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Accomplishments numerous in Rice Texas Bowl win
By MIKE TENNEY
In just a few hours Tuesday night at the Texas Bowl, the Rice football team erased nearly a half-century of bad memories.
Their 38-14 side-swiping of Western Michigan before over 58,880 fans at Reliant Stadium was their first bowl victory since 1954 and also capped off their first 10-win season since 1949.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” said Rice head coach David Baliff. “What this group has accomplished just shows the character of these young men. They played a great game tonight and this is just a great moment for Rice University.”
“To see the transformation of Rice football is an amazing thing,” said quarterback Chase Clement, who was the Texas Bowl MVP and received a 10-gallon white hat for his efforts. “To see all those people up there cheering for us and to know that we’ve changed the (attitude) around here is a wonderful thing.”
Behind Clement’s brilliant performance out of the shotgun (30-of-44 passing, 310 yards, four touchdown passes, and one touchdown catch) the offense was running full tilt boogey all night long against the outmanned Broncos.
Receivers Jarrett Dillard (8 catches, 86 yards), Toren Dixon (8-58), and James Casey (7-112) were the top receivers for the Owls.
Meanwhile, the defense, led by safety Andrew Sendejo and linebacker Brian Raines, pitched a shutout until the Broncos scored twice in the final 6:33. They held Broncos quarterback Tim Hiller, who was tenth in the nation at just over 300 yards passing per game, to only 198 yards on 19-of-42 attempts and collected two interceptions.
“That’s the best defense we’ve played since I’ve been here,” said Baliff. “And they picked a great time to do it, doing it in a bowl game.”
The Owls finished with 445 yards in total offense on 84 snaps as they amassed several long drives for their touchdown. They picked up 13-of-20 third down conversions while Western Michigan was just 4-of-13.
They also reached into their bag of tricks, running a flea-flicker pass after a handoff, a couple of reverses, a halfback pass, and a throwback pass that resulted in their fourth touchdown.
They took a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game, piecing together a seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive that took just three minutes off the clock.
Clement ran for 39 yards on the drive, including the final 26 for the touchdown after a beautiful fake handoff inside to Casey drew the defense his way. Clement raced past the line untouched and found himself in the clear while Casey, who didn’t have the football, was swarmed under and Rice was in front to stay.
The first of five Clark Fangmeier’s point-after kicks made it 7-zip with 5:21 left in the first quarter.
The Owls went right back to work after their defense, which held the Broncos’ high-power offense to just 90 yards of offense in the first half, to a second three-and-out possession.
A 29-yard pass from Clement to Casey, who made a terrific, leaping grab as two WMU defenders sandwiched him, and a 16-yard pass from Clement to Dillard allowed the Owls to reach the Bronco 13 before things stalled.
But, Fangmeier came on to drill a 30-yard field goal and Rice was in front 10-nothing with 1:55 to go in the first quarter.
Western Michigan, which was 1-of-8 on third-down conversions in the first half, had to punt for a third time and the Owls responded with an eight-minute scoring march that put them firmly in control.
Aided by two big Bronco penalties, including a questionable personal foul, the Owls went on a 16-play, 78-yard drive to paydirt. Clement threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Dixon to complete it and it was 17-0 with 8:23 remaining until halftime.
The lead ballooned to 24-0 with 1:15 left in the half when Clement launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to Casey, who was sprinting behind the defense but only standing about a foot from Dillard, who was waiting for the ball to come down, when he made the over-the-shoulder catch fort he score.
In that first half, the Owls had racked up 283 yards on 48 plays while having the ball for over 21 minutes while WMU had it for just fewer than nine.
After the team from the Mid-American conference punted for the fifth time five minutes into the third quarter, Rice quickly moved down the field and it was Clement and Dillard getting together for the touchdown, but not in their usual manner.
The Owls drive appeared to end on the Western Michigan side of the field with an interception, but the Broncos were called offsides on the play and Rice kept the football.
Eventually, the Owls ran a play with four receivers on the same side of the field and Clement fired a pass to Dillard, who stood behind three off them. Dillard stood there behind his blockers and then fired a pass back across the field to Clement, who was alone and dashed into the end zone for the 13-yard touchdown.
The Owls were then in front 31-0 with 6:35 left in the third period.
Their final touchdown came on Clement’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Dillard with 9:38 remaining in the game.
It was Dillard’s 60th touchdown catch as a Rice Owl and Clement became the first player in college history to pass for 3,500 yards and rush for 500 yards in a season.
