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Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds are subject to change.

Rice Stadium - Houston, Texas

Streaming: ESPN+

Rice +9½ over Western Michigan

7:00 PM EST. Western Michigan nearly pulled off the shocker against Michigan in Week 1, and we're still paying for it. That performance immediately changed how the Broncos are viewed, and last week's 49-14 win over Monmouth did nothing to cool things down. So now Western Michigan travels to Houston laying close to double digits against Rice. Sounds reasonable until you look underneath that 49-14 score and discover that Monmouth actually outgained Western Michigan 431-414. Four failed fourth downs and a minus-two turnover differential helped turn a competitive football game into something that looked like an execution in the Sunday morning box score.

Now Western Michigan heads into the Houston heat with Boise State waiting next week in Kalamazoo. We're generally careful with the old "look-ahead" narrative because sometimes it's just handicapping filler used when nobody has anything better to say. Here, however, the scheduling spot fits nicely with an inflated number. Western Michigan just received national attention for nearly beating Michigan, followed it with a 35-point victory and has a much bigger game sitting directly behind this one. Rice is the piece of broccoli sitting between two steaks. Nobody is excited about eating it, but unfortunately the Broncos still have to finish what's on the plate.

Rice also happens to be an annoying opponent to lay this many points against because the Owls have almost no interest in playing quickly or throwing the football. Jacurri Brown has dropped back just 23 times through two starts, and Rice ran the ball 70 times in its opener. That's not an offense; that's a hostage negotiation with the game clock. Western Michigan isn't exactly operating the Greatest Show on Turf either. Put two run-heavy, slow-moving teams together and possessions disappear. Every five-minute drive that ends without points is beautiful when you're holding +9½. Before long it's the fourth quarter and somebody realizes there have been about six possessions since dinner.

And throw Rice's 52-0 loss at Notre Dame straight into the garbage. The Owls lost four fumbles in South Bend and were never realistically winning that game anyway. What matters is the price we're getting now. Western Michigan's stock is elevated because of how it looked against Michigan and because anyone casually checking last week's score sees 49-14 without seeing what actually happened. Rice's stock couldn't be much lower after getting vaporized by Notre Dame. Perfect. We'll take the ugly home dog, the Houston heat, the running clock and nine-and-a-half points in a game that might have fewer possessions than a guy whose wife just found his Tinder account.

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