There are some terrific matchups at the top of the college football card this weekend. Oregon vs. Penn State. Alabama at Georgia. Ole Miss against LSU.
All wonderful games, but none of them come even close to matching Rice vs. Navy in terms of intrigue.
There are 136 teams in the FBS these days, but only four of them run a triple-option offense. You probably know the first three: Army, Navy, and Air Force, but you may have missed the news when new Rice head coach Scott Abell announced that the Owls would be joining the fun.
The decision was snickered at, which is something Rice is used to (JFK famously quipped, “Why does Rice play Texas?” in a speech about going to the moon in 1962), but the early returns are promising.
Rice (3-1) is off to its best start since 2001, and has a decent chance at its first winning season since 2014.
Perhaps that’s getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s hard not to be romantic about the triple-option.
Navy is also off to a terrific start and should have a decided edge given their experience running and defending the triple-option, but there is plenty of reason for optimism about Rice’s chances of sticking with the Midshipmen on Saturday afternoon.
Not only will the clock be moving, as it always does when two triple-option teams meet, but the Owls defense has been terrific to start the campaign, only allowing one team (Houston) to get beyond the 20-point mark.
The Play: Rice (+14.5) over NAVY
OKLAHOMA STATE (+21) over Baylor
Mike Gundy’s 21-year reign in Stillwater came to a disappointing conclusion last weekend when Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa at home.
Gundy and his mullet are part of the furniture at Oklahoma State, but he was struggling to modernize his program in the changing landscape of college football.
The Cowboys, currently riding an 11-game losing streak stretching back to last season, begin a new era with a visit from Baylor, which is in desperate need of a win to keep their Big 12 hopes alive.
Betting on College Football?
The betting market says that shouldn’t be a problem – and it likely won’t be – but you’re getting a heap of points on the Pokes in this one.
The crowd should be into it, the Cowboys should be motivated, and there is no better time to buy on a team than when they’re at rock bottom. Let’s hope that’s the case here.
IOWA (+7.5) vs. No. 11 Indiana
This is a tricky spot to back Indiana.
The Hoosiers got the college football world buzzing with their 63-10 victory over Illinois last weekend, but now they head to Kinnick Stadium to take on a rugged Iowa defense that grades out as the 19th-best in the country, per SP+.
Indiana has blown the doors off of three straight opponents, but they won’t find things as easy against the Hawkeyes, who have the pieces in the secondary to slow Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman hype-train down enough to get us to the window.
Don’t hate the moneyline here, either.
Last week: 1-2
2025 season: 8-4
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
