First Responder Bowl Preview: Texas State vs. Rice
After a brief holiday hiatus, bowl season continues with the First Responder Bowl on Tuesday, December 26. Texas State takes on Rice at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas.
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Texas State (-5.5, 59.5) vs. Rice
The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl features two of the few teams in the bowl season that have been relatively unaffected by the rash of opt-outs and transfers, which makes it an ideal game to handicap. Rice will be without starting Quarterback JT Daniels, but he has missed stretches of this season, and AJ Padgett filled in well. The downgrade between the two signal callers is minimal. Texas State will enter the game with a full roster and plenty of motivation to get the program's first win in its first appearance.
Texas State opened as a 6.5-point favorite, and money rolled in on Rice right out of the gate. The line got as low as 4 before Texas State started to take action. The total opened at 60.5 and stayed between 59 and 60.5 for the weeks leading up to this game.