The Western Michigan Broncos take on the Rice Owls in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 18. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Western Michigan is favored by -9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -410. Rice, meanwhile, enters as a +9.5 underdog and is +315 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 43.5 total points.
Here’s my Western Michigan vs. Rice prediction and college football pick for Saturday, September 19.
Western Michigan vs Rice Prediction
- Western Michigan vs. Rice Pick: PICK
My Rice vs. Western Michigan best bet is on PICK. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Western Michigan vs Rice Odds
| Western Michigan Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -110 | 43.5 -114o / -106u | -410 |
| Rice Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -110 | 43.5 -114o / -106u | +315 |
- Western Michigan vs Rice point spread: Western Michigan -9.5 (-110), Rice +9.5 (-108)
- Western Michigan vs Rice over/under: 43.5 (-114o / -106u)
- Western Michigan vs Rice moneyline: Western Michigan -410, Rice +315
Western Michigan vs Rice College Football Preview
I believe Western Michigan is still getting a bit too much respect for that effort against Michigan.
The Broncos deserve a ton of credit for that effort, but they simply played out of their minds on the defensive end, while Michigan appeared dazed and confused throughout.
Coming into the season, I had real concerns for their defense, which lost a ton of production from a dominant unit (in addition to a defensive coordinator who now runs the show for an NFL team).
Well, we saw some of those cracks last week against FCS Monmouth. Yes, WMU did cover in a 49-14 victory, but that final score was very misleading.
Believe it or not, Monmouth actually finished with more yards (431-414), but were done in by four failed fourth-down attempts and a -2 turnover margin.
Now, the Broncos head down to the extreme Houston heat for a nonconference bout against Rice one week prior to hosting Boise State in a massive game with G6 playoff implications.
This is a major flat spot in which the Broncos could easily get caught looking past the Owls.
More importantly, this is a matchup of two snails that rank in the bottom 10 nationally in pass rate and bottom three in seconds per play.
This will mirror an old service academy clash with an astronomically high run rate that keeps the clock moving rapidly throughout.
Plus, Rice quarterback Jacurri Brown has dropped back a grand total of 23 times through two starts.
Western Michigan vs Rice Pick, Betting Analysis
In regard to this particular matchup, the Rice secondary has major holes, but that's not as important against the run-heavy Broncos.
And while the scoreboard was ugly last week at Notre Dame in a 52-0 loss, the Owls' run defense actually held up well, holding the Irish to just 118 rushing yards on 32 carries for an average of 3.7 yards per carry. That's encouraging ahead of this matchup.
Don't expect many possessions in this one, hence the low total of 44. That obviously makes the home underdog north of a touchdown more attractive. It won't take much from the Rice offense to keep this close.
Believe it or not, Rice has been one of the 10 most profitable home teams in the country since 2005. Over that span, the Owls have gone 59-45-6 ATS (56.7%) against FBS opponents in the usually half-empty Rice Stadium.
Pick: Rice +9.5 (Play to +8 · Waiting for a +10)
Western Michigan vs Rice Betting Trends
