Rice Owls vs. Texas A&M Aggies Betting Odds: Analysis and Prediction

So Texas A&M was supposed to take a step back without Johnny Football, eh?

Not so fast. The Aggies are rolling already with new quarterback Kenny Hill, piling up 125 points while starting this season 2-0 both straight-up and against the spread.

A&M looks to continue the good times when it hosts a former Southwest Conference rival, the Rice Owls, on Saturday night in College Station.

Point spread 

The Aggies opened as 30-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and the total was high at 71 (line updates and matchup report here).

Why the Owls can cover the spread

The Owls are 0-1 both SU and ATS after opening their season with a 48-17 loss at Notre Dame. Rice then had last week off, so it's had some time to make some adjustments. The Owls returned 12 starters this year from a team that went 10-4 last year, so the cupboard isn't totally bare.

And they only trailed the Irish 14-10 late into the second quarter before giving up two scores in short order to fall back. Rice has been underrated as a road entity recently, covering seven of its last nine spreads as dogs away from home.

That includes a 52-31 loss but cover as 28-point dogs against the Aggies at Kyle Field last season.

Why the Aggies can cover the spread

They're already asking “Johnny Who?” down in Aggie-land with the emergence of sophomore Hill, who has directed A&M to a win at South Carolina and a 73-3 romp over Lamar.

The Aggies won outright as 10-point dogs against the Gamecocks then covered as 46-point favorites against the Cardinals. So far Hill has hit on 61 of 86 throws for almost 800 yards and seven scores in a little over six quarters of field time.

The loss of Manziel was supposed to bring Texas A&M back to Earth, at least for a season or so. But suddenly, with Hill on one side and a defense that returned nine starters from last season on the other, the Aggies look like contenders in the SEC West.

Smart Pick

With the question mark at quarterback Texas A&M opened this season as a 10-point dog at South Carolina. After that performance the Aggies were chalked at 46 over Lamar.

Now they're almost five-touchdown favorites for this game. And that might not be enough. Rice can be a nice story, but it's got a lot of holes to fill this season, especially among the skills set.

So while it seems like a ton of points to give, the pick here is with the hot A&M team, winners of 17 of 21 games SU.

Trends:

• The total has gone over in five of Rice's last six games
• Texas A&M is 17-4 SU in its last 21 games

Note: All point spreads and line data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-move updates and get the free odds tracker app.