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Carrie Stroup here with your Rice vs. Air Force betting line for the 2012 Armed Forces Bowl. Bet this game at Sportsbook.com and receive up to $250 in FREE CASH when you join here now.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Air Force -3 & 61.5
Opening Line & Total: Falcons -1.5 & 61
Two excellent rushing offenses duel in Fort Worth, TX on Saturday when Air Force and Rice meet in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Air Force ranks second in the nation with 329 rushing YPG, while Rice has 220 rushing YPG, good for 16th in FBS. The Falcons have been slumping though, losing three of four SU and seven of eight ATS, while the Owls have won four straight SU and five of six ATS. Air Force, which is led by RB Cody Getz (110 rush YPG, 20th in nation), has allowed just six sacks all year, tied for the fewest in the nation. Rice's dual-threat QB Taylor McHargue has 2,178 passing yards and 628 rushing yards, scoring 11 touchdowns in each method of attack. This should be a close game throughout, but Rice is playing much better down the stretch, against what appears to be similar competition. The Falcons were stomped in their last game, 48-15, by the same Fresno State team that just got humiliated by an SMU team that lost 36-14 at Rice two games ago. Also, Air Force does not historically bounce back from large defeats, going 7-25 ATS (22%) off a double-digit conference loss since 1992.
Air Force might literally run the football every down, just like it did on Nov. 16, when it topped Hawaii 21-7. The Falcons average 63 rushing attempts per game, gaining 5.2 yards per carry. They throw the football only 12 times per game, but are pretty efficient in doing so with 9.3 YPA. QB Connor Dietz has thrown for 1,127 yards, 8 TD and 3 INT this season. The top rusher for Air Force is senior RB Cody Getz, who has 1,213 rushing yards and 9 TD this year despite playing in just 10 games. He already has three 200-yard rushing outputs this season.
Rice is the second-youngest team in FBS, which is a big reason it started the season slow (1-5 SU) and finished strong (5-1 SU), capped off by a bowl-clinching 33-24 win at UTEP. The Owls are perfectly capable of both running (201 YPG) and throwing (220 YPG) on offense, and QB Taylor McHargue has been outstanding during the team's four-game win streak, completing 64-of-98 passes for 843 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. Rice has scored 40.5 PPG on 432 total YPG in these four games and has 31.7 PPG and 421 total YPG for the season. Senior RB Charles Ross is coming off a career-best performance against UTEP, rushing for 154 yards and 2 TD. The Owls defense is not great by any stretch, giving up 444 total YPG, 251 YPG through the air and 193 YPG on the ground, ranking 94th in FBS in rushing defense.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
