Houston Cougars vs Rice Owls Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/09/2023

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 9, 2023

Venue:  Rice Stadium, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  NFL Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Houston -9.5, Rice +9.5; Over/Under:  53 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Houston -9.5, Rice +9.5; Over/Under:  52.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Houston -9.5, Rice +9.5; Over/Under:  52.5 points

Houston Cougars:  1-0 (0-0) (9th place, Big 12)

Rice Owls:  0-1 (0-0) (12th place, AAC)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Amedeus Mastrangelo is on a HOT STREAK in CFB coming off a MASSIVE 9-2 CFB WEEKEND! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Houston Cougars:  won their last game at home against the UTSA Roadrunners 17-14.

Rice Owls:  lost their last game on the road against the Texas Longhorns 37-10.

Houston is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against UTSA 17-14. Donovan Smith was the starting QB and he completed 22/34 passes for 233 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Tony Mathis led the team in rushing yards with 38. Samuel Brown led the receivers with 106 receiving yards on 6 receptions. Alex Hogan led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Nelson Ceaser led the defense in sacks with 1. Malik Fleming came away with the only interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Rice is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 0-0 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Texas 37-10. JT Daniels was the starting QB and he completed 14/26 passes for 149 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Dean Connors led the team in rushing yards with 23. Braylen Walker led the receivers with 47 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Sean Fresch led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while Josh Pearcy and DeBraylon Carroll each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that game.

The current betting odds have Rice listed as a 9.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Rice lost their opening game on the road against Texas but their defense played well in that game despite the score since they did hold a team like Texas to quite a few field goals in that game. Rice is at home for this game now against a much weaker Houston team that did win their opening game at home, but now Houston goes on the road here and their offense wasn't great in that win only putting up 17 points. Houston does have a good defense that will keep them in this game but their offense is going to struggle in this 1st road game, especially with Rice being at home and getting up for this Texas rivalry game. Rice also improved their team with a new starting QB who did play at Georgia and their offense will put up points in this game to keep it close. The best way to place a bet here is on Rice to cover the spread in this game.

Houston Rice Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 9, 2023 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Houston 20 Rice 17.

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Houston Cougars: 2-7 ATS off an extremely close home win by 3 points or less. 3-6 ATS after scoring and allowing 17 or less points. 11-2 OVER in road games. 8-3 ATS after playing a game at home. 

Rice Owls: 52-30 ATS as a home underdog. 22-13 ATS after a game with a turnover margin of -3 or worse. 18-8 OVER in all games. 10-3 OVER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 

Houston Cougars:  R. Sanford II (RB) out for season - Undisclosed.

Rice Owls:  M. Cedeno (OL) day-to-day - Undisclosed.

“The thing about Donovan is just how poised he is. He is poised. Nothing bothers him. He’s not wide eyed.” - Dana Holgorsen on Donovan Smith after his team’s win against UTSA in their last game.

“I think everybody knows Sark’s background. When you go back to those mid-2000’s USC teams when him and Lane (Kiffin) were as innovative as anybody in the country. What Sark did when he went to the Falcons and went to Alabama again, I mean, just an unbelievable offensive mind that’s very surgical.” - Mike Bloomgren on the Texas coach before his team’s loss against Texas in their last game. 

WR Brown, Samuel 

WR Golden, Matthew 

WR Manjack IV, Joseph 

TE O'Laughlin, Mike 

QB Smith, Donovan 

RB Mathis Jr., Tony 

WR Sykes, Matt 

WR Ransom-Goelz, Landon 

WR McCaffrey, Luke 

TE Bradley, Jack 

QB Daniels, JT 

RB Otoviano, Juma  

FB Barnett, Micah 

Passing: D. Smith (233)

Rushing: T. Mathis Jr. (38)

Receiving: S. Brown (106)

Touchdowns: J. Manjack IV (1)

Passing: J. Daniels (149)

Rushing: D. Connors (23)

Receiving: B. Walker (47)

Touchdowns: L. McCaffrey (1)

Coaches:

Houston Cougars: Dana Holgorsen (5th season)

Rice Owls: Mike Bloomgren (6th season)