2008 Rice Owls football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2008 Rice Owls football Rice Owls logo.svg Conference USA West C-USA 10–3 7–1 David Bailiff 2nd Tom Herman 2nd Spread Chuck Driesbach 2nd Craig Naivar 2nd 4–3 Rice Stadium C-USA West Division co-championTexas Bowl champion Texas Bowl W 38–14 vs. Western Michigan The 2008 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls played six home games at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas The Owls finished the season with an overall record of 10–3 and a conference record of 7–1 in David Bailiff's second season. Personnel Coaching staff 2008 Rice Owls coaching staffHead coaches Head Coach - David Bailiff Offensive coaches Tom Herman - Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Blake Miller - Running game coordinator/offensive line Dan Hammerschmidt - Wide receivers Rick LaFavers - Tight ends Darrell Patterson - Running backs Tom Keresztury - Offensive graduate assistant Defensive coaches Chuck Driesbach - Assistant head coach/co-defensive Coord. Craig Naivar - Co-defensive coordinator/safeties Darin Eliot - Defensive line Jason Washington - Cornerbacks Michael Slater - Graduate Assistant Special teams Special teams coordinator - Rick LaFavers Administrative staff Athletic Director (AD) - Chris DelConte Yancy McKnight - Assistant AD/Performance Enhancement Jerry Pickle - Assistant AD/Football Operations Recruiting coordinator - Darin Eliot Roster Regular season Schedule 2008 AP Central August 29 7:00 pm w SMU Mayor's Cup Rice Stadium Houston, TX ESPN 56–27 23,164 September 6 7:00 pm w y Memphis Liberty Bowl Memphis, TN CBSCS 42–35 28,351 September 13 6:05 pm l y y Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN 21–38 37,370 September 20 2:30 pm l y y Texas 7 Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX FSN 10–52 97,201 September 27 4:30 pm w y North Texas Rice Stadium Houston, TX KTXA 77–20 16,885 October 4 7:00 pm l y Tulsa Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK CBSCS 28–63 24,926 October 18 2:00 pm w Southern Miss Rice Stadium Houston, TX 45–40 11,117 October 25 2:05 pm w y Tulane Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA 42–17 17,841 November 1 8:05 pm w y UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX 49–44 30,702 November 8 2:00 pm w y y Army Rice Stadium Houston, TX 38–31 19,243 November 22 2:30 pm w Marshall Rice Stadium Houston, TX CBSCS 35–10 15,131 November 28 2:30 pm w Houston rivalry Rice Stadium Houston, TX CBSCS 56–42 35,534 December 30 7:05 pm w y y Western Michigan Texas Bowl Reliant Stadium Houston, TX NFL Network 38–14 58,880 Game summaries SMU Mustangs 13 0 7 7 Owls 14 14 28 0 The game kicked off Rice's 97th season of football."SMU vs Rice (August 29, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2008. Rice began down 13–0, but two scores, both Chase Clement touchdown passes, within 52 seconds put the Owls up by one point to close the first quarter. Clement threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter as well, to Jarett Dillard (21 yards) and Corbin Smiter (12 yards), to take a 28–13 lead into halftime. After a Mustang touchdown pass, Rice exploded for four scores, two Clement passes, a James Casey run, and an interception returned 55 yards for a score by Andrew Sendejo. Logan Turner would throw a touchdown for SMU with 2:10 remaining in the contest. Clement's six touchdown passes and Dillard's three receiving TDs both tied career highs in Rice's highest offensive output in a season opener in their history. Memphis Owls 3 0 10 29 Tigers 0 14 7 14 The Owls were behind the Tigers by fifteen, 35–20, with 8:33 to play."Rice vs Memphis (September 6, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. The comeback began when James Casey snared a 41-yard pass from Chase Clement, setting up a 5-yard hook-up with Jarett Dillard on the ensuing play, cutting the Memphis lead to 35–27 with 6:22 remaining. Rice began their comeback. After a quick stop, the Owls were looking to score again, taking over at their own six. Clement would sprint in from the nine four plays later. Casey would haul in the two-point conversion that knotted the game at 35–35. Memphis would drive to the Rice 38, until the third-and-one slant was intercepted by Chris Jammer, who broke a tackle and scored with eleven seconds left, giving Rice the 42–35 win. Dillard became the all-time leader in total points and touchdowns during the game, with Clement passing Tommy Kramer on the Rice all-time passing list. James Casey set career highs with 11 receptions and 208 yards, which