Justin Time: Allen's Block Snaps BCS Conference Streak

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Final Stats | Quotes | Notes

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Justin Allen turned a window of opportunity into the play of a lifetime, slicing through the Purdue front wall to block Carson Wiggs' attempt at a game-winning 31-yard field goal as time ran out to give Rice a 24-22 win at Rice Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Purdue had driven 38 yards over the final 1:50 to put Wiggs in position to give the Boilermakers their second straight come-from-behind win. Without a timeout left, Wiggs and his field goal unit had to run on to the field after Akeem Shavers was stopped short on third down by Allen's partner at linebacker, Cameron Nwosu. Allen said the quick setup for the final play led to his opportunity.

"Sometimes when (the opponent) is in a rush, they don't get their proper splits," Allen noted. " I saw the 'A' gap open in front of me more open than I thought it would be. I took full advantage. I got skinny. I took three quick steps and got my hand up and the ball hit off my right forearm. "

Amid the post-block celebration on the field, there was no consensus as to who had made the winning play. "At the end of the game I couldn't figure out who had the block because there so many blue jerseys on that side of the line of scrimmage," head coach David Bailiff said. "I couldn't get anybody to talk to me, nor could I talk," he added.

Allen's block allowed the Owls to end an 22-game losing streak against BCS conference schools, and also post their first win over a Big Ten team since September 20, 1997 when they defeated Northwestern 40-34 . The Owls had not defeated a BSC conference school since downing Duke 15-13 on September 8, 2001. That win came three days before the terrorist attacks struck the United States and the streak came to an end one day before the 10th anniversary of those attacks.

The day opened with a special commemoration of that anniversary, and the Owls further honored the moment by wearing special R's on their helmets with the US flag in place of the traditional white. Once the ceremonies were concluded by a flyover by a vintage B-17 bomber, the crowd of 25,317 and a national audience on CBS Sports Network saw the two teams stage a back and forth affair.

The Owls struck first for the second consecutive week off the leg of Chris Boswell, who drilled a 33-yard field goal. Purdue struck back to take a 7-3 lead near the end of the quarter on a 5-yard run by quarterback Caleb TerBush.

Rice countered with the Turner Petersen show on its next possession to retake the lead.

Petersen contributed a total of 63 of the 78 yards on the scoring drive with his arm, his feet , his hands and his chin. He completed a 12-yard pass to Vance McDonald and then added 15 more yards after the play when Purdue was charged with roughing. He caught a 30-yard pass from Taylor McHargue and then finished off the drive with a two-yard run.

Purdue scored the next 10 points and looked to be headed to the locker room with a 17-10 lead, but Taylor McHargue capped a 59-yard drive with a four-yard scoring strike to Luke Willson on the final play of the half to knot the score at 17-17. Rice kept up its momentum on the first series of the third quarter, driving 80 yards in 11 plays to take the lead when McHargue hit Sam McGuffie with a 19-yard scoring pass. It would then fall to the Owls defense to make those 24 points stand, and it took all the remaining 25+ minutes to do so.

McHargue threw for a career-high 230 yards to lead the Owls offense, while Allen finished with 10 tackles to spearhead the defensive charge.

Four times in the second half Purdue drove inside the Owls 30 yards line, only to be held to three offensive points. Late in the third, the Owls held on fourth down at their own two, but on their first play of the following possession, Charles Ross was tackled for a safety to cut the lead to 24-19.

Rice appeared to be heading for a clinching score early in the fourth, but McHargue fumbled at the Purdue 26 and it took the Boilermakers just four plays to reach the Rice 13. But a pair of stops by Jared Williams bracketed a tackle for loss by Scott Solomon to stall the drive and force Purdue to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Wiggs. Solomon tied his career high with three tackles for loss, all of them in the second half to continually stall Purdue advances.

"It feels amazing," Solomon said. "To have the game swing our way it feels awesome. I kind of at a loss for words right now for how good we feel and getting this win today. (second half) "We played well in the second half and got some stops we needed to."

After trading punts, Purdue forced one last Rice punt to take over the ball at their own 48 with 1:52 remaining and an increasingly gusty wind at its back. The moved methodically down field, positioning themselves for a winning kick by Wiggs, only to have Allen spoil the day.

The win knotted the all-time series with Purdue at 2-2, but was the first win for Rice since a 14-0 win in West Lafayette in 1934. The only previous game in Houston had been a 24-0 blanking by the Boilermakers in 1958.

The win was also Rice's third straight at home, dating back to the end of the 2010 season. But the greater significance was not lost on head coach David Bailiff.

"I've been responsible for part of (the losing streak against BCS conference schools) for five years. Some of the players have been responsible for six weeks of it. I'm glad it's over because the thing I found is that more people (outside the program) talk about it than we do," Bailiff said. "It's nice not to have to worry about it. I've always believed since we've got here that we're in the process of building a real fine program. That was a win over a Big Ten opponent. I'm excited. It does show that we are building. We're getting better and the kids believe," he added.

The Owls now head into an off week before hitting the road in two weeks to face the third straight BCS conference opponent when they take on Baylor at 6:00.

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