Bet on Football – Rice Owls at Texas Tech

NCAA College Football Sports Betting

Rice Owls (0-1 SU & ATS) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)

Saturday, September 12 – 7 PM ET

NCAA Odds: TEXAS TECH -28, Total 65

Here are some of the NCAA betting trends for those who like to bet on football:

• RICE has covered six of its last eight games
• RICE has won seven of its last eight games SU
• RICE has played 20 of its last 25 games OVER the total
• RICE has lost four of its last six road games SU
• RICE has covered two of its last six road games
• RICE has played 16 of its last 19 road games OVER the total
• TT has won 14 of its last 16 games SU
• TT has played eight of its last nine games OVER the total
• TT has won nine of its last ten home games SU

People who like to bet on football know that what these two teams have in common is that they both lost their primary offensive weapons and have had to replace them. Texas Tech lost quarterback Graham Harrell, who threw for 5000 or more yards twice, and wide receiver Michael Crabtree, who still hasn’t signed with the San Francisco 49ers (at least the last we’d heard).

Rice lost a prolific quarterback in Chase Clement, as well as wide receiver Jarrett Dillard and tight end James Casey, all of whom were tremendous players and helped Rice to a 9-3 record, which led to a berth in the Texas Bowl, where the Owls beat Western Michigan rather handily, returning a tidy profit for those who bet on football.

The difference between Rice and Texas Tech, aside from the academic requirements, is that while Texas Tech has a system firmly in place that attracts quality replacements for coach Mike Leach, Rice does not have that capability just yet. So there won’t be as much "plug-and-play: ability for the Owls.

However, make no mistake about it – David Bailiff, who won Conference USA’s coach of the year last season, is capable of manipulating some offense out of his team, and when you bet on football, that is something that must be factored in. This week Nick Fanuzzi is going to get the starting assignment at quarterback. He’s no Clement, but he’s a transfer from Alabama who threw for 139 yards in the spring game and was 12-for-20 for 154 yards in the season opener against UAB.

When you bet in football, you have to notice that Texas Tech simply plugs Taylor Potts into the system now. Potts threw three interceptions in his first start against North Dakota, but he also had 4065 yards through the air. That’s more than Harrell, BJ Symons or Kliff Kingsbury had in their debut for the Red Raiders. Potts was a highly-recruited high schooler who has spent three years in Leach’s system and may have better pure throwing ability than anyone Leach has had.

Fans who bet on football may have been surprised to find out that Rice’s defense is so bad that the Owls made UAB look like a BCS champion in the opening game, allowing the Blazers to help themselves to 516 yards of total offense. And this is after returning nine starters on that unit. Can they offer more than token resistance to Texas Tech?

There is a strong bias with these teams, as many people who bet on football know – Rice Owls has gone over the total in 20 of its last 25 games, while Texas Tech has exceeded the total in eight of its last nine. This sounds like a smart direction for anyone who bets on football to go – we’re headed OVER the posted total of 65 points in the BetOnline NCAA college football betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: OVER 65 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)