The Old Dominion Monarchs have demonstrated that on any given day, they can put up a lot of yards and beat opponents that are perceived to be superior.
They just haven't experienced enough of those days this season. One thing appears obvious - if you are going to beat them you are going to have to be able to "out-shoot" them.The Rice Owls were hoping for a revival under a new regime led by former top Stanford assistant Mike Bloomgren. But their development has been slow, and injuries to key people have not helped their cause. So they have to look at every game as part of a long-term project.Neither of these teams is going to a bowl game, but one of them is going to walk away from this weekend's game with a certain amount of satisfaction. Trending Previews Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars Preview and Predictions 21685 Bets | 6 Picks | 16 hours, 55 minutes for the game They will kick things off on Saturday at Rice Stadium in Houston.TV: ESPN Plus, 1 PM ET. LINE: Old Dominion -9.5
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: Current Status - Last week's 77-14 win over VMI was highlighted by 339 rushing yards. That brought Old Dominion to 4-7 straight-up and 5-6 against the pointspread. They are out of the running for any bowl games. The Good - Blake LaRussa has led a very lively passing attack that ranks 18th in the nation with 295.6 yards per game. ODU has been very good on its punting team, ranking in the top 25 in both returns and return defense. And they have shown that they can rise to the occasion and beat better opponents. Earlier in the season, they took out Virginia Tech, which was a top 10 team at the time, by a 49-35 score, and just recently beat North Texas 34-31. The Bad - They have not done a really good job of protecting the quarterback, allowing 29 sacks on the season. And the defense seems to be an afterthought. Old Dominion gives up 480.5 yards per game, and they allow five yards per carry in conference play. They have yielded 30 or more points eight times in 11 games and give up 36.7 PPG overall. Opponents have converted 42% on third down. When they get in close, the Monarchs have not been all that effective, with points on just 78.2% of their red zone trips. That's 109th in the nation.
ABOUT RICE: Current Status - Rice has a 1-11 straight-up record, although they are 6-6 ATS. Last week they lost a 42-10 decision to LSU, who outgained them 312-59 in the first half and then appeared to take their foot off the gas pedal. Quarterback Shawn Stankavage came back a little earlier than expected from his ankle injury and threw for 101 yards. The Good - Kickoffs have been friendly to this team; they are actually ninth in the country in kickoff return defense and have averaged 25.1 yards per kickoff return to rank #11 in that category. They get flagged for only 40.1 yards per game, which is 10th best in the nation. In the early part of the schedule, they were among the nation's leaders in time of possession. They are still 17th, but that has declined as the season's progressed. The Bad - Rice only averages 314 yards per game (125th). And for a team that is supposed to be built around the ground game, they have disappointed greatly, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry in Conference USA play. They have been outscored by an average margin of 19.6 points per contest. With just 29.7% success on third down, they are next to last in the country, and opponents have converted 43% in third-down situations. There is no question that Mike Bloomgren has some rebuilding to do.EXTRA POINTS1. In last year's meeting, Rice had only 90 yards passing in losing 24-21 to Old Dominion.2. These teams are both down near the bottom as far as stopping opposing passing attacks. Rice has allowed 277.4 yards per game, while Old Dominion has surrendered 269.5 yards per contest. But obviously, the differences in passing offense are considerable.3. Rice's only straight-up victory this season has come against an FCS team (Prairie View A&M). And by the way, six different players have thrown at least one pass for them this year.
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