By Pete Fiutak College Football News | College Football Predictions, Analysis and Updates

It's been a confusing start so far for the two neighbors.Houston hasn't been able to get the O going in losses to UNLV and Oklahoma, but the defense has quickly become terrific under new head coach Willie Fritz. It needs a win not with three of the next four games - all in the Big 12 - on the road.Rice was embarrassed by Sam Houston in the opener, and came back roaring putting 69 on Texas Southern. It starts the AAC season against Army next week, and the slate isn't all that bad. Win here, and Rice will almost certainly go bowling.

So what's wrong? Why isn't this working?The Cougars can't convert anything on third down. They're not moving the chains, can't keep drives going, and they're getting killed by penalties and misfires. But this is more of a tweak that should be fixed than a fatal issue.Rice was able to stop Texas Southern, but couldn't hold up against the Sam Houston offense that moved in a variety of ways. Just start hitting the short passes, and things should start working for the Cougars, but ...

Why Rice Will Win

Houston can't run the ball at all.The blocking and timing aren't there, the pass protection has been lacking, and it's been a grind. The Cougars are averaging fewer than 1.6 yards per carry, and now it's up to the Owls to swarm and keep that going.Rice has 11 sacks and 21 tackles for loss in the first two games, but ...

Houston vs Rice: Who Will Win

This is a step up in competition for the Owls.They managed to shock the Cougars last year 43-41 with the offense going off, and this time around it'll be more of a defensive battle.Houston will finally get its own offense going a bit, but it's not going to be easy to get that first win. Rice's lack of downfield passing will prove costly.