Seniors End on Winning Note

The Lede: Rice jumped out early on South Florida and withstood a late challenge to send the senior class of 2024 out as winners in their final game at Rice Stadium, 35-28 on Saturday. E.J. Warner threw for a season-best 430 yards and three touchdowns to give the Owls their third straight win at home to end the season and allow Rice to improve to 14-3 on Senior Day since 2008.

How it Happened: Facing an explosive Bulls attack that had gouged the Owls for just under 600 yards in 2023 and had amassed 715 one week earlier, the Owls took full advantage of USF's decision to defer and kickoff to open the game. Much as they had last week and UAB, the Owls wasted little time in moving the length of the field, needing only 2:17 to cover 92 yards (the longest scoring drive of the year for Rice), as Drayden Dickman hauled in a 31-yard scoring pass from Warner. USF's offense had an immediate, moving 75 yards on 10 plays in just 3:19 to tie the score. Christian Francisco turned a short kickoff by the Bulls following their score into a golden opportunity, returning it 45 yards to the USF 38. Warner needed just three plays to put Rice ahead to stay, connecting with Dean Connors on second down for 26 yards and then handing off to Quinton Jackson who darted the final 12 yards for the score. The Owls defense shook off the impact of the initial USF drive and refused to let their fast-paced attack find any further momentum in the first half, holding them to 56 yards on 18 plays the rest of the half, while their teammates on offense ground up yardage and ate up the clock, scoring 10 more points while controlling the clock for nearly 21 minutes in the first half. Tim Horn's first of two field goals pushed the lead to 17-7 and then Warner hooked up with Connors on a 23-yard scoring pass that not only extended the lead to 24-7, but allowed Connors to pass Trevor Cobb as Rice's career leader in receiving yards by a running back. USF opened the second half in much the same fashion as the first, driving 75 yards in 2:38 with the opening possession of the third quarter to close to 27-14, but the Owls held them in check on their next five possessions forcing two punts and two turnovers on downs in addition to an interception by Gabriel Taylor while Warner extended the midway through the third quarter on a 33-yard pass to Thai Chiaokiao-Bowman. The Bulls showcased their explosiveness late, scoring twice in the last three minutes, but Rice recovered a second straight on-side kick to run out most of the remaining clock as Francisco carried the ball six consecutive times for 16 yards and one crucial first down. USF had one last chance with :27 seconds left, but Myron Morrison forced USF quarterback Izzy Carter to scramble and then tackled him, eating up most of the remaining time and the Owls foiled the Bulls' final attempt at a rugby-style lateral play to end the game.

Rice ends the season 4-8 on the season and 3-5 in The AAC, including a 3-1 mark at home in conference games.

Notes
Team

The Owls scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the second consecutive game and the third time this season.
Their 17 first-quarter points were a season-high and their 27 first half points are the most in a conference game since scoring 31 at Middle Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2019.
They closed the season with a three-game winning streak at home, the first time they have won three straight at home since 2014.
The 27 completions on the night gave Rice 293 this season, which ranks third in school history, while the Owls' 478 attempts rank fourth and their 2,868 yards rank seventh.

Individual-Offense

RB Dean Connors ran 17 times for 40 yards and caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.
- With 91 receiving yards, Connors became Rice's all-time leader in receiving yards by a running back with 912, passing Trevor Cobb (1989-92).
- He finished the season with 62 receptions, tying Austin Trammell (2018) for ninth-place on Rice's season list.
- Connors' 40 yards on the ground pushed his season total to 1,679, passing Stahle Vincent for 18^th on the Owls career rushing list.
- He is the first player in school history with 1,600 career rushing yards and 900 receiving yards.
- He finished the season with 113 career receptions to move into 11^th on the Rice career list.
- Connors had 22 touches to complete his career with 222, good for seventh on the Rice career list.
QB E.J. Warner was 27-42 for 430 yards and three touchdowns.
- The 430 passing yards and three touchdowns are both season-highs.
- He completed a season-high five passes of better than 30 yards.
- It was the fifth 400-yard game of his career.
- It is also the fourth-most passing yards in a game in school history, and the most since JT Daniels had 432 at South Florida on Sept. 23, 2023.
- Warner now has 17 touchdowns on the year and 58 in his career.
- His 17 passing touchdowns this year tie Taylor McHargue (2013) for 10th on Rice season list.
- He finished the year with 272 completions on the year, passing Tommy Kramer (1976) for third place on Rice's season list.
- He threw for 2,710 passing yards this year, passing JT Daniels (2023), Driphus Jackson (2015), and Taylor McHargue (2013) for fifth place on Rice's season list.
WR Matt Sykes caught seven passes for a career-best 118 yards, surpassing 100 yards receiving for the first time in his final college game.
- His 37-yard reception in the game was a career-long.
- He finished the season with 65 receptions, passing Austin Trammell (2018 and 2019) and Luke McCaffrey (2023) for eighth place on Rice's all-time list.
- His 782 yards receiving led the Owls and were 60 shy of 10^th place on the Owls single-season list.

Individual Notes - Defense

LB Andrew Awe recorded a sack in the third quarter, the first of his career.
CB Sean Fresch had a team-high seven tackles.
- Fresch went over 150 tackles in his career.
DE Charlie Looes recorded a sack in the third quarter.
- He now has 3.5 sacks this year, including one in his first game with Rice (vs. Sam Houston and another in his final (vs. USF) and 13.0 in his career.
LB Joseph Mutombo recorded a sack in the fourth quarter, his second of the season.
CB Gabriel Taylor recorded an interception in the third quarter.
- It was his third of the year and 10^th in his career to tie Jason Hebert (1998-2001) for seventh on Rice's all-time list.

Individual - Special Teams

KR Christian Francisco's 45-yard kickoff return was a career-long.
K Tim Horn converted all three of his PAT attempts in the game.
- He was `15-of-15 on the year and a perfect 65-of-65 in his career, including 62-of-62 at Rice.
- He now passed Wes Hansen (1976-79) for ninth-place on Rice's all-time PAT list.
- Horn connected on a pair of 25-yard field goals in the first half.
- He was 7-of-11 on field goal attempts this year and 15-of-23 in his career.

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E.J. Warner

Players Mentioned

Andrew Awe

Dean Connors

JT Daniels

Christian Francisco

Sean Fresch

Tim Horn

Quinton Jackson

Charlie Looes

Luke McCaffrey

Myron Morrison

Joseph Mutombo

Matt Sykes

Gabriel Taylor

E.J. Warner

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