Rice vs Texas Southern 9/25/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Rice Owls meet the Texas Southern Tigers Saturday in week 4 college football action at Rice Stadium. The Texas Southern Tigers could use a win here to rebound from an 0-2 record. The Rice Owls hope to avoid their second 0-4 start in the last five years.

The Texas Southern Tigers have lost four of their last five games. Jalen Brown is completing 50.9 percent of his passes for 277 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Ke’Lenn Davis and Jyrin Johnson have combined for 204 receiving yards and one touchdown while Jonathan Giles has seven receptions. The Texas Southern Tigers ground game is averaging 127 yards per contest, and Jacorey Howard leads the way with 79 yards on 15 carries. Defensively, Texas Southern is allowing 53 points and 600 yards per game. Tarik Cooper leads the Texas Southern Tigers with 13 tackles, Isaiah Hamilton has one sack and Tim Walton has one pass deflection.

The Rice Owls have lost six of their last eight games. Luke McCaffrey is completing 50 percent of his passes for 181 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. August Pitre III and Jake Bailey have combined for 181 receiving yards and one touchdown while Jordan Myers has 11 receptions. The Rice Owls ground game is averaging 121 yards per contest, and Khalan Griffin leads the way with 173 yards on 39 carries. Defensively, Rice is allowing 46.7 points and 462 yards per game. Antonio Montero leads the Rice Owls with 27 tackles, Kenneth Orji has one sack and Gabe Taylor has one interception.

The Rice Owls are the better team here and should be prepared for this game after a rough schedule to start the season. However, Rice isn’t a team I’m running to the window to lay big numbers with, as they’re not all that talented and they don’t cover numbers. This is one of the bigger games of the season for Texas Southern and it will be up for it given an in-state contest. Give me the points.