The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are favored by more than six touchdowns as they host the Rice Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Irish are on short rest after plying Sunday, and I see that playing into a low-scoring game where the Owls can cover in my Rice vs. Notre Dame predictions.
Let's dive into my free college football picks for Saturday, Sept. 12.
TOP PICK
Who will win Rice vs Notre Dame: Rice +44.5 (52%)
The Rice Owls have no chance of winning this game, but they've improved their roster enough in the offseason to cover this massive spread.
Rice fortified its secondary with power conference transfers, and have a solid ground game led by Quinton Jackson that ran for 458 yards against the Houston Christian Huskies last week — a number worthy of note regardless of the weak competition.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish saw their offense take a long time to get going against a weak Wisconsin Badgers defense, and they'll be playing on short rest on Saturday.
None of this changes the outcome, but it will keep the margin down a bit, as the Irish will be happy to rotate players and let the clock run.
I'm backing Rice to cover at +42.5 or more.
COVERS INTEL: Notre Dame put up a middling 350 yards of offense against a Wisconsin defense that ranked 58th in defensive EPA per play last season. An improved Rice defense will similarly stop the Irish from running wild on Saturday.
Rice vs Notre Dame Over/Under pick: Under 55.5 (53%)
The Rice offense isn't exactly going to set the world on fire this season. It's highly one-dimensional: even against Houston Christian, the Owls only threw the ball 11 times and completed just five passes. While Rice will look to pound away on the ground, that won't add up to many points.
It will, however, use a lot of clock, even when the Owls fall behind early. And Notre Dame isn't playing with tempo, averaging 30.6 seconds per play against Wisconsin.
This game will be light on plays and possessions, and that will prevent the score from climbing too high. I like the Under at totals of 54.5 or higher.
Rice vs Notre Dame prop: Rice Over 0.5 total touchdowns (31%)
The Rice rushing attack should find some success early, as the Irish will need time to adjust to the Owls' unique gun option sets. Five different Rice players ran for at least 50 yards in Week 1, and having that many options in the backfield could cause enough chaos to score against the Irish.
Even if it doesn't quite get there early in the game, the Owls attack is likely to grind out a score late against a rotated Notre Dame defense that may not match up well against an unusual offensive set.
I'm taking Rice to score a touchdown at up to a 40% probability.
Rice vs Notre Dame combo
My three picks above are all correlated, which makes for a good combo. The game story is simple: Rice runs the ball with a little success early to hold the Irish to a slow start.
Notre Dame ultimately takes control, but it happy to play a game where the clock keeps running on short rest. That leads to limited scoring and a comfortable Under.
I like combining these picks as long as we can get a 3.5x payout or better.
Rice vs Notre Dame combo
- Rice +44.5
- Rice Over 0.5 total touchdowns
- Under 55.5
Rice vs Notre Dame odds
For help understanding probabilities, see our odds calculator.
- Spread: Rice +44.5 | Notre Dame -44.5
- Over/Under: Over 55.5 (50%) | Under 55.5 (50%)
- Moneyline: Rice <1% | Notre Dame 99%
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Rice vs Notre Dame weather
Warm but partly cloudy and without any suffocating humidity, it should be a great day for football in South Bend on Saturday.
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Rice vs Notre Dame trend to know
The Under is 4-1 in Rice's last five games overall. Find more college football betting trends for Rice vs. Notre Dame.
How to watch Rice vs Notre Dame
| Location | Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 3:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBC |
Rice vs Notre Dame latest injuries
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