On Saturday, September 8th, 2018, the Rice Owls will head to the islands to face off with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The Mountain West Conference will do battle with the American Athletic Conference with a kick-off time set for 11:59 PM ED. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The two teams last met in 2014 where the Owls took down the Rainbow Warriors by a score of 28-14 in Texas when Rice hosted Hawaii on the mainland. Dating back to 1999, the Owls have covered in each of the seven meetings between these two combatants.
Rice Owls at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Overview
Rice Owls
The Owls enter off an 18-point defeat suffered against their cross-city rival the Houston Cougars. Though the final tally was 45-27, Rice held the lead far into the third quarter. The score was not indicative of the game played by the Owls by any means. In doing so, the Owls covered a lofty 25.5-point line after they squeaked out a field goal win hosting Prairie View A&M the week before.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
The Falcons come into this contest on a high note after executing a 38-0 shutout of FCS team Stony Brook, last Saturday when they hosted the activities in Colorado Springs. The Falcons are known like other military service schools for their straightforward style of offense, the triple option. Against Stony Brook, the Falcons had success doing what they do best and accumulated 303 yards of rushing on the ground in route to their comprehensive win.
Reasons To Back Rice
The Owls have the ideal approach to neutralize home field advantage and slow down Hawaii’s offense. Rice is a rushing specialist and has so far accrued over 230.5 running yards per game. This is good news considering Hawaii’s rushing defense remains one of the worst in the country, giving up 221 yards per game (109th overall). Furthermore, the Over/Under of 70 would suggest we are in line for a shootout. Taking back three-plus scores is also a conducive strategy.
Reasons To Avoid Hawaii
The stock on Hawaii is searing after pulling back-to-back outright wins as a double-digit underdog in both occasions. In just two weeks, we are seeing the Warriors go from a 13.5-point pooch to a 17.5-point favorite. That is a significant 31.5-point swing and often sets up backers for a let-down as they are now forced to take a long swim back by laying “serious lumber”.
Get more details: Rice at Hawaii NCAAF Match-Up
