Rice University
8-3 , 6-1
Marshall
4-7 , 3-4
Owls Defeat C-USA Rival Marshall 35-10
11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 22, 2008
HOUSTON-- The Rice Owls shook of a sluggish first half to run up over 300 yards in the second half while their defense put together its best effort of the year as the Owls cruised to a 35-10 victory over Marshall to set up a showdown with Houston next week in the 32nd annual Bayou Bucket battle.
With the victory, the Owls (8-3/6-1) reached eight wins for only the third time since 1953 and ran their conference mark to 6-1. They are tied with Houston and Tulsa for the top spot in the C-USA West, and can earn the right to host the C-USA title game with a win over Houston and a Tulsa loss next week at Marshall.
Chase Clement threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth to smash the C-USA career record for total touchdowns and he teamed with Jarett Dillard for a pair of touchdown passes to extend their NCAA record for a passing duo to 50 career TD passes. James Casey caught seven passes to erase Dillard's name from the Rice record book with his 92 catches this season.
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 their 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 they held Houston to just 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 of career receptions and moved into a tie with the legendary 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 next Saturday in the 32nd edition of the battle for the Bayou Bucket at 2:30. Tickets are on sale now at Riceowls.com or by calling (713) 522-Owls.
Team Stats
MARSHALL 0, RICE 7
RICE - CLEMENT, Chase 12 yd run (FANGMEIER, Clar kick), 5 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:46
MARSHALL 7, RICE 7
MARSHALL - SLATE, Cody 9 yd pass from CANN, Mark (RATANAMORN, Cra kick) 18 plays, 99 yards, TOP 7:58
MARSHALL 7, RICE 14
RICE - DILLARD, Jarett 27 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, Clar kick) 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:37
MARSHALL 7, RICE 21
RICE - DIXON, Toren 5 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, Clar kick) 13 plays, 73 yards, TOP 4:29
MARSHALL 10, RICE 21
MARSHALL - RATANAMORN, Cra 36 yd field goal 12 plays, 40 yards, TOP 5:35
MARSHALL 10, RICE 28
RICE - SMITER, Corbin 44 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, Clar kick) 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 1:18
MARSHALL 10, RICE 35
RICE - DILLARD, Jarett 13 yd pass from CLEMENT, Chase (FANGMEIER, Clar kick) 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 3:47
