Owls Cougars Betting Preview for Week 5

Houston CougarsRice Owls
Sep 29, 3:30 PM | Turf of Rice Stadium

Houston Cougars vs Rice Owls Odds

0-3TEAM RECORD1-3



Reliant Stadium features a battle between the host Rice Owls and the visiting Houston Cougars in betting action Saturday.

The Cougars will look to vanquish their hosts on Saturday, as they are 0-3 ATS versus the spread this season, while the Owls are 2-1-1 ATS. Houston is 1-2 against the total, while Rice is 3-1 versus the number.



View Houston vs Rice Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: Bettors looking to back the visiting Cougars in this one found them as 6-point favorites on the Sportsbook college football point spread at Sportsbook. Bookmark the college football odds pages to see where the over under number opens in this game.

Power Rankings / Prediction: The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Owls at No. 91 and the Cougars at No. 114 heading into this contest. Handicapping models project a 24-18 result in favor of the Owls.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Rice's No. 42-ranked offense (34.2 PPG) against a Cougars defense that ranks No. 120 at 41 PPG. The Owls passing attack has averaged 242.8 yards per game, less than the Cougars give up through the air (289.7 YPG on average).

Defensively, the Cougars feature the league's No. 99-rated road run defense, allowing 247 yards per game. Rice, meanwhile, ranks No. 30 in rushing offense at home.

In their last action, Houston was a 37-6 loser on the road against UCLA. They failed to cover the 17.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (43) was profitable news for UNDER bettors. DeWayne Peace was good for 103 receiving yards in the Cougars's most recent action, but while it helped his stats, it didn’t help his team to victory and they fell 37-6 to the Cougars.

Rice was a 54-51 loser in its last match at home against Marshall. They earned a push of the 3-point spread as underdogs, while the total score of 105 sent OVER bettors to the payout window. In their last game, Rice's aerial attack generated 314 yards but it was the Thundering Herd coming away with a 54-51 victory over Rice at Rice Stadium.


Houston Cougars Trends:
When playing in September are 6-4
When playing on turf are 8-2
After being outgained are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 8-2

Rice Owls Trends:
When playing in September are 3-7
When playing on turf are 4-6
After outgaining opponent are 5-5
When playing within the conference are 4-6



A few Cougars at Owls trends to consider:
Houston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Rice
Houston is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Rice's last 6 games when playing Houston
Rice is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Rice's last 16 games at home
Rice is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Houston


Next up:
Houston home to North Texas, Saturday, October 6
Rice at Memphis, Saturday, October 6

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