Football takes first postseason win in 55 years

By Meghan Hall     1/8/09 6:00pm

For the first time in decades, the football team won a game that meant more than just an extra mark in the win column. For the seniors on the team, it was the culmination of years of work, a final chance to step on the field with their brothers-in-arms to show the nation what they were capable of achieving.

And for head coach David Bailiff, it was the satisfaction of seeing his team play exceedingly well and the pleasure of knowing that in just his second year, he achieved what he was hired to do: win a bowl game.

The Owls' victory gave thousands of Rice fans, decked in everything from jerseys to body paint, a chance to feel pride in something beyond the university's academic reputation. After all, it had been an excrutiating 55 years since the team's last postseason victory.

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With the win, senior quarterback Chase Clement and senior wide receiver Jarett Dillard showcased their belief in hard work and the success that would inevitably follow.

The two talents from San Antonio always believed they could thrive together. They would get up early and run routes together. They would stay after practice, until they were forced to leave, and play pitch-and-catch together. And at the Texas Bowl, during which they ran one very familiar play and one not-so-familiar route, the hard work paid off.

As the Clement and Dillard era comes to an end, their names will be well engraved in the Rice record books. When Dillard caught a touchdown pass from Clement in the fourth quarter, his only one of the game, it was fitting for it be Rice's last score of the year. That pass represented the 52nd and final such touchdown, capping a season that saw the duo set the all-time record for most touchdowns by a quarterback and wide receiver pair in NCAA history.

The Owls partially ended a 45-year bowl drought when they played in the 2006 R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, but the 41-17 loss to Troy State left the team disappointed. But on Dec. 30, in front of a Reliant Stadium crowd of 58,880, the Owls satisfied a hunger that had been lingering since they walked out of the 1954 Cotton Bowl with a win over Alabama.

The days leading up to the Texas Bowl included a myriad of other activities for the football team. Memorable for the players was the Rodeo Bowl, a competition between Rice and Western Michigan held at George Ranch in Richmond, Tex. The event consisted of seven events including everything from calf wrestling to an offensive line endzone dance competition. In what was a harbinger for their Texas Bowl win, the Owls won six events and the overall competition.

In addition, Rice players went on a much anticipated Best Buy shopping spree and made a visit to the Depelchin Children's Center.

The win was the Owls' seventh in a row and was also the 10th win on the season, only the second time Rice has accumulated 10 wins since 1912, and the first since 1949. Their record represents a remarkable turnaround from the team's 1-10 record in 2005 and 3-9 record in 2007.

Clement relished the advancement of Rice's football program during his tenure.

"Coming in the way Rice was, and looking at the way that we are leaving it, it is amazing how much this place has changed," Clement said. "Hopefully that will be the standard now for Rice football. Coming in, being 1-10, that is the way it was. It has been fun to see this transformation. To go out the way we did, it doesn't get any better."

Though Western Michigan had an early opportunity to score, kicker John Potter missed his 51-yard field goal and Rice scored the first points of the game near the end of the first quarter when Clement rushed the ball 26 yards for a touchdown. Rice moved the ball down the field again for a 30-yard field goal by junior kicker Clark Fangmeier before the end of the first quarter.

The Owls kicked off the second quarter with a 16-play, 78-yard drive, culminating in a six-yard pass from Clement to wide receiver Toren Dixon, who finished with eight catches for 58 yards.

Less than two minutes into Western Michigan's next drive, Andrew Sendejo intercepted a pass from Broncos quarterback Tim Hiller on Rice's 41-yard line. Four minutes later Rice scored again with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Clement to sophomore tight end James Casey, who led the team with 112 receiving yards on seven catches.

Western Michigan's next drive quickly stalled as sophomore cornerback Chris Jones once again intercepted Hiller for his first career pick.

The Owls headed into halftime with a 24-0 lead, thanks in good part to the defense, which kept the Broncos off the board and held them to only 90 first-half yards; the 102nd-ranked Rice rush defense held the Broncos to only 63 yards on the ground in the whole game.

"Defensively, by far, that is the best this defense has played in our time here," Bailiff said. "It bodes well for what we are going to be able to accomplish defensively."

The first score of the second half was a particularly meaningful and memorable role reversal. Clement took the snap on Western Michigan's 13-yard line and flipped the ball to Dillard, who then fired a touchdown pass of his own to Clement. This pass was Dillard's first-ever completion and Clement's one reception of the year. The pair had tried the play in the first quarter, but Dillard's pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

Clement relished the chance to switch roles.

"It was awesome," Clement said. "You usually don't get two chances at that; he kind of screwed it up the first time. It was fun to catch one from him. He was over there saying that he should be playing quarterback."

Later in the fourth quarter on an 84-yard drive, Rice's longest of the game, Clement tossed an 18-yard pass to Dillard, who caught it for his final collegiate touchdown reception. That touchdown was number 60 for Dillard's career, tying him with DeAngelo Williams for the career Conference USA record and moved him into ninth place on the all-time NCAA list. It was also his 20th touchdown of the season, more than any other receiver. Dillard is the only NCAA player ever to have at least 20 receiving touchdowns in two separate seasons.

After the game, Western Michigan head coach Bill Cubit revealed that despite the loss, he had a stunning reason to be proud of his star quarterback.

"This kid has been playing with a torn ACL for the last 3 games and he hasn't said a word to anybody," Cubit said. "Hiller had been playing through the debilitating injury with only a knee brace that he had been putting on alone in the bathroom to keep his teammates from knowing."

Though Hiller's dedication to his team was inspiring, Clement's performance was equally impressive. The Texas Bowl's Most Valuable Player was finally able to lead the Owls in a postseason game after being forced to sit out in the 2006 New Orleans Bowl because of a broken collarbone.

"It was definitely tough not playing in that bowl game, so I knew that I wanted to make the most of it when I got out here today," Clement said.

Clement finished the game 30 of 44 with 307 passing yards and a team-leading 72 rushing yards. For the third time this season, a Rice player threw for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass. Casey has done it twice, and Clement did it for the first time during the Texas Bowl. He finished his college career with 125 total touchdowns, first on the C-USA career list. His 99 passing touchdowns also tie former USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart on the NCAA career touchdown list.

Clement gained Cubit's respect, as well.

"That quarterback is a tough kid," he said. "There are some other guys that get a lot more notoriety, but I don't know if there is anybody that has the impact that he has for their football team."

Clement was one of the team's seniors, who were all awarded great responsibility before the year began. The seniors had instrumental roles regarding everything from practices to game plans, and they relished the chance.

"It is a special opportunity what we were able to accomplish," Clement said. "We really set this program in the right direction. Hopefully those guys that are younger than us see what it takes to win, what it takes to be successful. Hopefully they can get that going."

The recent transfer of U of Michigan running back and local football celebrity Sam McGuffie suggests that the win could also play a large roll in tempting future recruits.

"What you are trying to do, every win you get, you are trying to continue to build momentum in the program," Bailiff said. "It allows you to recruit a better student-athlete because they want to win a conference championship.

The Owls were also impressed by the crowd drawn by the Texas Bowl.

"I can guarantee that all the people in the stands with blue on, all of them didn't go to Rice, and all of them didn't know someone who went to Rice," Dillard said. "When you see that, you just sit back and get the feeling. I looked at Chase and we just looked up and looked around and said, 'This is how you end a senior year.'

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