Saturday, October 25
Rice Stadium
2 PM
Rice University
4-4 , 1-3
37
vs
34
UCONN
5-3 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
OT
OT
F
UConn
7
14
3
0
7
3
34
Rice
3
14
0
7
7
6
37
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Jackson Sparks Owls in OT Thriller
10/25/2025 8:34:00 PM | Football
23-yard TD walks off UConn
Houston-Quinton Jackson capped off a performance for the ages by dashing 23 yards for the winning score as an energized Rice team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 37-34 win over UConn at Rice Stadium on Saturday. Jackson ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns, added 80 yards on three receptions, and electrified the crowd with a pair of 70+ yards scoring plays to even the Owls' record at 4-4, while UConn, which had won four straight, fell to 5-3.
How it Happened- Faced with the threat of weather similar to strong storms that thrashed the Rice campus early Saturday, the two teams traded explosive plays over the first 30 minutes. After forcing a Rice punt, UConn scored on its first snap of the game on an 80-yard pass from Joe Fagnano to Skyler Bell, who came into the country ranked fifth in the nation in receiving yards per game. After forcing a three-and-out on UConn's second possession, Rice found some traction, driving 52 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal by Enock Gota to close the gap to 7-3 after one quarter. Jackson, who had set a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return at UConn last year, unleashed his speed and balance early in the second quarter, breaking through the line, breaking out of a tackle, and then sprinting his way to a 73-yard touchdown to put Rice ahead for the first time, 10-7. The score remained 10-7 until a furious final 1:48 of the second quarter that saw the lead change hands three times. UConn opened the barrage with a 12-yard TD pass with 1:48 left, but the Huskies' lead lasted only long enough for Jackson to cover 75 yards after hauling in a pass from Chase Jenkins to put Rice up 14-10. UConn immediately fired back, moving 75 yards in 46 seconds to head into halftime leading 21-17. The teams could not replicate their furious pace after halftime, battling to a stalemate for most of the quarter before UConn extended its lead to 24-17 late in the quarter. Freshman D'Andre Hardemann provided the spark for the Owls' 91-yard march to tie the game in the fourth quarter, accounting for 39 of the yards, including the final 10 for his first career touchdown. UConn mounted one last threat midway in the quarter, but a 46-yard field goal attempt was short and the game moved to the 10th overtime game in Rice Stadium history. As they did prior to the game, the Owls lost the coin flip and went on offense first, with Jackson covering the last six yards for his third touchdown of the day. UConn swiftly answered, needing just three plays to tie the game again 31-31, but the Huskies found the going tougher in the second overtime, as the Owls held them to only three yards, resulting in a 41-yard field goal, setting the stage for Jackson to bring the curtain down. After a two-yard gain on first down, he broke through the left side of the line, regained his balance, and sprinted to the end zone, where he was quickly joined by his celebrating teammates.
Up Next: Rice returns to American Conference action next Friday when the Owls host Memphis, which upset 18th-ranked South Florida 34-31, at 6 p.m. on Halloween night, with coverage provided by ESPN2.
NOTES
TEAM
How it Happened- Faced with the threat of weather similar to strong storms that thrashed the Rice campus early Saturday, the two teams traded explosive plays over the first 30 minutes. After forcing a Rice punt, UConn scored on its first snap of the game on an 80-yard pass from Joe Fagnano to Skyler Bell, who came into the country ranked fifth in the nation in receiving yards per game. After forcing a three-and-out on UConn's second possession, Rice found some traction, driving 52 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal by Enock Gota to close the gap to 7-3 after one quarter. Jackson, who had set a school record with a 100-yard kickoff return at UConn last year, unleashed his speed and balance early in the second quarter, breaking through the line, breaking out of a tackle, and then sprinting his way to a 73-yard touchdown to put Rice ahead for the first time, 10-7. The score remained 10-7 until a furious final 1:48 of the second quarter that saw the lead change hands three times. UConn opened the barrage with a 12-yard TD pass with 1:48 left, but the Huskies' lead lasted only long enough for Jackson to cover 75 yards after hauling in a pass from Chase Jenkins to put Rice up 14-10. UConn immediately fired back, moving 75 yards in 46 seconds to head into halftime leading 21-17. The teams could not replicate their furious pace after halftime, battling to a stalemate for most of the quarter before UConn extended its lead to 24-17 late in the quarter. Freshman D'Andre Hardemann provided the spark for the Owls' 91-yard march to tie the game in the fourth quarter, accounting for 39 of the yards, including the final 10 for his first career touchdown. UConn mounted one last threat midway in the quarter, but a 46-yard field goal attempt was short and the game moved to the 10th overtime game in Rice Stadium history. As they did prior to the game, the Owls lost the coin flip and went on offense first, with Jackson covering the last six yards for his third touchdown of the day. UConn swiftly answered, needing just three plays to tie the game again 31-31, but the Huskies found the going tougher in the second overtime, as the Owls held them to only three yards, resulting in a 41-yard field goal, setting the stage for Jackson to bring the curtain down. After a two-yard gain on first down, he broke through the left side of the line, regained his balance, and sprinted to the end zone, where he was quickly joined by his celebrating teammates.
