Rice vs. Southern Mississippi Prediction, Odds, Line, Pick, and Preview: December 17

The Rice Owls and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles square off in the LendingTree Bowl Game on Saturday evening.

The Owls (5-7) are on a two-game losing streak after a 21-17 road loss back on November 26 against the North Texas Mean Green. The Golden Eagles (6-6) are coming off a 20-10 road win over the UL Monroe Warhawks on that same day.

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Rice Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles: Match Details

Fixture: Rice Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Date & Time: Saturday, December 17, 5:45 p.m EDT

Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama

The Owls have been doing pretty well offensively, as they have scored 25.3 points on 370.2 total yards per game thus far. Junior quarterback TJ McMahon is currently 83rd in the country at this level with 2,102 yards while having an 18:14 touchdown-to-interception ratio. They also have an excellent wide receiver in senior Bradley Rozner as he has 41 receptions for 834 yards (20.3 yards per catch) with nine receiving touchdowns.

Defensively, they are struggling, giving up 33.8 points per game, but are allowing teams to run for 166.8 yards per game against them. They have been able to apply pressure and force turnovers as they have 22 sacks as a team and eight interceptions as well as seven fumble recoveries throughout the entire season.

The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles have not been dominant offensively in scoring the ball as they are averaging 24.3 points on 331.7 total yards per game. A huge factor is their ability to run the football, with sophomore running back Frank Gore Jr coming in with 207 carries for 1,053 yards (5.1 yards per attempt) and seven rushing touchdowns as well as 19 catches for 219 yards (11.5 yards per reception) without receiving touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Zach Wilcke has been doing okay as he has completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 1,151 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Their defense has been strong as they have given up 23.5 points per game this season, allowing 228.3 passing yards allowed per game thus far. They have 16 interceptions and four fumble recoveries, as well as 39 sacks this year.

RIce Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles: Betting Odds

Team	Moneyline	Spread	Over/Under
Rice Owls	+198	+6.5 (-110)	O 45.5 (-106)
Southern Miss Golden Eagles	-250	-6.5 (-110)	U 45.5 (-114)

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Rice Owls vs Southern Miss Golden Eagles: Prediction

The factor that TJ McMahon has not practiced the entire week heading into this Bowl Game makes it difficult to back the Owls.

Nonetheless, Rice is entering with a sub-.500 record and have obvious flaws in this matchup. Go with USM to win by more than a touchdown in this game as they are the better program.