Trojans' Haugabook and Owls' turnovers cook Rice in New Orleans

Troy captures program's first ever bowl win with 41-17 victory over Rice

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our Head Football Writer Thomas "Bubba" Rosenbaum recaps the 2006 New Orleans Bowl.

Junior quarterback Omar Haugabook, who was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Year, accounted for five Trojans’ touchdowns and led his team to a 41-17 win over the Owls in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Friday night.

Troy (8-5) exploded out of the gates. They forced Rice to go three-and-out and then proceeded to go 54 yards in nine plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard run by Haugabook with 10:41 to play in the opening quarter.

Rice (7-6) was playing without star quarterback Chase Clement and it did not take long for them to feel the impact of his absence. On the Owls’ second possession, the Trojans intercepted Clement’s replacement Joel Armstrong and returned it to Rice one-yard line. Three plays later, Troy would take a 14-0 lead with only 51 seconds having elapsed since their initial score.

Needing to respond, the Owls answered by driving 76 yards in nine plays for a score, as Armstrong hooked up with Mike Falco for an 11-yard touchdown strike.

On the next to last play of the first quarter, Haugabook connected with Mykeal Terry for a 56-yard score. The Trojans’ lead was extended to 21-7.

Troy’s 21 first quarter points are a bowl record. The Trojans had only scored 23 during the opening quarter this entire season, but reversed that trend in the Big Easy.

Rice trimmed the margin to 21-10 with 12:05 remaining before the break when Clark Fangmeier connected on a career-long 43-yard field goal.

It did not take the Trojans long to answer again, as they had built their lead to 28-10 with 9:41 to play in the second quarter. The mobile Haugabook ran for 21 and eight yards on back-to-back plays before throwing a seven-yard touchdown to Andrew Davis.

Troy took this 18-point lead into the locker room and its 28 first half points set a new Sun Belt Conference record for points scored in a bowl game.

The teams traded interceptions as the second half began, but on the Trojans’ second possession Haugabook led them to a field goal. The quarterback’s five rushes for 60 yards fueled the 13-play drive.

Another Greg Whibbs’ field goal, this time from 26 yards out, extended the lead to 34-10 with just less than ten minutes to play in the game.

The Owls made it 34-17 with 4:59 remaining when Armstrong found Jarett Dillard from one-yard out.

Troy put an exclamation mark on the its first-ever bowl victory when Haugabook threw his fourth touchdown pass with 1:59 to play, finding Toris Rutledge from five yards out to build their lead to 41-17.

The Trojans’ quarterback finished his night 14-of-28 for 217 yards and four touchdowns while only throwing one interception. He also ran for 92 yards and a score on 14 carries.

Mykeal Terry led Troy with two receptions, but they covered 96 yards.

The Owls’ reserve quarterback Joel Armstrong completed 35-of-54 attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns. However, he also threw five interceptions that significantly cooked Rice’s cause.

Jarett Dillard hauled in nine receptions for 71 yards in the game, but the Trojans did a good job of preventing the big play.

Quinton Smith only rushed for four yards on five carries, but he did have eight receptions for 75 yards.

Troy’s defense came up huge, registering 11 tackles for loss in the game. It also sacked the elusive Armstrong four times.

Trojans’ head coach Larry Blakeney, who is one of the longest tenured coaches in college football behind Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and Frank Beamer, was proud of his team’s effort.

“I am not sure what the future holds for this program, but I am sure proud of where we are right now,” Blakeney said. “I am proud of the staff, of these guys, and especially of these seniors.”

As for Rice, Todd Graham was not pleased with how he and his staff prepared their Owls. At any rate, they have nothing to hang their heads about, as they were able to execute one of the best (if not the best) turnarounds in all of college football this season.

The program, which appeared in its first bowl game since 1961, will likely just get better under Graham’s guidance.