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The Rice Owls and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles have had some time off and are no doubt ready to hit the field. Bowl season is underway, and the Owls and Southern Miss will compete for postseason bragging rights in the LendingTree Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium at 5:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. Southern Miss will be strutting in after a victory while Rice will be stumbling in from a defeat.
It was all tied up 14-14 at halftime, but Rice was not quite the North Texas Mean Green's equal in the second half when they met three weeks ago. Rice was within a late touchdown of stealing the win, but they took the "L" against the Mean Green 21-17. RB Juma Otoviano put forth a good effort for the losing side as he picked up 94 yards on the ground on 14 carries. Otoviano's performance made up for a slower matchup against the UTSA Roadrunners four weeks ago.
Meanwhile, when you finish with 217 more yards than your opponent like the Golden Eagles did three weeks ago, a favorable outcome is almost sure to follow. They were able to grind out a solid victory over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, winning 20-10. RB Frank Gore, Jr. had a stellar game for Southern Miss as he rushed for one TD and 199 yards on 24 carries.
Southern Miss' defense was a presence as well, as it got past Louisiana-Monroe's offensive line to sack QB Chandler Rogers four times for a total loss of 20 yards. It was a group effort with five guys contributing.
The Owls are expected to lose this next one by 6. However, those who like betting on the underdog should be happy to hear that they are 5-2 against the spread when expected to lose.
Rice didn't have too much breathing room in their game with Southern Miss when the two teams previously met in October of last year, but they still walked away with a 24-19 victory. Will Rice repeat their success, or does Southern Miss have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
