← Matchups

Western Michigan

MAC · 1-1 · power +16.8 · #49
Our side · spreadWMU -10.5 our number WMU -12.9 · 2.4 pts from the market our number starts from the opening line and is corrected -1.2 for this matchup by our data on both teams

Rice

AAC · 1-1 · power +3.0 · #139
Our side
SpreadWMU -10.5 ours WMU -12.9
TotalUnder 48.5 ours 46.3
MoneylineWMU to win ours 26% · book 21%
Distance from the market 2.4 pts / -2.2 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 30–17 WMU – RICE
2026-09-19 · 7:00 PM Rice Stadium · Houston, TX Early season

The books 1 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book WMU spreadRICE spread OverUnder WMU winRICE win WMU TT overWMU TT under RICE TT overRICE TT under
FanDuel

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadWestern Michigan -12.9
the marketRice +10.5
Total46.3
the market48.5
Rice win26% vs 21%

Both percentages are Rice’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Series Rice lead 1–0 · 1 meeting since 2008
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Western Michigan Broncos 112 ranks
Western Michigan Broncos #105 rush offense Rice Owls #217 run defense
Pass game even 8 ranks apart
Western Michigan Broncos #235 pass offense Rice Owls #243 pass defense
Run game edge Western Michigan Broncos 124 ranks
Rice Owls #171 rush offense Western Michigan Broncos #47 run defense
Pass game edge Western Michigan Broncos 167 ranks
Rice Owls #218 pass offense Western Michigan Broncos #51 pass defense
Western Michigan Broncos Run-heavy · 69% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 72 rush ypg Rice Owls Run-heavy · 78% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 44 rush ypg
Lance Taylor · 20-19 · defense-minded Scott Abell · 5-8

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Western Michigan Broncos
DL Austin Alexander 6 tkl #111 DL
K Dieter Kelly 4 FG · 7 XP · 19 pts #29 K
DB Joey Pope 9 tkl · 3 PD #232 DB
LB Domanick Moon 13 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.5 TFL #166 LB
Rice Owls
DL Chibby Nwajuaku 9 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #148 DL
DL AJ Brown 10 tkl · 0.5 TFL #157 DL
DL Braden Bays 7 tkl · 2.0 TFL #345 DL
RB Quinton Jackson 61 rush yds · 2 TD · 1 rec #224 RB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Western Michigan BroncosMAC +16.8 +3.4 +13.4 #49
Rice OwlsAAC +3.0 -4.4 +7.4 #139

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Western Michigan offense vs Rice defense-4.0 pts
Rice offense vs Western Michigan defense-17.8 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 1,025 mi

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.