Fast Start Not Enough as North Texas Wins on Senior Night

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Football

at South Florida

Nov 29

6 PM

Tampa, FL

Houston-Rice exploded for 14 quick points but North Texas's high-powered offense caught its strike at the end of the quarter and never looked back, rolling to a 56-24 win in the first-ever Senior Night at Rice Stadium.

How it Happened- The Owls gave the national audience and a lively home crowd an instant jolt by marching 86 yards in 12 plays on the opening possession of the game. Quarterback Chase Jenkins accounted for 40 of the 86 yards on three carries, including an 18-yard keeper around the right end to put the Owls up 7-0. It marked the third time this year Rice has scored first in the game and the fourth time they have scored a touchdown on their opening possession. The Owls' defense forced a three-and-out on the Mean Green's first series and Jenkins and company carried the momentum from their first drive back on the field after taking over at the Rice 29. This time it was Aaron Turner who provided most of the spark, converting a third and 12 with a 25-yard catch and run to move the ball to midfield and then completing the drive with a 12-yard run on a reverse. At that point, the Owls held a 14-0 lead and had held the ball for 11:56 of the first 13:26 of the quarter. But North Texas struck back with a 74-yard touchdown on the second play of its next possession, setting the stage for a second-quarter explosion that would see the Mean Green score on three straight possessions to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. They added scores on their first opportunities in the third quarter before Rice found the scoreboard again, thanks to the combination of Jenkins and Turner. A pair of runs by Turner pushed the ball to the Rice 41, and freshman D'Andre Hardeman Jr. burst free on a career-long 36-yard run to put the ball at the UNT 23. Two more Hardemann runs gave the Owls third and two at the UNT 15 while Turner darted home for the score after a short toss from Jenkins. North Texas added two more scores while Enock Gota provided the final points for Rice with a 27-yard field goal.

Up Next- Rice travels top Tampa next weekend to close out the regular season against South Florida, looking for a sixth win of the year to reach bowl eligibility. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (central) with coverage on ESPN+.

Notes
Team

Rice fell to 5-6 on the season and 58-52-2 all-time in home finales, including a 15-5 mark since 2006.
Rice ended the home season 3-4
The Owls dropped their fourth consecutive game against a ranked opponent at home.

Individual

QB Chase Jenkins
- Threw for 101 yards and touchdown and rushed for 75 yards and another score. It was his fourth game this year rushing and throwing for a TD, the most by an Owl since Taylor McHargue accomplished it five times in 2012.
SLOT Aaron Turner
- Rushed for a career-best 78 yards (nine carries) and added 58 yards on eight receptions (both season highs) to finish with 136 all-purpose yards.
RB D'Andre Hardeman Jr.
- Rushed for a career-high 66 yards (10 carries), including a career-long rush of 36 yards.
RB Quinton Jackson
- Rushed for 50 yards and returned four kickoffs for 80 yards.
- He moved past 800 yards this season (808)
- His four returns gave him 50 in his career to move past Austin Trammell into seventh on the Owls' career list.
- His 80 return yards increased his career total to 1,196 which is sixth in school history.
LB Andrew Awe
- Was credited with eight tackles and has a career-best 87 to lead the Owls.
SAF Marcus Williams
- Led the team with 10 tackles, his second double-digit tackle game of the season and his career.

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