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The Rice Owls take on the FAU Owls in Boca Raton, FL. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
FAU is favored by -7.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -325. The total is set at 53.5 points.
Here’s my Rice vs. FAU prediction and college football pick for Saturday, October 24, 2026.
Rice vs FAU Prediction
- Rice vs. FAU Pick: Rice +7.5
My FAU vs. Rice best bet is on the Owls to cover the spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
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Rice vs FAU Odds
| Rice Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7.5 -115 | 53.5 -106o / -113u | +260 |
| FAU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7.5 -106 | 53.5 -106o / -113u | -325 |
- Rice vs FAU point spread: FAU -7.5 (-106), Rice +7.5 (-115)
- Rice vs FAU over/under: 53.5 (-106o / -113u)
- Rice vs FAU moneyline: Rice +260, FAU -325
Rice vs FAU College Football Preview
Rice Owls Betting Preview: This Group Can Hang in There
Rice has shown a little more fight over the last couple of weeks as the rushing offense has come around, providing not only consistency but also some explosiveness with the emergence of quarterback Jacurri Brown as a ball-carrier.
The Owls have faced a murderers' row of Group of 6-level defensive lines, yet have still kept it together, averaging 5.3 yards per play since the loss at Notre Dame.
This is not a good football team, but the schedule has been tough, and now the Owls have a chance to really compete offensively against a defense they should be able to manhandle up front.
Brown has been the guy who makes things happen on offense, and he leads the team with 669 rushing yards and half a dozen rushing scores. Tyvonn Byars has registered 372 rushing yards and a pair of rushing scores, with D’Andre Hardeman Jr. filling in the remaining workload.
Rice has allowed too much activity in the backfield, and for a team that runs the ball 79% of the time to have surrendered 46 tackles for loss, that's a very concerning indicator, until you consider the competition faced.
This FAU front is not a havoc front, and FAU is going to struggle against this rushing attack.
The Rice defense is not overly dominant, and the unit lacks overall team speed. This is not a particularly strong tackling bunch, but incredibly, Rice ranks in the top half of the AAC in team tackling grades.
Rice has a decent coverage unit and has surprisingly played well in the red zone, allowing just 58% of opponent trips to find the end zone while turning foes away empty-handed seven times.
If the coverage unit can limit the pass explosives against FAU, this group can hang in there long enough to make this a fun, close game.
Florida Atlantic Owls Betting Preview: Offense Much Improved
FAU is a much-improved football team, and the four-game win streak earlier this year confirmed several things people wanted to see. The Owls' coaching staff was making smarter situational decisions regarding in-game management while being more risk-averse.
The offense became much more efficient, and the Owls were scoring significantly more points, a full touchdown improvement over last year.
Lastly, the defense was improving and appeared more stout. Holding FIU, UL-Monroe and Texas Southern to 17 points or fewer (and Navy to seven points through 44 minutes) confirmed that.
All of this makes last week's performance against Army, off a bye week, no less, very, very bad. If this seems like hyperbole, just look at the numbers. Eight of nine Army possessions resulted in a touchdown. The Black Knights ran for 479 yards and averaged eight yards per carry.
The explosive rushes given up were baffling, and many times, an Army ball carrier was running free with zero FAU defenders anywhere on the TV screen.
I couldn’t believe how out of position the unit was, and now FAU will be tasked with lining up against another option attack this week. This defense is going to really have to pull it together in this game.
The FAU offense is much more efficient and now looks like the Zach Kittley offense we thought we'd get last season, when the new head coach took over.
Caden Veltkamp has completed 72% of his passes with a 15:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, a tremendous improvement from last year’s 17-interception campaign.
Easton Messer and Kelby Valsin are the dudes in the receiver room, and they're explosive. Valsin has 601 receiving yards on 47 catches and Messer has registered 547 yards on 46 catches. The two have combined for 10 receiving touchdowns.
Dominique Henry is a really solid third receiver for FAU, and no other player has more than nine catches this season.
The ground attack has not been strong this year, outside of a road performance at UL Monroe. In all five games outside of that, the Owls have been held to 130 or fewer rushing yards and are averaging just 2.8 yards per carry.
I suspect that at some point FAU will need to run the football, and until it's able to, the third-down conversion percentage and red-zone scoring percentages will continue to suffer.
Rice vs FAU Pick, Betting Analysis
This line opened with FAU listed as 10.5-point favorites, with a total of 58.5. Rice has taken money in the market this week, and I'm a part of it, having bet Rice at +9.5. At the current price of +7.5, I still support a play on Rice.
The total has steamed hard to the under and now sits at 51.
Rice is going to move the football against an FAU defense that ranks 136th nationally in PPA per rush and 138th in rush play explosiveness surrendered.
By comparison, every other FBS opponent Rice has faced this season has ranked in the top 50 nationally in defensive PPA per rush, and most were in the top half in preventing rushing explosives.
Rice runs into issues because the Owls can't string together enough successful plays to move the ball consistently, and their third-down percentage has suffered.
Far too many possessions end in punts, but I think this trend is mitigated by FAU’s weak run defense. Rice will have much more success in early down situations, giving the offense a higher chance to sustain possession and deliver longer, methodical drives.
The FAU offense will be hampered by the weather in this game. The Owls play their home games at Flagler Credit Union Stadium, located 3,000 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. The Boca weather forecast calls for sustained winds of 17-22 mph with gusts exceeding 30 mph.
This will affect FAU's deep passing game, and the Owls will have to resort to shorter throws and even run the ball. This weather forecast has been a driver in the total being bet down.
Ultimately, I do not anticipate the FAU offense to be as explosive in this game as it has been at times this season, and I do not trust the defense to get stops against the Rice offense.
I look for this game to come down to the wire and for Rice to keep this one within the number.
Pick: Rice +7.5
