The Rice Owls are lost. Their last two games have been disasters and while the offense has occasionally produced, the defense has consistently been one of the worst in college football. The Charlotte 49ers are the next team to take advantage of the struggles and will look to push the Owls to 0-7 in conference and to 1-9 overall when these two teams meet here in Week 11.
This contest in Week 11 of the regular season will go down Saturday, November 12, 2016, at 2 p.m. ET at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
CFB Odds at BookMaker.eu
Rice +11
Charlotte -11
Odds Analysis
The home team has seen the spread grow a half point since opening, but the 49ers remain a good play at home.
Charlotte has covered the spread in their last four conference bouts and is 4-1 ATS versus teams with losing records.
On the other side, Rice is just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 conference games and has a defense in disarray, allowing at least 42-points in five of its last six games. Offensively, Rice isn’t a powerhouse team either, making it hard for the Owls to keep games close.
Matchup to Watch
Rice’s defense is bad; really bad. They’ve allowed 147 points in their last three games and allowed Florida Atlantic to gain 653 yards on Saturday, a program record.
Florida Atlantic ended that game with 42-points scored which is telling more for Rice than FAU as FAU has averaged 22.4 points per game, ranking No. 111 in the nation.
In all, this Owls’ defense has allowed 558.3 yards per game and 40.2 points per game, both ranking amongst the worst teams in college football. They’ve been equally abysmal against the pass and against run.
While Charlotte has a meager passing attack, the 49ers are pretty good moving the ball on the ground. As a result, this game could get out of hand quickly if Rice isn’t able to find a way to stop the team’s three-headed rushing monster.
Led by Kalif Phillips’s 741 yards, the team has Robert Washington and Hasaan Klugh behind him with at least five yards a carry each and the trio has combined for 13 touchdowns and 1,489 yards. After those three, there are still a couple other options to carry the ball, to help keep defenses on their heels.
Look for all three to run wild. After all, the last time Rice was on the road, the Owls allowed Louisiana Tech to rush for 301 yards, collecting 7.7 yards per carry and running for five scores—they added three more touchdowns in the air.
Revenge Angle
These two teams met for the first time last year with the Owls beating the 49ers 27-7.
Rice held Charlotte to seven points, shutting down the offense, allowing just 15 first downs. The 49ers rushed for 127 yards in the loss, converted only three of 13 third down situations and were more than doubled up in time of possession.
The game was all Rice and it snapped a four game losing skid for Rice while handing Charlotte its 10th straight loss as it struggled through its inaugural Conference-USA season.
Charlotte is still not a great team, but following back-to-back wins over Marshall and Southern Miss on the road, the 49ers are riding high and get to return home looking to cover the spread for the fifth straight game.
Rice, meanwhile, has taken considerable steps backwards. This defense is basically non-existent and while it was the 49ers that entered last year’s game with just two wins on the year, the Owls will head to Charlotte having just one win—against a Prairie View team that still managed to score 44 against this defense.
Free ATS Pick
The Owls’ defense is that bad. They’re offense stands little chance as the defense is unable to register stops, putting pressure on the offense to score each time out. The offense just cannot matchup. Tyler Stehling is serviceable, but he’s got six interceptions to just 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, on the ground, Samuel Stewart leads the team with 362 rushing yards.
If FAU can rack up a record number of yards against Rice, Charlotte’s rushing attack can certainly be counted on to produce. After all, the bunch had 303 yards on the ground against Southern Miss on Saturday. Look for more here in Week 11 against an even worse defensive unit.
The 49ers run wild on Saturday, easily covering the 11-point spread as Charlotte breaks away and registers a commanding victory.
College Football Odds: Charlotte 48, Rice 23
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