Rice Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles Prediction, 12/17/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022

Location: Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, AL

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Golden Eagles (-6.5)

Total/Over-Under: 48.5

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (6-6) welcome the Rice Owls (5-7) at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday, December 17, 2022 in the Lending Tree Bowl. Rice opens this game as 6.5-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 48.5.

The Rice Owls come into this matchup with a record of 5-7 for this year. In their last contest, the Owls played against the North Texas Mean Green and took a loss by a score of 21-17. AJ Padgett went 13/22 with 229 yds passing and 1 TD. He had a quarterback rate of 152.4 and ended the game with 1 interception. Juma Otoviano was the best rusher for the Owls with 14 carries for 94 yards (6.7 yards per carry). In all, they ran 66 plays which gave them a total of 415 yds. The Rice Owls rushed the ball a total of 44 different times and amassed 186 yards, which is an average of 4.2 yds per carry. On the ground, the Owls gave up 159 yards on 30 attempts, which is 5.3 yards per run surrendered. Rice conceded 16 completions on 29 attempts for a total of 203 yds, and a completion rate of 55.2%.

The Owls have earned 4,442 total yards for the season. When it comes to getting in the endzone, Rice has compiled 20 passing touchdowns and 17 touchdowns via the ground. They have surrendered the football 30 times. Rice has compiled 240 1st downs as a unit, and they have been flagged for 70 infractions for 626 yds. As a team they're maintaining an average of 143.1 yards on the ground which is 75th in the nation. When it comes to putting the ball in the endzone, the Rice Owls have an average of 25.3 points per contest.

In terms of passing yards, the Owls are giving up 2,524 yards which puts them in 43rd in college football. They are allowing 210.3 yards per contest via the pass and allowed a completion percentage of 61.8%. During the season, they have yielded 376.8 yards/outing ranking them 67th in the nation. They have relinquished 26 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 19 touchdowns via the ground game. They are giving up an average of 5.0 yards per run and 166.5 rushing yards per contest on the year. For the year, they have conceded 1,998 running yards through 12 games. The Owls sit in 120th in D-1 when it comes to their opponents scoring, conceding 33.8 points per game.

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The Golden Eagles come into this matchup with a record of 6-6 for this season. When they last stepped on the gridiron, the Golden Eagles went home victorious with a score of 20-10 against the UL Monroe Warhawks. Trey Lowe III (1 TD) ended the game with 170 yds on 10/16 through the air while his quarterback rate was 172.4. He kept the ball away from the defense with no picks and his Y/A was 10.6. Frank Gore Jr. ran the football 24 times for 199 yards, ending the contest with 8.3 yards per attempt for Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles finished the game with a total of 448 yards while they ran 63 plays (7.1 yards per play). Southern Miss ended up running for 5.8 yards per attempt, finishing with 265 yards on 46 attempts. Southern Miss conceded 33 run attempts for 110 yards (3.3 yds per rush). The Golden Eagles secondary allowed a completion percentage of 63.0%, surrendering 122 yards on 17 out of 27 passing.

In relation to how much they score, the Golden Eagles rank 94th in college football by tallying 24.3 points per outing. During this campaign to this point, the Golden Eagles currently have a total of 2,498 yards via the pass in addition to holding an average of 208.2 passing yards per game, which ranks 97th in the nation. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles are averaging 331.6 yards/game, which has them ranked 109th in the nation. The Southern Miss offense has racked up 704 yards of penalties on 80 violations, which has them ranked 46th in D-1 in terms of helping out the other team.

Southern Miss has given up a total of 1,674 yards rushing (139.5 yards per contest) in addition to 16 touchdowns via the rush for the season. They have given up 18 touchdowns through the air and 228.3 yards/outing, which has them in 75th in the country. The Golden Eagles defense has taken the field for 826 plays, which ranks 62nd in D-1. The Golden Eagles are relinquishing 23.5 points per game, which has them ranked 44th in Division 1. This year, they have conceded 282 total points.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Owls +6.5

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