Saturday, September 11
Houston, Texas
5:30 p.m.
Rice University
0-2
7
vs
44
Houston
1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Houston
17
0
14
13
44
Rice
0
7
0
0
7
Photo by: Tim Warner/Rice Athletics
Owls Can't Gain Traction in Bucket Battle
9/11/2021 10:27:00 PM | Football
Houston 44, Rice 7
In Brief: Houston's offense made the most of its opportunities while holding Rice in check for most of the game as the Cougars downed the Owls 44-7 in the 40th edition of the Bayou Bucket at Rice Stadium on Saturday night.
The Details: Houston set the tone early, scoring on its first three drives to put the Owls in a 17-0 hole after one quarter. The Cougars score on their opening possession were the first points the Owls had allowed to an opponent on their first attempt since Texas in 2019 and the 17 points in the first quarter were the most allowed by the Owls since Wake Forest scored 21 in 2018. Rice flipped the first quarter scrip in the second frame, dominating the time of possession, but unlike their cross-town foes, they could only turn their nearly 11 minutes with the ball into seven points, coming on a five-yard scoring toss from Luke McCaffrey to Jordan Myers with just 13 seconds left in the half. Any hope the Owls had of carrying the momentum from that score into the second half was snuffed out by a 17-play scoring march by Houston on the first series of the second half followed by a 10-play trip to the end zone after the Owls went three and out.
Up Next: The Owls will wrap up their opening three-game slate of games with former Southwest Conference rivals next Saturday when they travel to Austin to take on Texas, which fell to Arkansas 40-21 in Fayetteville.
Notes:
Team
Individual
The Details: Houston set the tone early, scoring on its first three drives to put the Owls in a 17-0 hole after one quarter. The Cougars score on their opening possession were the first points the Owls had allowed to an opponent on their first attempt since Texas in 2019 and the 17 points in the first quarter were the most allowed by the Owls since Wake Forest scored 21 in 2018. Rice flipped the first quarter scrip in the second frame, dominating the time of possession, but unlike their cross-town foes, they could only turn their nearly 11 minutes with the ball into seven points, coming on a five-yard scoring toss from Luke McCaffrey to Jordan Myers with just 13 seconds left in the half. Any hope the Owls had of carrying the momentum from that score into the second half was snuffed out by a 17-play scoring march by Houston on the first series of the second half followed by a 10-play trip to the end zone after the Owls went three and out.
Up Next: The Owls will wrap up their opening three-game slate of games with former Southwest Conference rivals next Saturday when they travel to Austin to take on Texas, which fell to Arkansas 40-21 in Fayetteville.
Notes:
Team
- Rice is now 39-32-1 all-time in home openers.
- This was the seventh time that Rice has met Houston in its home opener.
- This was the 43rd meeting between the Owls and Cougars. Houston leads the series, 32-11.
- This is the first time Rice has started two different quarterbacks in the first two games since 2009.
- The 17 points allowed in the first quarter are the most since allowing 21 at Wake Forest on Sept. 29, 2018.
- Houston's 17-play drive in the third quarter was the most allowed by Rice since Army West Point had an 18-play drive on Aug. 30, 2019.
Individual
- QB Luke McCaffrey made his first start at Rice.
- McCaffery was 9-of-19 for 86 yards and a touchdown.
- It was his first touchdown at Rice.
- RB Jordan Myers caught five passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.
- His five-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the third of his career.
- RB Khalan Griffin had 19 carries for a career-high 86 yards.
- RB Ari Broussard's 16-yard run in the first quarter was the longest of his career.
- FB Brendan Suckley caught his first career pass in the second quarter, a four-yard reception for a first down.
- LB Antonio Montero recorded 10 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of the year.
- Montero becomes the first player with double-digit tackles in the first two games of the season since Brian Raines in 2007.
- S Kirk Lockhart recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.
- RUSH Kenneth Orji recorded his second career sack in the second quarter.
- S Naeem Smith blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter. It was the first blocked field goal since Adrian Bickham against Marshall on Nov. 2, 2019.
Team Stats
HOU
RICE
Total Yards
393
212
Pass Yards
249
86
Rushing Yards
144
126
Penalty Yards
89
55
1st Downs
23
15
3rd Downs
8
5
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
32:01
27:58
1st Quarter
HOU 7, RICE 0
HOU - McCASKILL, Alto 35 yd pass from TUNE, Clayton (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 8 plays, 84 yards, TOP 3:30
HOU 10, RICE 0
HOU - WITHERSPOON, Da 38 yd field goal 7 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:18
HOU 17, RICE 0
HOU - HERSLOW, Jake 11 yd pass from TUNE, Clayton (WITHERSPOON, Da kick) 6 plays, 48 yards, TOP 2:37
2nd Quarter
HOU 17, RICE 7
RICE - MYERS, Jordan 5 yd pass from MCCAFFREY, Luke (Riccitelli,Coll kick) 11 plays, 81 yards, TOP 5:01
3rd Quarter
HOU 24, RICE 7
HOU - McCASKILL, Alto 1 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 17 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:42
HOU 31, RICE 7
HOU - McCASKILL, Alto 2 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 10 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:29
4th Quarter
HOU 38, RICE 7
HOU - SMITH, Chandler 14 yd run (WITHERSPOON, Da kick), 2 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:49
HOU 44, RICE 7
HOU - HOGAN, Alex 91 yd interception ()
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
9
TD
1
YDS
86
INT
3
Players Mentioned
RUSH
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RB
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RB
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S
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LB
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TE
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RUSH
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FB
/ FootballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
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