The Texas State Bobcats (7-5) and Rice Owls (6-6) tangle in Tuesday’s First Responder Bowl in Dallas. Kickoff at Gerald J. Ford Stadium will be at 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Texas State vs. Rice odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Texas State went just 1-5 against the spread (ATS) from Oct. 7-Nov. 18, but the Bobcats ended their regular season with a 52-44 upset (as a +6) over South Alabama. TSU cranks out 36.0 points per game while allowing 33.8; the Over is 3-1 across its last 4 games.
Rice, which has never played the relative-newcomer-to-FBS Bobcats, needed wins in its last 2 regular-season games to become bowl-eligible. The Owls are just 2-5 ATS over their last 7 games.
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