Gritty Owls Extend Home Streak in C-USA Opener

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Football

at Charlotte

Sep 18

6:30 PM

Charlotte, NC

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at Navy

Sep 27

2:30 PM

Annapolis, Md.

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vs Florida Atlantic

Oct 4

TBA

Rice Stadium

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at UTSA

Oct 11

TBA

San Antonio, TX

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vs UCONN

Oct 25

TBA

Rice Stadium

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vs Memphis

Oct 31

6 PM

Rice Stadium

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vs UAB

Nov 8

TBA

Rice Stadium

In Brief: Rice rebounded from a lethargic first half to outscore UAB 21-7 in the second half despite having the ball for just three possessions and used some late heroics by its defense to down the Blazers 28-24 in both school's final Conference USA opener on Saturday night.

The Details: After grinding out an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game, the Rice offense was held to no yards during the remainder of the first half as UAB rolled up 208 yards en route to a 17-7 halftime lead. That lead might have grown larger just before halftime as UAB moved to the Rice 29 with under a minute to go, but a pair of holding penalties moved the Blazers out of field goal range. The Owls opened the second half in much the same fashion as the first, scoring on their first drive, taking advantage of a short field after forcing a UAB punt and moving 48 yards on eight plays to cut the margin to 17-14. Treshawn Chamberlain then struck a blow for the Owls' defense, picking up a backward pass from UAB's Dylan Hopkins at the UAB four and taking it into the end zone to give Rice a 21-17 lead. UAB briefly regained its first half momentum, driving 74 yards in 10 plays to jump back on top 24-21. But Rice answered back with a methodical 14-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ate up 8:30 of game time, converting a four-and-inches at the two and then taking the lead for good when TJ McMahon connected with Dean Connors on a six-yard touchdown with 9:02 left in the game. The Blazers came right back, and found themselves with a first and 10 at the Rice 11 with less than five minutes remaining. Ikenna Enechukwu fired through to drop DeWayne McBride for a four-yard loss on first down and then the collective efforts of the Owls defensive front harassed Hopkins into three incompletions to turn the ball over to Rice at the 15 with 3:26 left. Rice ran the clock down to 1:07 before Connor Hunt blasted a 46-yard punt to push UAB back to its own 39 with no time outs, looking to add another thrilling finish to a series that has seen more than a few. Two completions moved the ball to the Rice 35, before Trey Schuman blasted through to collect his second sack of the night. Josh Pearcy then sacked Hopkins on back-to-back plays to end the game and give the Owls their fourth consecutive home win and their first 3-0 start at home in a season since 2013.

Up Next: Rice heads into its off week with a 3-2 record and will return to action in two weeks with the first of two consecutive road games. First up is a meeting of the Owls and Rice travels to FAU on October 15 and then Rice heads to Louisiana Tech on October 22. The Owls return to Rice Stadium on October 29 to host Charlotte for Homecoming.

The Notes
Team

Rice has started 3-0 at home for the first time since 2013, when the Owls finished a perfect 6-0.
Rice moves to 7-11 all-time in Conference USA openers and 4-6 when opening the conference season at home.
Rice has won back-to-back conference openers for the first time since 2007 and 2008.
It is the third time that Rice opened C-USA play against UAB, but the first time at home. The Owls are 1-2 in those games.
Rice's 209 yards of total offense was the Owls fewest total in a win since they were held to 191 while defeating Houston on the 2004 Bayou Bucket.

Individual

WR Kobie Cambell made his first career start and SAF Tyson Flowers saw his first career action.
QB TJ McMahon was 11-of-17 for 104 yards and a six-yard touchdown pass to Dean Connors, which was Connors' first career touchdown.
RB Ari Broussard rushed 15 times for 32 yards and two touchdowns. He had now scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the first give games, the first Rice running back to do so since Trevor Cobb in 1992.
LB Treshawn Chamberlain returned a fumble four yards for a touchdown. It was Rice's first fumble returned for a touchdown since Cody Bauer against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 28, 2013.
S Gabriel Taylor recorded his second interception of the year and the fifth of his career.
DE Ikenna Enechukwu tied a career-high with nine tackles and went over 100 tackles in his career.
DE Trey Schuman recorded a career-high two sacks, his first two sacks of the year. He now has seven in his career.

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