Chase Clement leads Rice to 38-14 rout Western Michigan in Texas Bowl

HOUSTON - Rice ended more than 50 years of post-season frustration with a near-perfect performance in the Texas Bowl.
Chase Clement threw three touchdown passes, ran for a score and caught a TD pass from Jarett Dillard to lead the Owls to a 38-14 win over Western Michigan at Reliant Stadium on Tuesday night.
Just a 15-minute drive from their campus, the Owls (10-3) won a bowl game for the first time since the 1954 Cotton Bowl and reached 10 victories for the first time since 1949.
The program has come a long way since going 1-10 in 2005 and the players hope they've set a higher standard for the future.
"When you sit down and look back and see how everything has unfolded, it's a special opportunity and just what we've been able to accomplish," Clement said. "It really sets this program in the right direction. Hopefully, those guys that are younger than us have seen what it takes to win and what it takes to be successful and hopefully they can get that going."
Clement went 30-for-44 for 307 yards and was the game's Most Valuable Player. Dillard caught his nation-leading 20th touchdown of the season. He finished his Rice career with 60 career TD catches, an NCAA record by 10, and also tied former Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams' Conference USA record for career touchdowns.
"I was just surprised at how well we were executing," Dillard said. "With everything that happened, it was just a team effort and we really stepped out on the field and played as one."
The performance by Rice's defence may have been just as remarkable.
The Owls were giving up 467 yards and 35 points per game, but shut out the high-scoring Broncos for more than three quarters before Tim Hiller threw a 2-yard TD pass to Kirk Elsworth with 6:33 left in the game.
Western Michigan, ranked 24th in total offence coming in, gained only 278 yards and went 3-for-14 on third down. Hiller, who led the Mid-American Conference in yards passing, went 19-for-42 for 198 yards with two interceptions.
"We just needed time to grow," senior linebacker Brian Raines said. "We had a chance to get a few people back and had the chance to work and have some chemistry going into this game."
The Broncos (9-4) dropped to 0-4 in bowls and missed their chance for the first 10-win season.
Hiller broke down in tears at the post-game press conference and coach Bill Cubit embraced him. Cubit then revealed that Hiller played the last three games with a torn left knee ligament.