Nov. 1, 2008
Chase Clement threw for 372 yards and five touchdowns as Rice clinched bowl eligibility with a 49-44 victory over UTEP on Saturday night in the Sun Bowl.
Clement completed 28 of 41 passes as the Owls climbed to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play. UTEP dropped to 3-5 and 3-2 with its second straight loss following three consecutive wins.
The Miners led 17-14 at the end of the first quarter, but Rice regained a 21-17 advantage on a three-yard touchdown run by Clement with 10:52 remaining in the second period - capping a 13-play, 90-yard drive. UTEP trailed the rest of the way.
The Miners, who fell behind by as many as 15 points (35-20) in the second half, rallied to pull within 49-44 on a two-yard pass from Trevor Vittatoe to Jeff Moturi with 1:23 to play. But UTEP failed to recover the onside kick and the Owls ran out the clock.
James Casey posted 12 catches for 142 yards and three TDs for Rice, and Jarett Dillard added eight receptions for 93 yards and a score. Dillard became Conference USA's all-time leader for career receiving yards with the performance.
Jeff Moturi had five catches for 109 yards and three TDs for the Miners.
UTEP will play a non-conference game at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday (Nov. 8) at 5 p.m. MST. The game will be televised in El Paso on Time Warner Cable MetroSports Southwest Channel 24.
