The Rice Owls host the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday afternoon in an AAC battle. Rice is 4-3, most recently trampling Tulsa, 42-10. Tulane is up to 6-1, and they notched their fifth win in a row last week with a 35-28 win over North Texas. These schools will meet for the first time since 2013 when Rice won 17-13.
Will Tulane stay hot, or will Rice ride their home crowd to an upset victory?
Back-to-back for the first time since 1930-31! 💪#RollWave | #NOLABuilt pic.twitter.com/1lnx2vJHzk
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) October 22, 2023
| Team | Spread | Total | ML |
| Tulane | -10.5 (-110) | Over 55 (-110) | -400 |
| Rice | +10.5 (-110) | Under 55 (-110) | +310 |
Odds Courtesy of BetMGM, subject to change*
Match Details
- Fixture: Tulane @ Rice
- Date and Time: October 28, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Rice Stadium, Rice, TX
- Weather Forecast: Partially Cloudy, 84 degrees
Key Stats
Tulane
Tulane is an excellent running team, coming in ranked 51st in total rushing yards and 32nd in rushing attempts. Even though they elect to run the ball much more frequently, they do go for big plays through the air. The Green Wave are 14th in yards per completion and 13th in yards per attempt through the air.
On defense, the visitors allow the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game in the country, and they give up just 2.7 yards per carry (6th-best). Their secondary has struggled to contain opposing receivers, so this is a weakness that Rice could possibly exploit.
Rice
Rice is the opposite of Tulane when it comes to playcalling, as the Owls average 36.6 pass attempts (24th-most) and just 28.6 rush attempts (8th-fewest). The Owls’ QBs have a combined 156.8 passer rating, the 27th-highest rating in college football. Their run game is pretty much non-existent, and considering that run defense is one of Tulane’s strengths, expect them to go pass-heavy on Saturday.
The Owls’ defense has been more effective versus the run, but they need to do better against opposing QBs to help out their offense.
Game Prediction
The Green Wave have steamrolled through the AAC, winning all three of their conference matchups so far. The Owls are 2-1 in conference play, and they’re 3-1 at home. Rice is also 3-1 against the spread on their home turf, and they match up well with Tulane despite being double-digit underdogs. Take Rice to cover here, as the Green Wave has covered just one of their past four.
Pick: Rice +10.5 (-110)
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About the Author
Lucas Abrenica has worked as a sports betting writer for over three years, with the aim of helping both experienced and casual sports bettors in their decision-making. He uses his own personal background as a bettor to help guide the information and advice in his articles.
