Venue/ Stadium: Floyd Casey Stadium, WACO, TX
Baylor (2-0) is looking for their first 3-0 start in 6 years and they have a Heisman hopeful under center facing a Rice team that does not have a dynamic offense, but is coming off a big upset over a Big 12 team in their last game. NCAAF lines have Baylor as a big 20.5-point home favorite in this game with a total of 67.
Time/Date: 7 PM EST Saturday, September 24, 2011
NCAA Odds From: JustBet.com —>
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Baylor -20.5
Over/Under: 67
Rice Owls vs. No. 17 Baylor Bears Preview
Baylor killed Stephen F. Austin 48-0 in their last game while Rice was impressive in beating Purdue 24-22.
The Bears are 1-0 ATS with an Over/Under record of 1-0 and Rice is at 1-1 ATS with an Over/Under record of 0-2.
Baylor has won 5 straight games against Rice including beating them 30-13 last season on the road.
Rice only has the nation’s 104th ranked defense and they really have a tall task facing Baylor QB Robert Griffin, who is 41-49 for 624 yards with 8 TD and 0 INT on the season and he is the Bears’ 2nd leading rusher with 116 yards averaging a legit 6.4 yards per carry.
Rice gave up 183 rushing yards and 183 passing yards last week against Purdue and for any chance at the big upset they have to keep Griffin from having a big game both in the air and on the ground. Griffin is not the only offensive weapon the Bears have, as they also feature RB Terrance Ganaway (200 yards 2 TD) and WR Kendall Wright (20 rec 312 yards 3 TD).
Rice must play good all around D in this game and if they do not they may be in trouble since their pass offense only ranks 99th in the nation and their rushing offense ranks 89th. Rice must get a good game from QB Taylor McHargue, who played well in the win over Purdue passing for 230 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT, He will need help from a decent WR corps and especially RB Sam McGuffie (52 yards). [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The one chance the Owls have is running the ball against a suspect Baylor run defense, as they can keep it close that way and it will help keep Griffin off the field.
Baylor ranks 37th defending the pass and 74th defending the run and if they can contain McHargue the Bears should have no problem winning this non-conference game.
Betting Trends
Rice is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as a road underdog of 10.5 points or more, and has an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 non-conference games.
Baylor is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite, and has an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 home games.
Jason’s Pick: Does Rice have any chance facing a Baylor squad that ranks in the top 10 in the nation in scoring and passing yards per game? Not likely, as Griffin will have another big game and the Bears will easily win and cover the spread. Take the Under as well, as I think the Owls will fail to score many points in this game.
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