Memphis v Rice Game Notes
9/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2008
- Tonight's game was just the second meeting against Memphis. It was the first time the Owls played in the Liberty Bowl and the first time Rice played in the state of Tennessee since 1966. The Owls return to the Volunteer state next week when they travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt.
- Rice game captains for the Memphis game were OL David Berken, WR Jarett Dillard, DL Chris Ptaszek and LB Brian Raines. Berken made his 37th career start, a team best.
- Chris Jammer returned a 69-yard interception return for a score with 11 seconds to play as Rice came back from a 35-20 deficit to beat Memphis 42-35.
- Sophomore tight end James Casey finished the night 11 receptions for 208 yards, both career highs. Casey's 208 receiving yards set a school record previously held by David Houser (196 yards at Florida in 1976). It was Casey's third, 100-yard game in the Owls' last four dating back to the 2007 season. He had 113 receiving yards against Tulane and 110 against Tulsa in the final two games of last season.
- Chase Clement became the third Rice player to go over the 6,000 career passing-yard total and set a school record for career passing yards. Clement has now passed for 6,242 yards. With 318 yards against Memphis (26-of-44), Clement passed Tommy Kramer (1973-76), who had 6,197 career passing yards.
- Clement has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games overall and in 18 consecutive Conference USA games.
- Jarett Dillard caught two straight passes late in the first half to run his streak of games with at least two catches to 38 games. It is the longest current streak of its kind in the nation. He has also caught at least one touchdown in 19 of his last 20 conference games. Dillard caught eight passes for 66 yards and one touchdown on the night.
- With a fourth-quarter touchdown reception that started the Owls' comeback, Dillard has now scored 264 career points, surpassing Trevor Cobb as the Rice all-time leader. Cobb (1989-92) scored 26 career points. He also surpassed Cobb as the all-time leader with 44 career touchdown.
- After Memphis' first score, freshman Chris Jammer returned his first kickoff return from the goal line 33 yards. Jammer went on to have four returns for 84 yards.
- Rice senior defensive lineman Chris Ptaszek finished the game with a career high seven tackles.
- Andrew Sendejo finished with a team-leading 13 tackles, his first double-figure tackle game of the year. He had three double-figure tackle games in 2007.
- With 10 points on the night, Clark Fangmeier moved into the top 10 and into a tie for ninth on the Rice career scoring list with 144 points.
- Rice held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter for the first time since against Marshall Oct. 22nd, 2007.
- Terrance Garmon stopped a Memphis drive inside the Rice 10 in the final seconds of the first half when he intercepted a pass in the end zone. It was his third career interception. His last INTs came against ECU and SMU in the final two games of the 2006 season.
- Junior wide receiver Toren Dixon has now caught at least one pass in 15 straight games.
- Chance Talbert, who converted from tight end to defensive line during the off season, was credited with a half sack in the third quarter. It was his first career tackle. Talbert last played against Memphis in January when the Tiger basketball team played the Owls at Reliant Arena. He, along with wide receiver Pierre Beasley, joined the Rice basketball team last November after injuries shorted the team roster.
- It was the third time in his career, Fangmeier has had two field goals. All three times, the Owls were on the road - 2006 at Tulsa and 2007 at Houston.
- Senior cornerback Brandon King has now defended at least one pass each of the last 10 games.
- The Owls made their second straight appearance on television. It was the first of two appearances on CBS College Sports. Rice will play at least one more game on CBS College Sports when the team travels to Tulsa on Oct. 4th. Last week's season-opening 56-27 victory over SMU was televised by ESPN.
Players Mentioned
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