The Houston Cougars hope to stay undefeated and keep their dream season alive when they host the Rice Owls this Thursday night.
Rice has won two of the last three SU against Houston and are 4-1 ATS in their last five against the Cougars, but did fall 73-14 the last time they played in Houston.
Case Keenum became college football’s all-time leader in total offense last week with 376 yards passing and six passing touchdowns against Marshall.
View Rice vs Houston Odds and Stats.
Betting Line: Houston opened as 25.5-point favorites and it's now nearly 4 TDs at Sportsbook. The total was bet all the way up to a huge 70.5 at some shops such as Sportsbook this week.
Power Rankings / Prediction: According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 63-rated Cougars and the No. 114-rated Owls in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 58-22 win for the Cougars on Thursday. That would be an OVER play if it comes true and the best OVER number was at Sportsbook.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Houston's No. 1-ranked offense (49.3 PPG) against a Owls defense that ranks No. 100 at 32.6 PPG. The Cougars passing attack has averaged 441.7 yards per game, more than the Owls give up through the air (253.9 YPG on average).
Defensively, the Owls feature the league's No. 117-rated road run defense, allowing 280.5 yards per game. Houston, meanwhile, ranks No. 53 in rushing offense at home.
Last time out for Rice, they were a 38-20 loser as they battled Tulsa at home. Rice failed to cover in the match as a 10-point underdog, while 58 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.
In their last action, Houston was a 63-28 Sportsbook at home against Marshall. They covered the 24–point spread as favorites, while the combined score (91) was profitable news for OVER bettors.
Rice Owls Trends:
When playing in October are 2-8
When playing on grass are 2-8
After being outgained are 3-7
When playing within the conference are 4-6
Houston Cougars Trends:
When playing in October are 8-2
When playing on grass are 6-4
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing within the conference are 6-4
A few Owls at Cougars trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Rice's last 12 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Rice's last 5 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Rice's last 8 games
Rice is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston
Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Rice
Houston is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing Rice
Next up:
Rice home to Texas El Paso, Saturday, November 5
Houston at UAB, Saturday, November 5
