SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 1, 2014
Rice 31, Florida International 17: Driphus Jackson threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for 66 yards as the Owls pushed aside the host Golden Panthers.
Jackson went 11-of-24 for 230 yards while Jowan Davis and Luke Turner each ran for a score for Rice (5-3, 3-1 Conference USA), which has won five in a row after beginning the season with three losses. Jordan Taylor collected 115 receiving yards and a score as the Owls maintained control of second place in the C-USA West.
Alex McGough passed for 132 yards and a TD to lead Florida International (3-6, 2-3), which dropped its third straight. Napoleon Maxwell ran for 88 yards and a score but the Golden Panthers could not recover from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit.
Florida International fumbled on the opening possession and Davis ran in for a 19-yard score on the next play to set the tone. Jackson’s 63-yard TD pass to Taylor pushed the lead to 17-0 less than 11 minutes into the game before the Golden Panthers battled back with McGough’s 52-yard scoring pass to Glenn Coleman and Maxwell’s 11-yard TD run.
Jackson went deep again for a 69-yard TD pass to James Mayden with 8:57 left in the half before a field goal cut the lead to 24-17 at the break. Rice turned up the defense in the second half, holding Florida International to 20 total yards, and put the game away with Turner’s 1-yard TD.