HOUSTON—Northwestern is 3-0 for the first time in two seasons after a decisive 30-13 win over Rice on a humid evening at Rice Stadium.The Wildcats defense was so dominant that the Owls didn’t reach the end zone until the final 14 seconds of the game. After Rice won the coin toss and deferred, NU got the ball starting at their own 26.On a third and 7, Dan Persa hit Sidney Stewart for 25 to the Owls 46.On another third down,Persa hit Fields for 12 to the 29.After the drive stalled, Stefan Demos kicked a 42 yard field goal to cap a 49 Yard,ten play opening drive. After stopping the Owls three and out,the Wildcats(3-0) took over at their own 23.But holding and chop block penalties pretty much killed that drive.This time Rice got a couple of first downs,but on a fourth and three,QB Nick Fanuzzi quick kicked to the NU 4,and on a third down, Person hit Stewart for 13 to the 23.The first quarter ended 3-0 Northwestern. After another exchange of ‘four and outs’,Kyle Martens of Rice(1-2) kicked it dead on the NU 1 where the Cats again had to punt after three downs,and Brandon Williams sent it up field where it rolled dead on the NU 44.Rice was moving when Tyler Smith fumbled and NU’s Jack DiNardo recovered at the 37.On an incompleted pass,Persa was hit after throwing the ball and went out.Evan Watkins replaced him for one play.Persa returned and hit Jeremy Ebert for 14 to the Rice 36.Persa hit Demetrius Fields who got 14 yards to the Rice 5,and on fourth and two,the Wildcats were called for delay of game and Demos kicked a 28 yard field goal with 5:32 remaining in the half to make it 6-0.The kickoff was returned by Denzel Wells who faked like he was going to down it in the end zone, then decided to come out with it and was stopped at the 11. The Cats held on three downs and forced a punt which was fair caught at the Rice 46,but they also did nothing and Williams punted it dead on the Rice 9. Backup Owls QB Taylor Cook’s pass was picked off by NU’s Quentin Davie at the 11 and he had an unchallenged run into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown with 3:44 left in the half,making it 13-0.Both teams were stopped the Owls took over at their 19 from where they used their two minute offense and moved to the Cats 13 with nine seconds left.After an incomplete pass in the end zone, Chris Boswell kicked a 31 yard field goal as time expired and Northwestern led 13-3 at halftime.
Rice started out at their own 11,and were stopped in three downs to start the third quarter.Hunter Bates returned the punt 33 yards to the Rice 27,and on the first play from scrimmage, Persa hit Ebert at the ten,and he took it the rest of the way for a 27 yard TD, the first scored by either offense in the game to make it 20-3.Rice came right back with a 61 yard march to the NU 9,but were halted there and had to settle for another Boswell field goal,this one a 24 yarder with 9:46 left in the third quarter.But NU began to wear the Owls down with an effective ground game as they moved 74 yards,using 5:39 off the clock and Persa escaped a couple of tacklers en rout to an 18 yard scoring run which ended with the QB diving over the goal line.After again stopping Rice,the Cats took over the Persa hit Drake Dunsmore who broke two tackles and ran for a 47 yard play to the Rice 22.But that drive ended when Arby Fields fumbled at the one yard line and the Owls Kevin Gaddis recovered in the end zone for a touch back.Rice sued 3:26 off the clock and got to midfield before Fanuzzi coughed it up and Quentin Williams recovered at the NU 46. Persa found Ebert on a 32 yard play to the Rice 20.That drive ended with Demos kicking his third field goal of the night in as many attempts,this one a 21 yarder to make it 30-6.
NOTES—The rather small crowd was 15.562,of which about 2000 fans were rooting for Northwestern….Persa was 24-32 for one TD and no interceptions….This was the first meeting between Northwestern and Rice since a Wildcats 23-14 win here at Rice Stadium in 1998…..The Wildcats still trail the all time series 4-2….The Wildcats finish their non-conference schedule by hosting Central Michigan next Saturday at 11am in Evanston.
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