College Football Odds, Picks for Tulane vs. Rice

The No. 22 Tulane Green Wave (6-1) head west to take on the Rice Owls (4-3) in an AAC matchup Saturday afternoon.

The Green Wave have lived up to the hype to this point, with many evaluators expecting them to be the class of the conference. Tulane is coming off a 35-28 victory over North Texas last week.

Rice is also having a solid season and enters off a blowout victory over Tulsa on the road. The Owls will look to build on that against the true top team in the AAC.

With such an intriguing matchup, can any value be found from a betting perspective? Let's look at our Tulane vs. Rice pick and prediction.

The Tulane Green Wave have been remarkable so far this season. Despite dealing with an abundance of injuries — notably to star quarterback Michael Pratt — the program has maintained its momentum.

Even with Pratt missing a few weeks, Tulane has managed to carry the 15th-best Pass Success Rate in the nation into this matchup.

This will be the real test for Rice because the Owls have struggled to generate a pass rush at times.

Tulane's offense is exceptionally pass-heavy, which makes sense considering its excellent receiving corps. Lawrence Keys III, Chris Brazzell II and Jha'Quan Jackson have all been terrific in recent weeks, and tight end Alex Bauman got in on the fun last week with two touchdowns.

The Green Wave have made the running game an afterthought in their offensive scheme for the better part of the season, but they ran the ball a season-high 46 times last week. This could be an interesting factor against a Rice team that has been decent against the run.

The Tulane defense has allowed more points than expected, which plays an enormous role in this game. Tulane has had tremendous difficulty defending the pass, despite grading out as one of the top teams in the nation against the run.

The Rice Owls are one of the most underrated teams in the country and put experts on notice with a 42-10 win as a three-point underdog over Tulsa last week.

Rice is led by former top recruit JT Daniels, who is now starting for the fourth program of his collegiate career. He's having a tremendous season, as he's pacing the AAC in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns.

This offense hums, and it all starts with the passing game. Rice is 12th in the country in Pass Success Rate, which sets up favorably against a Tulane defense that ranks 90th in Pass Success Rate Allowed.

If the Owls can somewhat mitigate the Green Wave's offensive firepower through the air, they can stay in the fight with their own offense, as they rank 18th in the nation in Offensive Finishing Drives.

The must-have app for college football bettors

The best NCAAF betting scoreboard

Free picks from proven pros

Live win probabilities for your bets

DOWNLOAD NOW

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Tulane and Rice match up statistically:

Tulane Offense vs. Rice Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	95	55
Line Yards	45	46
Pass Success	15	50
Havoc	67	63
Finishing Drives	66	54
Quality Drives	25	86

Rice Offense vs. Tulane Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	80	29
Line Yards	114	47
Pass Success	12	90
Havoc	100	12
Finishing Drives	18	55
Quality Drives	61	36

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	82	74
PFF Coverage	87	95
Special Teams SP+	39	121
Middle 8	59	119
Seconds per Play	29.3 (106)	30.5 (126)
Rush Rate	61.1% (13)	43.9% (119)

Despite the lofty spread, this game should be pretty close. The Owls are coming off a massive road win and will carry that momentum back to their home field.

Tulane is an elite team, but the Owls will likely put points on the board because of their explosive passing offense and Tulane's lack of a robust passing defense.

However, my best bet is not on the spread.

Both offenses have clear edges through the air against the opposing defense, and as a result, I'm comfortable playing the over up to 54.5 points.