Western Michigan, which went 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference, closes out at 9-4.
Rice finishes at 10-3.
Their 38-14 side-swiping of Western Michigan before over 58,880 fans at Reliant Stadium was their first bowl victory since 1954 and also capped off their first 10-win season since 1949.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” said Rice head coach David Baliff. “What this group has accomplished just shows the character of these young men. They played a great game tonight and this is just a great moment for Rice University.”
“To see the transformation of Rice football is an amazing thing,” said quarterback Chase Clement, who was the Texas Bowl MVP and received a 10-gallon white hat for his efforts. “To see all those people up there cheering for us and to know that we’ve changed the (attitude) around here is a wonderful thing.”
Behind Clement’s brilliant performance out of the shotgun (30-of-44 passing, 310 yards, four touchdown passes, and one touchdown catch) the offense was running full tilt boogey all night long against the outmanned Broncos.
Receivers Jarrett Dillard (8 catches, 86 yards), Toren Dixon (8-58), and James Casey (7-112) were the top receivers for the Owls.
Meanwhile, the defense, led by safety Andrew Sendejo and linebacker Brian Raines, pitched a shutout until the Broncos scored twice in the final 6:33. They held Broncos quarterback Tim Hiller, who was tenth in the nation at just over 300 yards passing per game, to only 198 yards on 19-of-42 attempts and collected two interceptions.
“That’s the best defense we’ve played since I’ve been here,” said Baliff. “And they picked a great time to do it, doing it in a bowl game.”
The Owls finished with 445 yards in total offense on 84 snaps as they amassed several long drives for their touchdown. They picked up 13-of-20 third down conversions while Western Michigan was just 4-of-13.
They also reached into their bag of tricks, running a flea-flicker pass after a handoff, a couple of reverses, a halfback pass, and a throwback pass that resulted in their fourth touchdown.
They took a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game, piecing together a seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive that took just three minutes off the clock.
Clement ran for 39 yards on the drive, including the final 26 for the touchdown after a beautiful fake handoff inside to Casey drew the defense his way. Clement raced past the line untouched and found himself in the clear while Casey, who didn’t have the football, was swarmed under and Rice was in front to stay.
The first of five Clark Fangmeier’s point-after kicks made it 7-zip with 5:21 left in the first quarter.
The Owls went right back to work after their defense, which held the Broncos’ high-power offense to just 90 yards of offense in the first half, to a second three-and-out possession.
A 29-yard pass from Clement to Casey, who made a terrific, leaping grab as two WMU defenders sandwiched him, and a 16-yard pass from Clement to Dillard allowed the Owls to reach the Bronco 13 before things stalled.
But, Fangmeier came on to drill a 30-yard field goal and Rice was in front 10-nothing with 1:55 to go in the first quarter.
Western Michigan, which was 1-of-8 on third-down conversions in the first half, had to punt for a third time and the Owls responded with an eight-minute scoring march that put them firmly in control.
Aided by two big Bronco penalties, including a questionable personal foul, the Owls went on a 16-play, 78-yard drive to paydirt. Clement threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Dixon to complete it and it was 17-0 with 8:23 remaining until halftime.
The lead ballooned to 24-0 with 1:15 left in the half when Clement launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to Casey, who was sprinting behind the defense but only standing about a foot from Dillard, who was waiting for the ball to come down, when he made the over-the-shoulder catch fort he score.
In that first half, the Owls had racked up 283 yards on 48 plays while having the ball for over 21 minutes while WMU had it for just fewer than nine.
After the team from the Mid-American conference punted for the fifth time five minutes into the third quarter, Rice quickly moved down the field and it was Clement and Dillard getting together for the touchdown, but not in their usual manner.
The Owls drive appeared to end on the Western Michigan side of the field with an interception, but the Broncos were called offsides on the play and Rice kept the football.
Eventually, the Owls ran a play with four receivers on the same side of the field and Clement fired a pass to Dillard, who stood behind three off them. Dillard stood there behind his blockers and then fired a pass back across the field to Clement, who was alone and dashed into the end zone for the 13-yard touchdown.
The Owls were then in front 31-0 with 6:35 left in the third period.
Their final touchdown came on Clement’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Dillard with 9:38 remaining in the game.
It was Dillard’s 60th touchdown catch as a Rice Owl and Clement became the first player in college history to pass for 3,500 yards and rush for 500 yards in a season.
Western Michigan, which went 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference, closes out at 9-4.
Rice finishes at 10-3.
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