If you’re tired of the NFL’s turgid Thursday Night Football matchups, why not kick-start your weekend with some Conference USA action? Allow our UTEP vs. Rice predictions, betting odds, and fantasy picks to guide your viewing as the Miners and Owls seek to surge toward bowl season eligibility.
UTEP vs. Rice Betting Preview
- Spread
Rice (-3.5) - Moneyline
Rice (-170); UTEP (+145) - Over/Under
48.5 points - Game time
7 p.m. ET - Location
Rice Stadium, Houston, TX - Predicted weather at kickoff
73 degrees, intermittent clouds, 12 mph wind - How to watch
FuboTV, CBS Sports Network
Let’s kick off the breakdown of this Conference USA clash by looking at the UTEP vs. Rice odds. The Owls are an understandable favorite, holding a historical advantage over the Miners with a 15-9 record (including seven wins in the last 10 encounters). Rice has a 3-1 record at home this fall, while UTEP has picked up just one road win as they’ve labored to a 4-5 record.
Although one of their wins came in a nail-biting, one-point fashion against Louisiana Tech, when Rice wins, they do so by more than the 3.5-point spread. Meanwhile, the Owls are 5-3 against the spread this season. Faith in them covering the spread can also come in the form of UTEP’s 3-6 record against the spread and five 10+ point losses for the Miners.
Rice is 7-1 to the over this season, and while UTEP’s 2-6-1 record in the same metric might be cause for pause, the two teams have combined to average nearly 51 points this season. Furthermore — while remembering that history isn’t always a good indicator of the future — their clash last season totaled 66 points. We’ll delve more into whether that’s possible again in our UTEP vs. Rice prediction, but first, let’s check out the DFS picks and fantasy plays for this Conference USA clash.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
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- QB TJ McMahon, Rice ($9,600)
- QB Gavin Hardison, UTEP ($8.800)
- RB Ari Broussard, Rice ($7,500)
- RB Ronald Awatt, UTEP ($7,400)
- RB Deion Hankins, UTEP ($6,700)
- RB Cameron Montgomery, Rice ($6,500)
- RB Juma Otoviano, Rice ($5,300)
- WR Luke McCaffrey, Rice ($9,500)
- WR Tyrin Smith, UTEP ($9,000)
- WR Bradley Rozner, Rice ($7,700)
- WR Reynaldo Flores, UTEP ($7,600)
- WR Isaiah Esdale, Rice ($6,200)
- WR Jeremiah Ballard, UTEP ($5,900)
- TE Jack Bradley, Rice ($5,000)
- TE Trent Thompson, UTEP ($5,000)
With free-scoring Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina taking place on the same day in a Sun Belt showdown, making DFS picks from UTEP vs. Rice is a precarious pastime. However, there are some fantasy points to be had from multiple offensive playmakers in this Conference USA clash.
The best value DFS picks from UTEP vs. Rice undoubtably come from the Owls’ wide receiver room. Brad Rozner is absolutely tearing up all oncomers this season. The 6’5″, 204-pound pass catcher has tallied over 100 receiving yards in half his games this season. In the past three weeks, he’s tallied 267 receiving yards with four touchdowns. Rozner has two multiple-touchdown games this season.
MORE: Early College Football Picks, Predictions for Week 10
Stablemate Luke McCaffrey is also a viable option. Rice uses him in multiple ways, with 13.0 yards per carry and a touchdown on the ground compounding a receiving threat that has seen the former quarterback rack up 613 receiving yards and six scores this season.
UTEP’s running back rotation is a double-edged sword. You know that whichever one you select will score you some points, but at the same time, you’re splitting the scoring potential. Rice running back Ari Broussard might not have the yardage, but with nine touchdowns this year compared to eight rushing scores for the entire UTEP team, he might be considered the safer bet.
Grayson McCall and Chase Brice’s presence on this Thursday night college football slate should render this UTEP vs. Rice matchup redundant in terms of quarterback DFS picks. However, if the value doesn’t allow one of the two high-profile passers, Rice QB TJ McMahon’s superior touchdown numbers and ground potency should give him an edge over UTEP’s Gavin Hardison.
Prediction for UTEP vs. Rice
Both teams have been extremely inconsistent this season, making a prediction for UTEP vs. Rice a tough affair. They enter this game on the back of losses, with Rice suffering a shellacking at the hands of Chris Reynolds and the Charlotte 49ers. Meanwhile, UTEP slipped to their fifth defeat of the year at the hands of Middle Tennessee State.
Offensively, Rice has a clear advantage. Averaging 29.4 points per game, they’ve been able to find the end zone routinely. That attack has come in the form of big plays from wide receiver Rozner (21.4 yards per catch this season). He boasts a big-bodied pass-catching frame coupled with deceptive athleticism that allows him to be a monster at multiple levels for the Owls’ offense.
While proving effective in limiting yardage, the UTEP defense has allowed the third-most passing touchdowns in Conference USA this year. Meanwhile, they’ve snagged just three interceptions. As a result, they might struggle to contain Rozner and McCaffrey, who have 13 touchdowns between them this fall.
Rice has hardly been defensively successful, which could give UTEP reason to be optimistic about pulling off a quasi-surprise win. The Owls have allowed 33.6 points per game this fall despite a unit that ranks third in Conference USA for total yardage allowed per game (370.1).
Having given up 35 touchdowns so far this season, they’re a unit ripe for the picking against the right offense. That was showcased in last week’s defeat to Charlotte: Chris Reynolds carved them up to the tune of five touchdown passes. Given their propensity to allow ground yardage too, there’s a path for a UTEP win.
However, the Miners have struggled offensively this season. Quarterback Hardison seems a shadow of the signal-caller that helped take the Miners to a bowl game last fall. The loss of wide receiver Jacob Cowing doesn’t help, but Tyrin Smith is a genuine weapon. Still, Hardison’s completion percentage, yards per attempt, and touchdown-to-interception ratio are all worse than last fall.
Meanwhile, the ground game has also lost some of its potency. With everything considered, UTEP should be able to take the game to Rice. But anything other than a sixth defeat of the season for the Miners would be a surprise. A fifth win of the campaign for Rice beckons, leaving them needing just one more from a tough three-game stretch run to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2014.
Prediction: UTEP 24, Rice 28