Rice Game Notes
11/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 28, 2009
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- Rice captains for the Houston game were WR Toren Dixon, LB Terrance Garmon, RB Marcus Knox and DL Scott Solomon. Houston won the toss and elected to receive. Rice began the game by defending the south end zone.
- Freshman running back Charles Ross finished the game with 10 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns. His 11 rushing touchdowns for the season were the most since Ed Bailey scored 12 in 2004. Ross' numbers against Houston on Saturday included a 48-yard run in the second quarter, his third run of 48+ yards this season.
- Ross finished the season with 491 rushing yards to lead Rice, becoming the first freshman to lead the Owls in rushing since Trevor Cobb. Cobb rushed for 545 yards as a freshman in 1989 en route to a career which saw him rush for 4,948 yards.
- Ross capped the Owls' first series of the second half with an 11-yard touchdown run. He also had a 4-yard scoring run in the third quarter. The Schertz native came into the weekend leading Conference USA freshmen in rushing touchdowns (9 prior to Saturday). He became the first Rice running back to rush for double-figure TDs since Quinton Smith rushed for 10 scores in 2006.
- In addition to Ross' numbers, Tyler Smith led Rice with 21 rushing attempts for 113 yards.
- Smith, who had a career-high 127 yards on 23 carries against UTEP last week, became the first Owl to rush for over 100 yards in back-to-back games since Chase Clement ran for 103 vs. UTEP and 124 at SMU in 2007. The last Owl running back to top 100 yards in consecutive games was Smith's older brother Quinton, who ran for 183 at UCF and 171 at UTEP in 2006.
- Ross and Smith became the first Rice duo to rush for 100 yards since John Wall and and Tyler Smith's older brother, Quinton, did it in a 42-34 win over Tulane Nov. 12, 2005. Wall had 156 yards on 20 carries while Quinton Smith had 143 yards on 20 carries.
- Toren Dixon wrapped up his career by making a reception in 38 straight games. He had two receptions on the Owls' first offensive series of the second half and went on to catch three passes for 29 yards in his final career game. With his first reception against the Cougars, Dixon passed Doug Cunningham and finished the season with 60 receptions, seventh-most in school history. He ranks No. 3 in all-time receptions with 161.
- Brent Hotard had a three-yard reception in the second half, marking the sophomore's first career reception.
- Safety Travis Bradshaw concluded his sophomore season with his sixth straight double-figure tackle game. With his first stop of the game, he recorded his 200th career tackle. Bradshaw had a game-high 11 tackles on the night, finishing the year with a team-leading 121. Bradshaw's 121 tackles ties Larry Izzo's 1995 season-tackle performance which ranks eighth in school history. Bradshaw now has 210 career tackles.
- The game marked Bradshaw's 12th career double-figure tackle game in 18 starts. As a starter, Bradshaw has averaged 10.4 tackles over the 18 games (189 total). Senior linebacker Terrance Garmon concluded his playing career with a nine-tackler performance against Houston, tying a career-tackle high set in 2008 on the road at Tulsa.
- Sophomore linebacker Matt Nordstrom saw his first action since the Tulsa game. He had missed six straight games with a foot injury.
- Clark Fangmeier moved into sole possession of 17th place on the NCAA career list for made point after tries with two against Houston. He finished his career with 179 career PAT.
- Freshman Shane Turner had seven kickoff returns for 139 yards. Turner finished the season with 881 kickoff return yards, the second-most kickoff return yards in school history. Turner did not return to play in the second half keeping him just shy of the school record set by Ja'Corey Shepherd during the 2008 season when he had 885 kickoff return yards.
- The 73 points scored by Houston marked the third-most points scored by an opponent against Rice. The record of 81 points was set in 1912 by Austin College. LSU scored 77 points during a 1977 game in Baton Rouge, La.
- For the season, Rice allowed 517 points setting a school record. The old mark of 515 was set in 2007.
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