Free NCAA Football Prediction: Owls vs. Cougars Odds
Looking for Rice Owls vs. Houston Cougars free picks? College football betting sees the Owls taking on the Cougars on Saturday, September 24th at TDECU Stadium in Houston, TX. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football game Week 4 predictions like this Rice-Houston free pick.
College Football Handicapping Analysis: Week 4
(2-1) Rice Owls vs. Houston Cougars (1-2)
Date: Saturday, September 24th, 2022
Time: 6:00 pm EST
Venue: TDECU Stadium, Houston, Texas
NCAA Football ATS Spread Odds: RICE +17.5 | HOU -17.5 (Bet Now!)
NCAA Football Moneyline Odds: Owls +575 | Cougars -900
NCAA Betting Total Odds: O/U 52
The Houston Cougars will host their cross-town rivals, the Rice Owls, from TDECU Stadium this Saturday on ESPN+. Houston will open as the 17-point favorites, with the total opening at 52.
HISTORY: Houston and Rice are just over five miles apart, and their fight for bragging rights dates all the way back to 1971. Houston owns a 32-11 series lead, and they’ve won 10 of the last twelve meetings.
Rice Owls
Rice was blown out by USC in their opener, but they’ve responded well with a pair of victories. The Owls took down McNeese State in their home opener after jumping out to a huge 31-0 halftime lead. Mike Bloomgren’s team went out and picked up a quality non-conference win last Saturday as big underdogs.
Last weekend, Rice (+11.5) picked up a nice win over Louisiana-Lafayette, 33-21, coming through on their huge moneyline.
Junior quarterback TJ McMahon has put a nightmare performance against USC behind him, and responded with a pair of good performances. McMahon threw for 274 passing yards and four touchdowns in the win over McNeese State, and despite tossing three picks against ULL, he passed for 303 yards and three scores.
Ari Broussard has handled most of the rushing work for the Owls, but he hasn’t found much room to run thus far. He’s received 15 carries or more and scored in each of the first three games, but he’s he only racked up 145 yards.
Luke McCaffrey has been McMahon’s go-to guy early. The Nebraska transfer caught ten passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns against the Rajun Cajuns, and he leads the Owls win receptions (19) and receiving yards (202). Former WVU wideout Isaiah Esdale has been steady early, catching four passes in each of the first three games, totaling 155 yards.
Houston Cougars
Houston survived a scare from UTSA in the opener, but they couldn’t escape defeat another in-state foe in Texas Tech. The Cougs forced overtime but they couldn’t contain TTU quarterback Donovan Smith, leading to their first loss of the season. The Cougars hosted Kansas in what will be a conference matchup in the near future, and could not deliver in their home opener.
Last weekend, Houston lost to Kansas, 48-30, failing to cover for the third time in as many tries this season.
Clayton Tune brings a ton of experience to the position. For the past three seasons, Tune has led on of the AAC’s best offenses, and he’s off to another strong start here in 2022. The fifth-year senior had a strong performance against UTSA (206 pass yards, 4 total touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush), but he struggled against Texas Tech, completing just 51.3% of his passes, and simply didn’t receive enough help from his defense versus Kansas.
Tune has thrive in the Rice matchup historically, and this year’s bout with their crosstown foes should present a bounce back opportunity for the veteran QB. Tune has thrown for 744 passing yards, with five touchdowns to two interceptions through the first three games, and he’s added 112 rushing yards and two scores on the ground as well.
Brandon Campbell and Ta’Zhawn Henry have split the load early for Houston. Henry had a big game against KU, gaining 163 total yards (56 rush, 107 rec), while scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. Campbell has come over from USC and given the Cougars a reliable, three-down presence early. The hometown product totaled 134 yards (80 rush, 54 rec), including a 18-yard touchdown run in the lost to Texas Tech.
Nathaniel Dell has picked up where he left off as one of the best receivers in the country. Dell racked up 1,179 receiving yards in 2021, and he surpassed the 2,000-yard career mark with his impressive seven-catch, 120-yard performance against the Red Raiders. The senior wideout scored twice in the win over UTSA as well, and caught six passes for 76 yards against KU last weekend.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- HOU are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- RICE are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Cougars are 5-3 ATS in their last 8 home games.
- Owls are 3-5 ATS in their last 8 road games.
Free Week 4 NCAA Football Final Analysis:
This matchup comes at a great time for a Houston team looking to figure themselves out before conference play. Dana Holgorsen guided the Cougs to a 11-2 record last season, but they really need to tighten the bolts before and avoid a down season, right before moving up and into the Big 12 Conference. The Cougars have dominated Rice in each of the last six meetings, so look for them to flex their muscles on their crosstown rivals once again here.
Take Houston to cover their first spread of the season this weekend against Rice.
4* Free Week 4 NCAA Betting Pick: Houston -17.5
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