River Oaks Examiner - Sports
Owls turn it on in 2nd half, turn back Herd
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| In a rough and tumble outing the Rice Owls set the stage for a showdown Saturday with the University of Houston. |
The Owls shook off a sluggish first half Saturday to run up more than 300 yards in the second half, while their defense put together its best effort of the year.
Chase Clement threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth to eclipse the C-USA career record for total touchdowns, and he hit Jarett Dillard with a pair of touchdown passes to extend the pair’s NCAA record for a passing duo to 50. James Casey caught seven passes to erase Dillard's name from the Rice record book with his 92 catches this season.
In cruising to a 35-10 victory over Marshall, Rice set up a showdown with Houston next week in the annual Bayou Bucket battle.
With the victory, the Owls (8-3, 6-1 in conference) reached eight wins for only the third time since 1953, leaving them tied with Houston and Tulsa for the top spot in the C-USA West. Rice can earn the right to host the conference title game with a win Saturday over Houston, if Tulsa loses next week at Marshall.
Marshall and the Owls hit the midpoint of the game tied 7-7, and the Herd defense had held Rice's high-powered attack to just 147 yards. But Rice scored on its first three possessions of the second half, while the Owls defense held Marshall to just 85 yards and a field goal, registering their lowest number of points allowed since holding Houston to seven points in the opener of the 2004 season.
Clement threw for 315 yards, topping 300 yards for the sixth time this year (one better than his 2007 effort) and passed 9,000 career yards in passing. His four touchdown passed moved him into a tie with David Klingler of Houston for 13th on the NCAA career list with 91 touchdowns.
Dillard became the 10th player in NCAA history to reach 4,000 yards inf career receptions and moved into a tie with Glenn Davis of Army for 14th on the NCAA career scoring list. Dillard now has scored 354 career points, and he is one touchdown away from tying the C-USA career mark for touchdowns (60).
Corbin Smiter led the Owls receiving corps with a career-high 120 yards, his second consecutive game of better than 100 yards.
Travis Bradshaw led the Owls defense with 10 tackles, his fourth time in double figures in four career starts.
The Owls will host Houston at 2:30 p.m. Saturday Tickets are on sale now at Riceowls.com or by calling (713) 522-Owls.
Chase Clement threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth to eclipse the C-USA career record for total touchdowns, and he hit Jarett Dillard with a pair of touchdown passes to extend the pair’s NCAA record for a passing duo to 50. James Casey caught seven passes to erase Dillard's name from the Rice record book with his 92 catches this season.
In cruising to a 35-10 victory over Marshall, Rice set up a showdown with Houston next week in the annual Bayou Bucket battle.
With the victory, the Owls (8-3, 6-1 in conference) reached eight wins for only the third time since 1953, leaving them tied with Houston and Tulsa for the top spot in the C-USA West. Rice can earn the right to host the conference title game with a win Saturday over Houston, if Tulsa loses next week at Marshall.
Marshall and the Owls hit the midpoint of the game tied 7-7, and the Herd defense had held Rice's high-powered attack to just 147 yards. But Rice scored on its first three possessions of the second half, while the Owls defense held Marshall to just 85 yards and a field goal, registering their lowest number of points allowed since holding Houston to seven points in the opener of the 2004 season.
Clement threw for 315 yards, topping 300 yards for the sixth time this year (one better than his 2007 effort) and passed 9,000 career yards in passing. His four touchdown passed moved him into a tie with David Klingler of Houston for 13th on the NCAA career list with 91 touchdowns.
Dillard became the 10th player in NCAA history to reach 4,000 yards inf career receptions and moved into a tie with Glenn Davis of Army for 14th on the NCAA career scoring list. Dillard now has scored 354 career points, and he is one touchdown away from tying the C-USA career mark for touchdowns (60).
Corbin Smiter led the Owls receiving corps with a career-high 120 yards, his second consecutive game of better than 100 yards.
Travis Bradshaw led the Owls defense with 10 tackles, his fourth time in double figures in four career starts.
The Owls will host Houston at 2:30 p.m. Saturday Tickets are on sale now at Riceowls.com or by calling (713) 522-Owls.
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