The Rice Owls take on the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette, LA. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Louisiana is favored by -11.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -450. The total is set at 47.5 points.
Here’s my Rice vs. Louisiana predictions and college football picks for Saturday, August 30, 2025.
Rice vs Louisiana Prediction
- Rice vs. Louisiana Pick: Louisiana -6.5 1H
My Louisiana vs. Rice best bet is on Louisiana first-half spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Rice vs Louisiana Odds
| Rice Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+11.5 -108 | 47.5 -105o / -115u | +330 |
| Louisiana Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-11.5 -112 | 47.5 -105o / -115u | -425 |
- Rice vs Louisiana point spread: Louisiana -11.5
- Rice vs Louisiana over/under: 47.5
- Rice vs Louisiana moneyline: Rice +330, Louisiana -425
Rice vs Louisiana Preview
Rice Owls Betting Preview: How Does Abell's Offense Fit in?
Get ready to learn Scott Abell, folks. The Davidson coach comes to Rice to replace Mike Bloomgren and boy, does he have some changes in store.
Abell runs a unique spread option game not seen elsewhere in the FBS currently. There's elements of the Wing-T triple option, but it's run primarily from the shotgun with wide receivers motioning all over the place.
Is it fun to watch? Heck yeah, it is. Will it work right away at the FBS level and with Rice's personnel? Insert your favorite Larry David face here.
Redshirt sophomore Chase Jenkins won the starting QB job. He's been on the roster for two years and presents the rest rushing threat among the group, but his passing results are spotty at best (career 13-for-19 with one pick and no touchdowns).
A mix of Quinton Jackson and Coastal Carolina transfer Max Balthazar make up the backfield while slot receiver Aaron Turner (UConn, Cincinnati) likely gets involved in the option attack.
There's real concern on defense. Rice isn't much a player in the transfer market due to its rigorous academic standards, and that shows with the additions (or lack thereof) this offseason.
The unit took losses (namely Gabriel Taylor and Tyson Flowers) and couldn't supplant those losses with transfers. This is a fringe top-100 unit nationally.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Betting Preview: Good Location for QB Howard
Before injuries decimated Louisiana's roster, the Ragin' Cajuns sat at 10-2 with a spot in the Sun Belt Championship. Without either starting QB — and a rash of talented weapons and role players in the bowl game — Louisiana lost its final two games by a combined 65-6.
Unfortunately for the Cajuns, a few of those big missing pieces don't return in 2025. However, they did add pieces in the transfer market, most notably former blue-chip QB Walker Howard (Ole Miss, LSU). Howard has yet to get his chance as a starter in the FBS, and this could be a solid landing spot for him.
Around Howard is a roster full of Louisiana recruits that were on this roster last year. Though young across the board, these players have playing experience and, outside of Howard, only two projected starters are transfers – the rest were here in 2024.
Reports from spring and fall camp are optimistic about Howard and the offense.
The defense should improve with age. Louisiana couldn't get off the field on third down at all last year and the run defense was truly dreadful (like, bottom of the FBS dreadful).
Against the pass, Louisiana was much better, but teams didn't need to throw against it because of the success on the ground (teams opted to throw on 47% of offensive plays, right around middle of the pack).
The good news there is, there's little ways to go but up.
Rice vs Louisiana Pick, Betting Analysis
With Rice installing a brand-new system, there's expected early growing pains. This isn't a system that turns deadly overnight; it takes time and, likely, multiple years of installation before it takes root.
For the first half of Week 1, it's probably not going to be rooted yet.
My first lean here was to bet under on the first-half total, given Rice's moderate defensive pushback. But the wild card that is Howard drove me away there. I'm eliminating the risk of Howard coming out and throwing for a bunch of yards and scores against a secondary that's replacing its best players.
Louisiana's offense will continue to play well. Its top two running backs — Bill Davis and Zylan Perry — are back, and the receiving corps has both size and talent. All of the coaching staff returns, and the culture is well established for the Cajuns.
The defense is a concern, but I'm not sure Rice's new offense is the unit to exploit those concerns right off the bat. I'm not taking the full-game spread of -11.5 in case Rice does figure out how to exploit that run defense we saw last year with halftime adjustments.
Of the two teams — one that rebuilds its program from scratch and one that returns a whole bunch of continuity, plus the better QB — there's a clear one I'd like to back in the first half of the season. That's Louisiana, its trusted coaching staff and talented skill corps.
Pick: Louisiana -6.5 1H
