Rice vs Southern Miss Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for LendingTree Bowl 2022 (Golden Eagles Soar to Victory)

Rice vs Southern Miss Game Info

2022 NCAA College Football Game — LendingTree Bowl
Rice Owls (5-7) vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles (6-6)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022
Time: 5:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Hancock Whitney Stadium — Mobile, AL
Coverage: ESPN

The 2022 NCAA college football bowl game matchups have been revealed, including the LendingTree Bowl. This year's contest will be played between the Rice Owls and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

Rice is limping into the 2022 LendingTree Bowl, losing 21-17 to North Texas last week to mark the Owls' fourth loss in their last five games. On the other hand, Southern Miss snapped a three-game losing skid with a 20-10 win against UL Monroe on the back of Frank Gore Jr.'s 225 scrimmage yards on 26 touches.

Can Rice put an end to its losing ways at Hancock Whitney Stadium? Or will Southern Miss execute the perfect plan to win its first bowl game in six years?

Rice vs Southern Miss Odds & Spread

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: RICE: (+184) | USM: (-225)
Spread: RICE: +5.5 (-105) | USM: -5.5 (-115)
Total: 48.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Southern Miss enters this contest as a clear favorite on the spread and moneyline. This LendingTree Bowl clash also features a total of 48.5, which is among the lowest of this year's bowl games. 

Rice vs Southern Miss Prediction & Pick

Though both teams left a lot to be desired throughout the season, Rice's offense has looked downright dreadful lately. Over the last three games, the Owls have averaged 11.3 points (fifth-worst) and 3.7 turnovers per game (tied for the worst). In fact, they actually lead the entire nation with 2.7 turnovers per game this fall.

Southern Miss' defense isn't perfect, but it does average the 34th-most takeaways (1.7) and just held UL Monroe to 10 points last week. Considering how poorly Rice's attack has looked during its latest skid, the Golden Eagles don't need to play out of this world to get the job done.

Look for Southern Miss to stand tall when all is said and done.

Final Score Prediction: Southern Miss: 28 | Rice: 21

Rice vs Southern Miss Betting Trends

- Rice is 2-4 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games.
- Southern Miss is 5-2 straight up in its last seven games against Rice.
- The total has hit the over in 12 of Rice's last 16 games.
- The total has hit the over in nine of Southern Miss' last 12 games against Rice.

Rice vs Southern Miss Best Bet

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.

With neither defense looking anything special this year, I'm taking the over on the 48.5-point total. After all, the total has gone over in nine of the last 12 Rice-Southern Miss meetings, going over 48.5 points in nine of those collisions.

Considering how Rice has also 41-plus points in four of its last six games, I see the projected total being surpassed even if Southern Miss does most of the heavy lifting.

Bet: Over 48.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.