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The UAB Blazers will be back in action for the first time since Halloween when they take on the Rice Owls Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET in Houston, TX.
The Blazers (4-3) have seen their last four games canceled due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic. Therefore the last time we actually saw them play was on Halloween against the Louisiana Tech, where they lost 37-34 in double OT. In that game the Blazers’ passing game was non-existent, so they leaned on their ground attack which recorded 338 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, UAB could not slow down La Tech’s passing game as they had 332 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception between two different quarterbacks. If there was one bright spot for the Blazers, it's that they held the Bulldogs’ running game to 49 yards and 1.7 yards per carry.
As for the Owls (2-2), they enter off an upset 20-0 victory over No. 21-ranked Marshall last week. Rice did not do anything special on offense, but forced Marshall quarterback Grant Wells into five interceptions, and held running back Brendan Knox to 76 yards on 20 carries. It was the second time in consecutive weeks that Knox was held under 100 yards and to zero touchdowns. Rice will need to do same thing on Saturday as they try to slow down UAB RB Spencer Brown.
Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming
You can watch UAB vs. Rice on Saturday, December 12th at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN3, or you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login.
Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends
Point spread: UAB (-7) vs. Rice
Point Total: O/U 43.5
Money line: UAB (-286) vs. Rice (+225)
- This season, the Blazers have a record of 2-5 against the spread in its last seven games.
- Going back to last season, the point total went over in six of UAB’s last nine games.
- At the same time, Rice is not bad ATS either as they boast a record of 4-2 in its last six games.
- However, they aren’t a stone cold lock ML pick, as the Owls have a 5-15 record in its last 20 games.
The Best Bet
The biggest questions surrounding this game is which UAB team will we see? And can Rice ride the momentum of their win last week over Marshall? We do know that Rice did a good job defensively against a pretty good offense in Marshall, which should bode well for Saturday. But is it enough to say that they are going to cover the +7.5??
Pick: Over 43.5
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