Rice Football: Preview, predictions, live stream vs Prairie View

Rice Football against the Prairie View Panthers and will be one of the games on the short schedule for the upcoming Week 0 college football games.

A game that would not normally get any recognition serves as one of the few games college football fans get to enjoy in the official start to the college football season. The Rice Owls, fresh off a one-win season in 2017, will host FCS school the Prairie View Panthers under the lights.

Normally, a game between an FBS school and an FCS opponent poses as a tune-up game for the FBS program. While some games do result in upsets, this matchup has more than enough potential to be a close game.

The Owls are coming off just one win in 2017, which came in the game’s second contest of the season. In other words, the program has seen a lot of consecutive losses as of late and with an inexperienced group, the Owls could use a win to restore confidence- even if it is against an FCS school.

The Panthers went 6-5 in 2017 and had an average season to say the least. The team went out and dominated the teams they should have, but also were not close in a few games against superior squads.

Both the Panthers and Owls met back in 2016, with Rice taking the game in a high scoring affair by a score of 65-44. That was the Owls’ first win of the 2016 campaign.

Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Houston, TX
Venue: Rice Stadium
TV: ESPN+
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to the Game

Referencing 2017, unfortunately for the Owls they saw a lot of blowout games in which their offense did not do a whole lot, and the defense did not give them much of a chance anyway.

While many will expect the Owls to win this game, it is important that the defense do its job and avoid putting the offense in tough situations. Converting three and outs on defense and forcing turnovers will help take the pressure off the offense and hopefully allow them to get an early lead.

On the flip side, if the Panthers can strike early and quickly, it will likely turn into a four-quarter battle with a risk of a Prairie View upset.

Prediction

The Owls should come out this year much better than a season ago when they dropped their opener to Stanford by a score of 67-0. As mentioned, it is crucial the defense gets a few early stops and if they do- the Owls should be able to get a comfortable lead.

Rice should be able to strike quickly, and although it may not be a typical FBS-FCS blowout, the Owls should be able to hang on for the early season win.

Final score: Rice 35, Prairie View 21