Rice University
2-5 , 1-2
Houston (Homecoming)
3-3 , 2-1
Bragging Rights
10/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 16, 2010
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
HOUSTON - History repeated itself once again as the Rice Owls bounced back from a stinging defeat at the hands of Houston in 2009 to put together an inspired effort to defeat Houston 34-31 and reclaim the Bayou Bucket in front of a Homecoming crowd of 26,342 on Saturday.In three previous instances when Houston had topped 60 points to defeat the Owls in their crosstown showdown, Rice had come back to win in two of the next three meetings (and lost by two in the third). After absorbing a 73-14 drubbing at the hands of the Cougars last November, this edition of Owls were of a mindset continue that trend.
"I'm really proud to have the Bayou Bucket back in our locker room," Rice head coach David Bailiff said. "If you could have only seen the locker room, and seen the excitement of this football team, passing that trophy around was really fun. Walking out of here 31-34--I'll take a win any day. I'm proud of every person on this football team," he added.
Nick Fanuzzi threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns and the Owls played turnover-free football for the second consecutive week, while a thinned defensive lineup mad its biggest plays when the game was on the line to ice the victory.
"Nick (Fanuzzi) has made amazing progress in the confidence that he plays with," Bailiff said. "More importantly, it's even more heart-warming to watch the rest of the offense and defense to start to believe in Nick. Nick has always been talented. Three weeks ago a light really went on and he was understanding the offense and starting to gain confidence in himself."
In its best first half effort of the season, Rice rolled up 27 points in the first half, rolling up 228 yards of total offense. Fanuzzi connected on scoring tosses of 29 yards to Luke Willson and 59 yards to Randy Kitchens, while freshmen Jeremy Eddington and Turner Petersen each scored on short runs as the Owls unveiled some new wrinkles for the Cougars.
"We knew that there were young men who continue to make plays that weren't on the field. So, we had our staff come up with a way to get everybody out there while still staying in the framework that we've had," Bailiff noted.
But Houston stormed back from a 27-14 deficit, finding its offensive rhythm and outscoring the Owls 17-0 over the first 21 minutes of the second half. Their final points came on a 37-yard field goal by Matt Hogan, after the Owls, who had given up scoring drives on each of the Cougars first two possessions, came up with a stop at the Rice 20.
It then fell to Fanuzzi to re-start the Owls offense on their final, fateful drive. Having led Rice to the Houston 13, he was faced with a third and eight and less than four minutes remaining. He found McDonald, in the right corner of the end zone with the scoring strike, putting the Owls back on top, 34-31.
It then fell to the Rice defense to make one final stop.
Houston, led by true freshman quarterback David Piland, marched from their own 32 to the Rice 37, but on third down Bryce Beal, who would finish with 109 yards on the day, was stopped for no gain by Xavier Webb. After taking their final timeout to consider their options, the Cougars went for it on fourth down, but he shotgun snap was glanced off Piland and Cheta Ozougwu tackled Michael Hayes who attempted to advance the fumble to seal the win for the Owls.
"To be where we were and to beat Houston, they still have some great players on offense and defense, showed the character of these young men," Bailiff said. "They stayed together, and continued to fight. They believed in themselves and the coaches. They knew if we kept working good things were going to happen. We've got a lot of young men out too. We had a lot of young men that hadn't played special teams. We really had to overwork the defensive line because of the depth issues we're having right now. I think we can build on this win, and a lot of good is going to come out of this win."
Team Stats
HOU 0, RICE 6
RICE - EDDINGTON, Jere 1 yd run (BOSWELL, Chris kickfailed), 4 plays, 5 yards, TOP 2:09
HOU 0, RICE 13
RICE - WILLSON, Luke 29 yd pass from FANUZZI, Nick (BOSWELL, Chris kick) 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:32
HOU 7, RICE 13
HOU - EDWARDS, P. 10 yd pass from PILAND, David (HOGAN, Matt kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:09
HOU 7, RICE 20
RICE - PETERSEN, Turne 1 yd run (BOSWELL, Chris kick), 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:07
HOU 7, RICE 27
RICE - KITCHENS, Randy 59 yd pass from FANUZZI, Nick (BOSWELL, Chris kick) 7 plays, 86 yards, TOP 4:04
HOU 14, RICE 27
HOU - EDWARDS, P. 38 yd pass from PILAND, David (HOGAN, Matt kick) 5 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:16
HOU 21, RICE 27
HOU - EDWARDS, P. 49 yd pass from PILAND, David (HOGAN, Matt kick) 10 plays, 99 yards, TOP 2:26
HOU 28, RICE 27
HOU - BEALL, Bryce 1 yd run (HOGAN, Matt kick), 14 plays, 65 yards, TOP 5:00
HOU 31, RICE 27
HOU - HOGAN, Matt 37 yd field goal 11 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:28
HOU 31, RICE 34
RICE - McDONALD, Vance 13 yd pass from FANUZZI, Nick (BOSWELL, Chris kick) 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:31
