Football win streak snapped by Marshall

By Evan Neustater 11/16/14 1:01pm

The Rice University football team (6-4, 4-2 C-USA) lost to Conference USA leader and Associated Press No. 18 Marshall University 41-14 on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The loss marked the first for the Owls since a 45-42 loss against Old Dominion University on Sept. 20. Rice had won six consecutive games prior to losing to Marshall, including four conference matchups.

Rice fell behind early in the game, going down 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and 20-7 at the end of the half. Marshall added two more touchdowns in the third quarter and an additional in the fourth. Rice scored its second touchdown of the game with 5:16 in the game on a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Darik Dillard to finalize the score at 41-14.

Rice recorded a season-low 180 total yards on offense with 99 yards passing and 81 on the ground. Junior quarterback Driphus Jackson completed 11 of 23 passes for 99 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Sophomore running back Jowan Davis rushed the ball 19 times for 76 yards and a touchdown while Dillard added 24 yards and a score. Senior wide receiver Jordan Taylor contributed the bulk of the receiving yards, catching nine passes for 88 yards on the day. With the receptions, Taylor moved past David Houser and James Casey for fourth on the program's career receptions list with 158 catches.

Marshall’s offense recorded 581 total yards. Marshall senior quarterback Rakeem Cato completed 23 of 37 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns on his way to passing Chad Pennington for the school’s all-time passing touchdown record. Junior running back Devon Johnson gained 199 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown.

With the loss, Rice is now 6-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. In order to win the C-USA West Division and earn a rematch against Marshall in the Conference Championship, Rice needs to win its two remaining games and have Louisiana Tech University lose to Old Dominion next weekend. If Louisiana Tech loses to Old Dominion and Rice defeats the University of Texas, El Paso next week, the Rice-Louisiana Tech game on Nov. 29 will determine who gets to go up against Marshall in the championship game. If Rice loses or Louisiana Tech wins, however, Rice will be eliminated from contention for the C-USA title.

Rice will play its next game against UTEP at home on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. UTEP currently shares the same record as Rice at 6-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. UTEP has the No. 26 rushing offense in the country, averaging just shy of 225 yards per game on the ground. Conversely, the Miners have the No. 121 passing offense in the nation, averaging just over 141 yards per game. The Miners’ rushing attack is led by sophomore running back Aaron Jones, who has 1063 yards to go with 10 touchdowns on the year.

The game is a must-win for Rice if they hope to compete for their second consecutive Conference USA championship. The matchup will be the first of the season to not be held on a Saturday, and will be the first night game at Rice Stadium this year. It will also be the last home game of the season and will mark the final time the seniors play in Rice Stadium.