Rice Owls vs Texas Longhorns Football Recap

Texas 34, Rice 10

Ah, the Rice Owls have so many things to learn. The Texas Longhorns taught them a thing or two about football on Saturday afternoon in Houston.

There are some things you just shouldn’t ever do against a defense as fleet and relentless as the Texas Longhorns.  One of those things is catching a pass and deciding to reverse fields 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage when your time is in scoring position like Rice sophomore running back Sam McGuffie did on the Owls’ opening drive. 

Due in no small part to McGuffie’s determined running; the Owls had taken the opening kick and driven all the way to the Longhorns’ 13-yard line, when McGuffie made his big mistake.

McGuffie took a swing pass from Rice freshman quarterback Taylor McHargue and ran ahead about two yards before changing course and reversing fields.  Texas’ junior defensive tackle Kheeston Randle blindsided McGuffie in the Rice backfield for a loss of seven yards.  Facing a 3rd and 16, McHargue was hauled down for a five-yard loss.  Chris Boswell nailed the 42-yard field goal on fourth down, but the fact is this was a wasted opportunity to put seven points on the board that would cost the Owls. 

It took Texas a few possessions to get revved up, but once they did, it was game over.  Sophmore running back Tre’ Newton finished off a 9-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge for a touchdown to stake Texas to a 10-3 lead.  Junior linebacker scooped up a McHargue fumble and took it 11 yards for a touchdown on Rice’s next possession, extending the Longhorns’ lead to 17-3.  A 25-yard punt return by junior cornerback Aaron Williams set the stage for Newton’s second touchdown run of the game, which capped a 9-play, 50-yard drive.  Newton finished the game with 61 yards on 18 carries, pacing a relentless Longhorn rushing attack that ground up 205 yards and huge chunks of time.

McHargue connected with Randy Kitchens on a 47-yard pitch-and-catch touchdown, cutting the Owls’ halftime deficit to 24-10. Any momentum Rice might have had was snuffed by a resolute Texas defense that held Rice to minus-20 yards of total offense, forcing three consecutive three-and-out series.  Texas held Rice to a mere 219 yards of total offense for the entire game.

Rice’s quarterback by committee of McHargue, Nick Fanuzzi, and Taylor Cook played reasonably well given the Owls’ inability to run the ball.  The trio combined to complete 12-of-18 passes for 131 yards with a touchdown and interception (both by McHargue).  McGuffie led the Owls with 47 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Newton’s third touchdown of the game, another 1-yard run put the Longhorns up 31-10, effectively ending this as a contest.  Charles Ross scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to for the Owls, making the final margin 34-10.  The loss means the Owls are now 1-39 in their last 40 scraps with the Longhorns.

Next up for Rice (0-1) is a Saturday trip to Denton, Texas to take on the North Texas Mean Green (0-1).  Texas hosts Wyoming (1-0); also on Saturday.