Up Next: Rice returns to American Conference action next Friday when the Owls host Memphis, which upset 18th-ranked South Florida 34-31, at 6 p.m. on Halloween night, with coverage provided by ESPN2.
NOTES
TEAM
- Rice improved to 9-9 all-time in overtime games (5-5 at Rice Stadium) and won in extra time for the third consecutive game.
- The Owls finished their non-conference schedule 3-1, their best finish since they were 3-1 in 2001.
- They are 7-3 in non-conference games since 2021
- Scott Abell won his 90th career game.
- Jackson became the first Owl in history, the second player this season, and the 11th since 1996 to have both a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown of more than 70 yards in a game. UTSA's Robert Henry Jr. accomplished it against Colorado State earlier this season.
- He finished with 284 all-purpose yards, missing the Rice top ten by four yards, and were the most by an Owl since Austin Walter had 266 at Wake Forest on Sept. 29, 2018
- He increased his career APY total against UConn to 570 yards (34 touches).
- He is the first Owl to score four touchdowns in a game since Jordan Myers in 2021.
- His career-high 168 rushing yards are the most since Ari Broussard's 186 at Charlotte on Nov. 6, 2021.
- Chase Jenkins was 17-of-22 for a career-high 191 yards and a touchdown.
- He added 57 yards on the ground to finish with a career-high 248 yards of total offense.
- Jenkins' 75-yard touchdown completion to Jackson in the second quarter was the longest completion of his career.
- Tony Anywanu led the Owls with a career-high nine tackles.
- Andrew Awe finished with seven tackles and moved past 150 in his career.
Team Stats
CON
RIC
Total Yards
449
491
Pass Yards
344
191
Rushing Yards
105
300
Penalty Yards
30
5
1st Downs
18
20
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
27:32
32:28
1st Quarter
CON 7, RIC 0
CON - Bell,Skyler 80 yd pass from Fagnano,Joe (Freeman,Chris kick) 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:13
CON 7, RIC 3
RIC - Gota,Enock 38 yd field goal 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 05:00
2nd Quarter
CON 7, RIC 10
RIC - Jackson,Quinton 73 yd run (Gota,Enock kick), 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:21
CON 14, RIC 10
CON - Edwards,Cam 12 yd pass from Fagnano,Joe (Freeman,Chris kick) 13 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:45
CON 14, RIC 17
RIC - Jackson,Quinton 75 yd pass from Jenkins,Chase (Gota,Enock kick) 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:13
CON 21, RIC 17
CON - Vereen,Juice 34 yd pass from Fagnano,Joe (Freeman,Chris kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:46
3rd Quarter
CON 24, RIC 17
CON - Freeman,Chris 45 yd field goal 5 plays, 18 yards, TOP 02:16
4th Quarter
CON 24, RIC 24
RIC - Hardemann,D'Andre 10 yd run (Gota,Enock kick), 12 plays, 91 yards, TOP 05:40
OT Quarter
CON 24, RIC 31
RIC - Jackson,Quinton 6 yd run (Gota,Enock kick), 5 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
CON 31, RIC 31
CON - Edwards,Cam 5 yd run (Freeman,Chris kick), 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
OT Quarter
CON 34, RIC 31
CON - Freeman,Chris 41 yd field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 00:00
CON 34, RIC 37
RIC - Jackson,Quinton 23 yd run (), 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
Game Leaders
CMP
17
TD
1
YDS
191
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
K
/ Football
RB
/ FootballQB
/ FootballWBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02