Rice Owls vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 9/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Location: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Longhorns (-35)

Total/Over-Under: 59

The Texas Longhorns (8-5 last year) host the Rice Owls (5-8 last season) at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 2, 2023. Rice opens this contest as 35-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 59.

The Rice Owls finished the season with a 5-8 mark. The last time they stepped onto the field, the Owls faced the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and ended up losing by a score of 38-24. Cameron Montgomery was the leader on the ground for the Owls with 7 carries for 63 yards (9.0 yds per attempt). AJ Padgett connected on 19/37 with 295 yards through the air and 3 touchdowns. He had a quarterback rating of 145.1 and ended the game with no interceptions. Against the run, the Owls gave up 362 yds on 38 tries, which calculates to 9.5 yards per run allowed. Rice surrendered 9 pass completions on 19 attempts for a total of 189 yds, and a completion percentage of 47.4%. Once the final whistle blew, they ran 70 plays for 425 yards. The Rice Owls ran the ball 31 times and recorded 122 yds, which is an average of 3.9 yards per carry.

Regarding putting points on the board, the Rice Owls held an average of 25.2 points per game. As a team they held an average of 141.5 yds on the ground, ranking them 80th in D-1. The Owls racked up 4,867 total yards for the prior season. Rice compiled 23 touchdowns via the pass and 17 rushing touchdowns. Rice tallied 261 1st downs as a unit, and they were flagged for 78 penalties for 683 yds. They surrendered the football 33 different times.

Concerning yards through the air, the Owls conceded 2,712 yds which put them in 49th in college football. During their 13 games played last season, they allowed 208.6 yards per outing through the air and allowed a completion percentage of 61.1%. They allowed 390.2 yards per game which ranked them 76th in Division 1. They gave up 29 touchdowns via the pass as well as 21 running touchdowns. Opposing teams ran for an average of 5.4 yards per rushing attempt and 181.5 rushing yards per game over the course of last year. Overall, they conceded 2,360 yards on the ground in 13 games. The Owls ranked 121st in the country regarding the opposition scoring, giving up 34.2 points per contest.

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The Longhorns ended the year having earned a 8-5 record. When they last played, the Longhorns took a loss by a final score of 27-20 when they played the Washington Huskies. Quinn Ewers (1 TD) ended the game with 369 yards on 31/47 through the air while his QB rating was 138.9. He didn't throw any interceptions and his average yards per pass attempt was 7.9. Keilan Robinson ran the ball 8 times for 27 yards, walking away from the game with 3.4 yds per carry for Texas. The Longhorns finished the game with 420 yds while running 65 plays (6.5 yards per play). Texas ran the ball for 2.8 yds per attempt, finishing the contest with 51 yds on 18 attempts. Texas allowed 28 rushing attempts for 158 yds (5.6 yds per carry). The Longhorns secondary gave up a completion percentage of 58.2%, surrendering 287 yds on 32 for 55 passing.

In relation to how much they scored, the Longhorns ranked 25th in the nation averaging 34.5 points per game. For the prior season, the Longhorns threw for 3,138 yards through the air as well as an average of 241.4 throwing yards per game, ranking them 56th in college football. The Texas Longhorns averaged 429.5 yards/contest, ranking them 35th in college football. The Texas offense totaled 615 yards of penalties on 79 infractions, which was 57th in D-1 in terms of hurting your team.

The Longhorns surrendered 21.6 points per game, which had them sitting 28th in college football. Texas allowed a total of 1,634 yards via the ground game (125.7 yards per game) as well as 14 touchdowns via the rush throughout last season. Over the course of the season, they conceded 281 total points. They allowed the opposition 18 touchdowns through the air and 242.7 yards/outing, which had them sitting 90th in D-1. The Longhorns defense took the field for 970 plays, which ranked 118th in college football.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Longhorns -35

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