Northwestern
8th Big Ten7-5
Rice
9th Conference USA4-8
Northwestern @ Rice preview
Rice Stadium
A perfect 2-0 start to the season by Northwestern isn't all that surprising. A near-perfect start by quarterback Dan Persa is another story.
Persa looks to continue his spectacular start to the season when the Wildcats hit the road to take on Rice in a non-conference matchup Saturday in Houston.
Through the first two games, Persa has displayed machine-like accuracy, misfiring on only six of his 44 pass attempts.
The redshirt junior, who barely saw the field in his first two seasons with Northwestern, leads the nation in pass efficiency with an off-the-charts 212.1 quarterback ranking and also is No. 1 nationally with an 86.4 completion percentage.
Granted, one of those games came against an overmatched FCS opponent in Illinois State, which was thrashed 37-3 by the Wildcats last week.
Persa finished 19 of 23 with a pair of touchdown passes and also ran for a score before calling it a day early in the third quarter.
Drake Dunsmore hauled in both scoring passes and Arby Fields carried 22 times for 96 yards and a touchdown as Northwestern jumped out to a 30-3 halftime advantage.
But don't get the idea Persa is fattening up his stats against lower-division foes. In the season opener at Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference, Persa was 19 of 21 for 222 yards and three scoring passes. He also ran for a team-high 82 yards.
The chances of continuing his success appear pretty good against Rice, which is playing its home opener after splitting its first two games in which it surrendered a total of 66 points.
The Owls were in over their heads in a season-opening 34-17 loss against Texas and needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to overcome North Texas 32-31 last weekend.
Nick Fanuzzi came off the bench to replace an injured Tyler McHargue and finished 12 of 23 for 189 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
He had two key completions for 33 yards to set up a 2-yard scoring run by Charles Ross midway through the final quarter.
With McHargue suffering from a slightly separated shoulder, Rice coach David Bailiff said Fanuzzi will get the start against Northwestern.
Fanuzzi has experience under center, starting eight games last season and throwing for 1,598 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Another reserve, Tyler Smith, provided a spark to Rice’s running game with 92 yards on 12 carries. Sam McGuffie was limited to just 18 yards on 14 carries, although he had four receptions for 91 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown reception.
Chris Boswell kicked a school record-tying four field goals, including a pair of 50-yarders for the Owls.
Northwestern enters Saturday’s contest having gone 10-1 in its last 11 non-conference games. The Wildcats also are 8-3 in their last 11 road games.
Persa looks to continue his spectacular start to the season when the Wildcats hit the road to take on Rice in a non-conference matchup Saturday in Houston.
Through the first two games, Persa has displayed machine-like accuracy, misfiring on only six of his 44 pass attempts.
The redshirt junior, who barely saw the field in his first two seasons with Northwestern, leads the nation in pass efficiency with an off-the-charts 212.1 quarterback ranking and also is No. 1 nationally with an 86.4 completion percentage.
Granted, one of those games came against an overmatched FCS opponent in Illinois State, which was thrashed 37-3 by the Wildcats last week.
Persa finished 19 of 23 with a pair of touchdown passes and also ran for a score before calling it a day early in the third quarter.
Drake Dunsmore hauled in both scoring passes and Arby Fields carried 22 times for 96 yards and a touchdown as Northwestern jumped out to a 30-3 halftime advantage.
But don't get the idea Persa is fattening up his stats against lower-division foes. In the season opener at Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference, Persa was 19 of 21 for 222 yards and three scoring passes. He also ran for a team-high 82 yards.
The chances of continuing his success appear pretty good against Rice, which is playing its home opener after splitting its first two games in which it surrendered a total of 66 points.
The Owls were in over their heads in a season-opening 34-17 loss against Texas and needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to overcome North Texas 32-31 last weekend.
Nick Fanuzzi came off the bench to replace an injured Tyler McHargue and finished 12 of 23 for 189 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
He had two key completions for 33 yards to set up a 2-yard scoring run by Charles Ross midway through the final quarter.
With McHargue suffering from a slightly separated shoulder, Rice coach David Bailiff said Fanuzzi will get the start against Northwestern.
Fanuzzi has experience under center, starting eight games last season and throwing for 1,598 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Another reserve, Tyler Smith, provided a spark to Rice’s running game with 92 yards on 12 carries. Sam McGuffie was limited to just 18 yards on 14 carries, although he had four receptions for 91 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown reception.
Chris Boswell kicked a school record-tying four field goals, including a pair of 50-yarders for the Owls.
Northwestern enters Saturday’s contest having gone 10-1 in its last 11 non-conference games. The Wildcats also are 8-3 in their last 11 road games.