Rice at USC 9/3/22 College Football Picks and Prediction

The Rice Owls and USC Trojans face off on Saturday in a Week 1 college football showdown at LA Memorial Coliseum. 

The Rice Owls finished last season with a 4-8 record overall but they hope to build off the momentum from the last game of the season. Rice was able to knock off Louisiana Tech in the last game, and it was the first time since 2015 that they had more than wins. Rice wants to hold onto the ball and they try to burn as much clock as possible. The running game at times had issues breaking off the long runs, and the offensive line needs to do a better job of helping with those explosive plays, The defense last year gave up 36 points a game, and it’s going to need to be better here. 

On the other side of this matchup is the USC Trojans who have dreams of the National title. Lincoln Riley was the big hire this offseason and this team looks a lot different than last year. Caleb Williams has joined the program and he is one of the best quarterbacks in college football. Last season he threw for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns, and four picks. He also rushed for another six touchdowns. USC also got a big transfer in Jordan Addison who is one of the best wide receivers in the league, and last season he finished with 17 touchdowns. As good as the offense is, there are a ton of questions about the defense, and they are going to need the defense to be good.