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 The Owls held Fresno State to a season-low 255 total yards and
quarterback Driphus Jackson threw three touchdown passes in a 30-6
victory in the Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday at Aloha Stadium.
"Probably one of the best defensive performances we had all year,"
said Rice coach David Bailiff, whose team played in a third straight
bowl game for the first time in school history. "It was one where I
thought we really played smothering defense."
Rice (8-5) held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time
since 2011 after giving up 76 points to Louisiana Tech in its
regular-season finale.
Fresno State quarterback Brian Burrell was 10-for-20 for 44 yards
and two interceptions and was benched in the second half for backup
Zack Greenlee.
Running back Marteze Waller had 76 yards on 15 carries to finish the
season seventh on the school's single-season rushing list with 1,368
yards.
 "We didn't get it done," said Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter, whose
Bulldogs have been outscored 118-36 in their last three bowl games.
"It's frustrating. We've got to figure out a way to get over the
top. That's going to be our charge this year. We've got to learn how
to finish."
The Bulldogs (6-8) finished with a losing record the first time
since DeRuyter took over in 2012.
The 36 combined points is the lowest total in the 12-year history of
the bowl.
That wasn't the fault of Jackson, named Rice's most valuable player,
who went over 300 yards passing for just the second time this year.
He was 15 of 24 for 318 yards.
"We wanted to take advantage of the aggressiveness of safety (Derron
Smith)," said Jackson, who had scoring passes of 14, 40 and 69
yards. "He's a great run defender and we recognized that. I had to
be on point when it came to reading coverages and the receivers did
a great job of adjusting to the ball."
Dennis Parks caught the 40-yard touchdown pass and led all receivers
with five receptions for 109 yards.
Jordan Taylor caught five balls for 61 yards and Mario Hull came up
with the big 69-yard touchdown reception late in the first quarter
as the Owls scored 13 points in 19 seconds to take a 16-3 lead.
"I thought Driphus did an incredible job of not only managing the
game but at times taking over with the big plays," Bailiff said. "It
seemed like every time we needed a big play, Driphus made one."
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Bulldogs kicker Kody Kroening kicked field goals of 44 and 40 yards
in the first half but had a 44-yarder blocked by Brian Nordstrom in
the third quarter that would have made it a one-possession game.
Fresno State's first penalty was a costly one when freshman Justin
Green was called for a roughing-the-kicker penalty in the end zone
that kept the Bulldogs from getting the ball inside Rice territory
early in the fourth quarter.
The two big touchdown passes in the first quarter helped account for
268 yards by the Owls in the opening 15 minutes.
They didn't score again until midway through the third quarter when
Parks took a screen pass on third-and-2 and broke two tackles before
racing down the sideline for a score to make it 23-6.
"We've just got to be more physical," said linebacker Karl
Mickelson, who was named Fresno State's most valuable player.
Mickelson had a game-high 11 tackles and a sack. The Owls had five
different plays of at least 10 yards on their opening drive that
ended in a 21-yard field goal by James Hairston for a 3-0 lead.
NOTES: Rice WR Mario Hull's 69-yard TD reception was a career long.
... Rice seniors Bryce Callahan, Nico Carlson, Malcolm Hill, James
Radcliffe, Julius White and junior Caleb Williams became the first
Owls ever to start three different bowl games. ... The 1998 Las
Vegas Bowl, a 20-13 North Carolina win over San Diego State, is the
only other bowl game ever played between two teams that started a
season 0-3.
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