SERVPRO First Responder Bowl point spread: Picking Rice Owls vs. Texas State Bobcats

Bowl season is about to pick up in earnest, and while many are awaiting the College Football Playoffs, there are plenty of good games to tide over the casual football fan until then. Like the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl between Rice and Texas State.

On3’s Andy Staples makes a pick in the game, which features Texas State as a 4.5-point spread. We’ll get into his thoughts below.

How to watch Rice vs. Texas State

Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN/ESPN+, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Dallas, Texas

One thing that will make this year’s SERVPRO First Responder Bowl quite interesting is that one team has never been to a bowl game.

“Not a bowl matchup that you would have expected,” Staples said. “If I would have said five years ago Texas State and Rice were playing in a bowl, you would say how did this happen?

“Rice got back into the bowling game last year, Mike Bloomgren‘s team got to the Lending Tree Bowl last year, so they’ve done it. The Texas State guys have never done it. This is the first bowl game in school history. Remember we had their coach GJ Kinne on (the Andy Staples On3 show) earlier this season after they beat Baylor.”

Texas State secured its bowl eligibility with room to spare, beating Georgia Southern for win No. 6 on Nov. 4. There was plenty of celebration from Kinne and company.

“So when he won Game No. 6 to get them bowl eligible, he jumped in the San Marcos River,” Staples said. “I believe the president of the university did as well. So this is a big season so far for the Bobcats.”

But can Texas State put it together enough to beat a Rice team that has a little more seasoning when it comes to the postseason?

There are plenty of pieces, while the Owls will be missing one key part in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

“When they are rolling, they score a ton,” Staples said of Texas State. “They also are capable of giving up a ton. Here’s your example. We talked about South Alabama earlier, Texas State in the final week of the season beat South Alabama 52-44. A week before that Texas State lost 77-31 to Butch Jones and Arkansas State. That’s a lot of bricks.

“AJ Padgett will start this game for Rice. It’s not a JT Daniels game. JT Daniels has medically retired. He got several concussions. There was one in November that basically the doctor said you’re done, do not play football any more. So he’s medically retired. He’s going to get into coaching.”

TRY FOR FREE: Fubo’s holiday offer just kicked off – For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite, and Premier plans ($20 off the first and second months)

If there’s another thing working in Rice’s favor in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, it’s that the Owls are battle-tested. They faced Texas and Houston in the non-conference slate, a pair of Big 12 opponents.

Rice knocked off Houston in double-overtime.

“So Rice has played opponents pretty tough this season,” Staples said. “They beat Houston. They played Tulane tough. They’ve had some very good games but those were JT Daniels games.

“I’m going to go with Texas State in this one. Give me the Bobcats. Now this time I’m giving the points if the coin wants to disagree with me, because Rice is a 4.5-point dog.”