Rice Owls at No. 17 Baylor Bears (-20.5), Total 67 |
Rice has already played two solid opponents this season, dropping a 34-9 road contest to the Texas Longhorns, but bouncing back with a 24-22 victory as two-point home underdogs against the Purdue Boilermakers.
“I’m excited. It does show that we are building. We’re getting better and the kids believe,” commented Owls head coach David Bailiff.
For the second time this month, the team will travel on the road to take on a Big 12 opponent, trailing this series 31-45-2, including losses in the last three meetings. Rice was handed a 30-13 home loss as 8.5-point underdogs last year.
Overall, Rice is 99-207-8 all-time against current members of the Big 12, but has lost the last 24 such contests. The last victory came on Oct. 16, 1994, defeating the Longhorns, 19-17.
Running back Sam McGuffie needs to have a big day, as he accounted for 97 total yards of offense, 64 rushing and 33 passing, in last season’s loss to Baylor. Quarterback Taylor McHargue is also coming along, setting career highs for completions and pass attempts in back-to-back games in 2011.
college football betting fans will find that the Owls are 3-9 ATS in road games and 11-14 ATS overall the last two-plus seasons.
Baylor seeks its first 3-0 start since 2005 and Heisman Trophy candidate Robert Griffin III has completed 83.7 percent of his passes this season and has thrown as many touchdowns as incomplete passes in two games.
His main weapon is Kendall Wright on the outside, who has a catch in all 39 career games. He is the school’s all-time leader in both career receptions and career receiving yards.
The Bears have won six straight non-conference home games and have posted a 21-7 mark against such opponents when playing as a ranked team.
Griffin III is certainly the key, leading the team to rank second in passing efficiency, fourth in total offense, sixth in scoring, ninth in passing offense and 32nd in rushing offense. He’s dynamite when playing outside the Big 12, owning a 14.0 touchdown-interception ratio.
Opponents have a hard time preparing for an offense that can strike from anywhere on the field, as the team is averaging 49.0 points, while averaging just over two minutes (2:01) time of possession on 16 scoring drives.
The anchor of the entire thing is an offensive line that possesses a first-string with all players having starting experience. “One to five they’ll be the best line we’ve had,” commented Baylor head coach Art Briles during the offseason.
Bettors will find that the Bears are 12-13 ATS the last two plus seasons and 5-2 ATS in September betting predictions.
It’s hard to ignore that Baylor is 5-1 ATS when facing Conference USA opponents, while Rice is 8-19 ATS when playing non-conference opponents.
