Free Week 1 Prediction: Cougars vs Owls Odds
Looking for Houston Cougars vs. Rice Owls free picks? Week 1 betting sees the Cougars taking on the Owls on Saturday September 1 at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this Houston Rice free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 1
(0-0) Houston Cougars vs. Rice Owls (0-0)
Date: Saturday, September 1 2018
Time: 12:00 pm EST
Venue: Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
NCAA Football Spread: Houston -23.5
NCAA Betting Total: 54.5
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To some Houston might be the best Group of Five program this season. They might have the best player in all of college football in defensive lineman Ed Oliver.
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Rice is that other team in the Houston area. A win over Houston is certainly not expected but using early numbers they are the play here getting more than 50% of the bets.
Houston Cougars
This year the offense is going to be in the hands of D’eriq King. King is a fantastic athlete who started last year as a receiver.
Now he is the full time quarterback giving the Cougars a big play threat on every down.
Only three starters return on offense and they areall along the offensive line. King is adept at making plays out of nothing but they have to give him a breather every once in a while.
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The defense featuring Oliver returns 5 starters. Oliver is more thn just a top pro prospect he can singlehandedly force an offense to change their plan of attack. Rice will have to be aware of him on every down.
Rice Owls
Coming off a 1-11 season Rice is looking for a new direction with Mike Bloomgren at the helm. This is his first head coaching gig and Rice is no easy place to turn things around quickly.
Not making things any easier is the fact that only one starter returns on offense. They only scored 16ppg last season, last in Conference USA. They could run the ball but even that might be a challenge this season.
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The defense returns six starters but don’t expect this group to intimidate. They were among the worst in the conference a year ago.
This is a total reset for the Owls and this one might not be very pretty.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Cougars are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 games on fieldturf.
- Under is 6-0 in Cougars last 6 road games.
- Under is 4-0 in Cougars last 4 games in September.
- Under is 3-0-1 in Owls last 4 games in September.
- Owls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
- Owls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
Free Week 1 NCAA Football Pick
This number seems a little big for me but if Houston holds the Owls to 10 points or so it is very playable. Rice might be on the uptick but Day One of the Bloomgren era is probably oo soon.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Houston -23.5
Houston is no sure thing but they have all of the best players on the field in this one. Oliver, King and a bunch of speedy weapons too. Statement opportunity.
The same goes for Rice they just don’t have the players to do it just yet. Based in Houston maybe they can get this thing back on the rails in the future.
Week 1 Free Score Prediction: Houston 45 – Rice 13
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