Sept. 12, 2009

Final Stats |  Notes

By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER

LUBBOCK - Rice coach David Bailiff struck a nerve with his defense when he challenged that unit to play with passion and confidence following a surprisingly ineffective performance last weekend at UAB.

Should he choose to share a similar speech with his offense next week, perhaps the Owls will inch closer to an elusive first win on the season.

The Owls' defense embraced the task of slowing high-octane Texas Tech Saturday night at Jones AT&T Stadium, but the offense couldn't generate enough of a push to support that inspiring effort as the Red Raiders turned an 11-point halftime lead into a 55-10 non-conference victory.

Rice (0-2) turned back Tech (2-0) near the goal line to snuff the Raiders' opening drive, and despite yielding 274 first-half yards, the Owls trailed just 14-3 at the intermission. But Rice managed only two first downs and just 28 yards in the third quarter while Tech turned excellent field position into three quick scores. In a flash, the deficit was 32 points.

The Owls moved the chains twice on their opening possession of the second half, but quarterback Nick Fanuzzi saw his fourth-down pass graze the fingertips of tight end Luke Willson. Tech took possession at its 47-yard line and, nine plays later, extended its lead to 21-3 when Taylor Potts connected with Lyle Leong on an eight-yard scoring pass.

The Raiders covered a grand total of 57 yards over their ensuing two possessions, notching a pair of touchdowns following a Fanuzzi fumble and a Rice punt from its end zone. The Owls' youthful offensive line featuring four sophomores, two of whom are first-year starters, struggled to provide ample protection for Fanuzzi and senior John Thomas Shepherd, who engineered both of the Owls' scoring drives.

After mounting the aforementioned goal-line stand, the Owls surrendered touchdowns on consecutive Tech possessions. While Rice mustered six yards in the first quarter, the Raiders covered 52 and 57 yards on their scoring marches. But the Owls stood firm in the second quarter by grinding out hard-fought yards on the ground, and after senior kicker Clark Fangmeier cut the deficit to 11 via his 45-yard field goal with 10:27 remaining in the half, the Owls later forced Tech to settle for a 38-yard field goal that Matt Williams missed. With 94 seconds left before the break, Tech punted for the first time and the Owls threatened in the waning moments before petering out at midfield.

Shepherd passed for a career-high 109 yards and threw his first career touchdown pass, a three-yarder to Taylor Dupree. The scoring reception was the first for Dupree. Fanuzzi completed four of seven pass attempts for 22 yards while Tyler Smith paced the Owls with 49 rushing yards.

Potts finished 36-of-57 for 456 yards and seven touchdowns.