A college football rivalry will renew on Thursday night following a 10-year hiatus when the Rice Owls visit the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Both programs are currently middling in a crowded AAC and need a win to help their chances of earning a bowl bid. The Golden Hurricane (3-3, 1-1) and Owls (3-3, 1-1) have met 19 previous times but this is the first of what will become annual meetings with both programs in the AAC. Tulsa leads the all-time series 10-8-1, but Rice won 30-27 in the last meeting in 2013.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET from Chapman Stadium. The Golden Hurricane are 3-point favorites and the over/under total points scored is 58 in the latest Rice vs. Tulsa odds via the SportsLine consensus. Before locking in any Tulsa vs. Rice picks, be sure to check out the college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a stunning profit of more than $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Tulsa vs. Rice and just revealed its picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine to see the model's CFB picks. Here are several college football odds and trends for Rice vs. Tulsa:
- Rice vs. Tulsa point spread: Tulsa -3
- Rice vs. Tulsa over/under: 58 points
- Rice vs. Tulsa money line: Tulsa -159, Rice +134
- RICE: The Owls have scored at least 43 points in two of their three wins this season,
- TULSA: The Golden Hurricane lead the all-time series 10-8-1.
- Rice vs. Tulsa picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Rice vs. Tulsa live stream: fubo (try for free)
Why Tulsa can cover
The Golden Hurricane return to the comforts of Chapman Stadium where, in their last outing, they gave their best all-around performance of the season in a 48-26 win over Temple in their AAC home opener. Tulsa allowed a 14-play drive to the Owls on the opening possession that resulted in a field goal before responding with a 21-0 spurt to finish the first half and capture a comfortable lead.
Cardell Williams threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions while completing 14 of 17 attempts. He also rushed for 90 yards on 10 carries for another touchdown in the best outing by a Tulsa signal-caller this season.
The offense struggled amid sloppy weather conditions last week but still managed 376 total yards. Williams threw two interceptions and was eventually relieved in favor of Braylon Braxton, who threw for 67 yards and a touchdown. Tulsa coach Kevin Wilson told the media this week he will continue to use both signal-callers until one emerges as the clear leader of the offense. See which team to pick here.
Why Rice can cover
Quarterback JT Daniels took a circuitous route to end up at Rice, but the sixth-year senior is arguably one of the most prized players to ever wear the Owls uniform. Daniels was once a blue-chip recruit who, as a true freshman at USC, embarked on his collegiate journey by starting for the Trojans in a prime-time matchup against Texas. He eventually moved on to Georgia, where he went 7-0 as a starter before eventually giving way to Stetson Bennett, who would lead the Bulldogs to a pair of national titles.
Last year, Daniels started most of the season for West Virginia but was largely ineffective and eventually replaced by dual-threat Garrett Greene, who remains the starter for the Mountaineers. Daniels ended up at Rice and became the leader of a program that is looking to reach back-to-back bowl games for just their time in program history.
Rice coach Mike Bloomgren, who named Daniels a team captain, recently told the media the quarterback is playing better now than at any time in his long collegiate career. Daniels has completed nearly 64% of his passes for 1,831 yards and 15 touchdowns against five interceptions. See which team to pick here.
How to make Rice vs. Tulsa picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 55 points. The model also says one side of the spread is the better value. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Tulsa vs. Rice, and which side of the spread is the better value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has notched a profit of more than $2,000 on its top-rated college football spread picks, and find out.
