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Rice University Athletics
Rice University
4-5 , 3-2
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UTEP
4-5 , 2-3
Owls Knock Off UTEP, 37-31
11/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2006
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - For the second straight game, senior running back Quinton Smith shouldered the bulk of the load as the Rice Owls won their third straight C-USA game, 37-31 over UTEP on Saturday night in El Paso.
The Owls bolted to a 30-10 halftime lead, but saw the Miners, who were celebrating their 75h Homecoming, chip away in the second half and cut the margin to 37-31 when the Owls took over at their own 21 with exactly half of the final quarter remaining.
With Smith carrying seven times, the Owls ate up the remaining time, driving 74 yards on 19 plays while denying the Miners one last chance at the win.
Smith totaled 243 all purpose yards and scored three times to lead the Owls (4-5, 3-2 Conference USA) to their fourth win in the last five. He ran for 171 yards on a career-high 31 carries and two touchdowns while catching four passes for 72 yards, 64 of them on a screen pass from Chase Clement for a third touchdown. Since he was held to -10 yards rushing against Texas in Week Three, the senior from Cedar Park, TX has rushed for 664 yards and five touchdowns in his last six games. He has vaulted all the way to fourth on the Owls' career rushing chart with 2,247 yards.
Clement hit on 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards and three scores while adding 46 yards on nine carries to finish with 279 yards of total offense. Jarett Dillard caught a touchdown pass for an NCAA-leading 11th consecutive game and also tied the Rice career record for touchdown catches. The sophomore from San Antonio now has 18 career TD catches in 20 career games.
After spotting the Miners a 3-0 lead on the game's first series, Clement drove the Owls 82 yards in 10 plays to hit Tommie Henderson on a 17-yard scoring strike to take a lead they would never relinquish. It was Henderson's first career TD catch and one of six he made on the night to lead the team.
Next up for the Owls is their final road trip of the 2006 regular season when they travel to face defending C-USA champs Tulsa in a 2:00 contest at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa on Saturday. The game can be heard on Super Talk 97.5 FM here in Houston. Following the Tulsa game, the Owls will be home for the last two games of the regular season, November 18 vs. East Carolina and November 25 vs. SMU. Tickets for both games are available both online or in person at the Rice Athletic Ticket Office.
Team Stats
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RICE 0, UTEP 3
UTEP - SCHNEIDER, Re. 49 yd field goal 10 plays, 33 yards, TOP 5:20
RICE 7, UTEP 3
RICE - HENDERSON, Tom. 17 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, C. kick) 10 plays, 82 yards, TOP 5:03
RICE 14, UTEP 3
RICE - DILLARD, Jarett 34 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, C. kick) 5 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:06
RICE 14, UTEP 10
UTEP - THOMAS, Marcus 25 yd pass from PALMER, Jordan (SCHNEIDER, Re. kick) 10 plays, 81 yards, TOP 4:29
RICE 21, UTEP 10
RICE - SMITH, Quinton 1 yd run (FANGMEIER, C. kick), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:56
RICE 28, UTEP 10
RICE - SMITH, Quinton 64 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, C. kick) 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:52
RICE 30, UTEP 10
RICE - TEAM 20 yd safety
RICE 30, UTEP 17
UTEP - ROBINSON, Dan 28 yd pass from PALMER, Jordan (SCHNEIDER, Re. kick) 2 plays, 36 yards, TOP 0:33
RICE 37, UTEP 17
RICE - SMITH, Quinton 21 yd run (FANGMEIER, C. kick), 7 plays, 78 yards, TOP 2:56
RICE 37, UTEP 24
UTEP - HIGGINS, J. 22 yd pass from PALMER, Jordan (SCHNEIDER, Re. kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:00
RICE 37, UTEP 31
UTEP - ROBINSON, Dan 26 yd pass from PALMER, Jordan (SCHNEIDER, Re. kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:10
