Baylor at Rice NCAA Football Point Spread Picks 9/21/2019

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Rice Stadium

Tom Stewart and the Rice Owls play the Baylor Bears at Rice Stadium on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Rice opens this matchup as 25.5-point dogs. The total opens at 57.5. The Bears are 1-1-0 ATS and 2-0-0 when betting on the total. The Owls are 2-1-0 when wagering on the over/under and 1-1-1 against the spread.

Key Baylor Bears Injuries

09/15/19 QB Charlie Brewer Foot is probable Saturday vs Rice
09/13/19 WR Gavin Holmes ACL is out for season

Key Rice Owls Injuries

09/15/19 LB Treshawn Chamberlain Undisclosed is questionable Saturday vs Baylor
09/15/19 QB Wiley Green Head is questionable Saturday vs Baylor
09/10/19 RB Juma Otoviano Lower Body is out indefinitely

In their last game, the Baylor Bears played the UTSA Roadrunners and ended up getting the win by a score of 63-14. Gerry Bohanon paced the team in rushing for that game. His longest run of the day went for 38 yards and he notched 1 touchdown for the game. He ran for 93 yards via 7 carries which meant he was running for 13.3 yards per tote. Denzel Mims was the leader in receiving yardage by racking up 101 yards on 7 catches. He had an average of 14.4 yards per reception for that game. Leading the way at QB for the Bears was Charlie Brewer who went 12/16 with 163 yards passing and completed 3 touchdowns. He ended the game with no interceptions. The Baylor Bears rushed the ball a total of 39 times and racked up a total of 368 yards giving them an average of 9.4 yards per carry. Overall, they ran 62 plays for 546 yards. In the game, the Bears got 25 first downs and they had a total of 6 penalties for 50 yards which is telling of how their week of practice went. On the defensive side of the ball, Baylor allowed 17 completions on 30 throws for a total of 102 yards, and a completion percentage of 56.7%. On the day, they conceded 266 yards and forced 1 turnover. In the running game, the Bears allowed 164 yards on 36 tries which gave them an average of 4.6 yards per carry allowed.

The Bears head into this game 2-0 this year. For total yardage, they rank 7th in the conference and 81st in the country with 1,064 yards. They are one of top scoring teams in the nation with an average of 59.5 points per game, which has them at 1st in the country. As a unit, they have an average of 318 yards on the ground per contest which is 2nd in the Big 12. The Bears have one of the top tier defenses in D-1, allowing 15.5 points per game putting them 4th in the Big 12 Conference. In terms of yards on the ground, Baylor is giving up 141.5 yards per contest putting them 6th in the conference and 68th in Division 1. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 4.2 yards per carry ranking them 9th in the conference and 82nd in D-1 overall. In total, they have conceded 283 yards rushing through 2 games. When it comes to passing yards, the Bears have allowed 428 yards. Teams are completing 55% of the passes they throw against them and averaging 4.3 yards per attempt.

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In their last outing, the Rice Owls went up against the Texas Longhorns and lost 48-13. Aston Walter led the team on the ground for that contest. He had a long run of 15 yards but wasn't able to convert a rushing touchdown. He racked up a total of 69 yards on 16 carries which means he ran for an average of 4.3 yards per run. Austin Trammell was the leader in receiving yardage by racking up 97 yards on 6 receptions. He averaged 16.2 yards per reception for that contest. Taking the lead at quarterback for the Owls was Tom Stewart who went 12/23 with 179 yards through the air and added 2 touchdowns. He ended the game with no interceptions. The Rice Owls ended up rushing 31 times and racked up 87 yards which had them averaging 2.8 yards per carry. In the game, the Owls got 13 1st downs and they had 1 penalty for 5 yards which tells us that they had a disciplined week in practice. On the day, they ran 54 plays which added up to 266 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Rice gave up 28 completions on 34 tries totaling 338 yards, and a completion percentage of 82.4%. Overall, they gave up a total of 509 yards and forced 0 turnovers. Against the run, the Owls gave up 171 yards on 36 runs giving the other team an average of 4.8 yards per carry allowed.

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The Owls come into this game with a record of 0-3. Rice needs to do more to make teams respect their running game by averaging 111.7 yards on the ground per game, putting them 109th in college football. As a team, they have a total of 335 rushing yards through 3 contests, so they'll need to look to improve on these numbers if they want to compete with the better teams in the nation. The Owls average 276.7 yards per contest overall ranking them 125th in the nation and 14th in Conference USA. The Owls are allowing 34.3 points per game ranking them 11th in Conference USA and 109th in the country. In terms of points given up, they have given up 103 total points. When talking about rushing yards, they are giving up 201 yards per game which puts them at 115th in Division 1 and 11th in C-USA. This year, they have allowed a total of 603 rushing yards and 5.1 rushing touchdowns. Their passing defense is one of the mediocre groups in college football. They are conceding 234.3 passing yards per game. For passing yards allowed per game, the Owls are currently ranked 7th in Conference USA.

Who will win tonight's Bears/Owls college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Bears -25.5

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