Rice Ends 28-Year Wait by Defeating Texas, 19-17

Finally, after all the lopsided losses, all the bad jokes and all the players who never thought they would get to see this day, Rice put the streak to rest.

After losing 28 years in a row to Texas, the Owls stuck it to the Longhorns but good Sunday night, beating the nation’s No. 13 team, 19-17.

“For all the Rice teams that have come close in the past, this will go down in Rice history for a long time,” Rice Coach Ken Hatfield said. “I don’t know of a bigger game with more riding on it than 28 years of losing.”

The Owls prevailed behind a swarming defense that fought from start to finish and two touchdown passes by Josh LaRocca.

The last time Southwest Conference favorite Texas (4-2, 1-1) was beaten by the Owls was in 1965.

The Longhorns almost salvaged the game, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Shea Morenz to Matt Davis with 1:27 to play, but the storybook finish belonged to Rice.

Texas tried an onside kick after that, but Ed Howard recovered for the Owls, who ran out the clock, triggering a jubilant celebration among the rain-soaked crowd of 34,700 at Rice Stadium. Fans overran the field and tore down the goal posts.

“Rice (3-2, 2-0) deserves a lot of credit,” Texas Coach John Mackovic said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage, ran the ball well and held down our running game. Those were the things that worried us coming in.”