Rice at Army 8/30/19 - College Football Picks & Predictions

Rice does not have much to lose on the offensive side of the ball. Last year the Owls were outmatched at almost all the games they played offensively and only recorded 2 wins and were shut out in one game. What does not help the Owls out this year is they have a freshman who could come in at quarterback this year and that could be an issue for the Owls.

Defensively the Owls did not improve either and that will definitely make for a long season this year. The Owls were ranked 112th in scoring defense giving up 36 points a game. The Owls overall yards allowed defense was ranked 103rd, but the rushing defense did have a bright spot by giving up only 166 yards a game on the ground. The Black Knights are a service academy so the chance of them getting the blue chip recruits is limited. However, one thing that the Black Knights have been able to do is put together a great ground game in the years past and with the offense returning the same QB and a RB, but also a fairly intact line that definitely will not change in this game for the Black Knights.

The Black Knights defense has some big change over this year with only 4 starters coming back. However, one thing that the Black Knights have going for them is the Army mentality of knowing the position of the player above and below you, at least in theory. That allows the Army squad to bring a lot of players back that have knowledge of the system and know the 8th ranked defense from last year will return relatively intact.