Rice Owls vs USC Trojans Prediction, 9/3/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs USC Trojans

Date: Saturday, September 3, 2022

Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA

TV: PAC12

Odds/Point Spread: Trojans (-33.5)

Total/Over-Under: 64

The USC Trojans (4-8 last year) are welcoming the Rice Owls (4-8 last season) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. USC opens as 33.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 64.

The Rice Owls wrapped up their year having earned a 4-8 record. The last time they stepped onto the field, the Owls faced the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and earned the victory with a final of 35-31. Cameron Montgomery was the best rusher for the Owls with 10 totes for 95 yds (9.5 yds per carry). TJ Mcmahon went 12/20 with 191 yds through the air and 2 TDs. He had a QB rate of 163.2 and ended the contest with 1 pick. In the running game, the Owls conceded 124 yards on 40 attempts, which is an average of 3.1 yards per run allowed. Rice relinquished 20 completions on 37 tries for 303 yds, and a completion rate of 54.1%. On the day, they tallied 67 plays which converted into 429 yards. The Rice Owls ended up running the ball 41 different times and compiled 183 yards, earning them an average of 4.5 yds per attempt.

Regarding scoring, the Rice Owls had an average of 21.5 points per game. As a unit they held an average of 151.3 yds via the ground game, which was 77th in the nation. The Owls earned 4,356 yards in total for last season. Rice compiled 16 touchdowns via the pass and 19 touchdowns on the ground. Rice earned 234 1st downs as a unit, and they were called for 89 penalties for 763 yds. They turned the football over 22 different times.

Concerning passing yards, the Owls gave up 3,286 yards which had them ranked 111th in college football. In their 12 games played last year, they gave up 273.8 yards per outing via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 63.6%. They allowed 436.6 yards/game putting them at 108th in Division 1. They gave up 23 touchdowns through the air in addition to 30 rushing touchdowns. The opposition ran for an average of 4.8 yards per rushing attempt and 162.8 rushing yards per game last season. During the season, they allowed 1,954 rushing yards through 12 games. The Owls sat in 120th in Division 1 concerning the opposition scoring, allowing 36.2 PPG.

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The Trojans wrapped up their season with a 4-8 record. When they last stepped on the field, the Trojans took a loss by a final score of 24-14 when they faced the California Golden Bears. Jaxson Dart (1 touchdown) finished the contest with 191 yards on 17/26 passing while his QB rating was 139.8. He didn't toss any picks and his average yards per attempt was 7.3. Vavae Malepeai ran the ball 18 times for 107 yards, walking away from the game with 5.9 yards per attempt for USC. USC ran the ball for 3.6 yds per carry, finishing with a total of 144 yards on 40 carries. The Trojans finished with a total of 409 yds and they ran 79 plays (5.2 yards per play). The Trojans pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 85.7%, relinquishing 177 yards on 18 out of 21 through the air. USC surrendered 31 rush attempts for 88 yards (2.8 yards per rush).

Regarding their scoring prowess, the Trojans were ranked 66th in Division 1 with 28.7 points per outing. Last season, the Trojans compiled 3,580 passing yards together with averaging 298.3 passing yards per game, which had them ranked 17th in D-1. The USC Trojans maintained an average of 443.7 yards per outing, which had them sitting 25th in college football. The USC offense racked up 900 penalty yds on 96 violations, which was good for 18th in college football in terms of giving up free yards.

USC allowed a total of 2,015 yards on the ground (167.9 yards per contest) and 28 touchdowns by way of the ground game over the course of last year. They yielded 20 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 241.8 yards/contest, ranking them 88th in D-1. The Trojans defense took the field for 764 plays, which ranked them 12th in college football. The Trojans allowed 31.8 points per contest, which had them in 103rd in D-1. Last season, they conceded 382 total points.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Trojans -33.5

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