2023 Week 2

The first home game for Oliver Prudence's Tigers went better than last week, but still ended in defeat. The 17th ranked Owls looked to exploit the Memphis defense like Tennessee did the week before. And it seemed that would be the case when the Owls drove down the field in their first possession. The defense eventually held and some how blocked an 34 yard field goal (thanks to All American linebacker David Smith). It would go scoreless through the first quarter and into the second when Memphis would have their first touchdown scoring drive of the season. Led by quarterback Gordon Clark, the team drove 80 yards for the touchdown, scoring on a 8 yard reception by Keron Jefferson. The drive was set up by an interception by cornerback Craig Prince. Fellow cornerback Terrance Mullins would intercept the first pass by Rice on their next drive and return it 26 yards for the touchdown. It looked like the Tigers would go into half with a two score lead until Clark fumbled the ball, and an Owl defender scooped it up in route to a touchdown.

The offense didn't have any success in the second half, and Rice tied it in the third quarter, and took the lead with a field goal at the beginning of the fourth. The Tigers had two final attempts: the first was ruined on a fumble by half back Desi Carey, and the second ended when quarterback Alex Bonnett threw an interception in the endzone in the wee minutes of the game. There were a lot more positives in this game with the offense, however turnovers, and more importantly, fumbles, are getting out of control. Next week, Houston come to Memphis, with the Tigers still looking for there first win.

Final Score: Rice 17, Memphis 14
Player of the Game: Terrance Mullins cb, JR, 1 int, 1 td
Other Notables: Keron Jefferson wr, 5 rec 61 yds 1 td
David Smith OLB, 4 tkls 1 tfl 1 int
Gordon Clark QB, 9/17 118 yds, 1 td, 9 rush 50 yds

Next: Houston at Memphis