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FACTS & STATS: Site: Rice Stadium (47,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television: CBSCSN. Home Record: Tulsa 1-0, Rice 0-1. Away Record: Tulsa 2-1, Rice 0-3. Neutral Record: Tulsa 0-0, Rice 0-0. Conference Record: Tulsa 1-0, Rice 0-1. Series Record: Rice leads, 7-6-1.

GAME NOTES: Still looking for their first win of the season, the Rice Owls welcome the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to Rice Stadium in Houston for a Conference USA bout.

Rice is off to an ugly 0-4 start, with all four losses coming by double digits. Last weekend, Rice was on the wrong end of a 36-17 final against Vanderbilt. This marks the second leg of a three-game homestand, although the Owls haven't exactly enjoyed much of a home field advantage so far this season.

Tulsa was blanked by Oklahoma 45-0 two weeks ago, then took out its frustrations on Sam Houston State last weekend in a 56-3 shellacking. It was the Golden Hurricane's first home game, as they kicked off the season with three straight on the road. Following this bout, Tulsa plays four of its next five games at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Rice holds a narrow 7-6-1 edge in the all-time series, although Tulsa has won five of the last six meetings.

Tulsa's recent 53-point win served as a coming-out party for the offense, which scored on five of seven first-half possessions and went on to compile 516 yards of total offense. G.J. Kinne had a brutal day in the loss to Oklahoma, completing just 12-of-26 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times on that forgettable afternoon. But his performance last weekend was quite the opposite. Kinne completed 12-of-15 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns, and he also led the team with 58 rushing yards (11.6 ypc). Damaris Johnson had 103 yards and a touchdown on three catches, while Trae Johnson caught a pair of scoring passes. However, any semblance of a traditional running game has been absent under head coach Todd Graham. Considering the quarterback seems to be the best running option at the moment, don't expect Graham to alter his style any time soon.

Somehow, the Tulsa defense has yet to allow a rushing touchdown after four games. The Golden Hurricane rank third in the conference in run defense, having allowed just 107 rushing ypg. Nevermind that Oklahoma posted six passing touchdowns in their matchup two weeks ago, coach Graham said at his weekly press conference that stopping the run continues to be the main focus of the defense. Of course, Graham acknowledges that a porous pass defense won't cut it in the pass-happy C-USA. But he believes his players have the talent and work ethic to get things straightened out against the pass. They took a step in the right direction last week, holding Sam Houston State quarterbacks to 8-of-21 passing for 100 yards. But they'll face more of a challenge against Rice.

The Owls are dealing with several injuries on offense. Missing are starting quarterback Mike Fanuzzie and tailback Tyler Smith, and a couple of injuries along the offensive line have caused some shuffling there, as well. With Fanuzzie out with a sprained shoulder, fifth-year senior John Thomas Shepherd and redshirt freshman Ryan Lewis shared time under center last week against Vanderbilt, and the results were far from desirable. Lewis went 6-of-18 for 64 yards and two interceptions, while Shepherd completed 6-of-14 passes for 58 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Both were sacked twice. Jeramy Goodson filled in at running back and finished with just 41 yards on 12 carries. Charles Ross also got some reps at running back and scored on a 48- yard run, but was later forced out of the game due to an asthma attack.

The Rice defense also had its share of problems with the Commodores, who amassed 484 yards of total offense. The Owls had all kinds of trouble stopping the run, as Vandy rushed for 216 yards (5.0 ypc) and four touchdowns. And all of those gashing runs began to take their toll as the game wore on in the third and fourth quarters. Sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw, who led the team with 10 tackles (1.5 TFLs), said the fatigue showed up in the form of missed tackles and long runs. Put simply, the Owls need to hold up better at the point of attack, whether it be by rotating in fresh personnel or playing a more aggressive scheme on typical running down and distances. Then again, they might catch a break this week against a Tulsa offense that won't be playing smash mouth football.

Not only are the Owls winless, but they also have several injury concerns at key positions on offense. That won't bode well going up against a Tulsa squad that can put points on the board in a hurry.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Tulsa 42, Rice 24