Tulane falls prey to Owls' hunt for first win

By Meghan Hall     11/19/09 6:00pm

Throughout the first nine games of this disheartening season, the football team was plagued with a tough schedule, a slew of injuries and some of the worst luck the program has seen in years. But it appears that karmic intervention is finally making its way back to Rice Stadium, as, in the homecoming game last Saturday, the Owls (1-9, 1-5 Conference USA) defeated Tulane University 28-20. But it wasn't easy, it wasn't clean and it wasn't pretty. Tulane (3-7, 1-5 C-USA) scored twice in the first quarter, following the pattern of previous games and rattling the nerves of everyone in the stadium. The worries were warranted, considering the Owls accrued a mere three yards on six plays over their first two drives.

But Rice did not give up between quarters, and the Owls put together a 73-yard drive in the beginning of the second quarter to turn the heat on the Green Wave. The drive culminated with redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi tossing a pass into the waiting arms of senior receiver Toren Dixon, who caught his first of three touchdowns on the day.

Fanuzzi, who finished the afternoon 15-24 from the field, has evolved a prominent passing game alongside the increasing stability of his offensive line, and Head Coach David Bailiff is certainly appreciative.

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"I'm really proud of the offensive line," Bailiff said. "They held up for Nick to give him time to get the ball down the field and [allow] Toren Dixon [to] step up and play the way he played."

The following drive also looked promising for Rice, bringing the Owls to Tulane's eight-yard line. But with 36 seconds left in the half, senior kicker Clark Fangmeier botched his second kick in as many games, sending a 25- yard field goal attempt wide right.

At this point in the game, the Owls had not done much to differentiate their performance from any previous game's. However, according to Bailiff, the difference was palpable during halftime.

"In the locker room the attitude was incredible," Bailiff said. "You could tell that we were going to come back in the second half and play with great enthusiasm and passion."

While the spread favored the home team, the numbers in the half did not paint the Owls' chances in an optimistic light. Tulane had collected more first downs, more rushing yards, more passing yards and fewer penalties. By the end of the game, the Green Wave had also dominated the time of possession, 35:40 to 24:20.

But whatever was said in the locker room worked. Rice sprinted out of the halftime gate with ball in hand, and a 70-yard strike from Fanuzzi to Dixon on the second play of the third quarter tied the score at 14. That bomb was the largest contribution to Dixon's 158 yards on the day.

A blocked punt later in the quarter resulted in good field position once more for Rice, and the Owls capitalized with another two-play touchdown. Junior receiver Pierre Beasley caught his second career touchdown pass, a 17-yard floater from Fanuzzi to give Rice a lead it would not relinquish.

Fanuzzi led his team in impressive fashion, finishing the day with an average of 14.3 yards per completion and a career-high four touchdowns. Nearly 75 percent of Fanuzzi's yardage went to Dixon during the game, so the receiver is as credible as anyone in discussing the team's offensive production.

"The key for us was executing and not turning the ball over," Dixon said. "If we continue to do those things and convert, those big plays expose some plays downfield."

The offense was chugging, but it was the defense that stood out over the next few drives. Tulane embarked on a 98-yard drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter that culminated with a 33-yard pass from Ryan Griffin to Casey Robottom, putting the score at 21-20, but the PAT snap was fumbled and Rice hung onto its slim lead.

With the Green Wave only needing a field goal to take the lead, the Owls defense held them on two consecutive drives, not allowing the Tulane offense to make it past midfield. The defense and special teams units were on top of their game all day - Tulane's average starting field position was at their own 19-yard line, compared to Rice's average start at their 41.

Junior defensive end Cheta Ozougwu spoke for the defense, mentioning the cascading effects of success.

"I feel like we really played as well as we were capable of playing," Ozougwu said. "One thing you saw on the sideline is enthusiasm. As you know, enthusiasm is contagious. When somebody makes a big play, everybody is excited and it rolls over from there."

The excitement continued when Fanuzzi and the offense got one more drive. Facing a fourth-and-10 with less than a minute left in the game, the quarterback connected with Dixon once more for a 28-20 lead with 54 seconds left to cement the win. The students rushed the field and, for a few satisfying moments, the trials of the previous nine games were forgotten.

"I'm being sincere when I say I feel like this is the biggest win I've ever had," Bailiff said. "The Texas Bowl win [last season] was great. There have been a lot of big ones. But this is one where you know, as hard as we have worked, what it's going to mean for the rest of this season and for the progress of this football team."

The Owls hope the excitement will carry over to tomorrow, when they face University of Texas-El Paso at 2:30 p.m. in Rice Stadium. The Miners (3-7, 2-4 C-USA) are tied at eighth in C-USA with the University of Tulsa. UTEP has lost four out of its last five, but running back Donald Buckram is currently second in the country in rushing, so the Rice game could help him move into first in the nation.

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