It’s Rivalry Week, and if you’re a Stanford fan, you get to watch your team face off against ... Rice. Yes, instead of ending the season with, say, a conference team like UCLA (Stanford plays Cal earlier in the year, and doesn’t play Notre Dame in Rivalry Weekend when that game’s in South Bend), Stanford scheduled a game against Rice for the final home game of the season.
As a result, the crowd at Stanford Stadium is, well, barely there.
#Stanford vs. #Rice prior to kick off feeling like the holiday party your parents make you go to. pic.twitter.com/lgKPdikNWP
— Sports Fan Journal (@theSFjournal) November 27, 2016
Senior Night 'Crowd' for Stanford's final home game against Rice in the rain. pic.twitter.com/5ZeNLOAis7
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 27, 2016
It’s a little interesting for Stanford to be playing Rice this week, because since 2011 Stanford has ended the season with games against Notre Dame, UCLA, or USC.
But, there is a reason for this weird Rivalry Week opponent. In 2015, Stanford announced that there were changes to the schedule that were being made. Rice’s game for 2016 was originally set for Sept. 3. But that was moved thanks to Stanford’s scheduling of Kansas State on that Friday evening of opening weekend.
Rice will host Stanford on Sept. 2 to begin the 2017 season and complete the home-and-home series.