The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 9, 2009 Page: 8 of 16
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8 SPORTS FEATURE
the Rice Thresher
Friday, January^ 2009
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^econ
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■nHatt
meant
their br
team won a game <
work, a final
ep on the field with
ers-in-arms to she
were a
UHcn irjui m) igui routiWownS, first
C-USA career list. His 99 pas§v
ing touchdowns
que
sSkiiSS
KSfci
I for head coach David Bailiff,
1 the satisfaction of seeing his
play exceedingly well and the
1 of knowing that in just his
second year, he achieved what her
was hired to do: win a bowl game.
The Owls' victory gave thou-
sands of Rice fans, decked in every-
thing from jerseys to body paint, a
chance to feel pride in something
beyond the university's academic
reputation. After all, it had been
an excrutiating 55 years since the
team's last postseason victory.
With the win, senior quarterback
Chase Clement and senior wide re-
ceiver Jarett Dillard showcased their
belief in hard work and the success
that would inevitably follow.
The two talents from San An-
tonio always believed they could
thrive together. They would get up
early and run routes together. They
would stay after practice, until they
were fori
and-catch
Bowl, d
veryfi
miliar n
As th
comes
be well e
cord boo]
a touch
in the foi
of the
Rice's last
and play pitch-
Andat the Texas
they ran one
one not-so-fa-
work paid off.
and Dillard era
their names will
in die Rice re-
Clement
I
. v.
..-,:r ~
—
; fitting
of the yea& that
I the 52nd arid final
such touchdown, capping a season
that saw the duo set the all-time
record lor most touchdowns by a
quarterback and wide receiver pair
in NCAA history.
The Owls partially ended a
45-year bowl drought when they
played in the 2006 R + L Carriers
New Orleans Bowl, but the 41-17
loss to Troy State left the team
disappointed. But on Dec. 30, in
front of a Reliant Stadium crowd of
58,880, the Owls satisfied a hunger
that had been lingering since they
walked out of the 1954 C lottonBowl
with a win over Alabama. I
The days leading up to the
Texas Bowl included a royriad of
other activities for theij|
team. Memorable for
was the Rodeo Bowl, a cornj
between Rice and Western Mid*
held at George Ranch in "Rich-
i, Tex. The event consisted of
seven events including everything
from calf wrestling to an offensive
line endzone dance competition,
in what was a harbinger for their
»ptaw|!iN§ win, the Owls won sif.
events and the overall competition.
In addition. Rice players, went
on a much anticipated Best Buy
! spree and made i visit to
en's Center.
The win was the Owls' seventh
in a row and was also the 10th win
on the season, only the second time
Rice has accumulated 10 wins since
1912, and the first since 1949. Their
record represents a remarkable turn-
from 1,10 team's 1-10 record in
>rd in 2007.
relished the advance-
Rice's football pr< -
his tenure.
in the way Rice was,
at the way that we are leaving
amazing how much this place
■{ot Rice
tat is
has been fan to see
tormatjgn. To go bit the way
we did, it doesn't get any better."
Though Western Michigan had an
early opportunity to score, kicker John
Potter missed his 51-yard field goal and
Rice scored the first points of the game
near the end of the first quarter when
Clement rushed the ball 26 yards for a
touchdown. Rice moved the ball down
the field again for a 30-yard field goal
by junior kicker park Fangmeier be-
fore the end of the first quarter.
The Owls kicked off the Second
quarter with a 16-piay, 78-yard drive,
culmirtaiing in a six-yard pass from
Clement to wide receiver Toren Dixon,
who finished with eight catches for
58 yards.
Less than two minutes into Western
Michigan's next drh*, Andrew Sendejo
intercepted a pass from Broncos quar-
terback Ton Killer on Rice's 41-yard
line. Four minutes later Rice scored
again with a 45-yard touchdown pass
from Clement to sophomore tight end
James Casey, who led the team with 1
receiving yards on seven catchls.
Western Michigan's next drive
quickly stalled as sophomore corner-
back Chris Jones once aggun instettept-f
ed HUier tor his first cart
ran
then fin
toCleme:
ever coi
ception
the pi;
passfi
defense has played in our
Bailiff said. "It bodes well
to be able to
re of the second half
meaningful and
reversal Clement took
Michigan's 13-yard
ball to Dillard, who
iown pass of his own
pass was Dillard's first-
and Clement's one re-
year. The pair had tried
first quarter, but Dillard's
in the end zone.
