The Rice Owls take on the Charlotte 49ers as they kick off American Conference action on Thursday night. Rice is coming off a 38-17 win over Prairie View A&M, while Charlotte downed Monmouth 42-35 on Saturday. The Owls (2-1), who tied for ninth in the conference last season at 3-5 and were 4-8 overall, are 1-0 on the road this season after going 0-6 a year ago. The 49ers (1-2), who tied for sixth in the American at 4-4 and were 5-7 overall, are 1-1 on their home field this season.

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Kickoff from Jerry Richardson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The all-time series is tied 3-3, with Charlotte winning last year's matchup 21-20. Rice is a 2.5-point favorite in the latest Rice vs. Charlotte odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 42.5, after originally opening at 45.5. Rice is at -133 on the money line (risk $133 to win $100), while Charlotte is the +112 underdog (risk $100 to win $112).

Before making any Rice vs. Charlotte picks or college football predictions, you NEED to hear what SportsLine college football expert Gene Menez has to say.

Sports Illustrated's former college football editor, Menez specializes in college sports and horse racing. During his 14-year tenure at the magazine, he served as a reporter and editor, covering an array of sports and providing handicapping analysis of horse racing's Triple Crown. Most importantly, Menez has a read on college football. He is 9-3 (+877) on his last 12 against-the-spread picks in college football games. Anyone who has followed him could be WAY up!

Now, Menez has analyzed Rice vs. Charlotte from every angle and just locked in his picks and predictions.

We can tell you he's leaning Under on the point total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK! You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

Who wins Rice vs. Charlotte on Thursday, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Rice vs. Charlotte spread to jump on, all from the football expert who is on a 9-3 roll with college football picks!

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