FAU Owls vs RICE, 2:30PM, October 10, 2015 at FAU Stadium

Forecasting FAU: The Owls have had two weeks to prepare for Rice after taking last weekend off. The offense has been in a state of flux with Jaquez Johnson missing time with an ankle injury and didn't look good last time out against Charlotte as they turned over the ball five times in his return. The Owls are fourth in the conference with 167.4 yards per game on the ground behind Greg Howell's 88.5 rushing yards per contest. Although the offense been a disappointment this season, the defense has been downright awesome. The secondary has led the charge with a mixture of youth and experience behind the play of seniors Cre'von LeBlanc, Sharrod Neasman, and freshmen Jalen Young, and Ocie Ross. The Owls have not allowed a passing touchdown since week two against Miami as they have been holding teams to a 34.9% passing success rate. The rushing defense has held its own the last two games allowing 148 yards on the ground per outing. But the Owls still struggle to get in the backfield as their stuff rate ranks 114th in the nation. Against a team that has primarily had success running the ball this season, that could be an issue.

Prediction: A lot is riding on this game. A loss for Rice would really jeopardize a chance for a fourth straight bowl bid. A win for FAU would set up a huge game against Marshall at FAU Stadium next week. The advanced stats loves FAU in this matchup but I'm skeptical. These two teams both struggle to pass the ball, both rely too much on their senior quarterbacks, both turnover the ball frequently and both can't seem to finish drives with touchdowns. The two teams are identical and I see this game being decided in the fourth quarter. When games come down to the end I tend to lean towards who has the coaching advantage and that goes to David Baliff and the Rice Owls. Baliff is 17-5 after week five since 2012. Rice was in a similar position last year sitting at 2-3 before reeling off four straight wins.