Defending C-USA champion Owls become bowl-eligible with sixth win in a row

By Chuck Pool and David Ruth

On a reunion weekend intended to honor past accomplishments, the current members of the Rice football team added another chapter to their own recent history by downing the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) 17-7 to win their sixth straight this season and their 10th consecutive homecoming game. They also posted the most successful three-year run in school history and reached bowl eligibility for the third consecutive year.

“I’m proud of these kids,” Rice head football coach David Bailiff said. “We didn’t play our best game as a football team. We figured out a way to win. These seniors have been a resilient bunch and they figure out ways to win. When you win games like this, it’s because of your seniors. They know we wanted to get to six today and become bowl-eligible. But we want to win some more football games.”

View a photo gallery of homecoming from University Photographer Tommy LaVergne.

“We’re thrilled to have the Rice Owls have their sixth win in a row at our homecoming weekend and to become bowl eligible,” said Rice President David Leebron. “It’s great to see so
many of our sports teams having a banner year.”

“I’m thrilled with the resiliency and performance of our football program,” said Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard. “While we’ve won six in a row and achieved bowl eligibility, we still have more to accomplish this season. We are excited to continue the defense of our conference championship next week at Marshall.”

Homecoming 2014 featured special recognition of the Owls’ 2013-14 Conference USA championship squads, the 2014 Class of Honor Jerseys, two-time Super Bowl champion Darryl Grant and the 1994 Southwest Conference Champion football team; all were treated to another dominant afternoon by the Rice defense.

The Owls (6-3/4-1) ground out 420 yards of total offense but once again turned to their defense to cement the win, which was their 11th in their last 12 at Rice Stadium (seven of the last eight in C-USA) and their 14th consecutive home win in November.

Brian Nordstrom’s sack and forced fumble of backup UTSA quarterback Austin Robinson at the Rice 11 with just under a minute left in the game quelled the Roadrunners’ hopes for an improbable late rally. The junior, who was named to the Ted Hendricks Award Watch List Friday, finished with a career-high seven tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss (2.5 sacks). He raised his season tackle-for-loss total to 17.5, which ranks third in school history.

View a photo gallery of homecoming from Rice photographer Jeff Fitlow.

As a team, the Owls were credited with four sacks, which brings them within one of the school record of 33 set in 2006.

“I’m unbelievably proud of how our defense performed,” Bailiff said. “They had a magnificent first half. We bent a little in the second half but you just think someone’s going to step up and make a play, and that’s what Brian Nordstrom did with the sack and forced fumble.”

Most of the afternoon, the defense effectively bottled up the UTSA attack, while the offense sputtered after an impressive opening drive that covered 80 yards on 13 plays. After taking the opening kickoff,  Driphus Jackson engineered an efficient drive down the field before covering the final nine yards himself to give the Owls points on their opening possession for the fourth consecutive game.

For the remainder of the half, the Owls dominated time of possession, but an interception and a missed field goal allowed the Roadrunners to stay within striking distance.

UTSA found its footing just before halftime and drove to the Rice six. But with seven seconds left, UTSA elected to run the ball with Robinson, who was met by James Radcliffe and Gabe Baker at the three. Robinson continued to try to drive into the end zone as the clock wound down and the Roadrunners were unable to call time out and set up a field goal.

After missing a field goal on their first possession in the second half, the Owls extended their lead to 17-0 late in the third quarter when Jackson found Mario Hull in the corner of the end zone.

Still leading 17-0 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Owls were hoping to extend their second-half shutout streak to seven quarters and register their first shutout since the opening game of the 1995 season, but Robinson ended those hopes with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Bias with 9:36 left in the game.

Looking to run out the clock,  the Owls were stopped on fourth down at the UTSA 26 with 3:57 left, but the two teams traded punts before the Roadrunners tried to launch one final challenge with 1:51 left. They moved from their own 29 to the Rice 11 in less than a minute, before Nordstrom put an end to the threat by stripping the ball from Robinson.

Nordstrom’s 2.5 sacks on the day give him 7.5 this season, matching fellow defensive end Zach Patt for the team lead and the sixth best total in school history. Patt chipped in one sack after his five-sack outburst at Florida International University one week earlier and added a pair of quarterback hurries.

Jackson passed for 213 yards and a touchdown and added 48 yards on a career-high 15 carries on the ground. Jowan Davis ran for 121 yards while Jordan Taylor matched his career high with nine catches for 92 yards.

The win sends the Owls into a rematch of the 2013 C-USA Championship game when they travel to Huntington, W.Va., to face the Marshall Thundering Herd squad that took an 8-0 record and a No. 22 national ranking into a Saturday night game at Southern Miss

Bailiff noted that despite the number of milestones his team reached Saturday, now is not the time to rest on any laurels.

“We’re going to enjoy homecoming and then get back to Marshall tomorrow,” Bailiff said. “We’ll celebrate some of these accolades at the banquet.”

The Owls will face Marshall next week. The team’s last home game is against the University of Texas-El Paso. To purchase tickets, go to riceowls.com.