Middle Tennessee State at Rice 10/24/20 - College Football Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 10/22/2020 at 7:26 PM ET

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders visit Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas on Saturday to play the Rice Owls. Middle Tennessee State fell to 1-5 following its 52-35 loss to North Texas. In the loss, quarterback Asher O'Hara passed for 164 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and running back Chaton Mobley rushed for 156 yards and one touchdown. However, the Middle Tennessee State defense gave up 768 yards of total offense to North Texas.

Quarterback Asher O'Hara has passed for 1,176 yards with nine touchdowns, eight interceptions and has been sacked 15 times. O'Hara is also the leading rusher for Middle Tennessee State with 407 yards and four touchdowns. The leading receiver for the Blue Raiders is Jarrin Pierce with 389 yards and two touchdown receptions. On defense, safety Gregory Grate Jr has a team-high 47 tackles.

Rice has not yet played a game this season after having its first three against Houston, Marshall and UAB postponed due to positive covid tests. Last season Rice was 3-9 overall and 3-5 in the Conference USA.  Wiley Green returns as the starting quarterback after last season throwing for 787 yards and four touchdowns as a backup to the now-departed Tom Stewart. Charlie Brooker and Aston Walter are the top running backs returning for Rice, while  wide receivers Brad Rozner and Austin Trammell give Rice a good receiver corps.

On defense, Rice should be much stronger than its offense. Elijah Garcia will be the nose tackle and anchor the defensive line along with Ikenna Enechukwu. The pass rush will be led by linebackers Blaze Alldredge and Treshawn Chamberlin, while Antonio Montero will anchor the middle of the linebacker corps.The secondary returns intact and is led by safeties Tre‘shon Devones and Naeem Smith, but last season the group allowed 242 yards per game with just six interceptions.

Although Middle Tennessee State has started the season poorly, losing five of its first six, the Blue Raiders have much more experience under their belt as Rice will be playing its first game of the season. Asher O'Hara is a legitimate dual-threat at quarterback for Middle Tennessee State and will lead the Blue Raiders offense up and down the field against the Rice defense enough to post a double-digit victory over the Owls. Final Score Prediction, Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders win and cover ATS 33-20.

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