Navy vs Rice Prediction College Football Picks 11/2/24

The Navy Midshipmen and the Rice Owls meet Saturday in college football action from Rice Stadium. Here’s a Navy vs Rice prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Navy vs Rice pick. We will examine:

The Navy Midshipmen’s recent form and player performance

The Rice Owls’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Navy Midshipmen

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Rice Owls

Recent betting trends in games played between Navy and Rice

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Navy vs Rice game

Navy Midshipmen Betting Preview

The Midshipmen rolled through their first six games without too many difficulties, working their way to a No. 24 national ranking. Navy took out Bucknell, Temple, Memphis, UAB, Air Force, and Charlotte in that span to kick things off with a nice 6-0 record.

On Saturday versus Notre Dame, the Midshipmen gave up points in every quarter (double-digits in three of them) during a 51-14 blowout loss. QB Blake Horvath threw for 88 yards and an interception while also leading the rush on 129 yards and a score from 14 carries.

Rice Owls Betting Preview

Over on the Rice side, they skidded to a 1-4 start. The lone win was over Texas Southern 69-7; otherwise, it was losses to Sam Houston, Houston, Army, and Charlotte. The Owls would beat UTSA 29-27 before another loss to Tulane 24-10.

In the UConn game, the Owls were outscored 10-7 in the fourth quarter during a 17-10 loss. QB Drew Devillier had 88 yards passing and Dean Connors led the rush with 20 carries for 46 yards. Matt Sykes caught three balls for 24 yards to lead the receivers.

Why the Rice Owls will win

• The home team has won six of Rice’s last seven games.
• Navy has lost three of its last four road games in November.
• The underdog has covered the spread in three of Rice’s last four games.

Why the Navy Midshipmen will win

• Navy has won each of its last four games against conference opponents.
• Rice has lost five of its last six games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Navy has covered the spread in each of its last five games against non-AP-ranked teams.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Navy’s last seven November games as a road favorite against non-AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.
• Six of Rice’s last seven games in November have gone UNDER the total points line.

Navy vs Rice Prediction

I’ll stick with Navy. The Midshipmen ran into a buzzsaw in the Notre Dame game last weekend and played pretty miserably on offense. Navy coughed up six turnovers (five fumbles) and went a tepid 4-of-11 on third-down tries. Defensively the Midshipmen gave up 466 yards (265 rushing) and 7.2 yards per play.

As for Rice, they couldn’t get anything going on offense versus UConn—and the 12 penalties didn’t help. The Owls posted just 178 yards total (88 passing) with 10 first downs and a rough 2-of-16 on third-down conversions. The defense wasn’t bad, though: 309 yards (128 passing) and 4.5 yards per play allowed with two takeaways. Things aren’t going to get any easier this weekend versus an angry Navy team looking to rebound from a bad loss.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Navy Midshipmen -12.5