44 with
finished th
passing yards
! 72fUshing yards. F<
time this season, a Rice pi
for a touchdown, rushed foi
down and caught a touch
Clement relished the chance to Casey has done it twice,
switch roles.
"It was awesome," Clement said.
"You usually don't get two chances
at that; he kind of screwed it up the
first time. R was fun to catch one from
him. He was over there saying that he
should be playing quarterback."
Later in the fourth quarter on an
84-yaid drive, Rice's longest of the
game, Clement tossed an 18-yard pass
to Dillard, who caught it for his final
collegiate touchdown reception. That
touchdown was number 60 for Dil-
lard's career, tying him with DeAngelo
Williams for the career Conference
USA record and moved him into ninth
place on the all-time NCAA list. It was
also his 20th touchdown of the season,
more than any Other receiver. Dillard is
the only NCAA player ever to have at
least 20 receiving touchdowns in two
the. game, Western Michigan
the third
was finally able to lead the Owls in a
postseason game after being lowed to
sit out in the aoo6 New Orleans Bowi
because of a broken collarbone.
"It was definitely tough not play-
ing in that bowl game, so I knew
that I wanted to make tjbe most
of it when I got out here today,"
ent did it for the first time
Texas Bowl. He finished his college
PW M llJlltllf 1
■of the team's
ieJire^
Pp* beg ;an.
The seniors had instrumental roles
regarding everything from practices
to game plans, and they relished
were able to accomplish,"Clement said.
"We really set this program in the right
direction. Hopefully those guys that
are younger than us see what it takes
to win, what it takes to be successful.
Hopefully they can get that going."
The recent transfer of U of Michi-
gan running back and local football
celebrity Sam McGuffie suggests that
the win could also play a large roll in
tempting future recruits.
"What you are trying to do, ev-
ery win you get, you are trying to
continue to build momentum in
the program," Bailiff saidL "it al-
lows you to recruit a better student-
athlete because they want to win a
conference championship. f ^
The Owls were also impressed by
the crowd drawn by the Texas Bowl
"i can guarantee that all the peo-
ple in the stands with blue on, all of
them didnt go to Rice, and all of them
didn't know someone who went to
Rice," Dillard said. "When you see
that, you just sit back and get the
feeling .^i looked at Chase and we
just loo|6ed up and looked around
and said, 'This is how yoi|: end a
senior year."'
A CLOSER LOOK:
Statistics for the '08 season
defense, which kept the Broncos off the
board and held themtoonly 90 first-half
yards; the i02nd-ranked Rice rush de-
fense held the broncos to only 63 yards
on ffie ground in the whole game.
"Defensively, by far, that is the
to be pcoud of his star quirted
"This kid has been {Haying with a
torn ACL for the last 3 games and he
hasn't said a word to anybody," Cubit
said. "Hiifer had been playing through
the debilitating injury with only a
knee brace that he haul been putting
on alone in the bathroom to keep his
teammates from knowing."
Though Hiller's dedication to his
team was inspiring, Clement's perfor-
mance was equally impressive. The
Texas Bowl's Most Valuable Player
RICE
OPPONENTS
Points / Game
41.3
33.3
First Downs
337
307
Rushing Yardage
1,868
2,376
TDs Rushing
21
24
Passing Yardage
4,254
3,503
TDs Passing
48
34
Time of Possession / Game
30:51
29:09
TDs Scored
74
59
Total Offensive Yards
6,122
5,879
Total Plays
965
939
Penalty Yards Per Game
42.5
48.7
Kick Return Avg.
20.4
18.6
Punt Return Avg. Yards
6.7
9.6
Interception Return Avg.
17.4
14.9
3rd-Down Conversions
92/180
83/184
4th-Down Conversions
8/17
16/27
Field Goals-Attempts
6-10
8-15
Net Punt Average
33.8
37.2
Attendance
121,074
236,291
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Chun, Lily & Farmer, Dylan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 9, 2009, newspaper, January 9, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443122/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.