Rice Owls at Houston Cougars
· NCAA - FootballHouston earns first victory under Willie Fritz with 33-7 romp over Rice
Sneed rushed around right end for a 65-yard touchdown with 5 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, and Mekhi Mews returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes later.
Sneed said Houston’s win in the Bayou Bucket game meant a lot. The Owls beat Houston 43-41 in double overtime last season.
“It showed that we run Houston, and nobody is going to come into our house and beat us – not Rice,” Sneed said.
After Houston’s Michael Batton recovered a muffed Rice punt, Smith, who finished 12 of 21, found Stephon Johnson for a 44-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter as Houston took a 20-0 lead into halftime.
Fritz, who described his first win at Houston as “special,” said he continued to see improvements each week.
“That’s your goal,” Fritz said. “You want to get a little bit better each and every week. You don’t want to stay the same. We’re dialed in right now defensively. I’m really excited with how we’re playing over there.”
Smith rushed for touchdowns covering 1 and 37 yards in the second half. Re’Shaun Sanford II rushed for 71 yards for Houston. The Cougars (1-2) outgained Rice 379-159 yards, including 237-75 yards rushing.
“I thought we ran the ball very effectively,” Fritz said. “We had difficulties running it in week 1 and week 2. We ran the ball extremely well today, and that opened up the passing game.”
E.J. Warner finished 12-of-21 passing for 50 yards with an interception for Rice (1-2). Dean Connors rushed for 32 yards and had a 4-yard touchdown run.
“There’s some big plays that we just got to make,” Rice coach Mike Bloomgren said. “It comes down to doing our job, and when the opportunity is there, executing our job. In a couple instances tonight, I don’t think we did.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Rice: The Owls, who entered with a nation-best 11 sacks, had three sacks and nine tackles for loss overall. Rice went 2 for 13 on third downs.
“Obviously, when you start the game 0 for 11 on third down – I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of that – that’s not good,” Bloomgren said. “You’re not moving the sticks, you’re not giving your defense a chance to rest and you’ve got a lot of plays on your call sheet that you want to call that you can’t call.”
Houston: The Cougars finally got going offensively after scoring 19 points over its first two games. Houston was called for five penalties for 64 yards.
TARGETING
Houston lost two members of its secondary to targeting. Cornerback Latrell McCutchen Sr. was called for the penalty on a punt in the second quarter, and defensive back Juwon Gaston was ejected for targeting at the start of the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Rice: At Army on Saturday.
Houston: At Cincinnati on Saturday.
How To Watch
How can I watch Rice Owls vs. Houston Cougars?
- TV Channel: Owls at Cougars 2021 College Football, week 3, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
TD | 1st Period 5:30 | Stacy Sneed 65 Yd Run (Joseph Kim Kick) | |
TD | 1st Period 3:49 | Mekhi Mews 75 Yd Punt Return (Joseph Kim Kick) | |
TD | 2nd Period 7:29 | Stephon Johnson 44 Yd pass from Donovan Smith (Joseph Kim PAT failed) | |
TD | 3rd Period 2:24 | Donovan Smith 1 Yd Run (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed) | |
TD | 4th Period 7:10 | Donovan Smith 37 Yd Run (Joseph Kim Kick) | |
TD | 4th Period 1:08 | Dean Connors 4 Yd Run (Enock Gota Kick) |
Statistics
RICE | HOU | |
---|---|---|
9 | 1st Downs | 16 |
2-14 | 3rd down efficiency | 6-14 |
1-1 | 4th down efficiency | 1-2 |
159 | Total Yards | 379 |
84 | Passing | 142 |
16/27 | Comp/Att | 12/21 |
3.1 | Yards per pass | 6.8 |
75 | Rushing | 237 |
24 | Rushing Attempts | 42 |
3.1 | Yards per rush | 5.6 |
4-30 | Penalties | 5-64 |
2 | Turnovers | 0 |
1 | Fumbles lost | 0 |
1 | Interceptions thrown | 0 |
28:03 | Possession | 31:57 |
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