passed David Houser for the Owl's single-game receiving yardage record. Vanderbilt 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores football team Owls 14 7 0 0 Commodores 7 14 10 7 The Vanderbilt game marked the first time the Owls traveled to Nashville to play the Commodores, although the two programs had met three times before. "Rice vs Vanderbilt (September 13, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Texas 2008 Texas Longhorns football team Owls 3 0 7 0 #7 Longhorns 7 17 14 14 Rice began the game with a Clark Fangmeier field goal, but it would be all Texas after that. Colt McCoy would run in a score before tossing two touchdowns to Jordan Shipley. Texas also added a field goal to their lead, making it 24–3."Rice vs Texas (September 20, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. The lone Owls touchdown came in the third quarter, a Clement-to-Dillard hook-up of fifteen yards. McCoy would strike again, with a 46-yard completion to Chris Ogbonnaya for a score. Back-up Longhorn signal-caller John Chiles added a rushing touchdown, as did Cody Johnson, to put the final at 52–10. Colt McCoy of Texas threw four touchdown passes, and led the Longhorns in rushing, as Texas rolled over Rice. McCoy also took the all-time passing touchdown record at Texas. Andrew Sendejo recorded 13+ tackles for the third consecutive game. His 17 stops against the Longhorns also fell one short of a career mark. Jarett Dillard had 158 yards receiving to lead the Owls. Clement also had his second career punt downed inside the twenty. North Texas Mean Green 13 7 0 0 Owls 21 35 21 0 Rice set a record for most points by a Rice team since 1916, when the Owls defeated SMU 146–3."Rice vs North Texas (September 27, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarett Dillard combined to set a record, becoming the most productive duo in NCAA history, eclipsing Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards at Louisiana Tech. Rice took advantage of North Texas mistakes, recovering three muffed punts, picking off three passes (two returned for touchdowns), and blocking a pair of kicks. Rice opened the scoring with a 50-yard pass from Chase Clement to Toren Dixon. The Mean Green responded with a 71-yard drive capped with a one-yard score by Cam Montgomery, but the extra point was blocked. Clement came back with a touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard, giving the Owls a 14–6 lead. Rice would score another touchdown before the close of the first quarter, a 25-yard scamper by Clement. Cam Montgomery again scored in the first period for North Texas. Rice's Jeramy Goodson threw a touchdown pass to Dillard, and North Texas replied with a Giovanni Vizza passing touchdown to push the score to 28–20. Chase Clement then added a rushing touchdown, followed by a Marcus Knox rushing score to give the Owls a 22-point lead. Dillard and Clement hooked up for two scores within four minutes, giving the Owls a 56–20 lead and the two players a place in history. After halftime, Clement would hit Patrick Randolph for a six-yard touchdown, and two North Texas interceptions would be returned for touchdowns by Rice, first by Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, then by Christopher Douglas. Neither team would score in the fourth quarter, leaving the Owls a 77–20 victory. Clark Fangmeier set a school record by converting eleven extra points in the contest. Tulsa 2008 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team Owls 7 7 7 7 Golden Hurricane 7 14 21 21 "Rice vs Tulsa (October 4, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Southern Miss Golden Eagles 6 6 7 21 Owls 7 10 14 14 "Rice vs Southern Miss (October 18, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Tulane Owls 21 14 7 0 Green Wave 0 0 10 7 "Rice vs Tulane (October 25, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. UTEP Owls 14 14 7 14 Miners 17 3 10 14 "Rice vs UTEP (November 1, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Army, Homecoming Black Knights 7 3 7 14 Owls 10 21 7 0 "Rice vs Army (November 8, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Marshall Thundering Herd 0 7 3 0 Owls 7 0 14 14 "Rice vs Marshall (November 22, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Houston Cougars 7 14 7 14 Owls 14 21 14 7 "Rice vs Houston (November 29, 2008)." Game Summary. Rice official athletic site. Retrieved on January 3, 2009. Western Michigan, Texas Bowl Broncos 0 0 0 14 Owls 10 14 7 7 References Rice Category:Rice Owls football seasons Category:Texas Bowl champion seasons Rice Owls football