Florida Atlantic Owls (1-3) vs. Rice Owls (3-2)
October 4, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Rice Owls -4.5; Over/Under: 52.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Florida Atlantic Owls and the Rice Owls meet Saturday in college football action from Rice Stadium. Here’s a Rice vs FAU Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Rice vs Florida Atlantic pick.
Florida Atlantic Owls Betting Preview
Florida Atlantic has been pretty erratic in the record column so far this year, beginning with a 39-7 blowout loss to Maryland in the opener on August 30. The Owls followed that up with their first win of the season however, taking out Florida A&M 56-14 in game two. Game three was another loss however, this time 38-28 versus Florida International. In that matchup the Owls gave up 21 points in the third quarter alone alongside 224 rushing yards and 6.4 yards per play. Floria Atlantic’s offense managed 478 yards on the other side (343 passing) with 24 first downs and an 8-of-18 success rate on third-down tries.
In last weekend’s matchup versus Memphis, FAU was down 24-19 going into the fourth quarter. Following a wild final period however, the Owls ended up falling in blowout fashion 55-26 after giving up 31 more points from there. QB Caden Veltkamp logged 31-of-50 for 318 yards total in the loss, and also led the rush with eight totes for 28 yards and a score. Easton Messer had nine receptions for 131 yards, and Jayshon Platt had nine grabs for 101 yards.
Rice Owls Betting Preview
Over on the Rice side, they’ve got five games in the bag this year so far. The Owls kicked things off with a tight 14-12 victory over Louisiana, then lost big to Houston 35-9 in their first home game of the season. Rice would rebound the next week with a big 38-17 win over Prairie View, then took out Charlotte 28-17. Rice managed to score a touchdown in each quarter of that victory, tallying 255 yards (of 353 total) on the ground. The Owls weren’t spectacular on third downs—going 5-of-12 in the game—but ultimately got the job done on the scoreboard.
Matched up against Navy last weekend, the Owls faced a 14-0 deficit by the break. Rice was able to outscore the Midshipmen 13-7 from there but still lost 21-13 in the end. QB Chase Jenkins was 12-of-21 for 114 yards and a touchdown. Quinton Jackson rushed 15 times for a team-high 60 yards, and leading receiver Drayden Dickmann had three catches for 45 yards and the score during the defeat.
Florida Atlantic Owls @ Rice Owls Betting Trends: Week 6
Rice Owls Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 6, Michael Daley ranks T9th amongst FBS players for sacks (4.5) this season.
Florida Atlantic Owls Player Prop Facts
- Easton Messer has recorded 50+ receiving yards in eight consecutive games – equal-longest streak in the FBS, heading into Week 6.
Matchup/League Facts
- Rice ranks 136th among FBS teams for passing yards per game this season (84.4).
- Rice ranks 125th among FBS teams for yards per game this season (305.4).
- Florida Atlantic ranks 136th among FBS teams for average point differential in third quarters this season (-9.5).
- Florida Atlantic ranks T133rd among FBS teams for Q3 points per game this season (0.8).
Rice vs Florida Atlantic Prediction
I’m probably going to stay with Rice. The Owls will need to bounce back from last weekend’s loss versus a pretty good Navy team, though. Rice ended up with just 234 offensive yards in that one (114 passing) alongside 3.9 yards per play, 13 first downs and 4-of-15 on third-down tries. On defense the Owls coughed up 455 yards (283 rushing), 7.5 yards per play and 7-of-12 on third downs. It’s been an up-and-down campaign scoring-wise so far for Rice. They’ve been below 15 points in three of five games and hit 28 or more in the other two.
As for Florida Atlantic, they had some passing success (322 yards) against Memphis but got buried by that wild fourth quarter last Saturday in the defeat. The Owls had 10 penalties for 62 yards and had a rough time on defense overall. FAU surrendered 487 yards total (291 rushing), 7.5 yards per play and 24 first downs in all. The good news is that Florida Atlantic was able to score in every quarter—but also gave up points in every quarter as well. The Owls have 26 or more points in three straight games now, and have given up a combined 93 in the last pair. Rice should have plenty of opportunities to get their offense going here.
