by Amedeus Mastrangelo
Friday, Sep 17, 2021
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021
Venue: DKR Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
Where to Watch: LHN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Point Spread: Owls +26.5, Longhorns -26.5; Over/Under: 53.5 points
Bet365: Point Spread: Owls +26, Longhorns -26; Over/Under: 53 points
BetMGM: Point Spread: Owls +26, Longhorns -26; Over/Under: 52.5 points
Season Record
Rice Owls: 0-2 (7th place, C-USA West)
Texas Longhorns: 1-1 (8th place, Big 12)
Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Ben Burns is on a 10-2 L12 (10*) NCAAF. Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.
Rice Owls vs Texas Longhorns Preview and Analysis
Recent Form
Rice Owls: Lost at home on Sep. 11 against the Houston Cougars 44-7.
Texas Longhorns: Lost on the road on Sep. 11 against the Arkansas Razorbacks 40-21.
Offensive Analysis
Last season the Rice Owls averaged a 61.7% completion percentage, 210.8 passing yards, and 2.2 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 120.8 rushing yards and 0.2 touchdowns per game on the ground. The Texas Longhorns were averaging a 60.3% completion percentage, 280.1 passing yards, and 3.2 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 195.3 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns per game on the ground.
Defensive Analysis
Last season the Rice Owls were allowing teams a 59.7% completion percentage, 200.8 passing yards, and 1 touchdown per game through the air. They also allowed 140.8 rushing yards and 1 touchdown per game on the ground. The Texas Longhorns were allowing teams a 62.6% completion percentage, 266.4 passing yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 140.8 rushing yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game on the ground.
Owls vs Longhorns Prediction
Rice is coming into this matchup with a 0-2 record overall and have yet to play any conference games, this being another non-conference game. They lost their first game of the college football season against the Arkansas Razorbacks and then followed that one up with another loss in their previous game against the Houston Cougars. Luke McCaffrey struggled in their last game as he completed 9/19 passes for 86 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. Khalan Griffin had an alright day in the run game as he led the team with 86 rushing yards on 9 carries. Jordan Myers led the team in receiving with 41 yards and 1 TD on 5 receptions in what was a very quiet day for the receiving corps. Jordan Dunbar led the defense with 4 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while multiple players got to the quarterback and recorded a sack in that game. Rice has scored 24 points in their first 2 games and they have allowed their opponents to score 82 points against them. Their offense is averaging 260 YPG while their defense is allowing 383 YPG.
Texas is coming into this matchup with a 1-1 record overall and will be playing their 3rd non-conference game in a row now. They won their first game of the college football season against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns and then followed that one up with a loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Neither of their quarterbacks played well in that game as Hudson Card completed 8/15 passes for 61 yards and Casey Thompson completed 5/8 passes for 57 yards. Bijan Robinson led the team in rushing with 69 yards and 1 touchdown while Casey Thompson scored 2 TDs on the ground in that one. Xavier Worthy led the receivers with 41 yards on 2 receptions in what was overall an awful day for their offense. DeMarvion Overshown led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones while B.J. Foster had the only interception in the game for them. Texas has scored 59 points in their first 2 games and have allowed their opponents to score 58 points against them. Their offense is averaging 345.5 YPG while their defense is averaging 414.5 YPG.
Rice is a very bad team on both offense and defense. They will struggle to even score in this game. Texas will be angry after losing to Arkansas and losing their rank on the AP poll. They are going to take it out on this Rice team by scoring a lot of points on them. The spread is large here but Texas will cover it as they can put that many points up and then some while barely allowing any to this Rice team.
Owls Longhorns Prediction: Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Longhorns 42 Owls 7.
Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Rice Owls Texas Longhorns prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.
NCAAF Betting Trends
Rice Owls: 9-9 ATS in all games. 1-3 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56.
Texas Longhorns: 8-7 ATS as a favorite. 3-0 ATS against Conference USA opponents.
Key Injuries
Rice Owls: B. Rozner (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. A. Pitre III (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.
Texas Longhorns: B. Liebrock (TE) Out for the season with a shoulder injury.T. Omeire (WR) Out for Saturday with a knee injury. J. Barron (DB) Out Sat - Undisclosed injury.
Players to Watch
Rice Owls: August Pitre III is one player to watch here. The Rice offense does not score a lot but if they do in this game it will be through him. He leads his team in receiving yards and touchdowns so look for him to find the end zone in this game.
Texas Longhorns: Bijan Robinson is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns. Texas did not play well on the road last week and will want to make it up with a big win here. Look for Robinson to run the ball well in this one as his team will want to set the tone early on in the game.
Notable Quotes
“We Live and Breathe Intellectual Brutality Around Here” - Mike Bloomgren on the way he wants his team to play football.
“We have to get back to the drawing board. This was not a performance that I was anticipating. But, we will find out about ourselves, and what we’re made of. I really believe this one game is not going to define us, but we have work to do that’s for sure.” - Steve Sarkisian after their loss to Arkansas.
Starting Lineups
Rice Owls
WR Rozner, Bradley
WR Pitre III, August
WR Bailey, Jake
TE Bradley, Jack
QB Green, Wiley
RB Myers, Jordan
FB Suckley, Brendan
Texas Longhorns
WR Worthy, Xavier
WR Moore, Joshua
WR Whittington, Jordan
TE Brewer, Cade
QB Card, Hudson
RB Robinson, Bijan
RB Johnson, Roschon
Statistical Leaders
Rice Owls
Passing: L. McCaffrey (161)
Rushing: K. Griffin (121)
Receiving: A. Pitre III (97)
Touchdowns: A. Pitre III (1)
Sacks: K. Orji (1)
Tackles: A. Montero (6)
Texas Longhorns
Passing: H. Card 9285)
Rushing: B. Robinson (172)
Receiving: J. Whittington (145)
Touchdowns: B. Robinson (2)
Sacks: R. Thornton (1)
Tackles: D. Overshown (9)
Coaches:
Rice Owls: Mike Bloomgren (4th season)
Texas Longhorns: Steve Sarkisian (1st year)
Weather Forecast
91 degrees F mostly sunny, 55% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 6 mph wind speeds SW.
Amedeus Mastrangelo
About the Author:
Amedeus Mastrangelo has been heavily wagering on all sports for years and plays just about everything, including sides, totals, favorites, underdogs, against the spread, alternative spreads, first half, second half, player props, and futures. The bottom line is, if Mastrangelo can see an edge in any way shape or form, then he's going to take advantage.
