Navy Midshipmen (6-1) vs. Rice Owls (2-6)
November 2, 2024 4:00 pm EDT
The Line: Rice Owls +11 / Navy Midshipmen -11; Over/Under: +51.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Navy Midshipmen and the Rice Owls meet in week 10 college football action from Rice Stadium on Saturday afternoon. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Rice vs Navy Prediction.
Navy Recap
The Navy Midshipmen come into this game looking to bounce back after a 51-14 loss at the hands of Notre Dame to drop to 6-1 on the year. After this game, Navy will head on the road again for a matchup against USF.
Middies Looking To Rebound From First Loss
Blake Horvath has thrown for 976 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on 62.4% passing while also rushing for a team-high 750 yards and 11 touchdowns. Alex Tecza has 339 rushing yards with 7 touchdowns while Eli Heidenreich has 230 rushing yards and a team-high 25 receptions for 495 yards and 5 touchdowns. Brandon Chatman has 198 receiving yards with 3 TDs while another pair of Midshipmen have 100+ receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Colin Ramos has a team-high 83 total tackles while Justin Reed has a team-high 4.5 sacks. Dashaun Peele has a team-high 3 interceptions with a pair of pick-sixes while Rayuan Lane III has a pair of INTs as well. As a unit, Navy’s defense has combined for 16 sacks and 10 interceptions so far this season.
Why the Navy Midshipmen will win
- Navy has won each of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Rice has lost five of its last six games.
- Navy has covered the spread in seven of its last eight November games as a favorite.
Rice Recap
The Rice Owls will try to bounce back from a 17-10 loss to UConn last time out to fall to 2-6 on the year. After this game, Rice will head to Memphis for a matchup with the Tigers.
Owls Lose Back-To-Back Games
E.J. Warner has thrown for 1,573 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions on 60.8% passing while Dean Connors has rushed for a team-high 518 yards and 6 touchdowns and Taji Atkins has 158 rushing yards and 2 scores. Matt Sykes has 41 receptions for 476 yards and 3 touchdowns while Connors has a team-high 45 receptions for 295 yards this season. Kobie Campbell has 22 receptions for 261 yards. Three more Owls have 100+ receiving yards on the year. On defense, Ty Morris has 42 total tackles including a team-high 4 sacks while Josh Pearcy and Michael Larbie each have 3.5 sacks. As a unit, Rice’s defense has combined for 25 sacks and 4 interceptions so far this season.
Why the Rice Owls will win
- The underdog has won three of Rice’s last four games at Rice Stadium.
- Navy has lost each of its last three November road games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- The underdog has covered the spread in six of Rice’s last eight games at Rice Stadium.
Rice vs Navy Prediction
I’m with Navy here. It was a matter of time before a lack of being battle-tested caught up to Navy and Notre Dame punched Navy in the mouth. That being said, it wasn’t overly surprising, and a loss to Notre Dame is not a bad loss to take if you’re Navy when it comes to trying to make the college football playoffs. By no means is Navy out of it, but I think that with that loss, Navy will have to accrue style points in the final few weeks. As I mentioned, Navy hasn’t played a tough schedule, but it’s not like Rice is some world-beater. Rice got steamrolled by Army a few weeks ago, and I just don’t think the Owls have the offense to keep themselves in this game. Give me Navy laying the points.
