Owls Take on No. 15 Marshall

Game #4
What: Rice (1-2/1-2) @ #15 Marshall (7-0/4-0)
When: Saturday, December 5
Where: Huntington, West Virginia
Stadium: Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,144)
Television: ESPN+ Jake Griffith (PxP), Dave Wilson(Analyst)
Where to Find the Game: ESPN+
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst),
Audio Streaming: Stretch Internet, Rice Game Day App, TuneIn app
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: This is eighth meeting between the two schools (all as members of C-USA). Marshall leads the overall series 5-2, including a 3-0 mark in Huntington.

Series History
O27, 2007     L 34-21         Huntington, W.Va.
N22, 2008     W 35-10       Houston
O15, 2011     L 24-20         Huntington, W.Va.
S22, 2012     L 54-51ot      Houston
D7, 2013       W 41-24        Houston (Conference USA Championship Game)
N15, 2014     L 41-14         Huntington, W.Va.
N2, 2019       L 20-7           Houston

Series Notes

The last time The Herd hosted the Owls (2014), they were 9-0 and ranked 21st and they jumped out to a 17-0 lead on their way to a 41-14 win.
Marshall won the most recent meeting, 20-7 at Rice Stadium last year. The loss was the final one in 2019 for Rice which close the season with three consecutive wins.
The game was the lowest scoring of the series and the teams combined for just a field goal in the season half.
The game marked the starting debut at quarterback for JoVoni Johnson, who rushed for 65 and threw for 97 before departing with an injury.
Rice's last win in the series was also the last game between the two played in December, as the Owls captured the 2013 C-USA Championship, with a 41-24 win. Luke Turner earned MVP honors by throwing a pair of TD passes, Jordan Taylor caught six passes for 131 yards and Charles Ross ran for 109 yards and two scores.

Owls vs. Ranked Teams
Rice's last win over a team ranked in the AP poll was on Nov. 11, 1997 when the Owls downed No. 21 BYU, 27-14, at Rice Stadium (30 games). The Owls last win over a ranked team on the road was on Oct. 12, 1991 when they stunned #8 Baylor in Waco, 20-7 (32 games). This is the fourth time Rice has faced a ranked opponent in Conference USA play, the last on the road at #21 Marshall in 2014.

Decemberists
This will be the Owls first regular season game played in December since the captured the C-USA title with a win over Marshall on December 7, 2013 at Rice Stadium. Rice has played 27 regular season games in December (13-14) including a pair of games in 1939. Prior to 2013, the Owls' last December game came on 12/2/1995 when Rice and Houston played the last game in the storied history of the Southwest Conference. In 1941, the Owls closed their season on December 6 with a 6-0 shutout of SMU--one day prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Rice's first game in December came on December 6, 1930 when beat Iowa State, 13-7 at the original Rice Stadium.

The Triggerman
Grad transfer Mike Collins has thrown for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first three games with the Owls while completing 61.6% of his passes (53-86) and throwing only one interception. He currently leads C-USA with a passer rating of 176.0 (12th nationally) and 267.3 yards per game. (24th). Also of note:

802 yards passing are the most in the first three games of a season since Chase Clement threw for 875 in the first three in 2008 and are the most to open a C-USA season since Clement threw for 897 in his first three in 2008.... He threw for 1,129 in the first four overall and 1,344 in the first four conference games in 2008.
802 yards are the most for an Owl in C-USA action for an Owl since Tyler Stehling threw for 1,412 in eight games in 2016.
10 TD passes in three games are the most over that span since Clement closed the 2008 regular season with 12 in the final three.
They are the most in the first three games of a C-USA season since the Owls joined the conference in 2005... Clement had nine in 2007 and 2008.
10 TD passes in C-USA play are the most in a season since Driphus Jackson threw 14 in eight games in 2015. Clement holds the record with 34 in 2008.

The Sheriff
Senior co-captain Austin Trammell has already established a career best with six touchdown receptions in the first three games of the season. Breaking down his start:

He leads C-USA with a 12.7 points per game average and in all-purpose yards (148.0) and is second in receiving yards per game (111.7) and third receptions per game (5.3).
His six touchdown receptions are the most for an Owl in a season Jordan Taylor had seven in 10 games in 2014 and his six in conference play are the most since Taylor had six in nine games in 2013... last Owls with more than six TD receptions in C-USA play are James Casey (12) and Jarett Dillard (11) in 2008.
He is the first Owls receiver to catch six TD passes over three games since James Casey had seven and Jarett Dillard eight in three-game spans in 2008.
He now has 13 receiving touchdowns in his career, tying him with Froggy Williams (1946-49), Buddy Dial (1956-58) and Toren Dixon (2006-09) for eighth-place on Rice's all-time list.
He has caught at least one pass in 30 consecutive games (tied for 5th nationally) and has caught at least one touchdown in his last four games.

Starting With a Stop
The Owls defense has picked up where it left off in 2019, holding their first three opponents scoreless on the game's opening possession. The Owls have held their last 12 opponents off the scoreboard on their first possession of the game. Texas in 2019 was the last team to score on its opening drive.

Clean Starts
Rice has held its first three opponents this season scoreless in the first quarter this year and has not allowed an offensive touchdown over the last 120:59. Praise Amaewhule of UTEP is the last to score a first-quarter touchdown with a fumble recovery in the season finale last year, but the last offensive touchdown scored on the Owls was by UTSA in the seventh games of 2019 (Lowell Narcisse 8-yard pass to Zakhari Franklin with :59 left in the quarter). The Owls have not allowed more than 7 points in the first quarter since Texas scored 14 in the third game of 2019. Rice has outscored the opposition 19-0 this season in the first quarter and 53-6 while winning four of the last six games.

No Flag Zone
Rice once again leads the nation in fewest penalties per game. The Owls lead the nation with an average of 20 yards per game in flags and led the nation last year with an average of 27.5 per game.

None If By Land
Rice has not scored a rushing touchdown in the first three games of 2020, the longest stretch by the Owls since 2009 when they did not record a rushing touchdown in consecutive games vs. Tulsa, Navy and East Carolina. JoVoni Johnson was the last Owl to score on the ground, an 11-yard run with 4:27 left in a 30-16 win at UTEP to end the 2019 season.

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Mike Collins

JoVoni Johnson-McCray

Austin Trammell

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