Rice University
1-3 , 1-1
Southern Miss
2-3 , 0-1
Football Notches Conference Win at Southern Miss, 41-23
9/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Rice University football broke open a tie game late in the first half to claim a 41-23 victory over Southern Miss on Saturday evening at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
The Owls (1-3, 1-1 C-USA) owned a 217-to-40 advantage in rushing yards, led by Jowan Davis. The sophomore racked up 131 yards on 29 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 38 yards in the win.
Rice added 178 yards in the air, as Driphus Jackson completed 14-of-22 passes for two scores. Southern Miss (2-3, 0-1) notched 323 yards on the night but turned the ball over three times in the loss.
Rice drove 55 yards on its opening drive to set up a 27-yard field goal, scoring the only points of the opening period. USM responded with a 52-yarder early in the second quarter to knot the score at 3-3.
Davis then capped off a 12-play, 69-yard drive on the next possession with a six-yard touchdown run for his first score of the season. The Golden Eagles again tied the score with a three-minute drive with four minutes to play in the half.
Set up by a long kickoff return by Brandon Hamilton, Rice took the lead for good with a three-play, 56-yard drive spanning just 1:01 on the clock. Davis again scored on a six-yard run, but the drive was highlighted by Jackson's career-long 43-yard scramble.
With three minutes to play in the half, Southern Miss saw its drive cut short by Garrett Fuhrman's first interception, which set the Owls up for another James Farrimond field goal to stretch the advantage to 20-10 late in the half.
USM then drove down the field before throwing an interception on the last play of the half. Ryan Pollard picked off the pass for his first-career pick. Southern Miss pulled within four points at 20-16 with a touchdown drive late in the third quarter. The Owls answered at the end of the period with a 73-yard drive, including a 40-yard pass from Jackson to Mario Hull for the score and a 27-16 cushion.
Rice then capitalized off a fumble, forced by Graysen Schantz, early in the fourth quarter as Luke Turner notched his first rushing score of the season to make it 34-16.
The back-and-forth continued as USM cut it to 34-23 in the fourth quarter, but one last long scoring drive by the Owls put the game away. Luke Turner ran in from one yard out to seal the victory.
Jaylon Finner led the visitors with seven tackles, while Alex Lyons and Tabari McGaskey recorded five apiece.
Rice returns home to host Hawai'i next Saturday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
RICE 3, USM 0
RICE - FARRIMOND, Jame 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:49
RICE 3, USM 3
USM - ACOSTA, Corey 52 yd field goal 7 plays, 10 yards, TOP 3:20
RICE 10, USM 3
RICE - DAVIS, Jowan 6 yd run (FARRIMOND, Jame kick), 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 6:07
RICE 10, USM 10
USM - THOMAS, Michael 30 yd pass from MULLENS, Nick (ACOSTA, Corey kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:09
RICE 17, USM 10
RICE - DAVIS, Jowan 6 yd run (FARRIMOND, Jame kick), 3 plays, 56 yards, TOP 1:01
RICE 20, USM 10
RICE - FARRIMOND, Jame 33 yd field goal 4 plays, -1 yards, TOP 0:43
RICE 20, USM 16
USM - PAYNE, George 1 yd run (ACOSTA, Corey kickfailed), 4 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:31
RICE 27, USM 16
RICE - HULL, Mario 40 yd pass from JACKSON, Driphu (FARRIMOND, Jame kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:39
RICE 34, USM 16
RICE - TURNER, Luke 1 yd run (FARRIMOND, Jame kick), 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 3:02
RICE 34, USM 23
USM - COX, James 10 yd pass from MULLENS, Nick (ACOSTA, Corey kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:11
RICE 41, USM 23
RICE - CELLA, Connor 5 yd pass from JACKSON, Driphu (FARRIMOND, Jame kick) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:00
