The UTEP Miners will be looking for continued success against the Rice Owls when the teams meet in a Conference USA battle on Thursday night. UTEP has won 11 of the last 15 meetings between these teams, and it has covered the spread in 14 of the 18 games. The Miners are coming off a rough showing against Middle Tennessee State, though, while Rice is coming off a blowout loss to Charlotte.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The Owls are 4-point favorites in the latest UTEP vs. Rice odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 47. Before making any UTEP vs. Rice picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Rice vs. UTEP. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football odds for UTEP vs. Rice:
- Rice vs. UTEP spread: Rice -4
- Rice vs. UTEP over/under: 47 points
- Rice vs. UTEP money line: Rice -190, UTEP +158
- Rice vs. UTEP picks: See picks here
Why Rice can cover
Rice has generally taken care of business as a favorite this season, with three of its four losses coming as an underdog. The Owls had a rough showing at Charlotte last week, but they have followed all of their losses with wins so far this year. They beat UAB as 10-point underdogs in their only other home game in October.
UTEP has dropped two of its last three games and has not been on the road since losing to Louisiana Tech by 10 points in early October. The Miners have lost three of their four road games by double digits this season, and they have only covered the spread three times in their last nine games. They are also 4-14 against the spread in their last 18 games against Rice, with the Owls winning 11 of the last 15 matchups.
Why UTEP can cover
Rice might be a team to avoid completely right now following a shockingly bad performance against Charlotte last week. The Owls were 15-point favorites against the 49ers, but they gave up 42 points between the second and third quarter in a 33-point blowout loss. Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds threw more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (3) against the Rice defense.
UTEP is coming off a loss to the Blue Raiders, but it has won three of its last five games. The Miners are led by junior quarterback Gavin Hardison, who has thrown for 1,941 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is also backed up by a pair of running backs who have combined for more than 1,000 rushing yards, giving the Miners a balanced attack that should be able to do damage against the Owls.
How to make Rice vs. UTEP picks
The model has simulated UTEP vs. Rice 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Rice vs. UTEP? And which side of the spread hits in well over 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the UTEP vs. Rice spread you need to jump on Thursday, all from the model that has crushed its college football picks, and find out.
