Saturday College football and we will see the Rice Owls travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The game has a start time of 3:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on NBC. Current Vegas odds have Notre Dame listed as 21 point favorites, while the total is set at 51.
Analysis: The Rice Owls had a very nice 2013, as they went 10-4 overall, while winning the Conference USA Title with a win over Marshal in the Title game. Last year the Owls had one of the best rush offenses in the nation (227 ypg), but that may not be the case this year as they must replace Charles Ross. Josh Davis looks to take over the lead role after rumbling for 479 yards and 3 TDs last year, and also in the mix will be Darrick Hilliard. Driphus Jackson is another dual threat QB and will take over for the departed McHargue. . He will have the luxury of have their top 2 wideouts back from last year. The defense for the Owls was pretty average, but this year they could be a bit better. They do lose their top 2 tacklers from last year, but still this will be an experienced group as 7 seniors and 3 juniors make up 10 of the 11 starting spots on this defense.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have gone 37-15 in Brian Kelly’s first 4 years here and did make it to the National Title game in 2012, but Irish fans are hungry for more, especially since their team hasn’t won a National Title since 1988. The Irish have really been an average offense since Brian Kelly has taken over, but this year it may be a bit different as Everett Golson is back at the QB slot after missing last year due to academic reasons. The WR corps loses TJ Jones, but 2nd leading receiver DaVaris Daniels is back, after grabbing 49 balls for 745 yards and 7 TDs last year. The running game has a nice stable of backs that will be led by cam Mcdaniel, who ran for 705 yards and 3 TDs last year. Defense is when the Irish have to do some work this year as they have just 5 starters back on this side of the ball. The good news is that 25 defensive lettermen do return and they have a nice crop of freshmen coming in. The secondary is the strength of this team and is rated 13th best in the nation, with 3 starters back, led by KaVarae Russell, who had 8 PBUs and 1 INT last year.
Pick: Going with the Irish to get a big win here. All the offseason distractions should really have this team looking to take their frustrations out o a teams they should easily beat. The Irish have a big play defense and their offense will be much better this year with Golson back at QB and some very good skill players. Rice is a very inexperienced team, especially on offense where they return just 36% of their yardage from last year. Irish should win this one going away.
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