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  • TJ McMahon Finds Bradley Rozner in the Final Seconds to Help Rice Beat UTEP, 37-30

TJ McMahon Finds Bradley Rozner in the Final Seconds to Help Rice Beat UTEP, 37-30

Details
Football

TJ McMahon tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Rozner with 25 seconds left to keep Rice on track for its first bowl berth since 2014 with a 37-30 win over UTEP at Rice Stadium on Thursday night.

The Details: After backup Miners quarterback Calvin Brownholtz took UTEP 60 yards to a game-tying field goal, McMahon responded with a seven-play, 75 -yard drive to paydirt, overcoming a pair of false starts at midfield with completions of 12 yards to Rozner and 20 yards to Isaiah Esdale to put Rice in position for Christian VanSickle to try for his fourth field goal of the game to win it for the Owls.  But McMahon put the game away with his second TD pass of the night and 18th of the season.

He threw for 334 yards to match his career high and a pair of touchdowns while adding a third on the ground.  Playing on a short week after a frustrating loss to Charlotte on Saturday, Rice rolled to a season-high 502 yards of total offense against the second-ranked defense in Conference USA.

The Owls spotted UTEP an early lead as the Miners scored on the game's first possession.  Rice responded with the first of VanSickle's career-high three field goals to cut the lead to 7-3 and then took its first lead of the day on a one-yard run by Uriah West at the end of the first quarter. VanSickle's second field goal just before halftime allowed the Owls to take a 20-17 lead in the locker room at the half knowing they would get the ball to start the second.  But while UTEP forced Rice's only two punts of the night on the Owls first two series of the second half and started two consecutive possessions on Rice's side of the 50, the Miners could only muster a field goal to tie the game.

After the teams traded touchdowns to end the third and open the fourth quarter, VanSickle's third field goal put Rice back up 30-27  with 6:52 left.   Brownholtz then drove UTEP inside the Rice 20, before the Owls' defense held, with Gabriel Taylor knocking away a third down toss in the end zone to force UTEP to settle for a tie game at 30.

Rice improved to 5-4 on the season, reaching five wins for the first time since 2015.

Notes
Team

  • Rice moved to 16-9 in the series and 10-3 in Houston.
  • Rice had a season-high five quarterback hurries
  • Rice gained a season-high 502 yards of offense, the fifth time this year it went over 400 yards.

Individual

  • QB TJ McMahon was 21-of-31 for 334 yards, tying his career-high.
  • McMahon has 18 touchdowns this year and 20 in his career.
  • The 18 touchdown passes tie Driphus Jackson (2015) for the seventh-most in a season in Rice history.
  • He has thrown for 2,037 yards this season, the most by an Owl since Tyler Stehling threw for 2,049 in 2016.  
  • WR Bradley Rozner had six catches for 142 yards and a touchdown.
  • It was his fifth 100-yard receiving game this year and the ninth of his career.
  • Rozner's nine career 100-yard games are the most since Jarett Dillard (2005-08) had 12 and James Casey (2007-08) had 10.
  • Rozner now has eight touchdowns this year, moving into a tie with Vance McDonald (2010), Jordan Taylor (2013), and Mario Hull (2014) for the sixth-most in a season in school history.
  • His 13 career touchdowns move him into a tie for eighth-place on Rice's all-time list with Buddy Dial (1956-58), Froggy Williams (1946-49), Toren Dixon (2006-09), and Austin Trammell (2017-2
  • Rozner now has 1,521 becoming just the 11th player in Rice history with 1,500 receiving yards and passing Vance McDonald (2009-12) and Dennis Parks (2012-15) for ninth-place on Rice's career list.
  • WR Isaiah Esdale tied a season-high with five catches for 58 yards.
  • TE Jack Bradley caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
  • It was his second touchdown of the year and the fourth of his career.
  • RB Uriah West scored his first touchdown of the season, a one-yarder in the first quarter. It was the 14th of his career.
  • RB Juma Otoviano had six rushes for a game-high 65 yards.
  • His 31-yard run in the third quarter was his longest this year.
  • LB Myron Morrison led the Owls with nine tackles.
  • Morrison recorded his first career solo sack in the first quarter. He has 1.5 sacks in his career.
  • With eight tackles, S Gabriel Taylor went over 100 career tackles.
  • S Kirk Lockhart had a season-high eight tackles
  • K Christian VanSickle connected on a career-high three field goals.
  • He also tied a career-long with a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter.