.com.

“We’re extremely eager to have a pair of instate, strong-traveling schools in Rice and Texas State playing in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl,” Executive Director Brant Ringler said. “We look forward to a great matchup on the field and the team events and military tributes all week long.”

The Owls are coached by Scott Abell, who in his first year at Rice has the team in the postseason for just the third time in the past 11 years despite a difficult schedule that saw eight of Rice’s 12 opponents in 2025 become bowl bound. The Owls’ best win was a 37-34 double overtime victory over UConn, which finished 9-3.

Rice is 7-7 in 14 previous bowl appearances. The school’s most recent bowl victory came at the 2014 Hawaii Bowl, a 30-6 triumph over Fresno State. This will mark the ninth time the Owls have played a bowl game in Texas, which includes the 2012 Armed Forces Bowl win over Air Force (33-14).

Texas State ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak to earn bowl eligibility. Of its losses, four were by seven points or less, including two in overtime. The Bobcats averaged 36.1 points per game to rank 16th nationally thanks to 475.8 yards of offense per contest, a figure that is the eighth-best mark in the nation.

Head coach GJ Kinne has posted a 22-16 record (.579) and earned a trio of bowl trips since taking over the Bobcats program three years ago. This is the third bowl in school history, with the first two played across the Metroplex in Dallas. Both of those contests resulted in Bobcat victories.

It will be the sixth meeting between Rice and Texas State and the first since the 2023 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl won by Texas State, 45-21. Prior to that game, the teams had met in 1920, 1923, 1986, and 1987. Texas State leads the series, 3-2.

The “Bowl for the Brave” has featured the Armed Forces theme since 2006. The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, played in honor of the Armed Forces of the United States, was the first collegiate football bowl game to host all three US Military Academy football teams, and the game has featured an academy team 14 times. Air Force (2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2022, 2023), Army (2010, 2017, 2018, 2021) and Navy (2013, 2016, 2024) have all been frequent participants over the past nearly two decades.

Since 2014, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl is the second highest scoring of the more than three dozen bowl games in the nation with a total of 695 points. Only the Rose Bowl Game (742) has seen more points scored.

The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl is one of 17 bowl games owned and operated by ESPN Events. For additional information about the bowl, please visit ArmedForcesBowl.com and follow on Facebook and Twitter.