Baylor vs. Rice Prediction, Game Preview
Baylor vs. Rice prediction and game preview for Friday night's Texas showdown. Find out who will win between the Bears and Owls in Houston.
Baylor vs. Rice prediction and game preview for Friday night’s Texas showdown. Find out who will win between the Bears and Owls in Houston.
Baylor vs. Rice Game Preview
When: Friday, September 16 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: Rice Stadium
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Across the way in Houston, it’s been quite the opposite for Rice. The Owls have had their doors blown off in the season’s first two weeks, and are, unfortunately, staring down the barrel of a turkey.
This is the second game of a home-and-home between Baylor and Rice. Last year, the Bears thumped the Owls, 70-17. The game was relatively close – 14-10 – midway through one quarter, before Baylor ripped off 28 unanswered points to put it away before the half.
What To Know About Baylor
New year, new coach, same offense. Consider this, if you will: the Bears scored more in the first quarter of their first game (24 points) than they’ve given up, total, in both games this season (20 total points). They’re averaging a cool 47.5 points per game.
Seth Russell has fallen back into form, coming off last season’s neck injury, and has thrown for 424 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception. Meanwhile, Shock Linwood, Terence Williams and JaMycal Hasty have all provided balance to the offense in the running game.
What to Know About Rice
No. 119 in total offense (290 yards per game); No. 121 in scoring offense (14 points per game); No. 112 in scoring defense (38.5 points allowed per game); No. 121 in total defense (520 yards allowed per game).
Those numbers are ugly enough on their own. Now consider that they came against the likes of Western Kentucky and Army – not exactly world-beaters like Baylor. Rice has shown the potential to have some positives on offense – Connor Cella’s 64-yard touchdown pass against Army, for example – but the defense has been a sieve.
Advantages
Offense: Baylor. No Art Briles, no Corey Coleman, no problem. This is still one of the nation’s top offensive units.
Defense: Baylor. Rice hasn’t been able to keep within 20 points of its opponents, and the football equivalent to a leaky faucet.
Special Teams: Baylor. The Bears’ 21.50 kickoff return average is middle-of-the-road, but it’s a helluva lot better than Rice’s 13.88. The Owls are setting themselves up for failure with a long field.
Coaching: Push. David Bailiff is a veteran coach who weathers the ups and downs that come with running a mid-tier program. Jim Grobe is doing the lord’s work keeping Baylor humming.
Intangibles: Baylor. There’s a lot of pride on the sidelines for a team who is constantly made out to look like pariahs.
Matchup To Watch
Jim Grobe vs. John Heisman
In 1916, Heisman’s Georgia Tech team defeated the Cumberland Bulldogs, 222-0. That record could be on the line in this one (kidding … kinda).
Baylor vs. Rice Betting Odds
Spread: Baylor -30
Over/Under: N/A
Baylor vs. Rice Prediction
A best-case scenario for Rice is Baylor coming out a little flat due to the Friday night game. Heck, maybe the Bears are looking ahead to their conference opener against Oklahoma State. The Owls hang a couple of early points and play valiantly in front of their home crowd.
This game will likely mirror last year’s, with a sluggish Baylor team clicking it on somewhere midway through the first quarter and coasting to an easy victory.
Baylor vs. Rice Score Prediction: Baylor 65, Rice 10
