Mean Green rally from early deficit to beat sliding Owls
A quick 17-0 lead isn’t enough to get past Eagles
Rice went from staring at a potential turning point to an 0-4 hole that might be too deep to climb out of.
North Texas overcame a 17-point deficit for a 42-35 double-overtime win over Rice in Conference USA play on Saturday at Rice Stadium.
JuniorrunningbackWilly Ivery’s 4-yard touchdown run in the second overtime was the winning score, and Darik Dillard was stuffed at the line on 4th-and-1 from the North Texas 16 on the ensuing drive.
After Rice’s 17-0 lead with 13 minutes left in the second quarter, the Mean Green (2-2, 1-0 in C-USA play) rode a 28-3 run to take a 28-20 lead with seven minutes to play before Rice came back to force overtime.
North Texas’ winning drive was kept alive by a roughing a passer penalty.
“The guys are hurt right now,” Rice coach David Bailiff said. “There will be a lot of soul-searching. And I have to, too. Everything in this program begins with me. I’ve got to look at what we’re doing. Players win games, coaches lose them, and this is one we darn sure should’ve won.” Fast start, slow finish
Rice’s quick start didn’t suggest a wild finish.
Rice (0-4, 0-1) had 157 total yards to North Texas’ minus-17 and 12 first downs to the Mean Green’s zero by the end of the first quarter. North Texas’ 28-3 run was sparked by freshman quarterback Mason Fine. The Mean Green took a 21-20 lead — its first of the night — off Jeffrey Wilson’s 75-yard touchdown run eight minutes into the third quarter.
Wilson was huge for North Texas, with 18 carries for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Fine finished completing 17 of 29 passes for 224 yards and a score.
It’s demoralizing for Rice and jump-starts North Texas’ season.
“They’re all special and the thing about this one is, I think, it will be a confidence booster as well,” North Texas coach Seth Littrell said.
Ivery’s 1-yard touchdown run — one of two for him — for that 28-20 lead had North Texas in control.
But before that, Tyler Stehling had the offense humming, and his play helped lead Rice back into the game.
Stehling was 22-of-38 for 232 yards and one touchdown with an interception. He was also Rice’s leading rusher with 13 carries for 92 yards. Dillard had 19 carries for 67 yards and two scores. Rice had a 100-yard receiver in Zach Wright, with his 10 catches for 120 yards.
Stehling’s 41-yard gain to the North Texas 2 embodied a last gasp with two minutes left in regulation. Dillard’s 1-yard score cut the deficit, and Stehling’s pass to Robby Wells tied the game at 28.
It started with Stehling’s run.
“We knew we had to score,” Stehling said. “We were running out of time, down by eight. To be honest, it was just a pass play and I saw green grass and I took it. But we just can’t have those mistakes that we had tonight.” Missed opportunity
Even in overtime, it started well for Rice. The Owls didn’t waste much time before Dillard’s 3-yard touchdown run gave them a 35-28 lead. But North Texas forced a second overtime off Wilson’s 5-yard touchdown run.
It looked like Rice would hold North Texas to a field goal in the second overtime before the roughing the passer penalty. It gave the Mean Green new life for Ivery’s winning run.
And Dillard’s 4th-and-1 run had the makings of a positive gain, as it had all game.
“They just made an adjustment,” Dillard said. “They were able to just pinch the middle, and they were able stop us on that one play.”
Rice will look back on the mistakes in this one — penalties and the three turnovers that kept the Owls from widening the early lead.
One talking point after the game with Bailiff and the players was letting up when they shouldn’t have.
“We can’t do that,” Rice linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee said. “Just because we punched somebody in the mouth first doesn’t mean they’re not going to retaliate. Anybody who’s a grown man is going to retaliate back at you, so we should have expected that. For us to sit back there and act like that wasn’t going to happen, that’s something, as defensive players, we need to get together.”
Rice (0-4, 0-2 in C-USA play) is at Southern Miss next Saturday.