Rice Owls vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 9/24/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022

Location: TDECU Stadium in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Cougars (-17)

Total/Over-Under: 58

The Houston Cougars (1-2) welcome the Rice Owls (2-1) at TDECU Stadium on Saturday. Rice opens this matchup as 17-point dogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is set at 58.

The Rice Owls come into this matchup with a record of 2-1 for this season. In their last game, the Owls faced off with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and earned the victory with a final of 33-21. TJ Mcmahon went 25/36 with 303 yards passing and 3 TDs. He had a QB rating of 151 and ended the game with 3 interceptions. Ari Broussard was the rushing leader for the Owls with 19 attempts for 49 yards (2.6 yds per attempt). The Rice Owls ran the football 44 times and totaled 146 yards, which is an average of 3.3 yds per carry. Once the final whistle blew, they tallied 80 plays which gave them 449 yds. Rice relinquished 13 pass completions on 28 attempts for a total of 114 yds, and a completion percentage of 46.4%. Against the run, the Owls conceded 61 yards on 15 tries, which averages out to 4.1 yds per run surrendered.

Concerning putting points on the board, the Rice Owls are sitting at 33.0 points per game. As a team they have an average of 167.0 yards rushing which ranks them 65th in the country. The Owls have attained 1,216 total yards for the year. In terms of notching touchdowns, Rice has totaled 7 touchdowns via the pass and 5 touchdowns via the ground. Rice has accounted for 67 first downs as an offense, and they have committed 20 infractions for 187 yds. They have surrendered the football 7 times.

Concerning passing yardage, the Owls have given up 535 yds which ranks them 30th in college football. They are giving up 178.3 yards per outing through the air in addition to giving up a completion percentage of 58.2%. For the season, they are giving up 325.3 yards/outing putting them 40th in the nation. They have conceded 3 touchdowns by air in addition to 6 touchdowns pounding the rock. The opposition is running for an average of 6.0 yards per run and 147.0 yards on the ground per game for the year. Over the course of this year, they have allowed 441 rushing yards through 3 games. The Owls rank 102nd in Division 1 regarding team defense, allowing 32.3 PPG.

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The Cougars head into this game 1-2 this year. In their last game, the Cougars walked away with a loss by a score of 48-30 when they played the Kansas Jayhawks. Clayton Tune (1 TD) finished the contest with 272 yards on 22/31 passing while his QB rating was 148.9. He threw 1 interception and his Y/A was 8.8. Clayton Tune ran the ball 16 times for 63 yds, walking away from the contest with 3.9 yds per attempt for Houston. The Cougars finished the game with 446 yds while running 70 plays (6.4 yds per play). Houston ended up running for 4.5 yards per carry, finishing with a total of 174 yds on 39 carries. Houston conceded 43 run attempts for 280 yds (6.5 yds per carry). The Cougars secondary gave up a completion percentage of 60.9%, surrendering 158 yds on 14 for 23 passing.

When it comes to how much they score, the Cougars are ranked 69th in college football averaging 32.3 points per game. During this campaign to this point, the Cougars have thrown for 744 yards via the pass not to mention an average of 248.0 passing yards per outing, which has them sitting 65th in D-1. The Houston Cougars average 381.0 yards/game, ranking them 86th in college football. The Houston offense has racked up 274 penalty yards on 33 violations, which ranks 2nd in the nation in terms of helping out the other team.

The Cougars are surrendering 38.7 points per game, which has them sitting 121st in college football. Houston has surrendered a total of 502 yards via the ground game (167.3 yards/game) and 6 touchdowns via the rush for the year. In total, they have allowed 116 pts. They have allowed the opposition 8 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 281.7 yards/outing, which has them in 116th in D-1. The Cougars defense has taken part in 242 plays, which is 115th in D-1.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Owls +17

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