Southern Miss football vs. Rice in the LendingTree Bowl: Scouting report, score prediction
The fog of war that often accompanies a postseason bowl game between two unfamiliar opponents from different conferences never settled over Mobile, Alabama.
When Southern Miss and Rice clash in the LendingTree Bowl on Saturday (4:45 p.m. CT, ESPN), it will mark the ninth consecutive season in which the two teams have met.
The Golden Eagles (6-6, 4-4 SBC) previously played the Owls (5-7, 3-5 CUSA) annually as Conference USA foes. After Southern Miss transitioned to the Sun Belt this offseason, it will get a chance to snap a two-game losing skid to Rice and take hold of the all-time series that currently sits tied 6-6.
Here's what to know ahead of the contest.
Holiday giveaways
It's the season for giving, and both of these offenses do plenty of it.
Against FBS opposition, no team gave the ball away more frequently this season than Rice, which turned it over at a rate of 2.7 times per game. Southern Miss was slightly better, averaging 2.0 turnovers per game against FBS foes.
For the Owls, interceptions have been the main culprit. Rice's quarterbacks have 20 touchdown passes on the season and 19 interceptions.
Interceptions have been a problem for the Golden Eagles at times this season, too, but not as much since Trey Lowe took over at quarterback. He's thrown only one in his three starts.
Crucially, Southern Miss has been able to offset some of its giveaway problems with a defense that creates plenty of takeaways. Rice hasn't, owning the worst turnover margin against FBS teams in the country.
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Rice quarterback situation
TJ McMahon was firmly entrenched as the Rice starting quarterback for most of the season, playing 10 games and throwing for 2,102 yards. He completed 60% of his passes for 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
McMahon was injured in a Nov. 12 clash against Western Kentucky. Rice coach Mike Bloomgren played three quarterbacks in the game that followed, before settling on freshman AJ Padgett in the final game of the Owls' regular season against North Texas.
Padgett is reportedly taking the first-team snaps in the buildup to Saturday's game.
The native of Frisco, Texas, has completed 50% of his passes for 338 yards, two touchdowns and one interception so far in his career.
Plenty of pass rushers for Owls and Eagles
This game could very well come down to which offense handles the opposition's pass rush best.
Rice comes into this game with three players within the top 16 on the Conference USA sacks leaderboard: Josh Pearcy, Trey Schuman and Ikenna Enechukwu.
Southern Miss boasts an elite pass-rusher of its own in Dominic Quewon, who finished second in the Sun Belt with nine sacks in the regular season.
Both offensive lines graded out among the 20 worst in the country at pass-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. This could be a chance for those quarterback hunters to feast.
Score prediction
Southern Miss 24, Rice 14. Bowl games are always tough to gauge, but both teams should be up for this game having snapped multi-year bowl droughts. Southern Miss played the tougher schedule and emerged with one more victory. The Golden Eagles have been trying to overcome their turnover problems all year, and now they take on an opponent with an even bigger issue in the turnover department than their own. USM should get this done.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Southern Miss football vs. Rice: Scouting report, score prediction
