Photo by Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Breaking Down the Rice Owls Win Total
2020 College Football Season
Rice: O/U 4.5 Wins -- Title Odds: Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Rice Owls struggled during the 2019 campaign and will be looking to give their fans more to cheer about during the 2020 season. Rice finished the 2019 season with an overall record of (3-9), while going (3-5) in C-USA play. The offense was not potent a season ago, averaging just 17.9 points per contest. The defense allowed just under 26 per game, which ranked 49th at the FBS level. The head coach of the program is Mike Bloomgren.
The offense was guided by quarterback Tom Stewart. Stewart passed for 1,054 yards, while throwing 8 touchdowns and 2 picks, but was a senior last season. Wiley Green saw some playing time during 2019, passing for 787 yards, while throwing 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He will be entering his sophomore season. Aston Walter paced the backfield a season ago as a senior. He rushed for 771 yards and 8 scores. Juma Otoviano should see an increase in playing time, as Rice graduated 3 running backs. Otoviano rushed for 114 yards on 37 attempts a season ago. Wideout Brad Rozner had a team high 770 yards receiving via 55 receptions, while collecting 5 touchdowns as a junior. He will be leading the receiving core for the 2020 season.
As a team the defense was led by linebacker Blaze Alldredge. Alldredge totaled a team leading 102 tackles, while also adding 4 sacks. The team as a whole recorded 15 sacks and forced just 11 turnovers. The defense will need to be better at forcing and creating turnovers, as Rice averaged less than 1 takeaway per game during the 2019 campaign. Safety Naeem Smith is back for Rice, as he will be roaming the secondary for his senior season. Smith registered 3 pass break ups and 2 interceptions.
Let us take a look at the Rice schedule for the 2020 season.
Sept. 5 at Houston
Sept. 12 Army
Sept. 19 LSU
Sept. 26 Lamar
Oct. 3 at Marshall
Oct. 10 UAB
Oct. 24 Middle Tennessee
Oct. 31 at Southern Miss
Nov. 7 UTSA
Nov. 14 at Louisiana Tech
Nov. 21 at North Texas
Nov. 28 UTEP
The Owls open the season against in-state foe Houston. That will be a road game for Rice. The rest of the non-conference schedule features: Army, LSU, and Lamar.
The projected win total is set at 4.5 wins. Rice would need to improve from the 2019 season by 2 wins, in order for this over to cash. However, this will be an offense that will have to fill some key holes left by seniors. This was an offense that ranked 123rd in fewest points scored per contest last season. Rice lacks experience at the quarterback position, as well as in the backfield. The Owls should at least see wins over Lamar, UTEP, and Army. It would not be surprising to see Rice beat either Middle Tennessee State or UTSA, but with little experience under center could be a cause for some hiccups in games that lead to a loss. Therefore, I’m siding with the under.
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Chris’s Pick Under 4.5 Wins
AUTHOR: Chris Smith
Mitch's Take...
