Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 10/23/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021

Location: Protective Stadium in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Blazers (-23)

Total/Over-Under: 45

Protective Stadium is the site where the UAB Blazers (5-2) will attempt to defeat the Rice Owls (2-4) on Saturday. UAB opens this matchup as 23-point favorites. The total comes in at 45.

The Rice Owls come into this matchup with a record of 2-4 this season. In their last contest, the Owls stepped onto the field against the UTSA Roadrunners and took a loss by a final of 45-0. Luke McCaffrey went 5/10 with 15 yds passing. He had a QB rating of 42.6 and ended the game with 1 pick. Ari Broussard was the best rusher for the Owls with 10 carries for 61 yards (6.1 yds per carry). When all was said and done, they had 52 plays which totaled 102 yards. The Rice Owls ended up rushing 36 times and tallied 66 yds, which came out to an average of 1.8 yds per attempt. In the running game, the Owls conceded 261 yds on 38 attempts, which is 6.9 yards per run allowed. Rice surrendered 14 completions on 24 attempts for 142 yards, and a completion rate of 58.3%.

Concerning putting points on the board, the Rice Owls are sitting at 16.0 points per outing. Offensively they maintain an average of 149.3 yards rushing which is 82nd in the nation. The Owls have racked up 1,851 total yards over the course of this season. In terms of getting the ball in the endzone, Rice has earned 5 passing touchdowns and 8 rushing touchdowns. Rice has tallied 101 1st downs offensively, and they have been called for 38 penalties for 293 yards. They have surrendered the ball 11 times.

The Owls are ranked 138th in Division 1 when it comes to the opposition scoring, allowing 39.7 points per contest. They are giving up an average of 5.6 yards per rushing attempt and 206.3 rushing yards per contest for the campaign. In total, they have conceded 1,238 yards on the ground through 6 games. In terms of passing yards, the Owls are allowing 1,390 yds which ranks them 59th in the nation. They are giving up 231.7 yards per contest via the pass in addition to conceding a completion percentage of 63.4%. For the season, they have yielded 438.0 yards per contest ranking them 119th in college football. They have surrendered 9 touchdowns by air in addition to 18 touchdowns via the ground game.

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The Blazers come into this game with a record of 5-2 for this season. The last time they took the gridiron, the Blazers got the win with a final of 34-0 when they played the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Dylan Hopkins (1 TD) finished the game with 147 yards on 8/13 passing while his QB rating was 181.9. He didn't throw any picks and his average yards per attempt was 11.3. DeWayne McBride ran the ball 17 times for 137 yds, ending the game with 8.1 yards per attempt for UAB. UAB rushed the football for 5.3 yards per attempt, finishing with 223 yds on 42 carries. The Blazers finished the contest with a total of 388 yds while they ran 62 plays (6.3 yds per play). The Blazers pass defense allowed a completion percentage of 37.5%, surrendering 32 yds on 6 out of 16 passing. UAB gave up 35 run attempts for 75 yards (2.1 yds per carry).

The UAB Blazers maintain an average of 364.4 yards/game, which is good for 92nd in college football. The UAB offense has racked up 617 yards of penalties on 66 infractions, which has them sitting 3rd in D-1 in terms of helping out the opposition. For the year so far, the Blazers have compiled 1,382 yards through the air as well as holding an average of 197.4 passing yards per contest, which ranks 99th in college football. When it comes to their ability to score points, the Blazers are ranking 86th in college football with 26.1 PPG.

The Blazers are conceding 19.0 PPG, ranking them 32nd in the nation. UAB has yielded a total of 780 yards on the ground (111.4 yards per game) as well as 5 touchdowns rushing for the campaign. In total, they have relinquished 133 points in total. They have surrendered 13 touchdowns through the air as well as 209.7 yards/contest, which has them in 62nd in Division 1. The Blazers defense has participated in 452 plays, which is 91st in the country.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Owls +23

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