Rice University
0-7 , 0-4
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UTEP (C-USA)
6-1 , 4-1
Rice Falls Just Short of UTEP, 38-31
10/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2005
HOUSTON (AP) - Jordan Palmer threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as UTEP held on for a 38-31 victory over Rice, extending the Owls' nation-leading losing streak to 13 games.
Rice scored three times after UTEP turnovers in the second half and moved to the Miners' 3-yard line in the final minute after recovering on onside kick. But John Wall lost 2 yards on fourth down with 57 seconds left.
Palmer, the brother of Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals, became UTEP's career total offense leader with 6,138 yards, passing Sammy Garza, who had 6,056 from 1983-86.
Palmer completed 24 of 30 passes in his seventh career 300-yard game and third of the season.
UTEP (6-1, 4-1 Conference USA) moved into a tie with Tulsa atop the C-USA West Division and became bowl eligible with the win, giving the Miners their first chance for back-to-back bowls since 1953-54.
Rice's defense, which had forced only two turnovers all season, intercepted Palmer on consecutive series in the third quarter. The Owls (0-7, 0-4) drove to a pair of quick touchdowns by Joel Armstrong and Wall to trim UTEP's 28-10 halftime lead to 28-24 with 5:38 to play in the third.
The Miners answered with Palmer's 3-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Ebell and a 25-yard Reagan Schneider field goal for a 38-24 lead with 9:56 to play in the game.
The Owls later recovered their first fumble of the season, leading to a 31-yard touchdown pass from Chase Clement to Jarrett Dillard to make it 38-31 with 4:00 remaining.
Rice used its ground game to keep the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half. But UTEP scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, including a 54-yard pass from Palmer to Chris Francies on the Miners' first play.
Palmer hit 13 of 15 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
Francies, from nearby Cy-Falls High School, caught a pass in his 38th straight game, the nation's longest active streak. He had a career-high 126 yards on four catches.
Team Stats
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UTEP 7, RICE 0
UTEP - Francies 54 yd pass from Palmer (Schneider kick) 1 plays, 54 yards, TOP 0:09
UTEP 7, RICE 7
RICE - Q.Smith 22 yd run (Landry kick), 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 5:02
UTEP 14, RICE 7
UTEP - J.West 10 yd pass from Palmer (Schneider kick) 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:13
UTEP 14, RICE 10
RICE - Landry 27 yd field goal 20 plays, 61 yards, TOP 9:21
UTEP 21, RICE 10
UTEP - Ebell 10 yd run (Schneider kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:04
UTEP 28, RICE 10
UTEP - Ebell 3 yd run (Schneider kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:49
UTEP 28, RICE 17
RICE - Armstrong 13 yd run (Landry kick), 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:03
UTEP 28, RICE 24
RICE - Wall 1 yd run (Landry kick), 5 plays, 15 yards, TOP 2:35
UTEP 35, RICE 24
UTEP - Ebell 3 yd pass from Palmer (Schneider kick) 10 plays, 92 yards, TOP 4:23
UTEP 38, RICE 24
UTEP - Schneider 25 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:20
UTEP 38, RICE 31
RICE - Dillard 31 yd pass from Clement (Landry kick) 9 plays, 62 yards, TOP 3:30
