Not certain you may call Texas vs. Rice an all-new competition when they meet Saturday at Houston. I meanthey are equally in Texas, but the Owls haven’t won a game in the show at Rice Stadium since 1994. Just how long ago was that? ESPN was also desperate to broadcast to a Sunday because the MLB season had been canceled because of the players’ strike, therefore Texas-Rice was moved to Sunday.
Overall, Texas leads the all time series 72-21-1 3-0 in NRG Stadium and has obtained the 13. They were in the Southwest Conference until that was formally dissolved in May 1996. Naturally, Texas is in the Big 12 and Rice at Conference USA. The last meeting was in 2015.
Rice isn’t a program with only 11 wins because 2015. They were 1-11 at David Bailiff’s last period in 2017 and »improved » into 2-11 last year beneath first-year coach Mike Bloomgren. Since any college that travels to Hawaii is permitted to for financial 24, the reason that Rice got to play with with 13 games was. The Owls’ wins last year were Prairie View A&M (barely) and Old Dominion.
This year, the Owls played well Week 1 at a loss at a Army group that was great but then fell week against Wake Forest. Beginning quarterback Wiley Green left one sent to the hospital and with a injury that had him carted away. All evaluations were negative on the freshman. I tend to doubt he plays here, though. Senior Tom Stewart appears likely to start. The Harvard transfer was 19-for-30 for 185 yards and a touchdown instead of Green vs. Wake Forest.
Maybe Stewart will improve an offense that ranks 120th in yards per game (282.0), 118th in scoring (14.0) and 113th in death (158.0). Rice isn’t much better on defense128th in pass efficiency D and 118th from the rush.
Rice is 3-6 all time playing at NRG Stadium; it usually plays campus. The Owls have not beaten a ranked team since Nov. 11, 1997, vs. No. 21 BYU.
Texas fans are surely bummed their group dropped 45-38 in the home to LSU a week in the first and still only Best 10 matchup of the year, however UT is still in fine shape to generate the College Football Playoff when it ends up, for instance, Big 12 title game. Each year but one, a one-loss team has won the national title. No group has reached the playoff. Nine of Texas’ 11 declines beneath Tom Herman have come by 10 points or fewer.
Junior Sam Ehlinger has turned into one of the better quarterbacks of the country. He torched an excellent LSU defense for 401 yards and four touchdowns a week while running for a fifth rating. It was only the first since Colt McCoy versus UCF in 2009 and the first time death sport in Texas history. Ehlinger UT’s best grossing because McCoytied his career with all the five full TDs. He has pitched 31 touchdowns over his past 15 games to just 3 interceptions. Texas is 11-4 in that period.
One injury notice from that LSU loss was that nickel cornerback BJ Foster injured his hamstring and will miss. He started six games as a professional in 2018, recording 45 tackles, including nine for a loss and 2.5 sacks, to go with an interception.
It’s definitely not a matter of if Texas wins but if it insures. I have a tendency to think the Horns may be somewhat flat in their « road » game of this year and adhering to that close call vs. LSU. Additionally, UT opens Big 12 play next week with a much tougher challenge vs. Oklahoma State.
Totally free NCAAF Select: Rice +32.5 (-112) in Pinnacle
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