Owen McCown passed for 256 yards and three touchdowns but E.J. Warner’s TD pass to Matt Sykes with four seconds left lifted Rice to a 29-27 victory over UTSA on Saturday night in American Athletic Conference action at Rice Stadium.
Trailing 23-13 entering the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners (2-4, 0-2 AAC) rallied to reclaim the lead with back-to-back scoring drives. McCown found Devin McCuin on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 5:40 remaining to make it a three-point contest. The redshirt sophomore quarterback then connected with Houston Thomas over the middle on a 38-yard TD pass. Tate Sandell’s extra point made it 27-23 with 2:06 on the clock.
However, Warner directed an eight-play, 65-yard scoring march that gave the Owls (2-4, 1-2) the lead for good. A defensive pass interference penalty gave Rice the ball at the UTSA 17-yard line. Following an offensive pass interference call that pushed the line of scrimmage back to the 32, Warner hit Drayden Dickmann on a 14-yard pass play to set up the game-winning, 18-yard touchdown pass to Sykes. Warner then took a knee on the point-after-touchdown attempt to leave the score at 29-27.
UTSA got the ball back for one last play following a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, but the Rice defense came up with the stop to seal the win.
McCown completed 28 of 43 passes and also added 53 rushing yards to help the Roadrunners total 394 yards of offense. McCuin had a team-high seven receptions for 83 yards, Chris Carpenter caught six balls for 36 yards and DJ Allen made three grabs for 38 yards and a TD.
UTSA held Rice to only 42 rushing yards, the third straight opponent to rush for 50 or fewer yards. The Roadrunners also extended a pair of streaks to 16 games with a takeaway and a sack on the night.
Martavius French paced the defense with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Donyai Taylor and Owen Pewee added five stops apiece.
Defenses controlled the first quarter as both teams combined for just 89 total yards over the first 15 minutes. UTSA also extended its takeaway streak to 16 games with a forced fumble by Zah Frazier and recovery by Elliott Davison in the opening period.
The Roadrunners broke through for the first points of the night at the 6:30 mark of the second stanza when Sandell connected on a 45-yard field goal. That kick capped a 15-play, 55-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock.
Rice responded with a 5-yard TD run on a quarterback keeper by Warner. The extra point attempt was no good, leaving the score at 6-3.
UTSA reclaimed the lead late in the opening half when Allen took a short pass and raced down the right sideline to paydirt for a 20-yard touchdown reception. Sandell’s PAT made it 10-6 with 1:50 remaining.
Enock Gota split the uprights from 46 yards as time expired in the half to pull the Owls within one.
Rice jumped back in front on its opening possession of the second half when Dean Connors hauled in a 69-yard TD pass from Warner. Connors plunged into the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt to give the home team a 17-10 advantage.
Sandell drilled a 52-yard field goal on UTSA’s ensuing drive, the second-longest make in program history.
The Owls pushed their lead to 10 points when Connors scored on an 8-yard rush up the middle to put an end to a 75-yard drive.
Warner completed 25 of 39 passes for 347 yards and a pair of TDs, while Connors had 136 all-purpose yards, including 109 receiving, and two scores.