The Houston Cougars football program returned to Houston and assisted with relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey flooding victims. (0:49)

The Houston Cougars will wear replacement nameplates on the back of their jerseys featuring "Houston" as a tribute after the floods of Hurricane Harvey when they take the field on Saturday against fellow Bayou City school Rice.

Cougars safety Garrett Davis, a team captain, told the Houston Chronicle that the players were informed Tuesday of the uniform customization.

"It's pretty cool," Davis said. "It will keep the motto of playing for the city. It won't necessarily be a game about us.

"We'll be able to go out and fight for the city, fight for the people whose houses were damaged and aren't able to do the things we are able to do."

The jersey plans did not require the NCAA's permission, a source told the Chronicle.

The game will be the Cougars' second, after their scheduled opener at UTSA on Sept. 2 was canceled. They held on to beat Arizona 19-16 on Saturday night.

Rice started its season with a loss to Stanford in Australia, before beating host UTEP on Saturday.