Sept. 7, 2008

Final Stats |  Notes | Game Highlights from CBS College Sports

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Rice football team exploded for 22 points in the final 6:28 capped by a Chris Jammer 69-yard interception return for a touchdown with 11 seconds left to snatch a thrilling 42-35 comeback victory over Memphis Saturday night in a Conference USA contest at the Liberty Bowl.

"It's been a trademark of these seniors that they don't quit, and they don't ever believe they can't win," head coach David Bailiff said. "This was one of those games that we just kept plugging away for four quarters and really got a win right there at the very end."

Down 35-20 after Maurice Jones hauled in a 39-yard touchdown from Arkelon Hall at the 8:33 mark in the fourth quarter, Rice (2-0, 2-0 C-USA) fired right back with a six-play, 69-yard drive keyed by a James Casey 41-yard reception.

On the next play, Chase Clement found Jarett Dillard for a 5-yard scoring strike to trim the deficit to 35-27 with 6:22 on the clock. The touchdown allowed Dillard to surpass Trevor Cobb as Rice's all-time leader in total points and touchdowns.

The Rice defense stepped up with a critical stop on the next Memphis (0-2, 0-1 C-USA) series. A Brent Sutherland 56-yard punt pinned the Owls at their own six-yard line with 2:58 left.

Clement went to work and hooked up with Casey for 47 yards moving the Owls into Tiger territory. Casey finished with 11 receptions for 208 yards, both career highs. Casey's 208 receiving yards set a school record previously held by David Houser's 196-yard effort at Florida during the 1976 season.

After two more completions, Clement scampered 9-yards into the endzone inside the left pilon to draw Rice within 35-33 with 1:15 to go.

On the two-point conversion attempt, Clement lobbed a pass towards the middle of the endzone into the arms of Casey to even the score at 35-35. With 318 passing yards, Clement moved past Tommy Kramer for the top spot on Rice's career passing list. The Alamo Heights product now has 6,242 career passing yards.

Memphis took four plays on its ensuing drive to get down to the Rice 38-yard line. On third-and-one, Hall's slant pass was intercepted by Jammer, who broke a tackle and sprinted 69-yards to paydirt with 11 seconds left giving the Owls its fifth conference win over the last three seasons on seemingly the last play of the game.

"All this (win) means is we're 2-0 in conference play. There's 10 guaranteed opportunities left," Bailiff said. "We're going to go home, put this behind us and get ready for Vanderbilt next Saturday."

Rice and Vanderbilt kick off at 6pm next Saturday. Fans can listen live on ESPN 97.5 FM as David Saltzman and Nate Griffin call the action from Vanderbilt Stadium.