Rice at Florida Atlantic Breakdown: Week 8, Oct. 24, 2026

The story

Rice has lost six straight and sits winless in American play, while Florida Atlantic comes home at 4-2 after a 56-24 loss at Army on Oct. 17. Boca Raton should be a friendly place for fantasy points, because neither defense has kept opponents off the scoreboard. The Florida Atlantic passing game is where lineups should start.

The angle

Both defenses give up points, so this sets up as a higher-scoring game with room for ceilings. That favors Florida Atlantic's passing attack, where Kelby Valsin and Easton Messer split the catches almost evenly. On Rice's side, Jordan Clark has absorbed nearly all of the receiving work, but the Owls lean on the run. Their fantasy upside sits mostly with Rice quarterback Jacurri Brown's legs.

Start 'em

Kelby Valsin (Florida Atlantic) has been one of the most reliable receivers anywhere. He has averaged 23.9 points a game this season and 26.9 over his last three games, with a season high of 37.6. He has caught 7.7 passes a game over that stretch. He shares the passing game with Messer (Florida Atlantic), 27 percent of the team's catches to Messer's 26 percent over the last three games, so neither is the clear lead. Valsin gets the edge, though, with his recent scoring running ahead of Messer's 20.2 a game over the same span. Rice is a below-average defense against receivers, in the bottom 30 percent of FBS, and the scoring environment adds to the appeal. Start Valsin, since his steady catch volume lines up with a secondary that gives receivers room.

Caden Veltkamp (Florida Atlantic) is the starting QB of an offense scoring 35 points a game. He has thrown for 293 yards a game over his last three games, and his scoring has climbed to 22.6 a game over that stretch from 20.3 this season. His best outing this season reached 33.2. Rice is below average against quarterbacks, in the bottom 40 percent of FBS, and owns the 27th-worst scoring defense in FBS at 29 points allowed a game. Veltkamp does little as a runner, but a shootout script plays to his arm. He's a ceiling play, because the passing volume and a giving defense point toward one of his bigger weeks.

Risky plays

Jacurri Brown is the engine of the Rice offense. He has averaged 15.7 carries and 90 rushing yards a game over his last three games, and his scoring has held at 17.7 a game over that stretch, up slightly from 16.8 this season, with a high of 27.6. Florida Atlantic is normally a defense to target at QB: it is below average against the position, in the bottom 25 percent of FBS. The problem is everything around him. Rice has not given anyone full confidence, and Brown's work is thin as a passer, at 52 passing yards a game over his last three games. His points rest almost entirely on what he does on the ground. He's risky, because a strong rushing floor comes without much passing upside to lift it.

Injuries and timeshares

Rice's Ben Grice and Barry Jackson are questionable. If Grice sits, Jordan Clark stands to gain, and he already has 71 percent of the team's catches over his last three games. Rice's Quinton Jackson is out for the season. The Rice backfield is a committee: Tyvonn Byars has 26 percent of the carries over the last three games and D'Andre Hardeman 23 percent. Florida Atlantic's RJ Garcia and Brooks Johnson are questionable. In the Florida Atlantic backfield, Ethan Ervin has 37 percent of the carries over the last three games and Leonard Farrow 23 percent. Ervin's share is worth watching, though: he has 28 percent of the team's carries over his last two games, down from 42 percent.

TL;DR

Start Valsin with confidence, use Veltkamp as the ceiling play, and treat Brown's rushing floor as a risky option in a high-scoring setup.