Rice at UTSA Full Sportsbook Odds
NCAAF · Fri (12/16) @ 11:35am ET
| MIAO Miami (OH) | at | UAB UAB |
| Alamodome, San Antonio, TX | ||
Our Pick: UTSA UTSA at 10.5 (-108). Claim $50 in free bets after depositing $5 at DraftKings Sportsbook
Our Pick: UTSA -18½ (-110)
Under former Miami boss Larry Coker, the Roadrunners’ program sprouted 12 years ago. This is its 10th season playing a big-time schedule, and it’s undefeated and ready for primetime.
At the other end of the charts, Rice is dreadful on both sides of the ball. Worse, they’re worse at each on the road. This could be a bigger wipeout for UTSA than its 49-17 smashing of North Texas last season.
Rice Owls (2-3)
In its two games on the highway this season, Rice has been belted by a combined 96-17. Toss a home game against Houston in between those two pieces of sourdough, and the resulting 140-24 sandwich is a distasteful way to begin a season.
Yes, Arkansas and Texas were tough tasks, too much to ask for the downtrodden Owls. But the song will remain the same against UTSA because Rice can’t get out of its own way.
The Owls average 0.191 points per play on offense, and only three teams are worse in the country. On defense, that’s 0.585 points, seventh-worst in the nation. Rice is the lone program in the bottom seven in both categories.
So a strong case can be made to label Rice as the worst program in college football. However, it only gets worse because those averages are worse (0.126 and 0.744, respectively) when the Owls travel.
Even worse, the relatively upstart Roadrunners have won the past five games in this series.
Tight end Jordan Myers, a 6-foot-2, 216-pound senior, kind of highlights the topsy-turvy nature of the program since he leads Rice in rushing, with 244 yards on 53 carries.
Against lower-division Texas Southern, he scored four TDs on the ground, carrying it 26 times for 160 yards. He’s a busy dude, since he’s also caught 17 passes, for an 8.2-yard average.
Senior Jake Constantine appears to be the best of three quarterbacks, and Jake Bailey (21 receptions, 232 yards) is his favorite target.
It takes some digging, but about the best aspect of the Owls is that they get flagged an average amount of times, but those penalties are rarely egregious. There’s something to be said for decorum and discipline.
Rice at UTSA Full Sportsbook Odds
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UTSA Roadrunners (6-0)
That this game will be on ESPN+ gives it some showcase appeal for UTSA, as it’s on the verge of securing its third winning campaign in eight years.
If it wins nine games, it will mark the program’s best record, eclipsing that 8-4 season in 2012. It is 0-2 all-time in bowl games, so …
Well, let’s just slow down a bit, as second-year head coach Jeff Traylor would advise his constituents. It is a rare occasion, indeed, when UTSA is giving this many points to anybody, but it’s warranted.
Frank Harris, the 6-foot, 200-pound junior quarterback from Schertz in suburban San Antonio, has been more than serviceable. His 69.8% completion rate is 11th in the country. Rice allows foes to complete 67% of their attempts, a bottom-20 national rate.
Harris has that to exploit, and he’ll go to Joshua Cephus (42 catches, 457 yards), Zakhari Franklin (12.1-yard average on 37 receptions) and De’Corian Clark (24-396).
The rudder of the game, though, will be junior tailback Sincere McCormick, UTSA’s all-time leading rusher who has dashed 155 times for 661 yards and six TDs this season. Rice allows 5.9 yards per run, a bottom-seven national rate.
This will be a Sincere drubbing.
Sports Betting Recommendation
The figures just don’t add up to Rice being able to compete against UTSA. The Roadrunners have defeated the Owls in their past five meetings. Make it six.
This iteration of UTSA, though, is better than any of those previous five squads. Unfortunately for the Owls, this is the worst of those versions. It will be lopsided from the very beginning.
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