Rice University
0-1
Texas
1-0
Rice Falls To No. 5 Texas 34-17
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2010
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With the daunting task of facing a Texas team that had topped 50 points in each of the last four meetings between the two schools and which brought a renewed commitment to running the football, the last thing Rice needed in the run-up to the 2010 season opener was the loss of a key defender.
Add to that the decision to start a redshirt freshman at quarterback, and Texas fans strolled into Reliant Stadium anticipating anything but the need to remain focused for four quarters.
But the Owls stared just such a dilemma square in the eye and turned in a performance to build upon in front of a crowd of 70,445 at Reliant Stadium on Saturday afternoon, falling to Texas 34-17 behind three touchdown runs by Tre' Newton.
"I thought we went toe to toe with a giant and finished that game strong and finished it hard, and I'm really pleased that our freshman quarterback came out and played and effectively moved the offense," Rice head coach David Bailiff said.
The loss of senior defensive tackle Scott Solomon 10 days earlier seemed to put the Owls in the bullseye for a trampling by Texas. But an inspired effort by the reshaped interior defensive line, along with marked tackling improvement in open spaces kept the Owls in the game for all four quarters.
Sporting the same all-blue look their predecessors wore when they last defeated Texas in 1994, the 2010 Owls came out of the tunnel firing.
Redshirt freshman Taylor McHargue emerged from fall drills as the starter and deftly led the team on a march downfield in his first collegiate series that reached the Texas 13 before a pair of losses placed the ball at the Texas 25. McHargue completed all four of his passes in the opening drive, including a 31-yard strike to Patrick Randolph to set up the Owls at the Texas 25.
Redshirt freshman Chris Boswell knocked it home from 42 yards to give the Owls the early lead for the second consecutive game against the Horns.
Texas responded by driving 61 yards to the Rice one-yard line on their first possession, but Justin Hill and Travis Bradshaw broke through to stop Cody Johnson for a four-year loss on fourth down to stymie Texas' initial scoring threat.
"That just builds momentum in what we've been talking about," Bailiff noted. "Making the plays, tackling in space. ... When the guys are seeing their efforts paying off, you can build on that kind of thing. ... You play to win, but you can build on this game," he added.
The Horns got the ball right back when McHargue was picked off by Keenan Robinson to set Texas up at the Owls' 30. Chris Jones and Hill combined to stop Johnson for a four-yard loss on first down and a false start penalty slowed the Texas threat, as the Horns settled for a 51-yard field goal by Justin Tucker on the first play of the second quarter to knot the game at 3-3.
Boswell missed on a chance for Rice to regain the lead when his kick from 48 yards was wide to the right and the Horns followed with 21 consecutive points.
Newton capped nine-play, 69-yard drive with a one-yard run, and moments later McHargue fumbled and Robinson scooped it up for a 10-yard touchdown return. Newton added his second score, this once from two-yards out to close out the Texas scoring in the first half.
But the Owls would use a bit of luck and a lot of determination on the same play to close the gap to 24-10 at the half.
Faced with a third and eight at the Texas 47 in the final seconds of the half, McHargue sent the ball down the middle of the field, looking for Vance McDonald only to see it tipped away. However junior Randy Kitchens who was trailing on the play, plucked the deflected ball out of the air and rambled to the goal line, barely stretching the ball over the goal line for his first career touchdown.
While the celebrated Texas defense held the Owls in check during the third quarter, the Rice defense proved just as tough, force the Horns into a pair of field goal attempts that were both missed. Newton found the end zone for the third time as the third quarter wound down. Tucker added a 26-yard field goal midway through the fourth to close out the Texas scoring.
Rice closed the gap to 34-17 in the game's final minute, turning a late Texas fumble on a punt into a short touchdown run by Charles Ross.
McHargue finished the day hitting on 6 of 11 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, while Nick Fanuzzi (3-4, 23 yards) and Taylor Cook (3-3, 18 yards) also saw action in the second half.
"We have a great quarterback situation," Bailiff said. "We have three very talented quarterbacks and I think they could start anywhere in Conference USA. That's how good each and every one of them are. He (McHargue) did some great things and he did some freshman quarterback things. He'll get better every week as he grows up. He's got four more years to grow, and we think he's going to be something really special," Bailiff said.
The 34 points by Texas was its lowest output against Rice since an 18-13 Longhorn win in Austin in 1999, and the 17-point margin of victory was the slimmest since that same game. Rice held the Horns to just 197 yards rushing and their top two rushers to less than four yards per carry.
"First I'd like to give credit to Rice, I thought they played better than they had at anytime last year," Texas head coach Mack Brown said. "They started a quarterback that we didn't anticipate, they ran an offense that we didn't anticipate and Sam McGuffie is going to help them ... he is a good back and he made some yards against us. I think Rice is a better football team than what we saw last year."
McGuffie, making his return to the field after a season on the sidelines after transferring home to Michigan, ran for 47 yards on 14 carries in his Rice debut. His former high school teammate Travis Bradshaw led the defense with 10 tackles, extending his streak of double-figure tackle games from last season to seven, and recording his 13th double-digit tackle game in 19 career starts.
The crowd was the sixth-largest to see a Rice-Texas game in Houston and the largest crowd for an Owl home opener since 73,000 jammed Rice Stadium to see Rice down LSU September 23, 1961.
Junior Kyle Martens, a Ray Guy Award candidate in 2009 before an injury held him out of the last three games, aided the defenders cause, averaging 45 yards on seven punts, including a career-best 71 yarder.
"Overall, this is a game we can look at, we can build on and improve, but I'm very pleased with the effort," Bailiff stated.
Team Stats
UT 0, RICE 3
RICE - BOSWELL, Chris 42 yd field goal 14 plays, 60 yards, TOP 6:56
UT 3, RICE 3
UT - Tucker, Justin 51 yd field goal 4 plays, -4 yards, TOP 2:10
UT 10, RICE 3
UT - Newton, Tre' 1 yd run (Tucker, Justin kick), 9 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:06
UT 17, RICE 3
UT - Robinson, Keena 10 yd fumble recovery (Tucker, Justin kick)
UT 24, RICE 3
UT - Newton, Tre' 2 yd run (Tucker, Justin kick), 9 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:26
UT 24, RICE 10
RICE - KITCHENS, Randy 47 yd pass from McHARGUE, Taylo (BOSWELL, Chris kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:24
UT 31, RICE 10
UT - Newton, Tre' 1 yd run (Tucker, Justin kick), 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 3:42
UT 34, RICE 10
UT - Tucker, Justin 26 yd field goal 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:21
UT 34, RICE 17
RICE - ROSS, Charles 2 yd run (BOSWELL, Chris kick), 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:19
