Rice outlasts Tulsa for first time since 2006

By Michael Kidd     10/8/13 7:00pm

The Rice University football team traveled to Oklahoma last Saturday to take on the University of Tulsa. The Owls got off to a quick start, and the offense rolled throughout the first half of play. With five minutes, five seconds left in the first quarter, Rice had jumped to a 14-3 lead over Tulsa courtesy of senior running back Jeremy Eddington and redshirt freshman running back Darrion Pollard, who each scored from four yards out. The Owls took a 24-10 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Owls' offense failed to put up any points. With the game on the line, Rice's defense forced Tulsa to settle for a 36-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime. After Tulsa scored a field goal to start overtime to take a 27-24 lead, redshirt senior quarterback Taylor McHargue connected with redshirt freshman running back Darik Dillard on the second play from scrimmage for a 25-yard touchdown that won the game for the Owls. The 30-27 victory is Rice's first win against Tulsa since 2006.

Head Coach David Bailiff said he was thrilled with the effort his players gave against Tulsa and that he was pleased with the offense's execution in the first half of the game.

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"It's hard to go on the road and win anywhere, especially since Tulsa was the preseason pick to win the conference," Bailiff said. "[I'm] thrilled that we went on the road and did it, and even more so that we did it the hard way. I thought offensively in the first half ... we had great execution. We had great effort."

Bailiff said this win was big for the Owls, who move forward with an overall record of 3-2, (2-0 in Conference USA play). He said he is proud of the way Rice competed with Tulsa but said the Owls must execute better in the second half in order to beat the University of Texas, San Antonio next week.

"I'm proud of the way we went toe-to-toe with them," Bailiff said. "We are a good team and just have to work harder at the little things. We've got to come out and have a better offensive plan in the third quarter. That's one of our woes. We [have] got to make sure we execute if we want to win next week."

Junior defensive lineman Stuart Mouchantaf, coming off of a 13-tackle game against Tulsa, said he is excited to play UTSA and keep the momentum going. 

"I think we played well against Tulsa ..., and [I'm] happy in the fact that our defense is keeping us in all the games. But with all the work we put in, I'm not surprised. I'm excited for the next game and for the rest of the season to come."

Dillard said that even after losing their lead, the Owls kept their poise during overtime, and the defense stepped up to keep Rice in the game.

"The offense was struggling, but our defense was able to suppress Tulsa's comeback and halt them at the end, which shows a lot," Dillard said. "We came out with a lot of confidence in overtime, and we knew that we were given this chance to win the game, so we had to win the game."

Looking ahead to next week, the Owls will head to San Antonio to play UTSA on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Roadrunners are 2-4 this season and 1-1 in conference play. 

Bailiff said that although Rice won 34-14 over UTSA last year, the team should not be taken lightly.

"UTSA is a formidable opponent," Bailiff said. "For us to go out on the road to get a win, we have to play how we did against Tulsa for both the first and second half .... They're good; they are a much-improved football team than what we saw a year ago ..., but the good news is we [have been] playing hard. They can run and are an extremely fast football team. They play so hard every down."

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