Texas Longhorns vs Rice Owls Odds & Free College Football Pick
Not sure you could call Texas vs. Rice an in-state rivalry when they meet Saturday in Houston. I meanthey are both in Texas, but the Owls have not won a game in the series at Rice Stadium since 1994. How long ago was this? ESPN was also desperate for something to broadcast a Sunday because the MLB season had been canceled as a result of the players’ strike, so Texas-Rice was moved to Sunday.
Overall, Texas has obtained the 13 overall and directs the string 72-21-1, 23-13-1 at Houston, 3-0 in NRG Stadium. Until that was dissolved in May 1996, they were both in the Southwest Conference. Needless to Say, Texas is now in the Big 12 and Rice in Conference USA. The previous meeting was in 2015.
Rice just isn’t a program with just 11 wins since 2015. They were 1-11 in David Bailiff’s last period in 2017 and”enhanced” to 2-11 last year under first trainer Mike Bloomgren. Since any college that travels to Hawaii is permitted to for financial 24, the reason that Rice got to play with 13 games was. The Owls’ wins last year were more than Prairie View A&M (barely) and Old Dominion.
The Owls and Week 1 in a 14-7 loss in a great Army group played well but then fell week, this season. Starting quarterback Wiley Green left one sent to the hospital and having a injury which had him carted off. Luckily, all tests were negative about the freshman. I tend to doubt that he plays here, however. Senior Tom Stewart seems likely to begin. The Harvard transport was 19-for-30 for 185 yards and a touchdown in place of Green vs. Wake Forest.
Perhaps Stewart will improve an offense that ranks 120th in yards per game (282.0), 118th in scoring (14.0) and 113th in passing (158.0). Rice is better for 118th against the rush 128th in pass performance D and defense.
Rice is 3-6 all time playing at NRG Stadium; it usually plays campus. The Owls haven’t defeated a ranked team since Nov. 11, 1997, vs. No. 21 BYU.
Texas fans are definitely bummed their staff lost 45-38 in the home to LSU last week in the initial and only Best 10 matchup of the season, however, UT is still in nice shape to make the College Football Playoff when it wins out, including the Big 12 title game. Each year but one, a one-loss team has won the title. No team, however, has attained the playoff. Nine of Texas’ 11 declines beneath Tom Herman have come by 10 points or fewer.
Junior Sam Ehlinger has turned into one of the country’s better quarterbacks. A LSU shield was torched by him for 401 yards and four touchdowns last week when running to get a rating. It was the first as Colt McCoy versus UCF in 2009 and the sixth 400-yard death match in Texas history. Ehlinger, clearly the best grossing because McCoy of UT tied his career best with all the five total TDs. 31 touchdowns have been pitched by him to only 3 interceptions. Texas is currently 11-4 in that span.
One injury note from that LSU loss was that nickel cornerback BJ Foster injured his hamstring and will miss a few weeks. He started six games as a professional in 2018, recording 45 tackles, including nine for a loss and 2.5 sacks, to proceed with an interception.
It not a matter of if Texas wins . I have a tendency to think that the Horns might be somewhat flat in their “street” game of the year and following that close call vs. LSU. In addition, UT opens Big 12 play next week with a much harder challenge vs. Oklahoma State.
Free NCAAF Pick: Rice +32.5 (-112) in Pinnacle
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