What to know: Rice Owls at UTEP Miners
What, when, where
UTEP looks to shed its three-game losing streak when it hosts Rice on Saturday at the Sun Bowl.
This is the lone daytime home kickoff of the year, as it starts at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and aired on the radio on 600 ESPN El Paso.
More: C-USA football standings
More: C-USA football schedule
How is UTEP supposed to do?
Quite well. The Miners are a 10-point favorite, the most they've been favored by since Bethune-Cookman in Week 2. With an over-under of 47, they are supposed to win 28-18.
UTEP is 5-1 this year as a favorite, with the only loss coming last week against North Texas.
More: Analysis: Heartbreaking finish shouldn't mask UTEP offensive inconsistency
Who is Rice?
UTEP's longest running conference rival, the Miners and Owls have been in the same conference since 1996. That will come to an end in 2023 or 2024 when Rice makes its move to the American Athletic.
Like UTEP, Rice is on a three-game losing streak that followed its stunning upset at UAB. The first two losses in the skid were in overtime to North Texas and Charlotte before getting blown out this past week by Western Kentucky. The Owls, a brief C-USA power in the early part of the last decade, haven't had more than three wins in a season since 2015.
Quarterback Jake Constantine leads a pass-first offense.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Rice Owls at UTEP Miners: What to know for Saturday's game
