With a clear advantage overall and the home field in their favor, there’s no reason why Rice shouldn’t advance to their third CWS appearance in the last five seasons. They and Arizona State are the two best teams left in the field. But as Vanderbilt and four other national seeds proved, talent and home field advantage don’t always mean a win. Rob Childress is going to have his team ready to play, and they’ll go in with an attitude that they can win the series, and send A&M back to Omaha for the first time since ’99. While the team hasn’t been there, Childress was a part of several successful Nebraska teams, and his experience no doubt rubs off on his players, which is a big reason why Texas A&M is where they are now. It won’t be a surprise if they do pull off the upset, but it’s going to take a lot to overcome the Owls, who are one of the hottest teams in the land.