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Local trio helps Owls makes history
By Michael Sudhalter
Rice defensive tackle Todd Mohr stood on the Reliant Stadium grass, reveling in the Owls’ historic Texas Bowl victory.
In just a few months, Mohr – a fifth-year senior and Cy Creek High graduate – will be selling insurance.
And regardless of how many policies he sells, it’ll be tough to top the emotional high of Tuesday’s 38-14 win over Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl.
“We’re going down in history,” Mohr said. “We dominated on defense. Winning 10 games was awesome. It was really good because we had a good crowd. It was great playing here in Houston.”
“I’m going to remember winning this bowl game and beating UH my senior year.”
Mohr, a second-string defensive tackle, finished with two tackles in his final game on the gridiron.
The Owls finished 10-3 and won a bowl game for the first time since New Year’s Day 1954 (a 28-6 win over Alabama in the Cotton Bowl)
To put that in perspective, Bear Bryant had just finished his final season at Kentucky and wouldn’t be in Tuscaloosa until 1958, and Rice’s star running back, Dickey Maegle, was awarded a touchdown in the game after an Alabama player came off the bench to tackle him.
Fast forward, 54 years and 364 days.
Even if Western Michigan defenders had attempted to come off the bench and illegally tackle members of the Owls’ offensive unit, it probably wouldn’t have worked.
Nothing was clicking for the Broncos, who picked off one Rice pass only to have it reversed on a penalty.
Senior quarterback Chase Clement was named Texas Bowl MVP and proudly donned a white cowboy hat after the game. He finished 30 of 44 for 307 yards, three passing touchdowns and 88 yards and a rushing touchdown as the Owls ended the season on a seven-game winning streak.
Senior receiver Jarett Dillard finished his remarkable career as the first player in NCAA history to have two 20 touchdown seasons.
Sure, Rice’s usual offensive fireworks were there.
But the Owls’ defense, led by redshirt freshman safety Travis Bradshaw (a Cy-Fair High graduate who had a team-high 7.5 tackles), raised some eyebrows.
Rice jumped out to a 38-0 third quarter lead, and Bradshaw said the defense was actually disappointed that they didn’t get the shutout.
“We wanted it so bad,” Bradshaw said. “It was so disappointing when they scored.”
The game was already decided by the time Western Michigan (9-4) scored their first touchdown with 6:33 in the third quarter, and Rice head coach David Bailiff was already soaked with Gatorade when the Broncos scored with just 25 seconds left in the game.
Bailiff earned 2008 Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in his second season at Rice after improving the team from 3-9 to 10-3. The only losses came against bowl-bound teams Texas, Vanderbilt and Tulsa.
Bailiff said the Owls’ defensive unit played its best game out of the 25 he’s coached with the program.
“We started this journey last January and the seniors set the bar high,” Bailiff said. “They have raised the standard of Rice football.”
Nine defensive starters return for Rice, including Bradshaw, who cracked the starting lineup in October when fellow safety Andrew Sendejo, the team’s defensive leader, was sidelined with an injury. Sendejo has since returned and made a huge impact for the Owls.
“We’re changing the face of Rice (football),” Bradshaw said. “We’ve got to do better -- Win the Conference USA Championship and become Liberty Bowl Champions (next season).”
The Owls’ special teams unit was also pretty strong.
Junior placekicker Clark Fangmeier, a Northland Christian graduate, continues to re-write the Owls’ kicking records with each extra point and field goal that he makes.
On Tuesday, he made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter that extended the Owls’ lead to 10-0 and connected on all five of his extra point attempts.
In just a few months, Mohr – a fifth-year senior and Cy Creek High graduate – will be selling insurance.
And regardless of how many policies he sells, it’ll be tough to top the emotional high of Tuesday’s 38-14 win over Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl.
“We’re going down in history,” Mohr said. “We dominated on defense. Winning 10 games was awesome. It was really good because we had a good crowd. It was great playing here in Houston.”
“I’m going to remember winning this bowl game and beating UH my senior year.”
Mohr, a second-string defensive tackle, finished with two tackles in his final game on the gridiron.
The Owls finished 10-3 and won a bowl game for the first time since New Year’s Day 1954 (a 28-6 win over Alabama in the Cotton Bowl)
To put that in perspective, Bear Bryant had just finished his final season at Kentucky and wouldn’t be in Tuscaloosa until 1958, and Rice’s star running back, Dickey Maegle, was awarded a touchdown in the game after an Alabama player came off the bench to tackle him.
Fast forward, 54 years and 364 days.
Even if Western Michigan defenders had attempted to come off the bench and illegally tackle members of the Owls’ offensive unit, it probably wouldn’t have worked.
Nothing was clicking for the Broncos, who picked off one Rice pass only to have it reversed on a penalty.
Senior quarterback Chase Clement was named Texas Bowl MVP and proudly donned a white cowboy hat after the game. He finished 30 of 44 for 307 yards, three passing touchdowns and 88 yards and a rushing touchdown as the Owls ended the season on a seven-game winning streak.
Senior receiver Jarett Dillard finished his remarkable career as the first player in NCAA history to have two 20 touchdown seasons.
Sure, Rice’s usual offensive fireworks were there.
But the Owls’ defense, led by redshirt freshman safety Travis Bradshaw (a Cy-Fair High graduate who had a team-high 7.5 tackles), raised some eyebrows.
Rice jumped out to a 38-0 third quarter lead, and Bradshaw said the defense was actually disappointed that they didn’t get the shutout.
“We wanted it so bad,” Bradshaw said. “It was so disappointing when they scored.”
The game was already decided by the time Western Michigan (9-4) scored their first touchdown with 6:33 in the third quarter, and Rice head coach David Bailiff was already soaked with Gatorade when the Broncos scored with just 25 seconds left in the game.
Bailiff earned 2008 Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in his second season at Rice after improving the team from 3-9 to 10-3. The only losses came against bowl-bound teams Texas, Vanderbilt and Tulsa.
Bailiff said the Owls’ defensive unit played its best game out of the 25 he’s coached with the program.
“We started this journey last January and the seniors set the bar high,” Bailiff said. “They have raised the standard of Rice football.”
Nine defensive starters return for Rice, including Bradshaw, who cracked the starting lineup in October when fellow safety Andrew Sendejo, the team’s defensive leader, was sidelined with an injury. Sendejo has since returned and made a huge impact for the Owls.
“We’re changing the face of Rice (football),” Bradshaw said. “We’ve got to do better -- Win the Conference USA Championship and become Liberty Bowl Champions (next season).”
The Owls’ special teams unit was also pretty strong.
Junior placekicker Clark Fangmeier, a Northland Christian graduate, continues to re-write the Owls’ kicking records with each extra point and field goal that he makes.
On Tuesday, he made a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter that extended the Owls’ lead to 10-0 and connected on all five of his extra point attempts.
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