The Rice Owls (+15) are set to take on their in-conference rival Southern Miss Golden Eagles (-15) at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and ESPN+ will broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Rice Owls
The Owls head into this Saturday CUSA game as a significant dog here and are currently getting 15 points. The Owls are also receiving +510 moneyline odds while the Golden Eagles are -750. This CUSA matchup should provide several decent in-game betting opportunities, and oddsmakers have determined the over/under (O/U) to be 59 points.
This game’s line opened at -14. The over/under has not moved after it was initially posted at 59.
The Owls are 2-1 against the spread (ATS) and have lost 1.0 unit so far. The team’s posted an O/U record of 3-0.
The Golden Eagles are down 2.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 1-1 ATS and own an O/U record of 0-1.
The Owls are 1-2 straight up (SU) and they haven’t faced any CUSA competition yet. The Golden Eagles are 1-1 SU overall and are also 0-0 SU in conference play.
The Owls fell to Hawaii 43-29 in a matchup where Shawn Stankavage completed 20-of-31 passes for 299 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Emmanuel Esukpa (104 yards on 17 rush attempts, one TD) led the running attack in the loss. Austin Walter (five receptions, 82 yards) and Aaron Cephus (five catches, 97 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties.
A couple of weeks ago, Louisiana-Monroe knocked off this Southern Miss team by a score of 21-20. The Golden Eagles defense allowed the Warhawks to rush for 159 yards on 30 attempts. Marcus Green had a good outing, posting 96 yards and two touchdowns on four catches for Louisiana-Monroe. For Southern Miss, Jack Abraham completed 31-of-46 passes for 378 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tez Parks (42 yards on 17 rush attempts) led the ground game in the defeat as Quez Watkins (11 receptions, 81 yards, one TD) and Jaylond Adams (nine catches, 158 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching attack.
Rice has run the ball on 57.4 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Southern Miss has a rush percentage of 50.0 percent. The Owls have run for 201.3 yards per game and have four scores via handoffs this year. The Golden Eagles are totaling 130.0 rushing yards per game and have just one rush TD.
The Owls offense has averaged 226.0 yards in the air overall and has five passing scores so far. The Golden Eagles have recorded 316.5 pass yards per outing and have six total pass TD.
Defensively, Rice has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 186.3 yards and throw for 294.3 yards per game. The Southern Miss defense has allowed 146.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 130.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Golden Eagles are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.19 to opposing QBs, while the Owls have given up an ugly 11.37 ANY/A.
Offensively, Stankavage is up to 342 passing yards on the year, and has completed 59 percent of his 46 attempts with two scores through the air and one interception. He’s got a 6.49 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.10 over the last two outings.
On the other sideline, Jack Abraham has managed to complete 31-of-46 passes for 378 yards, two TDs and two INTs. Abraham’s ANY/A sits at 5.73 for the season and 7.56 over his past two outings.
When these two programs faced each other last year, Southern Miss won by three field goals 43-34.
Rice Owls at Southern Miss Golden Eagles Bedding Prediction
SU Winner: Rice, ATS Winner: Rice, O/U: Over
